Winter break is usually seen as time off before the school semester kicks in, but it can also be when you get real work done and prep for the year ahead.
For high school students who want to explore a subject in a focused format before summer, winter research programs offer a structured way to build experience. These short-term programs let you dig into specific topics like climate modeling, biomedical research, behavioral economics, or data science while learning how actual research works.
What is a winter research program? Why should I apply?
Winter programs are structured differently from summer ones. They’re usually shorter and tend to run during winter break. That means the pace is fast and the schedule is tight, but you still get to work through a full research process, from reading background material to planning and executing a project.
You’ll also notice that the groups tend to be smaller, which gives you more time with mentors or researchers. If you’re someone who learns better with direct feedback or you like working in focused settings without too many distractions, winter programs are a good fit. They don’t replace summer experiences, but they let you build momentum earlier, figure out what research feels like, and add something meaningful to your skillset without waiting months to get started!
With that, here are 15 winter research programs every high school student should know about!
15 Winter Research Programs for High School Students
1. Horizon Academic Research Program (HARP)
Location: Virtual
Application Deadlines: Priority: March 23; Regular I: April 20; Regular II: May 18
Program Dates: The cohort starts June 16. Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply at least four weeks in advance.
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.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and more! It is one of the very few research programs for high school students that offers a choice between quantitative and qualitative research!
Once you select a particular subject track and type of research, you’ll be paired with a professor or Ph.D. scholar (from a top university) who will mentor you throughout your research journey. You’ll work to create a 20-page, university-level research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student.
This program is a solid opportunity for you to pursue a research program in a highly specialized field under the guidance of a top scholar. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student, as well as detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects and college applications. Apply here!
2. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Location: Remote — You can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer (June – August), Fall (September – December), Winter (December – February), and Spring (March – June)
Duration: Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort. The Summer Cohort I application deadline is April 13!
Eligibility: Current high school students with GPA ≥ 3.3; no prior experience in the field required.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler.
The program pairs high-school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! 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.
3. OHSU School of Medicine Partnership for Scientific Inquiry (PSI)
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: January 22 – May 28
Application Deadline: December 8
Cost: Free, Need-based scholarships available
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are at least 16 years of age by the start of the program and reside in Oregon, the Portland metro area, or select counties in Washington state
The PSI program is a research and internship experience for high school students interested in medicine or biomedical science. It has three parts: a 16-week course, a summer internship, and a final poster conference. In the first phase, you’ll be paired with a mentor who will guide you through the basics of scientific research. You’ll learn how to read and analyze research papers, come up with your question, and build a proposal. You’ll also give two presentations, one on a published study and one on your research idea.
If you choose to join the internship, you’ll spend around 250 hours over the summer working with a clinical research mentor. You’ll help with real projects, practice collecting and analyzing data, and build research skills in a medical setting. At the end, you’ll take part in a poster conference where you’ll share your work through a talk and a poster. If you complete the full program, you may also earn high school credit.
4. Penn State Research Internships and Observation
Location: Penn State College of Medicine (PSCOM), Hershey, PA
Program Dates: Flexible
Application deadline: Not specified
Cost: Free
Eligibility: High school students living in the U.S. and sponsored/supervised by a member of the College of Medicine faculty!
Penn State Research Internships and Observation is a short winter research experience where you spend one or two days shadowing a researcher at Penn State College of Medicine. You’ll observe how researchers structure their day, how they design experiments, collect data, and analyze results.
While you’re not conducting your project, the experience helps you understand how biomedical research works in practice. You might spend time watching lab procedures, discussing research goals, or reviewing recent findings. After the shadowing experience, you can apply separately for a longer-term internship if you want to continue exploring the field.
5. The APA Internal Internship Program (IIP)
Location: Remote
Program Dates: Available year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling
Cost: None; includes both paid and unpaid (for academic credit) internships.
Eligibility: U.S. high school students, part-time enrolled, in APA-registered states; under 18 need a D.C. Work Permit.
APA’s Internal Internship Program (IIP) offers paid and unpaid internship roles for high school students interested in psychology. You’ll work at the American Psychological Association, a nonprofit organization, and explore areas like research, policy, and communication.
