The JPL Undergraduate Scholars (JPLUS) program was developed to recognize and encourage scholarly achievement and creativity in community-college students majoring in engineering, mathematics, computer science, or the physical sciences. these students receive a $500 scholarship and a plaque naming them a JPL scholar in recognition of their exemplary work and outstanding potential. JPL scholars then have an opportunity to compete for a Caltech/JPL Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF the following year.

SURF is an internationally renowned program developed by Caltech that enables hundreds of undergraduate students each summer to perform their own research under the guidance of experienced members of the Caltech or JPL research community. Potential SURF students write proposals in collaboration with their research advisors; the proposals are then reviewed and granted funding by a SURF administrative committee. At the end of the summer, SURFers submit a written report describing the projects, methods, and results of their work.