The Wolfram Emerging Leaders Program: High School (WELP:HS) is a remote, semester-long program designed for exceptional graduates from the Wolfram High School Summer Research Program to continue to develop their skills.
WELP:HS students work in a small group over the course of a semester to do either a research-based project or a product development–based project. Projects are centered around a topic at the intersection of the group's interests.
Need-based financial aid is available.
What You'll Learn
During WELP:HS, you will go through the entire product development cycle from brainstorming a potential project, to creating a minimum viable product, to iterating on your idea, to producing an interesting and worthwhile project.
Research Skills
As your team works together to write a computational essay, you will dive deep into the subject area, developing research skills and discovering new knowledge. You will learn how to present your findings—in writing, in code and in visualizations—as well as how to formulate, investigate and defend a thesis.
Design Thinking
WELP:HS is structured around the steps of the design thinking process, which inspires intellectual curiosity and embraces iteration. At the start of the program, you will attend design thinking skills workshops, where you will learn to ideate, iterate and implement projects.
Computational Thinking
Computational thinking—the ability to translate complex thoughts into computable concepts—is a core part of WELP:HS. You will learn how to express your thoughts in a systematic and clear enough way that a computer can understand them, while also learning how to structure your approach to problem solving.
Collaboration Skills
At WELP:HS, you will work in a team of three to five other graduates of the Wolfram High School Summer Research Program. These groups are hand selected to both support and challenge each member. You will work together to find a project at the intersection of your interests, where each member has valuable skills to contribute. You will learn how to communicate, resolve conflict and innovate together.
What You'll Do
Complete a Project
Each group completes a project of their own design, culminating in writing a computational essay. Topics in the past have ranged from developing a non-deterministic, localized model of disease spread, to visualizing topic progression in a text, to using hexagonal cellular automata to model flooding, to simulating political change using idea blocking, to reading and playing sheet music.
The ultimate goal of the project is to dive deep into your chosen interest and create a visually stunning, interactive piece of work that combines text, code and visualizations.
Participate in Roundtables
WELP:HS students will meet with key members of the Wolfram Research team to learn about their work both in and outside of their jobs. In the past, we have spent time with members of the linguistics, math and education teams, learning about innovations they've made in their fields, as well as the day-to-day tasks of working at Wolfram.
Attend Social Activities
Your peers are your best resource. Outside of your team, you will meet virtually with the full cohort for social activities, including for games, challenges and social mixers. You will also have the opportunity to hang out with your favorite mentors from the Wolfram Summer Programs and get to know students from WELP:U.
Explore Your Next Steps
We want to support you as you make challenging decisions about your future academic- and career-related goals. You will have the opportunity to talk through college decisions, subject specialization choices and summer activities with trusted advisors and engage in professional development activities both individually and as a group.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition for one semester of WELP:HS is $2000 and includes all you need to be successful in the program.
WELP:HS runs from August to December, and this cost includes a two-year subscription to Wolfram|One; a two-year subscription to Wolfram|Alpha Pro; robust mentorship and support during the project development process; classes on design thinking, research methods, academic writing, etc.; interactions with key employees at Wolfram; guidance on future education choices; a certificate of completion; and a letter explaining the program to prospective employers and educational institutions.
Financial aid is available for students who demonstrate financial need.
What Happens after WELP:HS
After you graduate from WELP:HS, you will be eligible to apply to be a Teaching Assistant at the Wolfram High School Summer Research Program and a Mentor at the Wolfram Middle School Summer Camp, and any applications you submit to do an internship at Wolfram Research will be fast tracked.
If you turn 18 before the summer after you graduate from WELP:HS, you will also be eligible to apply to the Wolfram Summer School, our summer program for adults.
Take the First Step
Admission to WELP:HS is dependent on performance at the Wolfram High School Summer Research Program. The top students from this competitive program are invited to apply for a place at either WELP:HS or WELP:U.
Students interested in joining WELP should apply for the Wolfram High School Summer Research Program.
The Wolfram High School Summer Research Program is open to students aged 14–17. Students who turn 18 after the program but will continue to attend high school are eligible for WELP:HS. Students who turn 18 and have completed high school are eligible for WELP:U.