TL;DR
You’ll find 15 research labs below that take high school students, each with its pay or cost, dates, application deadline, and exactly who’s eligible to apply. Most summer lab placements give you a slice of someone else’s project for a few weeks. Horizon gives you a project of your own. You’ll work online one-on-one with a professor or PhD mentor for 12 to 16 weeks and finish with a research paper that’s yours to submit to journals or competitions.
What counts as a research lab for high school students?
A research lab is any team that runs experiments or studies to answer open questions. That could be a cancer biology group at a university, a physics team at a national laboratory, or a community biotech space. When labs open their doors to high school students, it’s usually through a structured program with a mentor, a set schedule, and a final presentation.
These programs can be paid summer internships at government labs, summer programs at universities and institutes, or run through the school year, a couple of afternoons a week.
What do high school students actually do in a research lab?
Most programs follow a similar arc. The first week or two is training: lab safety, basic techniques, and getting to know your mentor’s project. Fred Hutch, for example, spends its first two weeks on safety and technique before placing you in a research group. Then you join the work. Your mentor is often a grad student or postdoc, not the professor whose name is on the door, and that’s a good thing. They have more time for you.
A typical week might include:
- Bench or computer work on a piece of an ongoing project, around 30 to 40 hours a week at most in summer programs
- Lab meetings where the team talks through results and problems
- Journal clubs, where you read a recent paper and pick it apart with real scientists
- Seminars and career talks from researchers across the institute
- Keeping a lab notebook, which is how scientists track exactly what they did and why
- A final poster or talk at the end, which almost every program on this list requires
Do research labs pay high school students?
Many do, and that surprises people. At least nine of the 15 labs below pay you a wage or stipend, two are free but unpaid, and one charges tuition. The rest either give stipends only for financial need. There’s a catch with the paid ones. When a lab pays you, you’re usually hired as a temporary employee. That means age minimums (almost always 16), work permits if you’re under 18, and often a citizenship rule. Pay tends to come with more paperwork, not less competition.
If cost is your main filter, we keep separate lists of fully funded STEM programs and free summer research programs.
What can you research in a lab as a high school student?
It’s tempting to pick a lab by name. It’s smarter to pick it by subject. A famous lab working on something you don’t care about will make for a long summer.
| If you’re interested in | Labs on this list that fit | Find a topic |
| Cancer, immunology, and medicine | Stanford SIMR, Broad, Fred Hutch, UW Carbone ARISE, Horizon | Disease research project ideas |
| Genetics, genomics, and biotech | J. Craig Venter Institute, Genspace, Salk, Stanford SIMR | Biology research topics |
| Physics, engineering, and materials | NIST, AFRL, Sandia, Johns Hopkins APL | Physics research opportunities |
| Coding, data science, and AI | Berkeley Lab, Johns Hopkins APL, ORNL, Horizon | STEM research topics |
| Psychology, economics, and the humanities | Horizon | Research topics for high school students |
Which group of labs fits you?
| If you… | Start with |
| Can travel or relocate for the summer | Labs that take students from anywhere |
| Live in Maryland, D.C., Virginia, New York, or Massachusetts (or near Boulder, Colorado) | East Coast labs for local students |
| Live in the Bay Area, San Diego County, or Greater Seattle | West Coast labs for local students |
| Live in East Tennessee or near Madison, Wisconsin | Labs in the Midwest and South |
| Want your own project, from anywhere, at any time of year | Online research lab |
Looking for something more specific? Try our city guides to lab opportunities in Boston, lab opportunities in Seattle, and research programs in New York City, or our list of biology research programs.
Research labs that take high school students from anywhere in the U.S.
1. Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)
Location: Rockefeller University, New York, NY (in person)
Cost: Free, with no application fee. Stipends aren’t guaranteed but may go to students facing financial hardship. You also get an OMNY card for city transit.
Dates: Seven weeks, about 35 hours a week. The 2026 program ran June 22 to August 6.
Application deadline: January 2 for the 2026 cycle, which opened October 13, 2025. Rockefeller hasn’t posted 2027 dates yet.
Eligibility: Current high school juniors and seniors who are 16 or older by the start date, with no exceptions. There’s no GPA minimum. Students from outside the New York area can apply, but Rockefeller can’t help with housing, travel, or visas.
SSRP takes 32 students and splits them into four research teams of eight to ten. What makes it stand out is that you pick your own research question and run the experiments to answer it. Your mentor guides you instead of handing you a task. The summer ends with a poster at a research symposium.
Rockefeller says it cares more about sincere interest in science than about grades. Show that in your application.
Who is it right for? A junior or senior who wants to design their own experiment and can be in New York City all summer.
