Biology Research Programs for High School Students (2027)

TL;DR

You’ll find 22 biology research programs below, each with its deadline, stipend, length, location, and exactly who’s eligible to apply, all verified against the program’s own site. Where a program won’t publish its stipend or acceptance rate, we say so instead of guessing. They’re grouped by what actually rules you in or out: online, paid and open to anyone, paid but local students only, free at a big-name lab, ones you pay for, and one that runs all school year. Eleven pay you. Most close in January and February, so find your group and lock in those deadlines now. Ruled out by your grade, your state, or the calendar? Apply to Horizon instead. You’ll work 1-on-1 with a professor or PhD mentor and write a full research paper that’s yours to submit to journals or competitions, from anywhere and in any grade. New cohorts start three times a year, so you won’t have to wait until next summer.

Biology research in high school isn’t a class. There’s no syllabus, and nobody knows the answer yet. You get a real question, you work alongside a scientist who’s chasing it too, and you spend a few weeks trying to find something out.

Some days that means pipetting the same sample forty times. Some days it means staring at data that refuses to make sense. Either way you come out with something to proud of, whether that’s a poster, a DNA sequence in a public database, or a paper with your name on it.

Most students do it to find out whether they actually like the subject or just liked the idea of it. That’s worth knowing before you pick a major. The hard part is finding a program, so here is a list of the top programs!

What would you actually research?

“Biology” is too big to be an answer. Almost every high school project lands in one of five areas.

Genetics and gene editing. Sequencing a gene and comparing it across species. How CRISPR makes a cut, and what happens when it misses. Try Jackson Laboratory, Livermore, Rutgers WISE, or Horizon’s Gene Editing and CRISPR course. 

Microbiology and infectious disease. Hunt for antibiotic resistance in soil from your own neighborhood. Nobody has sampled your patch of dirt yet, so small projects can turn up real things here. Try iCLEM, University of Kentucky, or Rockefeller.

Cancer biology. Why do tumor cells burn fuel differently? Why does a drug stop working after six months? Try Memorial Sloan Kettering, City of Hope, Fred Hutch, or the Broad. Neuroscience. Protein misfolding in Alzheimer’s. How a memory gets stored and then lost. Try Stanford SIMR, ASSIP, or Horizon’s Neuroscience course.

Environment and ecology. Compare the microbiomes of two trees on the same street. Test whether algae can clean one pollutant out of water. A past Genspace intern did the tree microbiome project, so this isn’t hypothetical. Also worth a look: iCLEM and Livermore.

Not sure how to turn an interest into a question yet? Start with 8 tips on doing biology research in high school, or browse our list of biology research topics.

What skills do high school students learn in biology research programs?

Bench technique. Pipetting, sterile technique, PCR, gel electrophoresis, DNA isolation. Fred Hutch spends two full weeks teaching this before you go near a real project. iCLEM adds instruments like HPLC and GC-MS.

Working with data. Most programs end in analysis, and a lot of that is code now. iCLEM has you in Python or R. Livermore, Rutgers WISE, and Genspace teach the bioinformatics tools researchers use to read sequence data. More: 15 bioinformatics programs.

Explaining your work. Students underrate this one and labs don’t. Jackson Laboratory runs workshops on scientific communication and chart design. The Broad teaches poster design. Genspace uses improv.

Judging whether a result means anything. The hardest to teach. Jackson’s journal clubs have you arguing about published papers with working scientists, and Rutgers walks you through how researchers decide a sequence is solid enough to submit.

Does this help your college application?

Yes, but not because you did a famous program. What sticks is a project you can explain without being asked twice. What did you want to find out? What blew up? What would you do differently? Those are questions about work, not about an acceptance letter.

Plenty of students do research and find out the subject they were sure about isn’t the one they want. Learning that at 17, before you pick a major, is worth as much as the line on your application. To better understand, check out our blogs: do research programs actually help with admissions? and how to get into a top research program.

Which one should you choose?

