Summer STEM Program: Integrating AI for STEM Learning
The CMSEE STEM Incubator is now open — grab a partner, pitch your best course idea, and get paid to bring it to life.
At the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education (CMSEE), we believe the best way to grow the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians is to catch kids while they're curious. That work starts with the people who teach them. Today, we're inviting UNLV students to become those people — through the CMSEE STEM Incubator.
The Incubator is not a traditional job application. It's a competition. You and a partner pitch your most innovative idea for a five-day K-8 STEM course, and if your proposal is selected, you design it, teach it to local students, and earn a paid UNLV teaching contract for the work.
Why the Incubator is different
Most teaching opportunities ask you to deliver someone else's curriculum. The Incubator flips that. Your course, your idea, your classroom. We're looking for concepts that are hands-on, minds-on, and memorable — the kind of experience that makes a nine-year-old decide science is their thing.
Every proposal comes from a two-person team, and every STEM discipline is welcome. You can apply as Co-Leads, sharing the design and teaching equally, or as a Lead Instructor and Teaching Assistant. Both partners are introduced in your pitch, and both bring their strengths to the classroom.
What you'll submit
To enter, your team prepares four things:
- A five-day syllabus for a course serving 15–20 K-8 students, built around active learning and hands-on experiments.
- An itemized materials budget covering everything your course needs.
- A four-minute pitch video introducing both partners and making the case for your idea.
- A payment-split declaration, chosen and locked when you apply.
That's it — just your idea and your plan to teach it. Link to the application: here
What you'll earn
Selected teams receive a paid UNLV teaching contract of up to $2,500 per course, distributed based on the split you declare:
- Co-Leads (50/50): $1,250 to each partner.
- Lead & Assistant (70/30): $1,750 to the lead, $750 to the assistant.
Your course materials are funded separately, so your budget won't come out of your pay. Beyond the contract, you walk away with something just as valuable: real classroom experience designing and delivering your own STEM course.
Timeline: three rounds a year
Proposals are reviewed three times a year, and each round feeds a specific teaching season. Apply to the round that matches when you want to teach:
| Round | Submission deadline | You would teach in |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Mid-May | Fall (Oct–Nov) |
| Round 2 | October 30, 2026 | Spring (Feb–Mar) |
| Round 3 | Mid-November | Summer (June) |
Our next deadline is October 30, 2026 — the gateway to teaching your course this spring.
Who can apply
Both team members must be current NSHE undergraduate or graduate students in a STEM discipline, eligible to work in the United States, and able to clear a standard background check to work with minors. (Start that check early — it takes time.) Full eligibility details are in the Applicant Guidelines.
Ready to pitch?
Find a partner, sketch out your boldest STEM idea, and film your four-minute pitch. Full guidelines, the scoring rubric, and the online application are available on the Incubator page.
Questions? Reach the CMSEE team anytime at cmseestem@unlv.edu.
This is where scientists start. Come help us build it.