Research Experience for Colorado Community College Students

Overview

The Research Experience for Community College Students (RECCS) is a paid summer research experience program open to community college students in Colorado and from surrounding rural community colleges. The goal of RECCS is to give community college students an authentic research experience at CU Boulder, ranked #1 in the world for geosciences. The program allows students to explore environmental or geosciences and gain the confidence to transition to a four-year program in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) disciplines. Ten - nineteen students receive a weekly stipend of $700 to conduct field- or lab-based independent research over a nine-week period in the summer (June 1st - July 31st, 2026) while working with a team of scientists. Students learn basic research and communication skills, and they present their research at a local student science symposium. The RECCS summer research program application is open to all Colorado community college students, and community college students from rural community colleges in the following states: Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, and Kansas. Before starting the application, read through the Frequently Asked Questions on the RECCS website for important information and advice on completing this application. This application will include several multiple-choice and short-answer questions and six open-ended questions with 200-300 word limits (see FAQs for a list of these questions). Applications are due by Monday, February 09, 2026. You must also ask someone who is familiar with your academic performance, like a community college instructor or administrator, to complete a 5-minute online recommendation form by February 09, 2026. You can also find these questions in our FAQ's.