If you are a high school student passionate about sustainability, climate action, and environmental innovation, summer programs in environmental engineering offer a solid opportunity to explore this field outside of the usual classroom curriculum.
The summer programs in the list below provide an understanding of the subject, as well as hands-on experience in real-world environmental challenges such as water contamination, air pollution, renewable energy, and sustainable infrastructure.
You will have the opportunity to work on research projects, fieldwork, and engineering solutions, gaining insights from industry experts, university faculty, and industry professionals. Some skills that you can develop include analyzing water samples for pollutants, designing green homes, or testing soil for lead contamination.
Here are 9 environmental engineering summer programs for high school students
1. Johns Hopkins Summer Institute in Environmental Health and Engineering
Cost: Tuition For- Credit Rate is $1,374 per credit and for Non-Credit rate is $714.50 per credit
Program Dates: The program duration ranges from 1 day to 15 days
Deadline: May 23
Location: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, East Baltimore, MA.
Eligibility: High School Students
The Summer Institute in Environmental Health and Engineering (EHE) offers high school students training in environmental health engineering. The program overview is as follows:
1. Environmental Health: In this course, you will understand how environmental agents and vectors impact public health, the sources and transmission pathways of environmental hazards, their exposure-dose relationship, and the resulting adverse health effects.
2. Drinking Water and Water Policy: This course provides an overview of the federal drinking water and clean water laws, as well as the corresponding regulations that tackle various contaminants affecting public health and the environment.
3. Industrial Hygiene Lab Work: In this course, you will acquire practical skills to conduct air sampling for occupational and environmental air pollutants. The course will cover topics such as calibration, passive and active sampling techniques, the measurement of gases and vapors, and the assessment of particulate matter (PM), including specialized methods for sampling fibers and bioaerosols.
2. Lumiere Research Scholar Program – Environmental Science Track
Cost: Starts at $2,990. Financial aid is available!
Program Dates: June-August (summer). Fall, winter, and spring cohorts are also available.
Deadline: Application deadlines vary by cohort. The upcoming deadline for the summer cohort is March 9.
Location: Remote
Eligibility: High school students with a minimum 3.3 GPA
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program, founded by Harvard and Oxford researchers, is a 12-week opportunity for high school students to conduct an independent research project with guidance from a Ph.D. mentor. You will get advice and insights into the field. You will regularly meet your mentor and work on your research while attending sessions with a Lumiere writing coach.
By the end of the program, you will have a completed college-level academic paper. Publication and fellowship programs are also available.
3. Brown Environmental Leadership Labs (BELL)
Cost: $4,504-$7,306
Program Dates:
- Alaska: July 6 to July 16
- Eastern Sierras: June 29 to July 9
- Florida Keys: June 22 to 29
- Rhode Island: June 22 to July 3
Deadline: March 31
Location: Anchorage, AK; Mammoth Lakes, CA; Key Largo, FL; Dartmouth, MA
Eligibility: Students completing grades 10 to 12, ages 16 to 18 by June 15, 2025
The Brown Environmental Leadership Lab (BELL) combines environmental studies, ecology, and leadership training to help high school students develop skills in environmental problem-solving and community engagement. It combines experiential learning with leadership training, helping you to address global environmental challenges through a disciplined scientific approach.
4. Ladder Internships (Engineering Track)
Cost: $2,490 (Financial Aid Available)
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, typically for 8 weeks
Deadline: Summer Cohort – March 9
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is a selective program designed for high school students interested in the start-up ecosystem. Participants will intern with growing start-ups across diverse sectors, including technology, health tech, journalism, engineering, and consulting. These start-ups often secure significant funding, with many raising over a million dollars.
You will work on real-world projects, contributing to a company’s growth while receiving mentorship from both company leaders and a dedicated Ladder coach. The program provides individualized training in skills such as communication and time management, along with group training opportunities with peers.
5. Purdue University Northwest’s Environmental Science Summer Camp
Cost: $30 fee to attend the camp.
Program Dates: June 24–June 28 (Based on the dates from last year)
Deadline: TBD
Location: Purdue University Northwest, Hammond, IN
Eligibility: Students must be entering grades 9 to 12 in the Fall.
Purdue University’s Northwest’s Environmental Science Summer Camp combines classroom learning, lab investigations, and fieldwork to give high school students an understanding of critical environmental issues.
In the classroom, you will explore topics such as ecology, air and water pollution, and waste-treatment processes. You will explore Indiana’s native tree species, examining practical waste treatment and disposal methods. You will gain hands-on experience with the challenges and solutions in environmental management.
Lab work includes working with scientific instruments and techniques used by professionals in the field. You will also learn to extract environmental samples and analyze pollutants in both air and water.
6. UT Austin’s High School Research Academy (HSRA)
Cost: $3,500. Need-based scholarships are available.
Program Dates: June 9– July 16
Deadline: March 23
Location: UT Austin, Austin, TX
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors
UT Austin’s High School Research Academy (HSRA) provides high school students an opportunity to engage in hands-on, group research projects within the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) laboratories. You can choose a field to engage in real-world research, including environmental science, biology, and ecology. Under the guidance of faculty members and graduate students, you will learn research techniques, and gain insights into potential career paths in the sciences.
Outside laboratory work, you will participate in weekly seminars designed to deepen your understanding of research methodologies, current scientific advancements, and academic pathways.
7. NSLC’s Environmental Science and Sustainability Program
Cost: $4,095
Dates: July-August (2 weeks)
Application Deadline: Rolling
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Eligibility: High school students
NSLC’s Environmental Science and Sustainability Program is designed to help you develop an understanding of critical environmental issues while equipping you with the tools to develop innovative solutions for these issues.
You get the opportunity to design and construct a model of a green home. As you work on this project, you will explore key sustainability concepts such as energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, and eco-friendly materials. You will gain practical knowledge of the carbon cycle, wind turbine technology, and the chemical and physical properties of soil and water through lab experiments. The program explores the importance of environmental justice, helping you understand how sustainability intersects with social equity and policy-making.
8. Drexel University’s Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Summer Institute
Cost: $850
Program Dates: August 5 – August 9, 2025
Deadline: March 1, 2025
Location: Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
This program introduces you to three engineering majors in the CAEE Department: Civil Engineering, Architectural Engineering, and Environmental Engineering.
The Environmental Engineering coursework includes water quality, water resources, air quality, ocean engineering, hazardous waste management, and sustainable engineering. You will engage in presentations, fieldwork, and hands-on lab and classroom activities related to the CAEE majors, such as transportation engineering, structural engineering, water treatment, air quality, and self-healing concrete.
You will also have the opportunity to design and test a wooden bridge, visit a highway materials company, and explore field samples at the Drexel Academy of Natural Sciences.
9. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes Chemical and Environmental Engineering
Cost: $3,080
Dates:
- Session 1: June 17— June 28
- Session 2: July 08— July 19
Application Deadline: March 20
Location: Online
Eligibility: Grades 9-12
This course will give high school students exposure to the fundamental engineering principles used to analyze chemical processes that occur in nature and through human design with a keen focus on the environment and the interaction of energy. You will learn the applications of concepts such as diagram engineering processes, converting process variables, and setting up material and energy balances to real-world issues, such as the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges, Through a collaborative, student-led group project, you will explore subjects like renewable energy generation and storage, CO2-based biomanufacturing of food, medicine design and wastewater purification and desalination.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like environmental engineering, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image source: Johns Hopkins University