You’ll build skills in writing, collaboration, and analysis while learning how psychology connects to different professional fields. Alongside your main role, you’ll also take part in group projects, workshops, and discussions with other interns. You can apply to up to three positions at a time based on your interests.
6. Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute
Location: Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
Program Dates: Varies depending on the applicant’s preference
Application Deadline: Rolling
Cost: Free
Eligibility: High school students who are 16 years or older
Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute offers research opportunities to high school students who want to explore lab techniques and biomedical research. To get started, you choose a lab that fits your interests. Then you contact the faculty member who runs that lab. Introduce yourself, explain why their research stands out to you, and share any science classes you’ve taken or experiences you’ve had that relate to research. Make sure you mention your timeline for participating—whether it’s during winter break, summer, or the school year. Be clear about what you hope to learn and what kind of skills you want to build.
7. New York Student Historian Internship Program
Location: New York Historical Society, New York, NY
Program Dates: October 23 – June 11
Application Deadline: September 22
Cost: None; A stipend of $700 is paid!
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 10–12, living and studying in the New York metro area.
The New York Student Historian Internship is a competitive program that selects only 25 interns from a pool of around 150 to 200 applicants. It’s designed to help you build skills in historical research, writing, communication, and digital media. If selected, you’ll dive into research around this year’s theme, “Our Composite Nation: Frederick Douglass’s America,” and explore how his ideas still matter today.
You’ll work in teams to create blog posts that are deeply researched and historically accurate, which will be published on The New York Historical Society’s Teen Blog. You’ll also take part in tech workshops, meet with historians and curators, and explore the museum’s galleries as part of your learning.
8. Research Scholars at UC San Diego
Location: Both virtual and in-person opportunities are available
Program Dates: Varies from program to program
Application Deadline: Rolling
Cost: Varies from program to program
Stipend: No details available
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 15 years of age, enrolled in grades 9-12, and have a minimum GPA of 3.0
UC San Diego offers several research programs for high school students in areas like bioengineering, life sciences, business, and medicine. Many of these include a winter session where you can build hands-on research experience. One example is the BE-SHIP internship under the bioengineering track. In this program, you work with an academic lab to propose, design, and complete a bioengineering project.
You learn skills like designing experiments, analyzing lab data, using research tools like MATLAB or Python, reviewing scientific literature, and writing research summaries. The winter session usually runs from January to March and is especially useful if you are preparing for science or engineering fairs and want expert feedback on your project.
9. Jackson Lab Academic Year Fellowships
Location: Bar Harbor, ME and Farmington, CT
Program Dates: No details available
Application Deadline: July 7 (Bar Harbor, ME); September 15 (Farmington, CT)
Cost: Free
Eligibility: High school juniors/seniors, age 16+, enrolled in a for-credit research program and within commuting distance.
The Jackson Laboratory offers a limited number of in-person, hybrid, and remote research fellowships for high school students. If selected, you will join a JAX research team and learn practical lab skills like experimental design, data analysis, and literature review. You will work with a mentor to create an independent research project based on the lab’s ongoing work.
Alongside research, you will also build soft skills such as scientific writing, time management, collaboration, and problem-solving. The program includes group discussions, presentations, and lab meetings that help you grow as a contributor to real research environments.
10. Burke Neurological Institute’s Introduction to Neuroscience Course
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: February 4 – March 27
Application Deadline: February 2 (January 25 for scholarship applications)
Cost: $500. Full financial aid is available
Eligibility: High school students who have completed NYS Regents Living Environment or equivalent Biology class
If you’re a high school student curious about how the brain works, the Burke Neurological Institute’s Introduction to Neuroscience course is a solid way to build early knowledge. The course runs twice a week and introduces core neuroscience topics like brain anatomy, neural communication, sensory processing, and neurorehabilitation.
You’ll go over how the nervous system is structured and how it responds to injury or disease. You’ll get practice reading scientific papers, building models of neural circuits, and interpreting basic neurological data. You’ll also work with resources like BrainFacts.org and simple neuroanatomy software to help visualize structures and pathways.
11. EnergyMag Research Internship
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: Flexible
Application Deadline: Rolling
Cost: Free
Eligibility: High school sophomores to seniors with GPA > 3.25, one honors science/English class (exceptions apply), application, writing sample, and academic record required.
