If you’re a high school looking for a way to engage in advanced coursework (and build a robust skillset) outside of the classroom, consider a research program!
Why should I do research as a high school student?
Research, through structured research programs, at the high school level includes practical hands-on work, expert mentorship, as well as the opportunity to build an advanced skillset. Additionally, there are multiple high school research opportunities across various subject areas, ranging from beginner-friendly to advanced research programs.
Another advantage of doing a high school research program?
You will be able to contribute directly to a subject that you’re passionate about and build a research paper/project by the end of it. Doing research in high school can you build a strong profile for future research projects, and prepare you for advanced coursework at university - something admissions officers love.
In this blog, we cover 15 of the best high school research programs that are accepting applications!
Subject areas: STEM
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Eligibility: High school juniors (rising high school seniors) with a strong academic record
Application Deadline: Applications for 2024 are closed. Applications for 2025 will open in the fall.
Dates: July - August (6-7 weeks)
Stipend: This is an unpaid internship.
MIT’s RSI accepts 100 accomplished students every year, providing exposure to a week of intensive STEM classes on current research topics. After receiving a research topic, you spend 5 weeks reading scientific theory and literature, receiving mentorship from professors, engaging in guided laboratory research, preparing papers, attending lectures and guest talks, participating in field trips, and delivering oral presentations on findings.
Subject Areas: Medicine
Location: Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors aged at least 16 and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Application Deadline: Applications tend to close in February.
Dates: June 10, 2024 - August 1, 2024 (8 weeks)
Stipend: Minimum stipend of $500; students from underrepresented groups will receive at least $1,500.
SIMR allows around 50 selected students to perform biomedical research under one-on-one mentorship from Stanford faculty, graduate students, researchers, and postdoctoral fellows in one of the university’s advanced labs. You will attend lectures and training sessions while conducting research in immunology, neurobiology, stem cell and regenerative medicine, cancer biology, genetics and genomics, cardiovascular biology, bioinformatics, and bioengineering.
The program will culminate in a poster session where you will display posters on their research findings.
Subject Areas: Neuroscience
Location: Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine, Baltimore, MD / Virtual
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors, with in-person applicants necessarily attending a school in Baltimore
Application Deadline: Applications usually close on March 1.
Dates: June-August (8 weeks in person) | July-August (virtual 5 weeks)
Stipend: Hourly wages and transportation funds are paid to in-person interns while virtual interns are paid a fixed stipend of $500.
JHIBS provides a research experience in two formats:
- In-Person Experience: 8 students will execute a research project under faculty mentorship, participate in clinical rotations, attend seminars and weekly educational and professional sessions, and prepare and deliver an oral or poster presentation.
- Virtual Experience: You will attend educational presentations, mentorship training, professional development training, and sessions on lab techniques and experiments.
4. Horizon
Location: Virtual
Application Date: May 21, 2024, for the summer cohort, and September 25, 2024, for the fall cohort
Program Dates:
- Summer seminar - June 24, 2024 - September 2, 2024
- Fall seminar - October 23, 2024 - February 19, 2025
- Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 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 act as a mentor throughout the research journey. You will 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 highly specialized fields, 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 can be used for future projects and college applications. Apply here!
Subject Areas: STEM
Location: One of the NASA centers in the country / remote
Eligibility: Students aged at least 16 with a 3.0 CGPA and U.S. citizenship
Application Deadline: August 23, 2024 (spring) | October 25, 2024/February 28, 2025 (summer) | May 16, 2025 (fall)
Dates: Spring, summer, and fall internships are available.
Stipend: Paid, but varies according to academic level and session length.
NASA’s STEM Internships directly involve high school students in real-world research projects in science, aeronautics, technology, and space exploration. You will work alongside research scientists, engineers, and other professionals who will serve as mentors. Opportunities are available in areas like aviation, robotics, 3D modeling, civil engineering, aerospace engineering, computer and informational sciences, remote sensing technologies, analyzing climate events, data analytics, and more.
Subject Areas: Health/medicine and healthcare
Location: NIH campuses
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors of high school who are at least 17 years old and live within 40 miles of their nearest NIH campus can apply. Cohort programs—HiSTEP and HiSTEP 2.0—may have separate criteria.
Application Deadline: Applications usually close in February.
Dates: July 2, 2024 - August 1, 2024 (8 weeks)
Stipend: $2,300-2,530 (high school students) or $2,570-2,840 (high school graduates). Housing is not provided.
The HS-SIP (with a 7% acceptance rate) at the NIH offers a chance to conduct full-time research within one of the NIH Institutes and Centers (IC) in the Intramural Research Program. You will be placed in a research group under a Principal Investigator (PI), with opportunities to conduct basic, translational, and clinical research in biomedical sciences, social sciences, and behavioral sciences.
Professional development training and educational and career advising will also take place.
7. Horizon’s Research Program
Location: Virtual
Application Date: September 25, 2024 for the fall cohort
Program Dates:
Fall seminar - October 23, 2024 - February 19, 2025
Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 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 highly specialized fields, 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 on college applications. Apply here!
Subject Areas: Marine biology
Location: Usually within a 45-minute commute of their homes.
Eligibility: High school students aged at least 16 and live and are residents of the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Pacific Islands, or Mexico
Application Deadline: Applications close in January.
Dates: June-August (8 weeks)
Stipend: $3,000 and an all-expenses paid trip to the Hutton Scholars Summit
Sponsored by the American Fisheries Society (AFS), the Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program is a mentored research program in which you are matched with a fisheries and aquatic science professional. You will work in the field, office, laboratory, or even a boat, carrying out activities like water quality testing, taking fish population surveys, data processing, electrofishing, snorkeling, examining specimens, and more.