2. J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) Summer Internship
Location: Rockville, MD. JCVI isn’t offering internships at its La Jolla, California site this year due to a move.
Cost: Paid. High school interns earned $18 an hour in 2026.
Dates: May through August, about 10 to 15 weeks, full time at 40 hours a week. Faculty sometimes offer school-year internships too, capped at 20 hours a week.
Application deadline: Rolling. Summer positions go up each March and get reviewed as applications come in. Summer 2027 positions haven’t been posted yet.
Eligibility: Students who are at least 16 by the start date, enrolled full time, with a 3.0 or B average. You must live in the U.S. and be eligible to work here. JCVI doesn’t sponsor visas.
JCVI is a genomics research institute, and you’ll get a dedicated mentor plus a project matched to your experience level. On top of lab work, you’ll sit in on journal clubs, career development sessions, and seminars across different fields. It wraps up with a judged poster presentation. You apply with a transcript and a 500-word statement of interest.
Rolling admissions means timing matters. Check the careers page in early March and apply the week postings go live. If genomics is your thing, our list of genetics research programs has more options.
Who is it right for? A student who can commute to Rockville and wants a paid, full-time summer in a genomics lab.
3. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Program
Location: 14 Air Force research sites across the U.S., including Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, Rome Lab in New York, and the Pentagon
Cost: Paid. Most sites pay high school scholars $506.80 a week. Edwards Air Force Base pays $874.62 a week plus a travel stipend, and Whiteman Air Force Base pays $715.60 a week.
Dates: At least eight weeks, full time, mostly in summer. A very small number of fall and spring spots exist.
Application deadline: January 11, 2027 for summer 2027. Applications open October 12, 2026.
Eligibility: Upper-level high school students who are at least 16 by the deadline (18 for California sites), U.S. citizens (permanent residents aren’t eligible), and enrolled at least half time. A 3.0 GPA is strongly encouraged but not required. You’ll need to pass a background check.
AFRL Scholars puts you next to Air Force scientists and engineers on active research. The program covers high school students, undergrads, and grad students, so you’re one of many levels in the room. It’s one of the few paid lab programs on this list that you can apply to from any state. The trade-off is logistics: you arrange your own move and your own daily transport.
Who is it right for? A U.S. citizen who’s 16 or older and willing to relocate for a paid summer at a defense research site.
4. Sandia National Laboratories Internships
Location: Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA
Cost: Paid hourly. Pay depends on your classification and degree level, set by Sandia’s student rate sheet.
Dates: Summer internships usually run 10 to 12 weeks, from May to late August, at up to 40 hours a week. Year-round interns can work up to 25 hours a week during the school year.
Application deadline: No single deadline. You apply to individual job postings on Sandia’s careers site as they open.
Eligibility: Students who are at least 16 and enrolled full time at an accredited high school, college, or university. You need a 2.5 GPA for clerical and laborer roles, or 3.0 for research, technical, and business roles, and Sandia won’t round up. U.S. citizenship is required for positions that need a security clearance or where the posting says so. You’ll also go through a background review and drug screening.
Sandia is a national security lab, and interns work with its scientists and engineers on projects tied to national goals. You’re applying to actual job postings, often alongside college students. So treat it like a job hunt. Read each posting carefully, since the requirements change from role to role.
Who is it right for? A 16-plus student near Albuquerque or Livermore who’s comfortable applying for a job, not a program.
East Coast research labs for local high school students
5. NIST Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP)
Location: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, or Boulder, CO
Cost: Free but unpaid. NIST says it’s working on adding a stipend. You cover your own housing and transport.
Dates: Seven weeks, from mid-June to early August. 2027 dates haven’t been set.
Application deadline: Applications open in mid-October 2026 and close at the end of January 2027.
Eligibility: U.S. citizens who are high school juniors or seniors when they apply, or recent graduates who haven’t started college. You need at least a 3.0 unweighted GPA and a permanent home within 50 miles of the campus you’d work at, with no exceptions. If you’re under 18 and placed in Gaithersburg, you’ll need a Maryland work permit.
NIST took 35 students from 338 complete applications in 2025, about 10%. You’ll join one of six labs and work with NIST staff on a research problem in areas like cryptography, nanomaterials, quantum optics, or fire protection. The summer ends with a poster session.
Who is it right for? A junior or senior living near Gaithersburg or Boulder who wants serious physical science or computing work and doesn’t need the paycheck.
6. Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) ASPIRE
Location: Johns Hopkins APL, Laurel, MD. The campus isn’t reachable by public transit, though a shuttle runs twice a day from the Laurel MARC station.