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

Choose this group if…	Group
There’s no research university near you, or you can’t give up a whole summer	Online programs
You want to get paid and you don’t want your address to rule you out	Paid, open to anyone
You live in Massachusetts, the Bay Area, Michigan, New York City, Boston or Seattle	Paid, one city or state only
You want the biggest names and you’ll take no pay to get them	Free at universities and labs
You’re a sophomore, or the free programs near you have rules you don’t meet	Programs you pay for
You’d rather have seven months on one project than seven weeks	School year programs

Different subject calling you? You can check out our guide on summer research programs.

Online biology research programs

You can do these two from anywhere, and that’s a bigger deal than it sounds. 

1. Horizon Academic Research Program

Location: Fully online

Cost: $6,950 per course, with need-based financial aid for families earning under $75,000

Cohort size: 3 to 6 students per seminar; Labs are one-on-one. 26% acceptance rate from 6,539 applications

Dates: Seminars run 10 weeks; Labs run 12 to 16 weeks. Fall and spring trimesters are 15 weeks, summer is compressed to 10. Expect 8 to 10 hours per week

Application Deadline: Winter cohort closes November 22, 2026

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

Horizon matches each student with a professor or PhD mentor and structures the term around a single research question, ending in a paper of roughly 5,000 words. Life science options include Gene Editing and CRISPR, Protein Biophysics, Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Environmental Health and Engineering, and Bio-Industry. The Labs track includes 15 one-on-one mentor sessions, plus four sessions with a dedicated writing coach. The completed paper belongs to the student, who may submit it to journals or competitions on their 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 cannot commit an entire summer.

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

Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. Remote, in person or hybrid, determined by the assigned mentor

Cost: $25 application fee plus $1,299 tuition on acceptance. Both may be waived for demonstrated financial need

Cohort size: Not publicly available

Dates: 8 weeks at 30 hours per week. The 2026 program ran June 22 to August 12; 2027 dates are not yet posted

Application Deadline: February with applications opening in December

Eligibility: Age 15 and above for remote and computational projects, 16 and above for laboratory work, which is a safety requirement with no exceptions. Students may participate for a maximum of two summers

ASSIP places each intern with a single faculty researcher for eight weeks of full-time work. Biology-relevant tracks include proteomics and molecular medicine, drug discovery, bioengineering, neuroscience and environmental science, among roughly twenty additional fields. Two points are frequently misreported. The program is widely described as free, but you must pay tuition for the associated course credits unless a fee waiver is approved, so submit waiver applications early. Remote participation is also not guaranteed, as each mentor sets their own working arrangement.

Who is it right for? Students seeking a full-time faculty-supervised project who are comfortable working remotely.

Free programs at universities, laboratories and federal agencies

The programs below charge nothing but provide no stipend. This category contains the most widely recognized names on the list and is the most competitive.

3. Research Science Institute (RSI), MIT

Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Residential

Cost: None. CEE describes RSI as the first cost-free summer science and engineering program of its kind. No stipend is paid, contrary to several published listings

Cohort size: Approximately 100 students worldwide. No acceptance rate published

Dates: 6 weeks: one week of coursework, five weeks of research, followed by final presentations

Application Deadline: Not published. CEE states only that the most recent round has closed, so applicants should monitor the program’s application page directly

Eligibility: Juniors only; seniors are not eligible. Separate application tracks for US and international students. Suggested scores are PSAT Math 740 or above with EBRW 700 or above, or ACT Math 33 or above with Verbal 34 or above

The program opens with a week of college-level STEM coursework taught by faculty, followed by five weeks of independent research under a scientist or engineer. Students review the relevant literature, design a research plan, collect and analyze data, and revise their approach in response to results. RSI places substantial emphasis on written and oral scientific communication, concluding with conference-style presentations. Because no deadline is published, do not rely on dates listed on third-party sites; RSI is among the most frequently misreported programs in this category. Full guide: everything you need to know about RSI.

Who is it right for? Juniors with near-perfect standardized test scores applying to the most widely recognized research program available at this level.

4. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)

Location: Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

Cost: $50 application fee, waived for households earning under $80,000. No cost to attend

Cohort size: Approximately 50 students expected. No acceptance rate is published, and the sub-3% figure circulating on third-party sites does not appear in any official source

Dates: 8 weeks, June 7 to July 29, 2027, listed as tentative

Application Deadline: Listed only as late February 2027. No specific date has been published

Eligibility: Juniors and seniors, age 16 by the start date. US citizens and permanent residents currently living in and attending high school in the United States. Selection strongly favours Bay Area applicants, and students must arrange their own housing with a family member or adult guardian

Participants join a research group and work alongside Stanford faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and laboratory staff across eight tracks: Immunology, Cancer Biology, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Neuroscience, Cardiovascular Biology, Genetics and Genomics, Bioinformatics and Bioengineering. Students observe how experiments are designed, how evidence is gathered, and how research groups determine their next line of inquiry. The housing requirement is the practical constraint: Stanford provides no accommodation support, which makes this effectively a regional program despite the nationally framed eligibility criteria. Full guide: the ultimate guide to applying to SIMR.

Who is it right for? Bay Area students, or those with family in the area, who want a medical research placement with a choice of eight specialisms.

5. Summer Science Research Program (SSRP), Rockefeller University

Location: RockEDU Science Outreach Laboratory, Rockefeller University, New York City

Cost: None. No application fee

Cohort size: Not published for the current round

Dates: 7 weeks, approximately 35 hours per week, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Application Deadline: January 2 in the 2026 round, with applications having opened on October 13. The next window is expected around October

Eligibility: Juniors and seniors, age 16 by the start date. International students are eligible, though RockEDU cannot assist with travel, housing, or visas. A stipend may be available to students with demonstrated financial hardship who meet all attendance and research requirements, but no amount is published, and it is not guaranteed

Students work in teams; each team develops a research question, determines an experimental approach, and conducts, records, and analyses its own work. Science talks, workshops and networking sessions run alongside the research, and the program concludes with a symposium at which every team presents. Applicants should consult the FAQ page linked above rather than the main SSRP page, which has not been updated and still displays the 2024 round.

Who is it right for? Students able to commute within New York for seven weeks who want team-based biomedical research. One of the few programs on this list open to international applicants.

6. Simons Summer Research Program, Stony Brook University

Location: Stony Brook University, New York. Commuter or dormitory

Cost: No tuition and no fees. Students cover their own travel and meals if commuting, or dormitory costs if they live on campus. No stipend is published, and the $1,000 figure circulating elsewhere does not appear in any official source

Cohort size: Not published. Described only as highly selective

Dates: June 29 to August 7 in the 2026 round

Application Deadline: February 5 in the 2026 cycle, with teacher recommendations due February 13

Eligibility: Juniors only, age 16 by the start date. US citizens and permanent residents. Applicants must be nominated by their school, with a strict limit of two students per school; if a school nominates more than two, all applicants from that school are disqualified. In person only, with no remote placements

Participants are matched with a faculty mentor and join a project in science, mathematics, engineering, or a related field, learning the group’s methods and taking on greater responsibility for the placement. Faculty talks, workshops, and campus activities illustrate university research practices, and students finish by writing a research abstract and presenting it at the closing poster symposium. Because of the nomination cap, selection happens within the applicant’s school, so students should approach their science department early in the academic year.

Who is it right for? New York juniors whose science department will nominate them as one of the school’s two candidates.

7. Biotech Summer Experience, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Location: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California

Cost: None. No stipend

Cohort size: Not published. The program states that applications are competitive and space is limited

Dates: 2 weeks. In 2026, July 13 to 24, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Application Deadline: February 26 in the 2026 cycle

Eligibility: Students entering grades 11 or 12, age 16 by the start date. Cumulative GPA of 3.3 and a separate science GPA of 3.5 required. Biology and Chemistry completed. Northern California residents only. Applicants aged 18 or over must be US citizens, and security clearance requirements apply

Participants isolate and sequence genes from the duckweed species Landoltia punctata, working through plasmid DNA isolation, PCR, restriction digests and gel electrophoresis before applying bioinformatics tools to analyse the resulting sequences. Sequences are submitted to GenBank, the international DNA database, which means a two-week placement can produce a permanent, citable record. Two eligibility requirements are routinely omitted from other listings: the separate science GPA threshold, and the Northern California residency restriction. Related reading: 15 bioinformatics research programs.

Who is it right for? Northern California students with strong science grades who want a citable research output from a short placement.

8. NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP)

Location: NIH campuses, including the principal campus in Bethesda, Maryland

Cost: None, with free parking and transit access

Cohort size: Not published. The 15% acceptance rate quoted on third-party sites does not appear in any official source. Each principal investigator selects their own interns

Dates: 2027 dates are not yet posted. The 2026 window ran May 11 to August 31

Application Deadline: 2027 applications open in mid-November 2026 and close in mid-February 2027

Eligibility: Restrictive for high school applicants. Students must be seniors at the point of application who will graduate before the internship begins, and must be 18 by September 30, 2027. Applicants who will be 17 on June 1 but turn 18 by September 30 must live within 40 miles of an NIH campus. US citizens and permanent residents, enrolled at least half time, with health insurance. 

SIP provides full-time research and data analysis under an NIH mentor across the biomedical, behavioural and social sciences, including biology, bioinformatics, epidemiology, chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences. Because individual laboratories select their own interns, direct outreach carries as much weight as the formal application, and applicants should identify laboratories whose published work they can discuss in detail. Two points are commonly misstated: the NIH no longer maintains a separate high school program page, so the HS-SIP and HiSTEP designations found elsewhere no longer resolve, and the age requirement excludes most students still in high school.

Who is it right for? Graduating seniors with a gap before college who want a federal research placement.

Paid programs open to students anywhere

The following four programs provide a stipend and impose no residency requirement. That combination is uncommon, which makes these among the most competitive entries on this list.

9. The Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Program

Location: The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, or The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, Farmington, Connecticut

Cost: None. $7,500 stipend, plus room, board and travel expenses. The highest stipend on this list

Cohort size: Not publicly available

Dates: 10 weeks

Application Deadline: January 25, 2027. Applications open in November 2026

Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors and undergraduate students

Participants are assigned a faculty mentor and join an active genetics and genomics project, taking on increasing responsibility as the placement progresses. Alongside bench work, workshops cover scientific communication, data visualization and responsible research practice. Weekly journal clubs give students the opportunity to discuss published papers directly with working scientists, and the program concludes with a presentation to the wider JAX research community. This is one of only two programs on this list with confirmed 2027 dates. Related reading: 15 genetics summer programs.

Who is it right for? Graduating seniors committed to genetics who want the highest-paid research placement available to a high school student.

10. City of Hope Eugene and Ruth Roberts Summer Student Academy

Location: City of Hope, Duarte, California

Cost: None. Stipend of approximately $4,000 to $4,500. City of Hope’s own pages list both figures, so confirm at application

Cohort size: 82 students from approximately 2,100 applications, divided roughly evenly between high school and college students

Dates: 10 weeks, June 1 to August 6, 2027, full time

Application Deadline: February 1, 2027. Applications open November 1, 2026

Eligibility: Age 16 by June 1. US citizens and permanent residents. High school chemistry and biology required. No prior research experience necessary

Students design and conduct their own biomedical project in cancer biology, immunology or genetics, working alongside faculty, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students from the Irell and Manella Graduate School. Training covers cell culture, molecular assays and data analysis, with mentor support in refining the research question into an answerable form. The program closes with a presentation to the City of Hope research community. One point is widely misreported: the California residency requirement often attributed to this program applies to a separate track, CIRM TEAMS, and not to the Roberts Academy, which accepts applicants nationwide.

Who is it right for? Students outside California seeking a ten-week cancer research placement who can arrange to be in Los Angeles County for the summer.

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

Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas. Residential

Cost: $25 application fee. Room, board and meals are covered; travel and personal expenses are not. $750 tax-free stipend on completion of the research report

Cohort size: 12 students

Dates: 7 weeks. The 2026 program ran June 21 to August 6

Application Deadline: February 16 in the 2026 cycle

Eligibility: Applicants must be 17 by the start date, with no exceptions. Rising seniors or recent graduates. US citizens and permanent residents only

Each of the twelve scholars is paired with a faculty researcher for the full seven weeks. Weekly seminars, small-group discussions and field trips run alongside laboratory work, and the cohort size means sustained direct contact with the supervising researcher. Biology-relevant fields include Biology, Cellular and Microbiology, Cancer Biology and Cancer Bioimaging, with Chemistry also available. Two details are commonly listed incorrectly: there is a $25 application fee, so the program is not entirely free, and international students are no longer eligible. Several sites still link to a six-year-old page stating the program was cancelled for COVID.

