October 7, 2026

The Ultimate Guide to the Natural History Research Experiences (NHRE)

TL;DR NHRE is the Smithsonian's paid 10-week research internship at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., with an $8,250 stipend, free housing, and up to $800 for travel. Below you'll find exactly who is eligible, what the stipend and housing cover, what past interns have researched, the full 2027 timeline, how selection…

TL;DR

NHRE is the Smithsonian’s paid 10-week research internship at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., with an $8,250 stipend, free housing, and up to $800 for travel. Below you’ll find exactly who is eligible, what the stipend and housing cover, what past interns have researched, the full 2027 timeline, how selection works, and what you can do while you are still in high school. Horizon Academic Research Program pairs you 1:1 with a PhD scholar or professor for a trimester of guided research, ending in a college-level research paper you can point to. Apply here, or come to the next info session first.

What is NHRE?

NHRE, short for Natural History Research Experiences, is a 10-week, full-time summer research internship at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) in Washington, D.C. The National Science Foundation funds it as a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site. Each intern is paired with a museum scientist and works on an independent project in one of seven research departments, from paleobiology to anthropology.

The program’s goal is to train the next generation of natural history researchers. It also aims to give strong undergraduates with few research opportunities a real chance to do research. That is why no prior research experience is required. Since 2010, NHRE interns have completed more than 150 research projects, and every one of them is listed on the past projects page.

Can high school students apply to NHRE?

Not while you are still in high school. The one exception, stated in the NHRE FAQ, is that high school graduates who have been accepted to a college but have not yet started classes are eligible.

The detail to watch is timing. The application closes in late January, but most seniors do not hear from colleges until March or April. If you were admitted through early decision or early action, you may already have that acceptance in hand. Either way, email the NHRE team to confirm your situation before you spend hours on the application.

If you are…	Can you apply?
A high school freshman, sophomore or junior	Not yet
A high school senior accepted to college	Yes, as a graduate who has not started college. Confirm your timing with NHRE first
A college first-year, sophomore or junior	Yes
A community college student working toward an associate degree	Yes
A college senior graduating before the summer	No

Who is eligible to apply?

Requirement	Detail
Citizenship status	U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or U.S. permanent residents. International students cannot apply
Enrollment	Enrolled part-time or full-time in a program leading to a bachelor’s or associate degree
High school graduates	Eligible if accepted to college and not yet enrolled
Transfer students	Eligible if transferring between schools and not enrolled anywhere over the summer
Graduating seniors	Not eligible if you will already have your bachelor’s degree
Research experience	None required
GPA	No minimum is listed
Availability	Full-time for all 10 weeks. You must arrive by the Monday after the first week, and only if you cannot move a final exam, then stay through the last day

What does NHRE pay?

An $8,250 stipend for the 10 weeks. That works out to about $825 a week.
Up to $800 in travel support. It covers getting to and from Washington, D.C.
Free housing at George Washington University. Interns live in single rooms in dorm suites with kitchen access, and living in the dorms is required so the cohort builds a community.
$1,500 in conference support. It is available once you complete the program, so you can present your work at a professional meeting.
No cost to take part. There is no program fee, and you will not need a car, since you can walk or take public transit to the museum.

Paid research summers like this are rare, and they are rarer still for high school students. Our lists of fully funded STEM programs, paid research mentorship programs and free university science summer programs cover the ones you can do now.

What do NHRE interns actually do?

NHRE is a full-time job: 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday, for 10 weeks. There is no scheduled vacation, though short excused absences can be approved by the director and your mentor.

When	What you do
Monday to Thursday	Work on your project with your mentor, using museum collections and lab spaces most visitors never see
Fridays	Department lectures, behind-the-scenes collection tours and professional development seminars with your cohort
End of summer	Present your results as a research poster

Can you design your own project? Partly. Mentors design most NHRE projects, though some are intern-led. When you apply, you name a field of interest and, if you want, the scientists you would like to work with, and the program matches you from there. If you are curious what happens to student research after a program ends, read what you can actually do with a high school research paper.

What kinds of research projects do NHRE interns do?