Cost: Free but unpaid.
Dates: At least 190 hours over the summer, at 30 to 40 hours a week. The most recent cycle ran from onboarding on June 23 to a final day on August 21. With your mentor’s okay, you can keep going during the school year, from mid-September to May, for up to 10 hours a week.
Application deadline: Applications opened January 1 and closed February 15 in the most recent posted cycle. APL hasn’t posted 2027 dates yet.
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors during the program (rising juniors and seniors apply), who are at least 15 by June 1, with a 2.8 GPA or higher. You must be a U.S. citizen (green card holders aren’t eligible) and live in one of these areas: Anne Arundel, Baltimore County, Baltimore City, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, or Prince George’s in Maryland; Alexandria, Arlington, or Fairfax in Virginia; or Washington, D.C.
ASPIRE places up to 200 students a summer, but only about 7% of applicants get in. You’ll work with an APL mentor on a project, and most placements are research or engineering work rather than wet lab science. APL says fewer than five students a year land in neuroscience or biomedical projects, so pick it for tech, not biology. It’s also one of the only lab programs that takes students at 15. You’ll present a poster at the end-of-summer showcase.
Who is it right for? A Maryland, Virginia, or D.C. student who’s into engineering, computing, or defense tech.
7. Genspace Biorocket Research Internship
Location: Genspace, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: Free, with a $2,000 stipend
Dates: Six months. In 2026, orientation was February 20, spring sessions ran February 25 to May 21 on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, and the summer program ran July 6 to August 14, Monday to Thursday in person with virtual Fridays.
Application deadline: Applications open November 1. Genspace doesn’t publish a deadline, and 2027 dates haven’t been posted.
Eligibility: Students who are 16 or older by orientation and who live in, or attend a New York City public or charter school, within 45 minutes of Genspace. You need to commit from February through August. Genspace says some exceptions are possible and encourages you to apply anyway.
Genspace is a community biology lab, and Biorocket is built as a long runway. You’ll learn lab techniques after school in the spring, then design and carry out a research project with a mentor over the summer. Along the way, you get lab tours, field trips, and improv training for explaining your science to actual humans. You’ll share your work with friends and family at the end. For more programs in this space, see our list of biotech internships.
The application asks for three essays and one reference. Starting from scratch in February and running your own project by July is a big jump, and that’s the point.
Who is it right for? A New York City student who wants a full six months to build lab skills before taking on a project.
8. Broad Summer Scholars Program (BSSP)
Location: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free, with a $3,600 stipend and partial reimbursement for transportation
Dates: Six weeks. The 2026 program ran June 29 to August 7.
Application deadline: The 2026 cycle opened November 24, 2025, and closed January 21, 2026. The Broad hasn’t posted 2027 dates yet.
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors (so you apply in junior year) who attend a Massachusetts high school within commuting distance of the Broad. You need a B or better in science and math. You must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or a non-citizen with employment authorization. No research experience is needed.
You’ll do original research alongside Broad scientists in areas like cancer biology and infectious disease. An on-staff tutor helps with the science you haven’t seen in school yet, and you’ll get poster training before the final poster session. There’s also a college fair and social events. The 2026 cohort had 18 scholars, so this is a small, selective group.
Who is it right for? A Massachusetts junior with strong science grades who wants a paid summer at one of the best-known biomedical institutes in the country.
West Coast research labs for local high school students
9. Berkeley Lab Experiences in Research (EinR)
Location: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA. In 2026, projects were hybrid or virtual depending on the team, with orientation and closing events in person.
Cost: Paid, $500 a week
Dates: Six weeks, about 30 to 35 hours a week. The 2026 program ran June 15 to July 24.
Application deadline: The 2026 window ran February 2 to March 22, 2026. Berkeley Lab hasn’t posted 2027 dates yet.
Eligibility: Current sophomores, juniors, and seniors who’ll be 16 by the mid-June start. You must live in Northern California, and students within 30 miles get priority. A 3.0 GPA is encouraged but not required. You can only do the program once.
Berkeley Lab accepts about 10% of applicants, and each mentor hosts just two or three interns. You’ll choose three preferred projects from areas like coding, data science, experimental research, and administration and communication. That last category is unusual, and it’s a real way in if you love science but want to work on how it’s shared.
Who is it right for? A Bay Area student, sophomores included, who wants a paid summer at a national lab.
10. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA (in person)
Cost: Free to attend. The application costs $50, waived for families earning under $80,000 a year. Stanford generally doesn’t give stipends, except a very limited number based on need.
Dates: June 7 to July 29, 2027 (tentative), eight weeks
Application deadline: The application opens December 18, 2026, and closes in late February 2027. Stanford hasn’t posted the exact closing date yet.
