MIT Think Scholar Program

The MIT THINK Scholars Program is an educational outreach initiative run by MIT undergraduates. Its core mission is to support students with big ideas who need help implementing them.

Descriptions:

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Competition Details:

Unlike a science fair, THINK does not require a completed project. Instead, students are asked to apply with a written research proposal for a science, technology or engineering idea. If you win, your project will receive one-on-one mentoring and funds. 

    1. Proposal Review: The THINK team reads all proposals to select semifinalists and recognizes other promising projects with "Commended" status.

    2. Video Interview: Semifinalists are interviewed, after which up to six finalists are chosen.

    3. Final Report Review: finalists need to submit a more comprehensive and detailed proposal before formally becoming a MIT THINK Scholar.

  • The main deliverable is a application proposal that is no more than 10 pages long not including references. It must strictly follow the required sections as you can see below:

    1. Abstract - 250 words summary of the problem, goal and approach of this research. 

    2. Idea - defines the problem and existing solutions

    3. Plan - convince judges of the feasibility of this plan, outline approaches, required resources, risk, mitigation strategies, timeline and the clear budget allocation plan

    4. Current progress

    If selected to progress from the first stage, a finalist needs to submit a more comprehensive and detailed final report to officially become a MIT THINK Scholar. 

Official website: click here

Award Categories:

  • Finalists are invited to MIT for a trip that includes meetings with professors in their area of interest, customized tours of research labs and attending MIT classes to get a feel for student life.

  • You will be reimbursed up to $1,000 for the purchase of materials. You are also matched with MIT student mentors for weekly virtual meetings to help you overcome technical challenges, hone your approach, and troubleshoot.

  • As a counterpoint, you have to provide weekly progress reports, to document your work process and show that you are meeting your milestones.

Timeline:

Applications Open - 1 November 2025

Application Deadline - 1 January 2026

Finalist Decisions - February 2026

Finalist Trip to MIT - February 2026

Project Completion Deadline - June 2026