Who is it right for? Students aged 17 or older who want sustained one-to-one faculty contact in a very small cohort.

12. University of Kentucky Summer Research Training Fellowship

Location: University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky

Cost: None. $2,500 stipend

Cohort size: At least six students

Dates: 8 weeks at 20 to 25 hours per week, part time

Application Deadline: April 5 in the 2026 cycle

Eligibility: Age 16 by mid-June. Advanced biology and chemistry coursework required. A US bank account in the student’s own name is required for payment

Fellows are paired with a graduate student, postdoctoral researcher or research scientist who provides technical training and brings them onto an active project in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics. Placements begin with a review of the literature underpinning the research question before students take on independent work. Weekly career sessions address STEM degree pathways and biomedical careers, and the fellowship concludes with a departmental presentation. The April deadline falls considerably later than most programs on this list, and part-time hours allow students to hold a job or take a summer course concurrently.

Who is it right for? Students interested in microbiology and immunology, those applying late in the cycle, or anyone who cannot commit to full-time hours.

Paid programs for students in one city or state

The seven programs below provide a stipend but restrict eligibility by residence or school district. For students who qualify, the applicant pool is considerably smaller than for the national programs above. Check the eligibility line before reading further, as it determines whether the rest applies.

13. Broad Summer Scholars Program

Location: Broad Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Non-residential; students commute

Cost: None. $3,600 stipend, plus some travel expenses

Cohort size: No cap published. The 2026 cohort listed approximately 18 scholars

Dates: 6 weeks. The 2026 program ran June 29 to August 7

Application Deadline: January 21 in the 2026 cycle, with the window opening in late November

Eligibility: Rising seniors at a Massachusetts high school within commuting distance of the Broad Institute. B or better in science and mathematics. US citizen, permanent resident or otherwise authorized to work. Full availability across all six weeks required

Scholars undertake an original project with Broad scientists in cancer biology, psychiatric disease, chemical biology, computational biology or infectious disease, depending on the research group. Science talks, career sessions and workshops on scientific communication and poster design run throughout, concluding with a poster session. The Broad states explicitly that no prior research experience is required, which makes this one of very few programs of its standing that is open to genuine beginners. Related reading: 15 best summer programs in Massachusetts.

Who is it right for? Massachusetts rising seniors with no research background who want a placement at an institution recognised nationally.

14. Introductory College Level Experience in Microbiology (iCLEM), Joint BioEnergy Institute

Location: Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, California. Partly online, partly in person

Cost: None. $3,000 stipend

Cohort size: Not publicly available

Dates: 7 weeks: one largely online preparation week followed by six weeks in person. In 2026, preparation ran June 8 to 12 and research ran June 20 to August 1

Application Deadline: Not listed on the current program page. Late March in previous cycles

Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors, age 16 by mid-June. Residence in Alameda, Contra Costa or San Francisco County required. Family income caps apply. Minimum 2.5 GPA with Algebra 1 and Biology completed. US citizens and permanent residents

Participants join a research team studying microbial and enzyme pathways across biotechnology, microbiology and biomanufacturing, of which biofuels form one component rather than the whole. Technical training covers sterile technique, microbial culture and instrumentation including HPLC and GC-MS, with data processed in Python or R. Workshops address biotechnology careers, graduate study and college applications, supported by mentoring from JBEI scientists and graduate students. The 2.5 GPA threshold is the lowest on this list, making iCLEM accessible to students screened out by other programs.

Who is it right for? Bay Area sophomores and juniors from lower-income households whose academic record is solid rather than exceptional.

15. University of Michigan Aspirnaut Program

Location: University of Michigan Life Sciences Institute, Ann Arbor. Residential

Cost: None. $3,000 stipend, with housing and a meal plan included

Cohort size: 6 to 10 interns per year

Dates: 6 weeks. In 2026, move-in was June 14 and the program concluded July 24

Application Deadline: Recommendations were due February 15 in the 2026 cycle. 2027 details are expected in late fall 2026

Eligibility: Current juniors attending a Michigan high school. US citizen, permanent resident, or holder of an employment authorization document. Campus residence required

Interns join life science projects led by University of Michigan researchers and live in Alice Lloyd Hall for the duration. Professional development sessions, networking events and organised social activities run alongside the research. Two eligibility details are worth noting, as both are frequently stated more narrowly elsewhere. The requirement is attendance at a Michigan high school rather than Michigan residency, and international students holding an employment authorization document are eligible.