You will also undertake field trips and report writing.
Subject areas: STEM
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Eligibility: New Jersey high school students who are at least 16 years old by the program start date
Application Deadline: Applications usually close in March.
Dates: June-August (5-6 weeks)
Stipend: Not provided
The LLP at Princeton University places you in ongoing research projects in which you receive close and direct mentorship from Princeton faculty and research staff. The program requires and includes lab work, safety training, and the submission of a final two-page summary report based on the findings and experience of the research project.
Research opportunities are available in engineering and natural sciences.
Subject Areas: STEM, humanities, and social sciences
Location: Remote
Eligibility: High school students with a minimum 3.3 out of 4 GPA
Application Deadline: Summer deadlines are usually in March, April, and May.
Program Dates: June to August (summer). Fall, winter, and spring cohorts are also available.
Cost: $2,800 (12 weeks) | $5,400 (16-20 weeks). Financial aid is available.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs each selected student with a Ph.D. mentor to learn about the field and execute an independent research project. The program involves multiple sessions between you and Ph.D. mentor, culminating in a final project and a college-level academic paper that you will present at a symposium.
Available research areas include mathematics, biology, data science, neuroscience, architecture, classics, law, linguistics, gender studies, psychology, philosophy, and others.
11. Veritas AI
Subject Areas: Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Location: Online
Eligibility: High school students can apply. Applicants applying to the AI Fellowship program need to complete the AI Scholars program or have previous experience in AI and Python.
Application Deadline: Multiple cohorts across the year. The deadline for the fall cohort is September 8, 2024.
Dates: Multiple cohorts across the year
Cost: $1,790 (AI Scholars) | $4,900 (AI Fellowship) | $5,900 (both)
Veritas AI is a program for high school students who wish to learn about and conduct research in artificial intelligence. You can choose between AI Scholars (to learn about key AI concepts from experts and work on a group project with 3-5 students) and the AI Fellowship (to receive 1-1 mentorship from an expert and complete an individual research project).
A personal publication and a final research showcase are included in the AI Fellowship!
Subject: Engineering, biology, computer science, history, nutrition, and chemistry
Location: TexasTech University campus, Lubbock, TX
Eligibility: Students who are at least 17 years old and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Application Deadline: Applications close in February.
Dates: June 16, 2024 - August 1, 2024 (7 weeks)
Stipend: $750 + free housing and meals
This program provides 12 high school students with a hands-on mentored research experience, weekly seminar attendance, and participation in social activities. You can work in research areas like nutritional sciences, computer science, biology and microbiology, mechanical engineering, neurobiology, electrical and computer engineering, history, and chemistry. You will submit a research project report at the end of the program.
Subject Areas: Geosciences
Location: University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD
Eligibility: High school seniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, have a minimum 2.7 GPA, and have been accepted into a U.S. college/university
Application Deadline: Applications usually close in May.
Dates: July 1, 2024 - August 9, 2024 (6 weeks)
Stipend: $500 per week, with free housing, meals, and transportation
The Geosciences Bridge Program includes lectures, lab work, field trips, two for-credit college courses, and hands-on activities in biogeochemistry, atmospheric science, environmental science, marine biology, marine chemistry, remote sensing, and physical oceanography. Courses are provided in College Algebra or Calculus I and a Freshman Seminar.
You will work in a 3-4-person group with research mentors to complete a research project that you will then present at the final symposium.
Subject Areas: STEM
Location: Varies based on lab locations
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old, have completed Grade 9, and are U.S. citizens
Application Deadline: Closed for 2024. Applications open on August 1, 202,4 for 2025.
Dates: June-August (8 weeks)
Stipend: $4,000 (new participants) | $4,500 (returning participants)
SEAP places around 300 high school students in one of the Department of Navy’s 38+ laboratories across the country. You will learn about naval research and technology and receive one-on-one mentorship from accomplished researchers, scientists, and engineers. Research opportunities are available in biology, chemistry, robotics, physics, physiology, statistics, applied mathematics, computer science, earth science, engineering, geology, environmental science, meteorology, programming, and aeronautics.
Subject Areas: Earth and space science
Location: UT Austin, Austin, TX
Eligibility: High school juniors with U.S. citizenship
Application Deadline: Applications usually close in February.
Program Dates: June, 2024 - July 6, 2024 (online work with mentors) | July 7, 2024 - July 20, 2024 (on-site for 11th graders) | July 27, 2024 - August 4, 2024 (on-site for 10th graders)
Stipend: No stipend, but housing, meals, and local transportation are provided. Some travel scholarships to Texas are available.
The SEES Program allows you to participate in real-world research with NASA and UT Austin scientists and engineers. Following the completion of online modules in Earth and Space Science and Python, you will undertake on-site research projects in remote sensing, astronomy, climate change, mission design, Earth’s gravity field, ice sheet analysis, and space geodetic techniques.
You will present their research during the final Virtual SEES Science Symposium.
Subject areas: Medicine, child health
Location: Anschutz Medical Campus (Children’s Hospital Colorado), Aurora, CO
Eligibility: High school seniors at least 18 years old by the start of the internship
Application Deadline: Applications are closed for 2024 and will reopen for the 2025 internship in December 2024.
Dates: June 3, 2024 - August 2, 2024 (9 weeks)
Stipend: $3,500
This summer research program allows you to work in the lab with mentors from the Department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado. You will undertake research in child health while participating in a weekly lecture series. The internship will conclude with written summaries and oral or poster presentations. Abstract submissions and conference attendance are encouraged and supported.
David Wilkinson is a freelance writer for Horizon and currently resides in the United States.