Physics Internships for High School Students (2027)

TL;DR

You’ll find 21 physics internships, each with its location, cost or pay, cohort size, dates, application deadline, and who’s eligible. A summer internship puts you inside someone else’s project for a few weeks. Horizon gives you your own research question. You’ll work one-on-one with a professor or PhD mentor for a full term and finish with a paper. It’s fully online, with cohorts starting three times a year.

A physics internship isn’t a class. There’s no problem set, and the answer isn’t in the back of the book. You get handed a question, you work next to someone who’s been chasing it for years, and you spend a few weeks trying to find something out.

Some days that means aligning the same mirror for three hours. Some days it means plotting data that refuses to make sense. Either way, you leave with a measurable outcome, whether that’s a poster, a technical report, or a measurement that ends up in someone’s paper.

Which areas of physics can high school students work in?

• Astrophysics and space science: Harvard-Smithsonian SRMP, NASA SEES, or Simons.
• Particle and nuclear physics. Fermilab PRISM or Brookhaven.
• Lasers, plasma and fusion. Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics
• Optics, photonics and quantum measurement. NIST SHIP or AFRL Scholars Program.
• Materials and condensed matter. Oak Ridge, or Sandia
• Aerospace and applied physics. Lockheed Martin Space, or Horizon’s Fluid Dynamics and Physics lab.
• Computational physics. ASSIP or Berkeley Lab.

Not sure how to turn an interest into a question yet? Browse 200 STEM research topics or 49 research topics for high school students.

Which one should you choose?

Four groups. Find the row that sounds like you and jump straight there.

Choose this group if…	Group
You live anywhere in the US	Open to students in any state
You live near a national lab	Paid national lab internships with a regional rule
You live in one of the named counties or school districts	Limited to one district, county, or state
You want a paid job rather than a research placement	Paid roles in industry and museums

Different angle calling you? Try physics research programs, physics research opportunities, or free physics summer programs.

Physics internships open to students in any state

1. Simons Summer Research Program, Stony Brook University

Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York. In person only, as a commuter or in campus housing

Cost: No tuition or fees. You cover travel and either dining or residential costs. A stipend is awarded at the closing symposium; amount not published

Cohort size: Not published. Acceptance rate is about 5%

Dates: June 29 to August 7 for the 2026 cycle

Application Deadline: February 5, 2026 for the 2026 cycle, with school nominations due January 30. Applications for 2027 open in late November 2026

Eligibility: In 11th grade when you apply, at least 16 by the start date, and a US citizen or permanent resident. Visa holders without a green card can’t apply

You join a faculty research group and take ownership of a project inside it. That’s a different experience from being handed busywork. Physics and astronomy faculty take students most years, though the group you land in depends on who’s hosting that summer. The program ends with a written abstract and a poster.

Selectivity is the catch. About 5% get in, which makes this one of the hardest placements here to win. If that’s the tier you’re aiming at, read it alongside the most competitive research programs.

Who is it right for? A junior with strong grades and a teacher who will nominate them, who can get to Long Island for six weeks.

2. Anson L. Clark Scholars Program, Texas Tech University

Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. In person and residential

Cost: $25 application fee and no program fee. Housing, meals, and weekend activities are covered, and you get a $750 stipend once you turn in your research report. You pay your own travel

Cohort size: Twelve scholars

Dates: June 21 to August 6, 2026. Seven weeks

Application Deadline: February 16, 2026 at 11:59 PM Central. The 2027 cycle isn’t posted yet

Eligibility: Rising seniors and recent graduates finishing high school in 2026 or 2027, at least 17 by the start date, and US citizens or permanent residents

This is one of very few programs in the country that is national, free, residential, and paid all at once. You work one-on-one with a faculty member, physics included. Weekly seminars fill in the rest. Twelve spots against a national applicant pool is brutal math. But covered room and board plus a stipend makes it worth the essay, above all if cost is what’s ruling other programs out for you.

Who is it right for? A rising senior who can commit seven full weeks away from home and wants a faculty mentor rather than a group placement.

