Webb Junior Scholars Program is on this summer!
The Webb Schools are excited to announce our highly acclaimed academic and boarding school summer experience for 2023 – the Webb Junior Scholars Summer Program! We are expanding to offer five signature programs for middle school students during two sessions – July 8-17 and July 19-28 – as well as a bridge program for students who attend both sessions.
Our priority deadline for applications is March 15.
Come join the fun!
Summer Programs
Junior Scholars
Our Junior Scholars Program for rising 7th-, 8th- and 9th-graders is led by Webb’s experienced faculty who engage with students in what they do best. Ours is a boarding-only program that offers five tracks: Paleontology (taking advantage of our one-of-a-kind resource in the Alf Museum), Science and Engineering (utilizing our state-of-the-art laboratories), Digital Arts, Medical Science and Global Changemakers (leaning into our 100 years of work with putting honor and moral courage above all else).
We are nestled at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains just minutes away from the Claremont Colleges – a 150-acre campus that is a safe and inspiring place for students to make new friends, challenge themselves academically and explore their passions.
Summer program students experience all that boarding school life has to offer. They live in our dormitories under the supervision of experienced faculty and residential staff and have full rein of our beautiful campus. Afternoon and evening activities complement the daily learning goals and engage students in an array of sports, games and outings.
From field trips to Southern California’s best tourist attractions to impromptu movies in Claremont Village, from swimming in our state-of-the-art aquatics center to hiking the foothills behind campus, from gathering around fire pits in front of the dorm to enjoying our healthy, delicious dining hall food, students truly make Webb their summer home.
Summer At Webb
Areas of Exploration
Students will be immersed in the world of the research paleontologist as they learn the latest methods and technologies for reconstructing our prehistoric world. The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools is a one-of-a-kind science research institution: a nationally accredited museum housed on the school campus. With a collection of over 195,000 specimens, including rare discoveries spanning 500 million years of global history, the museum is a perfect site for students to dig into science and explore the fossil record.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Learn alongside world-renowned paleontologists through hands-on work with real fossils in the Alf Museum’s state-of-the-art research and fossil prep labs.
- Go into the field, investigating the tide pools on Solana Beach and finding connections with the fossil record, and explore the museums of Los Angeles, such as the Natural History Museum and California Science Center.
- Travel through the cosmos at Webb’s own Hefner Observatory, housing a Celestron-14 telescope
- Create 3-D prints of fossils and catalog your fossil finds so they can be placed into the permanent collection of the Alf Museum with your name listed as identifier.
In many fields, young people are taking the lead in imagining and building more inclusive, fair and sustainable communities. Do you want to be one of them? The major political and social issues our world faces — including environmental protection, immigration, economic development and human rights — will affect everyone and cross national boundaries. Join peers from around the world in uncovering the complexity behind these issues. You will participate in games, debates, case studies and simulations that allow you to deliberate on and discuss the same issues that global community leaders confront. Interactive challenges and training in communication, critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving and empathy will help you develop the skills to make ethical decisions and advocate for change as a global changemaker.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Gain critical leadership skills to become a changemaker in your own community.
- Sharpen your research and debate skills to better advocate for issues you care about.
- Learn how to be a better collaborator through experiential challenges, including a high ropes course.
- Engage with professionals leading change.
- Volunteer for a local community initiative.
Learn how to ask probing scientific questions and design hands-on experiments. This course will guide students to think like scientists as they engage in research in our cutting-edge advanced science lab. From chemistry to neuroscience and robotics to marine biology, students will be immersed in real science. Students will use everything from Bunsen burners and beakers to circuit boards and microscopes to construct an understanding of how the world works.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Engage in 10 days of hands-on lab research in our advanced science lab.
- Design and compete in an engineering challenge with other junior scholars.
- Learn to create a unique research question and design an experiment.
- Meet professional scientists and engineers and learn about their work through field trips around the Los Angeles area.
Students will make, create and explore at the intersection of art, media and technology. From graphic design to coding and photography, 3-D printing to rotoscoping, students will cultivate their artistic interests and discover new passions.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Work in our cutting-edge facilities, including our digital media studio and maker’s space.
- Design and create your own short film, 3-D model and more.
- Explore the local arts and technology scene through field trips around the Los Angeles area.
- Hone your creativity, test your collaboration skills and cultivate your voice and confidence.
Through hands-on labs and practicums, students will explore fields in the medical and healthcare professions, including anatomy and physiology, neuroscience, molecular biology, biochemistry, psychology, mental health kinesthetics and sports medicine, bioethics and public health. Students will learn their way around a state-of-the-art lab facility, become familiar with surgical tools through a dissection, gain critical lifesaving skills through training in the basics of First Aid and deliberate on the privileges and responsibilities of caring for human life.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Work in a state-of-the-art lab, honing your expertise as a researcher and lab scientist.
- Meet professionals in a variety of medical fields and learn about their jobs and specialties through field trips and class visits.
- Use surgical tools in a dissection.
- Gain critical lifesaving skills through training in the basics of First Aid.
Summer At Webb
Frequently Asked
Questions
Webb will once again offer its Junior Scholars Summer Program for rising 7th-, 8th- and 9th-graders on campus in July 2023. Prospective students and families can learn more on our website about our two sessions and four unique and engaging programs in Paleontology, Science and Engineering, Digital Arts and Global Ethics.
We are excited you have decided to apply to Webb Junior Scholars. Our priority deadline is March 15th. We will begin reviewing applications after the priority deadline and you will receive your admission decision shortly after that date. Following this deadline, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
To apply, please fill out the online application. Once you have submitted your application, you have access to the online portal where you will be prompted to upload a transcript or school report and a teacher recommendation. The recommendation form will be available in the online CampInTouch portal.
As we continue to receive more qualified international applicants, we are partnering with Vericant and Duolingo to assist with conducting language screening interviews. Students attending school in a non-English speaking country are required to complete a Vericant interview (available in China) or a Duolingo test (available everywhere). Students who have attended at least one year at a school where the primary language of instruction is English are exempt.
Students have the opportunity to choose between Science & Engineering, Paleontology, Global Changemakers, Medical Science and Digital Arts. There are two 10-day sessions offered each summer. Students can stay for both sessions and chose two different offerings.
Yes, students in the paleontology program within Junior Scholars do have the opportunity to work in the Alf Museum. The museum includes two floors of installations and displays and holds over 175,000 fossil specimens.
Yes, students are welcome to enroll in both summer sessions. There is a bridge program you can enroll in and remain on campus as well.
Junior Scholars Summer Program 2022 Brochure and Course Descriptions