Distance Learning Center

What Distance Learning Center does

The Distance Learning Center (DLC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 1990 by Dr. Moses Williams and headquartered at 1324 West Clearfield Street, Philadelphia, PA. The organization operates the STEMM PREP Project, a 10-year longitudinal training continuum designed to channel economically disadvantaged students from 7th grade through college into STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Medicine) careers. Approximately 60 students are accepted at the 7th-grade entry point each year, with 43% of trainees from low-income backgrounds and 55% from middle-income families; the program claims 100% college attendance, 100% graduation, 92% 10-year completion, and 83–85% matriculation into post-baccalaureate STEMM programs at top graduate, medical, and engineering schools.

The program architecture is built on three differentiating elements: an early start (7th grade), a longitudinal 10-year commitment, and a multi-institutional mentorship model. Trainees rotate through a structured sequence of partner institutions: 5-week classroom-based training at the University of Washington (7th-8th grade), 8-week lab internships at the University of Pennsylvania with supplementary seminars at Drexel, Jefferson, and PCOM (9th-10th grade), 7-week programs at Oregon Health and Science University (11th grade) and the University of Washington (12th grade), followed by 10-week translational research rotations at the University of British Columbia (1st year), University of Texas-Southwestern or Hospital for Sick Children / University of Toronto (2nd-3rd year), and NIH or Merck Pharmaceutical (4th year). Year-round mentorship is delivered via monthly teleconferences, with an 11th-grade mid-school year retreat focused on college selection. The DLC Disadvantaged Trainee Research Forum (DTRF) operates as a national abstract competition with full travel fellowships for presenting trainees. Year-round counseling and advising round out the support layer, and free housing is provided at all program levels.

DLC's revenue model combines participant tuition ($5,500 per summer for junior high, $6,000 for senior high, and $8,000 for college students) with foundation grants, federal grants, and corporate donations, with the latter three sources funding scholarship assistance. The Financial Aid Committee reviews IRS returns to determine whether families pay nothing, a partial amount, or full cost, so realized collections depend materially on grant and donation flows. Distribution is geographically diversified across the U.S. Mid-Atlantic (UPenn), Pacific Northwest (UW, OHSU), Southwest (UTSW), and Mid-Atlantic again (NIH, Merck), with international delivery in Vancouver and Toronto, Canada. The organization runs on a small central staff (11–50 employees) with program execution executed through partner institutions. The closest disclosed funding event is a 2024 grant of $55,000 from WSFS CARES Foundation; no equity, venture, or large philanthropic rounds are recorded.

Name

Distance Learning Center

Legal name

Distance Learning Center, Inc.

Website

https://thedistancelearningcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Distance Learning Center is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) non-profit operating the STEMM PREP Project, a 10-year longitudinal training continuum that prepares economically disadvantaged students from 7th grade through college for STEMM careers via multi-institutional lab internships, mentorship, and college advising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth STEMM Education and Training Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

STEM/Business/Discipline-Specific Foundation Pathways (EDAIAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Under-18 / High School-to-University Foundation Pathways (EDAIAJAI), Advanced Project-Based Learning & Portfolio Mentoring (STEM/arts portfolios, maker projects) (EDANAKAI)

Keywords

• Youth STEMM education
• Research internship programs
• College preparation services
• Summer lab training
• Educational nonprofit programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Program Tuition: Tuition-based revenue from participant fees. Full cost to participate is $5,500 for junior high, $6,000 for senior high school students, and $8,000 for college students per summer session. Financial aid is determined by the Financial Aid Committee based on IRS Returns, with scholarship assistance sourced from foundation grants, federal grants, and corporate donations.
2. Foundation and Federal Grants: DLC raises funds from foundations and federal grants to provide scholarship assistance for economically disadvantaged students. 43% of trainees come from low-income backgrounds and 55% from middle-income families.
3. Corporate Donations: Corporate donations support the scholarship fund for student participation costs, enabling students who cannot afford the full cost of attendance to participate in the program.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Distance Learning Center delivers the STEMM PREP Project, a 10-year longitudinal training continuum that engages economically disadvantaged students beginning in 7th grade and continuing through college. Participants progress through grade-specific summer lab internships at partner universities and industry research sites (including University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, Oregon Health and Science University, University of British Columbia, University of Texas-Southwestern, University of Toronto, NIH, and Merck), supported by year-round mentorship, counseling, and advising. The companion DLC Disadvantaged Trainee Research Forum (DTRF) provides a national abstract competition with full travel fellowships for awardees.