3. AFRL Scholars Program, Air Force Research Laboratory

Location: Fourteen AFRL sites, including Edwards Air Force Base and San Diego in California, Kirtland in New Mexico, Wright-Patterson in Ohio, Rome Laboratory in New York, and AMOS in Hawaii

Cost: Free. High school scholars earn $506.80 a week at the standard rate. Edwards pays $874.62 a week plus $269 a week toward cost of living and a one-time $1,129 transportation payment, and Whiteman pays $715.60 a week

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: Summer 2027. Length varies by site and funding, with an eight-week minimum and up to one week of leave

Application Deadline: January 11, 2027 at 23:59:59 Central. The window opens October 12, 2026

Eligibility: Upper-level high school students who are 16 or older by the deadline, and 18 or older for the California sites. US citizenship is required by the deadline and permanent residents aren’t eligible. Enrollment at least half time, a 3.0 GPA encouraged rather than required, and a background check

The work is heavy on physics. What kind depends on the site: rocket propulsion at Edwards, directed energy and space vehicles at Kirtland, optical space surveillance at AMOS, and materials and sensors at Wright-Patterson. You’re placed on an assigned project next to full-time scientists and engineers, 40 hours a week.

Who is it right for? A student who wants defense and aerospace physics, holds US citizenship, and can commute to one of the fourteen bases.

4. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP), US Navy

Location: Thirty-eight Navy laboratories nationwide, including Port Hueneme and San Diego in California, Patuxent River in Maryland, Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, and Charleston in South Carolina

Cost: Free. New participants earn $4,000 and returning participants earn $4,500, paid by direct deposit every two weeks

Cohort size: About 300 placements across all 38 labs

Dates: Eight weeks over the summer, with a possible extension of up to two more weeks

Application Deadline: November 30, 2026 for the 2027 cycle. The window opened September 15, 2026, so it’s open right now

Eligibility: Completed at least grade 9, currently enrolled in high school, and 16 by the internship start date. Graduating seniors are eligible. US citizenship is required, though the program notes that some labs make exceptions

SEAP is the closest thing to a national paid physics internship for this age group. Placement is lab by lab rather than into one cohort. So what you work on depends on where you’re matched. Acoustics, sensors, materials, and oceanographic work are the strongest physics fits. Several labs are biomedical instead.

Who is it right for? A sophomore, junior, or senior with US citizenship who wants to be paid properly and doesn’t mind a matching process.

5. AEOP Internships and Fellowships, US Army

Location: Army research labs and partner university labs across the country. There’s no static site list, only a searchable map

Cost: Free and paid, though the exact figures aren’t published

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: Most summer roles expect about 40 hours a week for 6 to 10 weeks between May and August

Application Deadline: Varies by opportunity. Applications are always open and each posting sets its own closing date

Eligibility: At least 14, and either enrolled in high school or within 60 months of a high school degree. US citizens and permanent legal residents are both eligible. Eighth graders can’t apply

This used to be called the High School Apprenticeship Program, and plenty of lists still use that name and the old link. The current program is broader than physics, with published fields including energetics, materials science, cybersecurity, and biology. Energetics and materials are where the physics lives.

Who is it right for? A younger student, or a permanent resident shut out of AFRL and SEAP, who wants a paid federal placement.

6. Student Internships, Sandia National Laboratories

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico and Livermore, California

Cost: Free. All interns are paid hourly as temporary employees, at a rate based on classification and degree level. The rate isn’t published

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: Summer internships typically run 10 to 12 weeks from May to the last Thursday in August. Year-round internships are part time during the school year, up to 25 hours a week for high school students, and co-ops run 3 to 8 months

Application Deadline: Varies by posting. Openings go up continuously rather than in one annual round

Eligibility: At least 16 years old. A 3.0 GPA for research, technical, or business roles, and 2.5 for clerical or laborer roles. US citizenship is required for roles needing a security clearance, or where the job posting says so

Sandia is a national security lab with deep physics, materials, and engineering work. It hires high school students into real roles rather than a separate youth program. You apply through the careers tool like any other candidate, and recruiters screen resumes.

