Pioneer Academics

Pioneer is one of a growing number of platform companies connecting ambitious and highly motivated high school students with academics who can help guide them in research projects. Although Pioneer tends to draw heavily from the international market, it also includes a high number of U.S.-based students. One appealing feature of Pioneer is that it includes a combination of teaching and research, so there’s more structure around the program. This is a highly attractive - and surprisingly uncommon - program component that can be especially helpful to a curious student who doesn’t already have a well-developed research idea.

“The Pioneer Research Program provides undergraduate-level research opportunities to talented, intellectually motivated high school students from around the world. It is the only online credit-bearing research program for high school students that offers STEM, social sciences and humanities disciplines.

In the Pioneer Research Program, selected students work one-on-one with leading U.S. university professors in advanced study and research of a topic of interest, culminating in a full-length research paper. The program is conducted entirely online, allowing high school students from all over the world to participate.

Teaching Style: Small class with other students in the general interest, then 1-on-1 with a professor mentor for a few sessions to develop your paper.”

High Level Information:

• Duration: 10 Weeks

• Mentor: Professors of various US universities and liberal arts colleges (they have a so-called “professor-blind” policy, you will end up with whoever they assign to you)

• Pro: The longest-running online research program with some reputation.

• Con: Expensive (almost no scholarships); not truly one-on-one (but they advertised as such); short timeframe to finish a quality paper and develop a relationship with the professor (you only get to with a professor 1-on-1 for a few weeks); can’t choose which professor to work with.

How Do I Get Started? Click here.

HOT TIP: If you are motivated, pretty much any opportunity can lead to huge rewards. Pioneer won’t transform your prospects on its own, but it could lead to some pretty interesting and substantive academic work. As with any project, high effort leads to better and more certain rewards. Be sure to extend whatever independent work you do beyond the relatively short timeframe of this 10-week course.