If you’re a high school student in Dallas interested in science, technology, engineering, or math, participating in a local STEM research program can be a great way to deepen your knowledge and build hands-on experience. These programs allow you to move beyond textbooks and learn how to ask original questions, design experiments, analyze data, and present findings—skills that are foundational in both college and careers.
Dallas is an excellent place to explore research opportunities thanks to its growing innovation economy, popular universities, and proximity to major healthcare and tech institutions, including hospitals.
By joining a research program, you’ll gain valuable skills in scientific communication, collaboration, and critical thinking, while also expanding your academic network. Whether you’re interested in biomedical research, computer science, environmental studies, or engineering, Dallas offers a range of programs that can help you explore your interests and strengthen your future college applications.
To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of 15 STEM research programs for high school students in Dallas.
1. UT Dallas’s Intensive Research Internship in CS Labs
As an intern at UT Dallas’s CS Lab, you can expect to delve into scientific research with a specific project or lab. The program expects you to dedicate 20 – 40 hours each week, depending on project requirements. To ensure you understand how research is conducted in computer science, you will engage in a variety of tasks, including reading research papers, conducting simulations, developing an app for specific functionality, and more. By the end of the program, you will complete your paper and presentation, thus developing your coding skills and knowledge of new technologies.
Location: Richardson, TX
Cost/Stipend: $1,000
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Program Dates: June 9 – August 1
Eligibility: Students aged 15 years and older by the start of the program
2. Horizon Academic Research Program
Horizon’s trimester-long research program allows high school students to delve into various disciplines. Choosing from quantitative or qualitative methodologies, you will complete original research in a subject area of your choice, including data science, machine learning, political theory, and more.
You will be paired with a professional or PhD scholar who will mentor you throughout the program as you complete your research. By the end of the program, you will have completed a 20-page research paper that can be submitted to journals for publishing. You will receive a letter of recommendation and thorough feedback to help you in your future research.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $5,950 (financial aid is available)
Application Date: Multiple deadlines throughout the year for the Spring, Summer, and Fall cohorts.
Program Dates: The spring and fall cohorts run 15 weeks, while the summer cohort runs 10 weeks (June – September).
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a couple of tracks require formal prerequisites, more details of which can be found here.
3. UT Dallas’s Deep-dive AI Workshop
This in-person workshop is designed for students who want to develop advanced coding and critical analysis skills over the course of 8 weeks. The workshops are taught by doctoral and graduate students from UT Dallas’s computer science department, along with a faculty lead. The program covers several topics, including an introduction to Python programming and tools for data analysis like NumPy, pandas, and graphics. It addresses data processing with various file formats, loading into data frames, and performing essential statistical operations.
Additionally, the program introduces machine learning concepts and AI/ML model building with techniques such as decision trees and neural networks. It also delves into deep neural networks using TensorFlow and explores convolutional neural networks (CNN) and recurrent neural networks (RNN). Finally, it discusses model evaluation metrics, including accuracy, error rates, and the ROC curve.
You will apply what you learn to complete a practical project. You will receive a camp completion certificate and a recommendation letter based on your performance.
Location: Richardson, TX
Cost/Stipend: $1,600. 50% discount for low-income families
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Program Dates: June 9 – August 1
Eligibility: Students aged 15 years and older by the start of the program who are familiar with Python programming and high school level math
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is an intense program designed for high school students. Working 1-on-1 with Ph.D. mentors, you will complete an independent research project in a field of your interest. With a scheduled timeline over 12 weeks, you will have completed original research. You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Remote — you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Cost: Starting at $2,990
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer (June – August), Fall (September – December), Winter (December – February), and Spring (March – June).
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school. Students must demonstrate a high level of academic achievement (Note: accepted students have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4). No previous knowledge of your field of interest is required!
5. UT Southwestern’s Summer Research Program for Students
Aiming to encourage students to pursue science, the Summer Research Program invites them to conduct scientific research over a period of eight weeks. You will work alongside a faculty host in a biomedical laboratory to learn how research is conducted; therefore, prior experience in the field is not required. After completing the program, you will serve as an emissary by presenting your research findings at your school.
Location: Dallas, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free; stipend is available.
Application Deadline: January 20
Program Dates: 8 weeks in the summer
Eligibility: High school juniors who are at least 16 years old by June 1 and can demonstrate a strong academic record
6. Summer Research Workshops @ UT Dallas
The summer research workshops are for high school students to discover research in various subjects. Some of the workshops available are Quantum Computing, Foundations of Computational Biology, Natural Language Processing with Python, Quality of Life Technology, and more.
Each workshop usually ends with a final project or paper related to the research area. The various workshops will help you develop skills in coding, data visualization, system building, and so on.
Location: Richmond, TX
Cost/Stipend: $700 (in-person) or $600 (virtual)
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Program Dates: June 9 – August 1
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are at least 15 years old for the in-person component
7. George A. Jeffrey NanoExplorers Program
In another program, UT Dallas offers students the opportunity to explore the field of nanotechnology. Based on your interests, you will be assigned to a faculty member’s research lab where you will conduct original research. This experience teaches you how to conduct research, test your ideas, and develop new concepts.