Who is it right for? A self-directed student near Albuquerque or Livermore who would rather apply to a job than a program.

7. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP), George Mason University

Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Remote, in person, or hybrid

Cost: $25 application fee, waivable for financial need. Three optional undergraduate credits cost $1,299 and are also waivable. There’s no stipend

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: June 18 to August 12, 2026. Eight weeks, full time

Application Deadline: The 2026 cycle has closed and 2027 isn’t posted yet. Applications have historically opened in the fall

Eligibility: High school and undergraduate students. Age 15 by the start date for the remote track, 16 for in-person or hybrid lab work. Citizenship and residency requirements aren’t published

The remote track is the reason this one matters. Very few mentored research placements let you take part from another state, and ASSIP does, which makes it one of the few national options for a student who can’t relocate. Astronomy and physics are both listed research areas.

You get a mentor, a lab project, and scientific writing instruction across eight full-time weeks. It’s unpaid, so treat it as a time investment rather than a summer job.

Who is it right for? A student anywhere in the country who wants mentored research and can give it full-time hours without needing to be paid.

8. NASA SEES High School Summer Intern Program, UT Austin

Location: University of Texas Center for Space Research, Austin. Hybrid, with virtual project work from May to July plus two weeks onsite

Cost: $2,000 for the onsite track, covering meals, housing, and local transport but not travel to Austin. Scholarships cover tuition, meals, housing, and local travel, and travel-support scholarships exist and don’t affect selection. Virtual participation costs nothing, and there’s no stipend

Cohort size: 215 accepted from about 2,000 applications in 2024

Dates: Virtual projects run June to July 21, 2026, onsite runs July 5 to 18, and the symposium is July 20 to 21

Application Deadline: February 22, 2026 for the 2026 cycle. The 2027 cycle isn’t posted yet

Eligibility: Current sophomores or juniors only, 16 by July 5, and US citizens. Past participants can’t reapply

SEES is space and Earth science with NASA-connected mentors, field investigations, a visit to Johnson Space Center, and a closing symposium. If your interest sits at the astrophysics and remote-sensing end of physics, this is the best-known option here without a residency rule.

This is not the same thing as a NASA OSTEM internship. OSTEM now publishes college enrollment as a requirement and no longer lists high school eligibility, so any list still sending high schoolers there is out of date.

Who is it right for? A sophomore or junior interested in space science who can cover, or win a scholarship for, the $2,000 onsite fee.

9. Horizon Academic Research Program

Location: Fully online, from anywhere in the world

Cost: $6,950 per course, with need-based financial aid for families earning under $75,000. There’s also a $695 scholarship for non-aid applicants in the top 25%, and a $3,000 scholarship for the strongest application in each cohort

Cohort size: Seminars average 4 students and cap at 6; Labs are one-on-one. 26% acceptance rate

Dates: Seminars run about 10 weeks and Labs run 12 to 16 weeks, at 8 to 10 hours a week. The Winter 2026 cohort starts December 14, 2026

Application Deadline: November 22, 2026 for the Winter 2026 cohort

Eligibility: Grades 9 to 12 with an unweighted GPA of 3.67 or equivalent. No citizenship or location requirements

Horizon’s catalog has a physics-titled course, Fluid Dynamics and Physics, which runs as a one-to-one PhD Lab and asks for a year of calculus and a year of physics first. Topics include oceanic and atmospheric waves, aerodynamic optimization, animal locomotion, and renewable energy. Protein Biophysics and Computational Neuroscience sit nearby if your interest is physics applied to living systems.

You work with a professor or PhD mentor for a full term and finish with a paper that belongs to you, and you can submit it to journals or competitions on your own.

Who is it right for? Students who want a research paper under their own name, and who either have no program running locally or can’t commit an entire summer.