EnergyMag offers virtual internships for high school students interested in renewable energy storage. These internships typically run for 1 to 9 months and are flexible enough to fit into your winter break as a quarter-time commitment. During the internship, you’ll focus on a specific topic, this could be a company, a market, or a technology related to energy storage.
Your main task is to conduct research and write an analysis report. This includes gathering data, reaching out to professionals in the field, and making sense of technical and business trends. You’ll be paired with a mentor who helps you build key skills like technical writing, market research, sourcing credible information, and analyzing industry trends. While the internship is unpaid, you can earn a Letter of Accomplishment from EnergyMag.
12. Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Immersion Science Research
Location: Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
Program Dates: Early January – Mid-March
Application Deadline: Varies every year
Cost: Free
Eligibility: High school students (16+) in the Philadelphia Tri-State area who have completed chemistry and biology.
Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Immersion Science Research program is an 11-week opportunity designed for high school students interested in cancer biology and lab research. With only 16 students selected per cohort, the program starts with a 30-hour boot camp where you’ll learn essential lab techniques like pipetting, cell culture, gel electrophoresis, and microscopy. These hands-on sessions are paired with lectures that cover the biology of cancer and how cell-signaling pathways contribute to disease progression.
After the initial training, you’ll apply what you’ve learned to design and carry out your experiments related to cancer signaling. You’ll also analyze data, troubleshoot your experiments, and write up your findings. The program ends with a formal presentation of your research at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
13. The Met High School Internship Program
Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Program Dates: January 11 – June 13
Application Deadline: October 28
Cost: Free
Stipend: $1,100
Eligibility: 10th–11th grade students in NYC, available for all sessions, with no prior Met internship, and parental consent.
The Met’s High School Internship Program isn’t a winter research program in the traditional sense, but it does run during the school year and can overlap with your winter break. You’ll work on-site at The Met and get the chance to explore different museum careers through structured activities like career labs, boot camps, and departmental placements. You’ll connect with professionals across fields such as conservation, scientific research, education, digital media, and marketing.
Throughout the program, you’ll also be encouraged to reflect on your interests and how they relate to the work happening in a museum setting. While it’s not focused on a single academic subject, this internship is a good fit if you’re looking to build career experience, learn from experts in creative and academic roles, and develop a clearer understanding of how major institutions like The Met operate behind the scenes.
14. Internships at Sandia National Laboratories
Location: Varies from internship to internship. Current opportunities available at Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA
Program Dates: Varies from internship to internship
Application Deadline: Rolling
Cost: Paid opportunity, more details on stipend rates available here.
Eligibility: U.S. high school students, age 16+, enrolled full-time with minimum 2.5 GPA (for clerical/laborer roles).
Sandia National Laboratories offers several paid internships throughout the year for high school students who want to build experience in research and technical fields. You can apply for positions in areas like cybersecurity, software development, energy systems, and engineering design.
As an intern, you’ll develop technical skills in coding, data analysis, system modeling, or hardware testing, depending on your assignment. You’ll also gain exposure to tools and platforms used in research environments, such as Python, MATLAB, CAD software, or network simulation tools. Alongside your main project, you’ll have access to professional development sessions, mentorship from scientists and engineers, and networking opportunities with other interns and lab staff.
15. Cornell Precollege Program
Location: Both online and in-person opportunities are available
Program Dates: January 2 – January 18
Application Deadline: December 1
Cost: $1,840/credit hour
Eligibility: Varies from program to program
Cornell University’s School of Continuing Education (SCE) offers winter, summer, and fall courses that high school students can take to earn academic credits before the spring semester begins. These are not traditional research programs, but they give you the chance to deepen your knowledge in a specific field and build college-level study skills. Courses usually last three weeks and are available in a range of subjects, including applied economics, art, cognitive science, communication, engineering, and medicine.
As a participant, you’ll be learning through college-style lectures, assignments, and assessments. Depending on the course you choose, you might develop skills in data interpretation, economic modeling, design thinking, scientific writing, or public speaking. You’ll also gain experience using tools specific to each field, such as statistical software, design platforms, or lab simulations.
Image source – University of Pennsylvania