Every NHRE project sits in one of NMNH’s seven research departments, and the range is wide. Here is what each department studies, with a real past project from the NHRE archive.

Department	What it studies	A past NHRE project
Anthropology	Human biology, culture and archaeology	Using 3D scanning to connect the Native Village of Igiugig, Alaska, with objects from its culture held in museum collections (2023)
Botany	Plants and how they evolved	Tracking how Cissus plants in Mexico evolved in shape, family tree and range (2025)
Entomology	Insects and their relatives	See the biology projects page
Invertebrate Zoology	Animals without backbones, from corals to squid	The ecology and habitat use of the North Atlantic deep-sea squat lobster (2024)
Mineral Sciences	Minerals, meteorites, volcanoes and planets	A multiscale analysis of boulders on the asteroid Bennu (2021)
Paleobiology	Fossils and the history of life	What fossil pollen reveals about North American plants during ancient warm periods (2025)
Vertebrate Zoology	Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals	A 3D atlas of the flight anatomy of the southern screamer, a South American bird (2025)

The practical use of this table is your application. NHRE asks you to name a field and, optionally, a scientist, so reading the department pages and past projects now gives you something specific to write about. If you want to start exploring questions in these areas, our biology research topics, STEM research topics and history research topics lists are good places to begin.

When is the NHRE deadline, and what happens at each stage?

Phase	When	What you do
1. Application opens	Mid-November 2026	Create an account on NSF ETAP and find the NHRE opportunity page
2. Info sessions	December 14, 2026, 12:00 p.m. ET and January 12, 2027, 3:00 p.m. ET	Join on Zoom and ask questions about research areas and the application
3. Application deadline	January 22, 2027	Submit your résumé, recent transcripts, one reference letter and an essay on your interest in NHRE and natural history
4. Finalists notified	Early March 2027	Finalists are matched with mentors and projects
5. All decisions	By April 1, 2027	Selected students get an offer letter naming their mentor, department and project
6. Program	June 1 to August 6, 2027	Ten weeks of full-time research in Washington, D.C.

NHRE applications go through the National Science Foundation’s ETAP system, not a Smithsonian portal. Your recommender submits their letter directly, so ask them at least a month before January 22. Dates can shift, so confirm them on the official apply page before you start.

How competitive is NHRE?

NHRE does not publish an acceptance rate, but the cohorts are small. From 2010 to 2021, the program hosted about 15 to 18 interns each summer.

Selection runs by discipline. Museum staff read applications within each field. Finalists are then read and ranked by at least three staff members. Final offers depend on matching each finalist with a mentor and a project. That means your choice of field matters, since every offer depends on a scientist in that field having room for you.

About half of NHRE interns come from colleges that mainly serve undergraduates, not large research universities. Most are rising sophomores, juniors or seniors. Our lists of the most prestigious summer research programs with low acceptance rates and the most competitive research programs put that in context.

What does NHRE look for?

NHRE wants students who show promise as future leaders in natural history and who would benefit significantly from the summer. In practice, that comes down to five things.

A specific field, not a general love of nature. Name a question and, if one fits, a scientist whose work matches it. Vague interest gives the program nothing to match you with.
A recommender who knows your work. NHRE says college professors are ideal, and a high school teacher works if you are a first-year student. Someone who can describe what you actually did beats someone with a bigger title.
A clear reason this summer matters to you. The essay should connect NHRE to where you are headed, because the program is looking for students who will get a high-impact benefit from it.
Evidence of curiosity, even without research experience. Class projects, science fairs, field work and museum volunteering all count. Our guide to research programs for complete beginners covers ways to get some first.
Full availability. NHRE has strict attendance rules, so sort out exam dates and summer plans before you apply, not after you get an offer.

The strongest applicants usually arrive with some research behind them already. Our guides on how to get research opportunities in high school, how to find a research lab and why starting research early matters show you where to begin.

Is NHRE worth applying to?

Yes, if you are eligible and can commit to a full summer in D.C. Here is the honest split.