Paid physics internships at national labs, with a regional rule

10. Program for Research, Innovation, and STEM Mentorship (PRISM), Fermilab

Location: Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois. A mix of onsite and offsite work

Cost: Free, and you’re paid $500 a week

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: July 12 to August 6, 2027. Four weeks

Application Deadline: The window runs January 12 to March 1, 2027. This is a live, currently posted cycle

Eligibility: Enrolled at an Illinois high school, a senior in 2027 to 2028 or a 2027 graduate, a US citizen, and carrying medical insurance

Fermilab is the country’s particle physics laboratory. PRISM puts you next to that work in particle physics, quantum science, engineering design, and AI. You produce a research abstract, a poster, and a final presentation. That’s a stronger output set than most four-week programs manage.

Who is it right for? An Illinois senior who wants particle physics and a paycheck without giving up the whole summer.

11. Next Generation STEM Internship (NGSI), Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Location: Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Onsite

Cost: Free, and you’re paid $500 a week at full-time participation

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: June 8 to July 24, 2026 for the summer round, running 7 to 10 weeks. A separate fall round also runs

Application Deadline: February 26, 2026 for the summer 2026 round

Eligibility: Rising juniors or seniors for 2026 to 2027, or recent graduates. You must be 16 at appointment, a US citizen or permanent resident, hold a 3.0 GPA, and live in Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Knox, Loudon, Morgan, Roane, or Sevier County, Tennessee

Oak Ridge is a Department of Energy national lab with serious materials, neutron science, and computing programs, and physics is a listed eligible discipline. You’re assigned to a research group and paid properly for the work.

Who is it right for? An East Tennessee junior or senior with a 3.0 GPA who wants paid lab work close to home.

12. High School Research Program, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Location: Upton, New York, on Long Island. Onsite, Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, with no vacation days

Cost: Not published. Whether a stipend is paid is also not published

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: July 6 to August 14, 2026. Six weeks

Application Deadline: March 20, 2026 at 5 PM for the 2026 cycle, with applications having opened January 12

Eligibility: Recommended for students who have completed 11th grade. At least 16 by the start, a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, and carrying active health insurance

Brookhaven runs the National Synchrotron Light Source II and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, plus a large nuclear physics program. So the physics here is current and real. You work on a project with lab staff and present at a poster session or as a talk.

Who is it right for? A Long Island student who has finished 11th grade and can get to Upton five days a week.

13. Summer High School Research Program, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester

Location: Rochester, New York. In person, eight weeks

Cost: Free. Students receive a stipend, and the amount isn’t published

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: Not published for the most recent cycle

Application Deadline: Not published. The program page states that summer 2026 applications have closed, and no 2027 cycle is posted yet

Eligibility: Entering 12th grade, and a Rochester-area high school student

This is the strongest laser, plasma, and optics placement open to a high school student anywhere in the US. The lab runs one of the largest laser systems in the world. Interns take mentored projects with staff scientists across laser physics, optics, plasma, and materials science, with weekly seminars and a closing symposium.

Who is it right for? A Rochester-area student entering senior year who wants laser and plasma physics specifically.

14. Experiences in Research, Berkeley Lab

Location: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California. Projects are hybrid or virtual depending on the host office and the scope of work

Cost: Free, and you’re paid $500 a week

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: June 15 to July 24, 2026. Six weeks at 30 to 35 hours a week

Application Deadline: March 22, 2026 for the 2026 cycle, with applications having opened February 2. No 2027 cycle is posted yet

Eligibility: Current 10th, 11th, and 12th graders enrolled in Northern California, at least 16 by the start date, with experience working independently. Students within 30 miles of the lab get priority, Oakland Unified students also file the ECCCO common application, and former interns can’t reapply

Berkeley Lab placements span experimental research, data science, coding-heavy work, and communications. So a physics project is possible rather than guaranteed. The lab runs a separate program called Physics In and Through Cosmology if physics specifically is what you’re after.

Who is it right for? A Northern California sophomore, junior, or senior who wants paid lab experience without a daily commute.