Training is provided for lab safety and proper research techniques. Your work, which will be associated with funded programs at the university, will allow you to deliver real results, which you will present at the annual research symposium.
Location: Richardson, TX
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: March 28
Program Dates: June 2 – August 1
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 10 – 12
8. TCU Neeley Analytics Academy
If you’re looking to explore data and analytics, the TCU Neeley Analytics Academy could help you learn about and develop your skills in the subject. The hands-on experience covers data analytics and market research through statistical programs, data-driven storytelling, and data visualization. Modules on machine learning, modeling techniques, and artificial intelligence form an integral part of the program.
Formal instruction teaches you to build models to explore business performance and understand how data can impact profitability. You will also receive guidance on identifying, collecting, and analyzing data and participating in team projects. You will receive a data analytics certificate upon completing the program.
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Cost/Stipend: $1,800
Application Deadline: April 11
Program Dates: July 13 – 18
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 11 – 12
9. Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program
Depending on your location, the Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program matches you with a local mentor. During the 8-week internship, you may work outdoors in the field, on a boat, in a laboratory, and in an office to learn about fisheries and aquatic science.
As part of the internship, you may conduct fish population surveys, establish aquatic vegetation and fish habitats, engage in electrofishing, snorkeling, examine specimens under a microscope, test water quality, process data, and assist with children’s educational programs. You may also get the opportunity to go on an overnight field trip.
Location: Various locations across the country
Cost/Stipend: Free; Stipend of $3,000
Application Deadline: January 19
Program Dates: 8 weeks during the summer, but exact start and end dates are flexible and arranged between the student and their mentor
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors who are at least 16 years old by the start of the program
10. ACS Project Seed Program
This summer fellowship is for students interested in chemistry. Working in a lab setting, you will complete original research independently or in a group. You will be mentored by a scientist and, by the end of the summer, will write a report and prepare a poster. Besides research, you may also go on field trips and campus tours, attend career panels, and participate in poster/science fair competitions. After completing the Summer I program, you may participate in Summer II and build on the previous research or begin new research.
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free; Stipend of $4,000
Application Deadline: April 14
Program Dates: 8 – 10 weeks from June – August
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, or seniors who have completed at least one course of high school chemistry and whose family’s annual income does not exceed 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines based on family size
11. Army Educational Outreach Program High School Internships
Mentored by a university researcher or DoD scientist, high school students can conduct research in this program. The program provides students with access to advanced technology. In the Dallas program, you will collaborate with the Primary Investigator on two key areas:
- Creating an experimental database to measure how sand particles affect flow statistics across a model rotor blade.
- Formulating an initial theoretical framework to identify the main dimensional parameters influencing particle-blade interactions, which lead to an aerodynamic penalty.
By the end of the term, you will submit an abstract of your research, which will be published in the online AEOP Research Journal. You are also encouraged to participate in weekly centralized virtual workshops and webinars, and submit your research to competitions and conferences.
Location: Various locations across the country, including the University of Texas at Dallas
Cost/Stipend: Free; interns typically receive a stipend
Application Deadline: On a rolling basis
Program Dates: 6 – 10 weeks from May – August
Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents and are at least 14 years old
12. SMU Lyle School of Engineering’s Engineering Design Experience
This residential camp introduces high school students to engineering or other STEM disciplines: Civil and Environmental, Computer Science, Electrical and Computer, Operations Research and Engineering Management, and Mechanical Engineering. In a design studio, you will work on group and individual projects and complete a prototype for a real-world challenge.
SMU Lyle undergraduate students and alumni act as camp counselors and mentors. Project and skill-building workshops dive into engineering, mathematical, and scientific practices and core conceptual frameworks. You will present your completed prototype on the last day of the camp.
Location: Dallas, TX
Cost/Stipend: $1,400
Application Deadline: Applications open on February 17
Program Dates: Female Camp: June 2 – 6 or June 16 – 20 | Male Camp: June 9 – 13 or June 23 – 27
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
13. Parkland Health’s Workforce Development High School Summer Internship Program
This summer internship provides high school students with hands-on experience in the healthcare industry. In a non-clinical environment, you will prepare for a career in healthcare, whether in a clinical or administrative capacity.
Working 20 hours per week, you will provide crucial support to the department to which you are assigned. Although you will not be engaged in clinical work or interact with patients, you can learn how a healthcare organization operates.
Location: Dallas, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free; Stipend $18.25 per hour.
Application Deadline: March 14
Program Dates: 8 weeks in the summer
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors attending a public high school in the Dallas Fort Worth area who are at least 16 years old by the start of the program and have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
14. Texas Health’s High School Student Service Learning Program
In the HSSSL Program, you will gain experience in clinical and non-clinical departments of the hospital. You will explore various career opportunities, including clinical and business operations. In a small cohort of 20 students, you will dedicate 16 hours weekly during the program. Developing skills in teamwork and administration, this volunteering opportunity can also help boost your profile.
Location: Arlington, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free
Application Deadline: February 2
Program Dates: Begins on June 2
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old by May 1
Image source – The University of Texas at Dallas