Summer Research Institute for Middle School and High School STEM Teachers, and Community College STEM Instructors
The Berkeley Engineering Research Experiences for Teachers - Artificial Intelligence Resources for a cleaner Environment (BERET-AIRE) is an empowering program that offers teachers and aspiring teachers with summer research fellowships. The program champions the development and teaching of lessons that connect engineering, data science, and artificial intelligence research into secondary science and mathematics curricula. Public middle and high school teachers, and community college instructors from across the San Francisco Bay Area are welcome to join this in-person research experience at UC Berkeley, running from June 29 - August 7, 2026. BERET participants are eligible to receive up to a $9,350 stipend for their summer work.
BERET-AIRE offers a vibrant experience by pairing in-service and pre-service teachers within faculty labs at UC Berkeley, fostering collaboration under the supervision of a common research mentor.
- In-service teachers are recommended to have a minimum of two years of classroom experience teaching predominantly underrepresented students in Bay Area public middle and high schools, or community colleges
- Pre-service teachers are UC Berkeley students majoring in math, science, or engineering, enrolled in one or more courses offered by the CalTeach program, and who exhibit a strong commitment to pursue careers in teaching math or science in K-12 classrooms.
- Community College instructors are recommended to have a minimum of three years of course instruction in a STEM related field.
Research disciplines vary widely but in the past have included Bioengineering, Chemistry, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Integrative Biology, Earth and Planetary Science, and Physics.
As part of this program:
- We try to pair one in-service teacher (or one community college instructor) and one pre-service teacher in a host lab under the same research mentor, but working on separate research projects.
- In-service teachers and instructors will work full-time (38-40hrs/week) for 6 weeks, where they will participate in all lab-related activities and meetings, as well as regular check-ins with their research mentors.
- Participants use their summer research experiences as the basis for developing new lessons and curricular materials for classroom use. During and after the summer, participants collaborate to develop a curriculum unit, and then teach it in their classroom during the following fall semester. An additional stipend may be available to cover new class materials.
- During the summer, participants engage in weekly professional learning and curricular design sessions with other participants, and present their research results in a poster session at the end of the summer.
- Additional professional learning will be offered every 3-4 months during the academic year to support the implementation of the newly designed curriculum. Additional stipends may be available for participation in ongoing professional learning sessions, and for those who implement any new curriculum based on their summer work.
To Apply
Teachers and instructors are welcome to join the research experiences at UC Berkeley for Summer 2026!
- Application coming in January 2026!
- Applications will be accepted and reviewed starting in February 2026.
- Most decisions will be made by the end of April 2026. However, applying early improves your chances of acceptance into BERET as your application will be seen by a larger pool of potential research mentors.
Please email sri_calteach@berkeley.edu with questions.