Physics internships limited to one district, county, or state

15. ASPIRE, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Location: Laurel, Maryland. In person, 30 to 40 hours a week through the summer

Cost: Free, and unpaid. APL describes ASPIRE as an unpaid, intensive internship experience

Cohort size: Not published. The acceptance rate for new students is under 10%

Dates: Summer. Exact dates aren’t published, and applicants are notified by May 15

Application Deadline: Not published for the next cycle

Eligibility: A high school junior or senior during participation, at least 15 by June 1, a US citizen, with a 2.8 GPA and no criminal record. Green card holders aren’t eligible. You must live in Anne Arundel, Baltimore County or City, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, or Prince George’s County in Maryland; Alexandria, Arlington, or Fairfax in Virginia; or Washington DC

APL is the largest university-affiliated research center in the country. It does space science, applied physics, and defense work at a scale almost no university matches. You’re paired with a staff mentor on a real project.

Who is it right for? A junior or senior in the DC and Baltimore corridor who wants a famous name on their resume more than a paycheck.

16. Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP), NIST

Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland or Boulder, Colorado. In person, seven weeks

Cost: Free, and unpaid. NIST describes it as a seven-week unpaid educational internship

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: Mid June to early August. The 2027 dates are still to be confirmed

Application Deadline: Applications open November 1, 2026 and close in the last week of January 2027

Eligibility: A junior or senior at the time of application, a US citizen, with a 3.0 unweighted GPA, living within a 50-mile radius of your host campus. You and your family arrange housing and transport

NIST is the national metrology lab. That makes it one of the best places in the country for quantum science, optics and photonics, or materials. You run your own project with a NIST scientist rather than assisting on someone else’s.

Who is it right for? A junior or senior near Gaithersburg or Boulder who wants precision measurement, optics, or quantum work.

17. Laboratory Learning Program, Princeton University

Location: Princeton, New Jersey. In person only, with no virtual or remote option, for five to six weeks

Cost: Free, with no participation fees and no stipend

Cohort size: Not published. Over 3,000 applications came in for the most recent round

Dates: Summer

Application Deadline: February 15 to March 15, 2026 for the 2026 round. Information for 2027 will be announced in February 2027

Eligibility: At least 16 by June 15, a US citizen, and attending a local New Jersey high school. Princeton states there are no exceptions

You join a Princeton research lab for the summer and work under a faculty member or research staff. Three thousand applications for one state tells you how much demand there is.

One thing to check before you apply. 

Who is it right for? A New Jersey student who is 16 or older and wants a university lab placement at a top research school.

18. Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP), Center for Astrophysics, Harvard and Smithsonian

Location: Center for Astrophysics and MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts. In person, with weekly mentor meetings and monthly advisory sessions

Cost: Not published. Students receive stipends courtesy of the City of Cambridge, and the amount isn’t published

Cohort size: 10 to 16 students a year, in teams of 2 or 3 per mentor

Dates: September to May, across the school year

Application Deadline: 11:59 PM ET on May 29 for the 2026 to 2027 cohort. The 2027 to 2028 dates aren’t posted yet

Eligibility: Participation is currently exclusive to students enrolled at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School

This is real astrophysics research, not a shadowing program. Teams of two or three work with a CfA astrophysicist on a year-long project using actual astronomical data. You get a laptop for the work. The year ends with short talks and posters at a symposium, and past cohorts have public project archives going back to 2017.

Who is it right for? A Cambridge Rindge and Latin student who wants a full year on one astrophysics question.

19. Apprenticeships in STEAM Exploration (ASE), Saturday Academy

Location: Oregon and southwest Washington. Four to eight weeks, part time or full time

Cost: Not published. Whether apprentices are paid, and at what rate, isn’t published on the official pages

Cohort size: Under 100 positions filled from more than 400 applicants

Dates: Summer

Application Deadline: The 2026 round closed March 6, 2026. The 2027 application opens in mid January 2027

Eligibility: Rising 10th, 11th, or 12th graders who reside in the United States throughout the program. Applications are removed for any position more than 50 miles from your home address, even a virtual one. Individual hosts set their own minimum age

ASE is a true one-to-one apprenticeship rather than a cohort program. You’re matched with a working scientist, engineer, or designer. Past apprentices have been credited on published research. Placements cover physics, engineering, and computing among other fields.

Who is it right for? An Oregon or southwest Washington student who wants a one-to-one apprenticeship rather than a group program.

