Entry Point!, a signature program of the AAAS Project on Science, Technology and Disability, is a national effort to discover and develop talent among undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities who demonstrated a talent and interest in pursuing a STEM career. The primary goal of the project is to increase the diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce at the professional level. Entry Point! recruits, screens, and refers qualified candidates to company and university research program partners for 10-week summer internships.

Building the workforce of tomorrow requires an investment in diversity today.  

Different groups offer unique backgrounds and lifestyles that contribute to a creative and dynamic scientific enterprise in the United States. True diversity involves including not only underrepresented groups such as women, minorities and LGBTQ professionals, but also professionals with disabilities. Entry Point! promotes this goal by connecting workplace partners with student interns who have disabilities.

Students with disabilities are often natural scientists who use experimentation and creativity in their everyday lives. They frequently use “outside the box” thinking to find inventive solutions to daily challenges. Entry Point! recruits and places 20 to 25 of these problem solvers each year.

• Enrollment as a full-time undergraduate or graduate student for the academic term before and after the desired internship
• Must have a disability, apparent or non-apparent
• Must have a grade point average of 3.0 (B) or better
• Must be living in the United States and legally authorized to work in the United States.