Eligibility: Juniors or seniors as of fall 2026 who’ll be 16 by the June 2027 start. You must be a U.S. citizen or green card holder living in and attending high school in the U.S. Selection strongly favors local students due to grant rules. Stanford doesn’t provide housing, and you must live with a family member or legal guardian during the program.
SIMR takes around 50 students into eight tracks: immunology, neurobiology, cancer biology, bioengineering, stem cell and regenerative medicine, cardiovascular biology, bioinformatics, and genetics and genomics. After opening lectures, you’ll spend about 40 hours a week in a Stanford lab with a grad student or postdoc mentor. It ends with a poster session.
Our complete guide to applying to SIMR walks through the application in detail, and our list of Stanford summer research programs covers other options on campus.
Who is it right for? A Bay Area junior set on medicine or biomedical research who can live with family near Stanford.
11. Salk Institute Heithoff-Brody High School Summer Scholars
Location: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
Cost: Paid internship. Salk doesn’t publish the amount. Transportation help, including public transit stipends, is available.
Dates: June 14 to August 6, 2027, at 30 to 40 hours a week
Application deadline: Applications open December 1, 2026, and close February 15, 2027.
Eligibility: San Diego County residents who’ll be at least 16 by the start of the internship, with at least a 2.75 GPA and at least one high school biology class. Chemistry is preferred but not required. You’ll need a work permit if you’re under 18.
You’ll work alongside Salk scientists on a research project for eight weeks. Seminars and workshops cover lab techniques, bioinformatics, data analysis, and science communication, and you’ll visit local biotech companies. The summer ends at the Summer Scholars Research Symposium. Salk has already posted its 2027 dates, so you can plan around them now.
Who is it right for? A San Diego County student who’s taken biology and wants a paid summer at a world-famous institute.
12. Fred Hutch Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
Location: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA (in person)
Cost: Free. You get a financial award when you finish the internship (amount not published) and a free ORCA transit card. Housing isn’t provided.
Dates: Eight weeks. The 2026 program ran June 22 to August 14.
Application deadline: March 13 for the 2026 cycle. Fred Hutch says it’ll post 2027 details in November.
Eligibility: Students entering their senior year who are 16 or older by the start date and live in Greater Seattle or nearby. You must be able to do a Zoom interview and attend all eight weeks.
You’ll spend the first two weeks learning lab safety and core techniques, then six weeks working in a Fred Hutch research group. Weekly seminars cover research ethics and professional development. It ends with a reflection presentation that’s open to the community. That means your family can come see what you did.
Who is it right for? A Seattle-area junior interested in cancer research who wants solid training before joining a lab.
Research labs for high school students in the Midwest and South
13. ORNL Next Generation STEM Internship (NGSI)
Location: Virtual, for residents of 10 East Tennessee counties: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Knox, Loudon, McMinn, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, and Sevier
Cost: Free, with a $125 weekly stipend for part-time work
Dates: January 26 to May 15 or May 22, 2027, about 16 to 17 weeks
Application deadline: October 21, 2026 for spring 2027. You’ll need two recommendations: one from a STEM teacher and one from your principal.
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors in 2026 to 2027, or recent graduates who haven’t started college, who are 16 by January 26, 2027. You need a 3.0 GPA, U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, health insurance, and a home in one of the 10 counties.
NGSI connects you with research and professional staff at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a STEM project, all from home. You’ll finish by writing a report graded against a rubric ORNL gives you. It runs during the school year, so it won’t eat your summer. If you miss this deadline, check the ORNL page for the next posted session.
Who is it right for? An East Tennessee junior or senior who wants national lab experience alongside school.
14. UW Carbone Cancer Center ARISE Summer Research Internship
Location: University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, WI
Cost: Not published on the main program page. Pay details are in the program information file linked from that page.
Dates: About eight weeks. The 2026 program ran June 15 to August 7.
Application deadline: The 2026 window ran December 1, 2025, to February 6, 2026. UW Carbone hasn’t posted 2027 dates yet.
Eligibility: High school students. Age, grade, and residency rules aren’t on the main page, so check the linked program details and FAQ before you apply.
You’ll be placed in a mentor’s lab to work on cancer research, with lab skills training, regular one-on-one check-ins with the lead scientist, and an individual project of your own. Beyond the lab, you’ll get career sessions with the Schools of Nursing and Pharmacy, a pathology experience, a medical ethics discussion, career panels, and a science presentation workshop. You apply with an unofficial transcript, two essays, and one recommendation.
For more options in the state, see our list of research programs in Wisconsin.