Paid physics internships in industry and museums

20. High School Internship Program, Lockheed Martin Space

Location: Denver in Colorado, Sunnyvale in California, Cape Canaveral in Florida, King of Prussia and Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, Huntsville in Alabama, and Herndon in Virginia. You need to be within commuting distance of one of them

Cost: Free, and paid. The rate isn’t published

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: Nine or more weeks over the summer, running June to August 2027

Application Deadline: The window runs November 2, 2026 to January 3, 2027. This is the currently posted cycle

Eligibility: At least 16 by the internship start date and currently enrolled in high school. Seniors graduating in May aren’t eligible

This is aerospace engineering and defense technology work alongside staff scientists and engineers. So it sits closer to applied physics than to research physics. Six sites across the country makes it more accessible than a single-lab program, and it pays.

Who is it right for? A sophomore or junior near one of the six sites who wants industry experience rather than academic research.

21. High School Explainers, Exploratorium

Location: The Exploratorium, Pier 17, San Francisco, California. In person

Cost: Free. It’s a paid job, and the hourly rate isn’t published

Cohort size: Over 130 paid positions a year

Dates: Two cohorts, one for the school year and one for summer

Application Deadline: Not published. School-year applications are typically available in July and summer applications in March

Eligibility: Ages 15 to 18 for first-time Explainers, and up to 20 for returning ones. You need to be able to obtain a valid work permit, attend all basic training, and work the full session. No science background is required, and no residency rule is published

The Exploratorium’s exhibits are built almost entirely around physics you can touch: light, sound, motion, electricity, magnetism, and energy. Explainers run demonstrations, work with visitors, and handle a lot of museum operations. And you get more than 60 hours of training, including 20 before you start.

Who is it right for? A San Francisco student who wants to be paid, wants physics in their week, and doesn’t need a research output.

How to get into a physics internship

The applications aren’t hard. The timing is what catches people.

1. Work backward from November, not March. SEAP closes November 30. NIST opens November 1. Lockheed Martin opens November 2. Simons opens in late November. Wait for spring and half this page is already gone.
2. Check the grade-level floor before anything else. Several programs want rising seniors, or students who have finished 11th grade. A sophomore applying to Clark Scholars or Brookhaven is spending a weekend on a guaranteed no.
3. Check the age floor against the start date, not the deadline. Turning 16 in July doesn’t help if the rule says 16 by June 1.
4. Sort by your zip code first. Work out which programs can take you at all, then rank those. This is the step that saves the most time.
5. Line up a teacher four to six weeks early. Simons needs a school nomination. Most others need at least one recommender, and a rushed letter reads like a rushed letter.
6. Write one strong project paragraph and reuse it. Say what you want to work on and why, in plain language. Vague enthusiasm about loving physics loses to a student who names a specific question.
7. If you’re not a US citizen, filter hard and early. AFRL, NIST, SEES, Princeton, and Lockheed all require citizenship. AEOP, Brookhaven, Simons, Clark Scholars, and Oak Ridge accept permanent residents.
8. Have a backup that isn’t geographic. Online programs and mentorship programs don’t care where you live, and they’re the reason a rejection in March doesn’t have to end your summer.

More on the essay and recommender side in how to get into a top high school research program, and 10 best ways to get research opportunities in high school covers what to do when none of these work out.

Frequently asked questions

Resources – More from Horizon

Getting in

• How to get into a top high school research program
• 7 ways to find a research lab, beyond cold emailing
• 10 best ways to get research opportunities in high school
• 14 research programs for complete beginners
• The most competitive research programs
• Prestigious summer research programs with low acceptance rates
• 15 prestigious STEM programs for high school students

Turning it into a paper

• How to publish research in high school
• 15 research journals for high school students
• What can you actually do with a high school research paper?
• The key components of a high school research paper
• How long does it take to write a research paper
• How to format citations
• 7 steps to turn your paper into a competition submission

Topics and project ideas

• 200 STEM research topics for high school students
• 49 research topics for high school students
• 30 interdisciplinary projects high school students can explore
• 8 robotics research opportunities
• 15 research competitions for high school students

Image source: Stony Brook University