Product overview

The Distance Learning Center offers the STEMM PREP Project as its core product, a comprehensive 10-year longitudinal training continuum for economically disadvantaged students starting as early as 7th grade through college. The program includes grade-specific curriculum modules (7th-8th, 9th-10th, 11th, 12th grade, and undergraduate) that rotate students through various university and research institution laboratories during summer sessions. Supporting the training program is the DLC Disadvantaged Trainee Research Forum, a national competition enabling trainees to present their research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STEMM PREP Project: A 10-year internship continuum providing training to economically disadvantaged STEM students, beginning in 7th grade and continuing through college, with rotations through basic science, engineering and technology labs at collaborating institutions.
• DLC Disadvantaged Trainee Research Forum (DTRF)

Products and services

• STEMM PREP Project A 10-year longitudinal training program for economically disadvantaged students beginning in 7th grade, providing summer internships in STEMM labs through college, with mentorship, counseling, and advising through monthly teleconference meetings.
• 7th & 8th Grade STEM Prep Curriculum 5-week summer classroom-based internships at the University of Washington in Seattle covering basic laboratory science techniques, technology and engineering concepts, research writing and presentation skills, and research statistics. Students live in university dormitories with supervision. Tuition: $5,500 per summer session.
• 9th & 10th Grade STEM Prep Curriculum 8-week summer internships at University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Jefferson University, and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine featuring interactive seminars on positive peer support, professional development, college preparation, and financing education. Students live in UPenn dormitories. Tuition: $6,000 per summer session.
• 11th Grade STEM Prep Curriculum 7-week internship at Oregon Health and Science University with students working in basic science, engineering, or technology labs under mentor supervision, living in Portland State University dormitories.
• 12th Grade STEM Prep Curriculum 7-week internship at the University of Washington with trainees learning lab workings and completing research papers, posters, and PowerPoint presentations, living in university dormitories.
• Undergraduate STEM Prep Curriculum 10-week summer internships rotating through University of British Columbia (freshmen), University of Texas-Southwestern or University of Toronto / Hospital for Sick Children (sophomores/juniors), and National Institutes of Health or Merck (seniors), focused on translational research in biomedical discovery. Free housing provided at all locations. Tuition: $8,000 per summer session.
• DLC Disadvantaged Trainee Research Forum (DTRF) National abstract competition and scientific meeting for disadvantaged biomedical trainees providing full travel fellowships (airfare, hotel, meals) for abstract winners to deliver oral presentations at the annual scientific meeting.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Primary training site for 7th & 8th grade (5-week) and 12th grade (7-week) summer programs. Students receive foundational research skills training in teaching labs and work in cutting-edge research labs. Students live in university dormitories with supervision.
• University of PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for 9th & 10th grade (8-week) summer programs in basic science laboratories. Students also attend interactive seminars on professional development and college preparation at partner institutions including PCOM, Drexel University, Jefferson University, and UPenn. Students live in UPenn dormitories.
• Oregon Health and Science UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for 11th grade (7-week) summer internships in basic science, engineering, or technology labs. Students live in dormitories at Portland State University with multi-layered supervision.
• University of British ColumbiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for 1st year undergraduate (10-week) summer internship in translational research. Students live in UBC housing.
• University of Texas-Southwestern Medical CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate (10-week) summer internships in translational research. Students live in university-provided housing.
• Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute (Toronto)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for 3rd year undergraduate (10-week) summer internships in translational research. Students live in University of Toronto housing.
• University of TorontocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for undergraduate summer internships in translational research alongside Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for 4th year undergraduate (10-week) summer internship in translational research in a government/academic setting. DLC provides apartments in Bethesda for trainees.
• Merck Pharmaceutical Company (Rahway, NJ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1990Training site for 4th year undergraduate (10-week) summer internship in translational research in a pharmaceutical setting. Merck provides housing in New Brunswick for trainees. Provides exposure to pharmaceutical research environment alongside academic settings.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• College Possible: Delivers near-peer coaching and college-success support to low-income high school and college students — directly comparable in target population (low-income college-aspiring youth) and longitudinal mentoring model.
• Bottom Line: Provides 1-on-1 college access and success advising to low-income and first-generation students — directly comparable in longitudinal mentorship and college-completion outcome focus.
• QuestBridge: National college-access program connecting high-achieving low-income students with top colleges via full scholarships — comparable in target demographic (high-achieving low-income students) and selective-college outcome metrics.
• INROADS: Operates a paid internship and leadership-development pipeline for underrepresented college students into corporate and STEM careers, with multi-year engagement — a structurally comparable STEM-access pipeline for disadvantaged students.
• SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity): Provides career and educational access programs for underserved high school and college students, including STEM-focused tracks with employer partnerships — directly comparable in target demographic, career pipeline goals, and corporate-internship structure.
• Let's Get Ready: Provides college access support (SAT prep, advising, mentorship) for low-income high school students — comparable in mission (low-income college access) and longitudinal mentorship architecture, though not STEM-specific.
• Matriculate: Connects low-income high-achieving high school students with college-advising mentors to support selective college admission — comparable in serving high-aptitude low-income students with mentor-driven college outcomes.
• Project SEED (American Chemical Society): Provides paid summer chemistry research experiences for economically disadvantaged high school students at academic and industry labs — directly comparable to DLC's lab-rotation, disadvantaged-student STEM pipeline model.
• SMASH (Level Playing Field Institute): SMASH runs multi-year, residential STEM summer programs for high-achieving low-income high school students at top universities — a near-direct structural peer to DLC's STEMM PREP Project in target population, format, and equity mission.

Broad incumbents

• KIPP Foundation: Large national charter network with a strong college-prep and STEM-focused curriculum serving low-income students — broader incumbent serving the same demographic through a different (K-12 schooling) delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Distance Learning Center