Who is it right for? A student near Madison who wants to see cancer research from the lab bench to the clinic.
Online research lab for high school students
15. Horizon Academic Research Program
Location: Online, over Zoom
Cost: $6,950 per course. Need-based financial aid is available for families earning under $75,000 a year.
Dates: Labs run year-round and usually take 12 to 16 weeks. Seminars run for 10 weeks in summer. Expect 8 to 10 hours a week.
Application deadline: Horizon runs several cohorts a year. For the winter cohort, the priority deadline is October 18, 2026, and the final deadline is November 22, 2026.
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 to 12 with a strong GPA (3.67 unweighted or equivalent). Most admitted students are sophomores and juniors.
Horizon’s Labs pair you one-on-one with a professor or PhD mentor for 15 sessions, plus four sessions with a writing coach and four with a publication specialist. You’ll pick one research question and work it through from start to finish. You end with a full research paper, usually around 5,000 words, that’s yours to submit to journals or competitions. Lab subjects include gene editing, neuroscience, protein biophysics, chemistry, fluid dynamics, applications of machine learning, and philosophy. Seminars put you in a small group of three to six students in subjects like AI and machine learning, behavioral economics, international relations, and psychology.
Who is it right for? A student who wants to own a research project from question to paper, whatever their location or time of year.
Want to find a lab that doesn’t run a formal program? Professors do sometimes take on high school students directly. Our guide to finding a research lab beyond cold emailing covers how to do that well, and our list of ways to get research opportunities in high school has more routes in.
FAQs about research labs for high school students
Yes. Stanford SIMR, Rockefeller SSRP, and UW Carbone ARISE all place high school students in university labs through formal programs. Outside those programs, some professors will take a high school student if you reach out with a clear interest in their work, though it’s less predictable. Our guide to getting into a top high school research program covers both paths.
Very. Johns Hopkins APL accepts about 7% of applicants. NIST took 35 of 338 complete applications in 2025. Berkeley Lab accepts about 10%. Many others, including the Broad and Salk, don’t publish acceptance rates but take small groups. Our list of the most competitive research programs goes deeper.
In open job postings, often yes. Sandia and AFRL both hire high school students alongside undergrads, and the college applicants usually have more coursework. That’s why programs built only for high schoolers, like SSRP, SIMR, and the Broad, are usually your best shot. You’re compared with other high school students there.
It’s harder. Most lab programs want juniors or seniors who are 16 or older. Berkeley Lab EinR takes sophomores, and APL ASPIRE takes students from age 15. Horizon accepts students in grades 9 to 12. If you’re just starting out, our list of research programs for complete beginners is a good place to look.
A few. ORNL’s NGSI runs virtually, but only for residents of 10 East Tennessee counties. Berkeley Lab ran some 2026 projects in a hybrid or virtual format, though you still had to live in Northern California. Horizon is fully online and open to students anywhere. You can also browse our list of online research mentorship programs.
Yes. ORNL NGSI runs from January to May. Genspace Biorocket starts with spring after-school sessions. APL ASPIRE lets some students continue into the school year, and Sandia hires year-round interns for up to 25 hours a week. Horizon’s Labs run year-round too.
Usually not. The Broad says no research experience is needed, and Rockefeller says it cares more about your interest in science than about your GPA. What helps is showing you’ve thought about a topic, whether through a class project, a science fair, or your own reading.
Horizon’s tuition is $6,950 per course. Families with household income under $75,000 can apply for need-based aid, and Horizon also offers merit scholarships to strong applicants in each cohort. See the programs page for current details.
Resources
Finding and getting into labs
- 7 ways to find a research lab as a high school student
- 10 best ways to get research opportunities in high school
- How to get into a top high school research program
- The ultimate guide to applying to SIMR
More research programs
- 14 high school research programs you need to check out
- Biology research programs for high school students
- Medical programs for high school students
- 16 fully funded STEM programs
- 15 lab opportunities in Boston
- 15 lab opportunities in Seattle
Writing up your research
- The ultimate guide to writing a research paper in 90 days
- How to publish research in high school
- Research journals for high school students
- Research competitions for high school students
Want to run a research project of your own?
At Horizon, you work one-on-one with a professor or PhD mentor on a research question you choose. Over 12 to 16 weeks, you’ll go from a rough idea to a finished paper of around 5,000 words, with a writing coach and a publication specialist helping you get it ready to submit to journals or competitions. Subjects run from gene editing and neuroscience to machine learning and philosophy.
It’s fully online, cohorts start several times a year, and need-based aid is available. Apply to Horizon here.
Image source: The Rockefeller University