The Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE) program connects motivated high school students with mentors in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) pre-professional internships.
Internships are eight-week, full-time summer positions, designed by mentors themselves. The driving value behind the ASE program is that the interns should contribute to and learn from the mentor's work. These internships take place throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, including Portland, Eugene, Corvallis, Vancouver and historically, Bend, Klamath Falls, Colton, and McMinnville. Mentor organizations include universities, hospitals, research institutions and private companies. The application process is competitive, with more than 400 applicants each year for approximately 110 positions. ASE internships attract rising sophomores, juniors and seniors from throughout the Northwest.
Roughly 70% of interns are from backgrounds underrepresented in the sciences, including students who identify as non-male, Black, Latino/a/x/e or Hispanic, Native American, Native Alaskan, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. ASE interns have been listed on published research, helped to design and test commercial products and spent countless hours in the field and in the lab.
There is a $4,000 program fee associated with participation with the ASE program as a mentor. This fee covers the cost of the intern stipend, the conferences (keynote speakers, panelists, venues, rentals, transportation), and program support (staff, application management & processing, mentor/mentee matching, applicant workshops, onboarding, insurance, end of summer packets, website governance). Mentors concerned about the fee should speak to program staff as soon as possible.