In its favor	Against it
Your own project with a working museum scientist	In person only, with 10 weeks in Washington, D.C.
Paid, with housing and travel covered	Full-time, so a summer job or class is hard to fit in
Access to collections the public never sees	Open only to U.S. citizens, nationals and permanent residents
No research experience required	Small cohorts, so many strong applicants miss out
$1,500 to present at a conference afterward	Not open to current high school students

What else should you apply to at the same time?

Never build your summer around one small-cohort program. These are the closest alternatives, including one you can do while you are still in high school.

NMNH Summer High School Internship, the Smithsonian’s own internship for current high school students ages 15 to 18, at the same museum. The most recent cycle (2026) ran June 23 to August 14, Tuesday to Friday, paid a $5,600 stipend with lunch and transportation, and closed March 20. It is open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
American Museum of Natural History REU, a 10-week summer program in New York City paying about $8,000 in biology or $7,000 in the physical sciences, plus housing. It is open to students entering or continuing in a bachelor’s or associate degree program, with deadlines usually in January.
Smithsonian-Mason School of Conservation REU, a 10-week conservation biology program in Front Royal, Virginia, paying a $7,000 stipend plus housing and meals. It is open to undergraduates 18 and older, and the most recent deadline was January 30, 2026.
The NSF’s searchable REU site directory, which lets you filter paid undergraduate research programs by subject and location.

If you are still in high school, work through our subject lists, because programs built for high schoolers are the ones you can actually get into now: natural sciences research programs, biology research programs, biology camps, summer research programs, summer research mentorship programs and research programs in NYC.

One more option: Horizon Academic Research Program

NHRE rewards students who can name a question, work alongside a scientist, and explain what they found. A research project in high school is one of the clearest ways to build exactly that. It produces something concrete, it runs over months rather than a weekend, and it gives you a specific answer when an application asks why this field and why now.

Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs pair you 1:1 with a PhD scholar for a trimester of guided research on a subject you choose. You finish with a college-level research paper. Horizon has worked with more than 1,000 students, and it is selective. Only 26% of 6,539 applicants were admitted. Apply here, or come to the next info session first. Our post on how to apply to Horizon has tips from the admissions committee.

Frequently asked questions

Can high school students apply to NHRE?

Only after graduating, once you have been accepted to college and before you start classes. Current high school students are not eligible. If you are a senior with an early acceptance, email the NHRE team to confirm your timing before you apply.

Is NHRE paid?

Yes. Interns receive an $8,250 stipend for the 10 weeks. NHRE also provides free housing, up to $800 in travel support and $1,500 in conference support after you finish, and there is no cost to take part.

When is the NHRE deadline?

January 22, 2027, for the summer 2027 program. Applications open in mid-November 2026 through NSF ETAP, finalists hear in early March, and all applicants hear by April 1.

What is the NHRE acceptance rate?

NHRE does not publish one. What it does show is small cohorts, about 15 to 18 interns a summer between 2010 and 2021, with offers depending on mentor availability in each field.

Can international students apply to NHRE?

No. NHRE is open only to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals and U.S. permanent residents.

Is NHRE online or in person?

In person, at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. Every intern lives in George Washington University dorms for the summer.

Do I need research experience to apply?

No. The program states that no prior research experience is required, and it was set up for students who have had few research opportunities.

Who should write my NHRE recommendation letter?

A college professor who knows your work is ideal. If you are a first-year student, a high school teacher works, and an employer or academic advisor who can speak to your potential is also acceptable.

Can I choose my own NHRE project?

Partly. You name a field and, if you want, specific scientists when you apply. Mentors design most projects, though some are intern-led.

What should I do if I am still in high school?

Start research now, so you have something specific to write about when you are eligible. Apply to the NMNH Summer High School Internship if you can get to D.C., or join a mentored program like Horizon, which pairs high school students with a PhD scholar or professor for a full research project.

Resources

More from Horizon

Image source: Smithsonian Institution

Bridget Carl

Bridget is a Program Director at Horizon Academic. She holds a BS in Public Health and Economics from The George Washington University, where she earned special distinction from her research on the Affordable Care Act individual mandate and open healthcare markets in the US. She also holds a MS in Data Analytics and Policy from Johns Hopkins University where she continued her research focus on public policy and social services, fueled with data science, machine learning and modeling, and cloud computing.

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