Who is it right for? Juniors attending school in Michigan who want a fully funded residential placement.

16. Biorocket Youth Research Internship, Genspace

Location: Genspace, Brooklyn, New York. Partly in person, partly online

Cost: None. $2,000 stipend

Cohort size: Not publicly available

Dates: Six months, February to August. Spring sessions run Wednesday and Thursday evenings, 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. The 2026 summer block ran July 6 to August 14, in person Monday to Thursday with online Fridays

Application Deadline: Applications open November 1. No closing date is published

Eligibility: Age 16 by orientation. Applicants must either live in, or attend a public or charter school in, New York City within 45 minutes of Genspace. Exceptions are considered on request

Biorocket runs substantially longer than any other program on this list, beginning with evening sessions in spring, moving into a full-time summer block, and concluding with an original scientific paper. The work covers DNA sequencing, genetic engineering and bioinformatics in a community biology laboratory, with mentoring from practising scientists and improvisation training to support scientific communication. Past projects include comparative microbiome analysis across Red Oak species and algae-based water treatment. Note that eligibility is satisfied by either residence or school attendance, not both. Related reading: 16 research programs in New York City.

Who is it right for? New York City students who want an extended project across six months rather than a compressed summer placement.

17. HOPP Summer Student Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering

Location: MSK Main Campus, Upper East Side, Manhattan

Cost: None. $1,200 stipend for the summer. Housing is not provided

Cohort size: 20 interns from more than 1,000 applications, approximately 2%. The most selective published figure on this list

Dates: 8 weeks at 40 hours per week. In 2026, June 29 to August 21

Application Deadline: February 6 at 8:00 a.m. EST in the 2026 cycle

Eligibility: High school juniors only. Age 14 by June. Minimum 3.5 GPA in science coursework. Residence in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut within 25 miles of MSK’s Main Campus. Legal authorization to work in the US

Interns conduct their own project under the supervision of a postdoctoral researcher, graduate student or research technician, across cancer biology, cell and molecular biology, computational biology, immunology, pharmacology and structural biology. Expert-led tours and training sessions run throughout the placement, which concludes with a poster presentation to students and staff. One correction is important here: several published listings state that the program accepts freshmen through seniors. It is open to juniors only. The age floor of 14 is unusually low but does not extend eligibility beyond that year group.

Who is it right for? Juniors in the New York metropolitan area with strong science grades seeking a cancer research placement at a leading centre.

18. Project Success, Harvard Medical School

Location: Harvard Medical School and partner laboratories, Boston, Massachusetts

Cost: None. Paid, though Harvard does not publish the amount

Cohort size: Not publicly available

Dates: Approximately 7 weeks at 7 hours per day. In 2026, June 29 to August 14

Application Deadline: February 4 in the 2026 cycle

Eligibility: Grades 11 and 12, age 16 by the start date. Minimum 2.70 GPA. Algebra, biology and chemistry completed. Residence in Boston or Cambridge, Massachusetts required. Parental consent and US work authorization required

Students are placed in a laboratory at Harvard Medical School or an affiliated institution, conducting experiments, preparing reagents, running assays and analysing data. Seminars and site visits to hospitals and biotechnology companies run alongside laboratory work. The program is directed particularly at students from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical science. The 2.70 GPA threshold is the second lowest on this list, which makes this among the more accessible routes into an institution of this standing. Note that the program has moved from the former DICP office to Harvard’s Office for Culture and Community Engagement, so older links redirect. Related reading: 15 lab opportunities in Boston.

Who is it right for? Boston and Cambridge students with a good rather than exceptional academic record who want a Harvard-affiliated placement.

19. Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP), Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Location: Fred Hutch Cancer Center, South Lake Union, Seattle, Washington

Cost: None. An award is paid on completion, though Fred Hutch does not publish the amount

Cohort size: Not publicly available

Dates: 8 weeks. In 2026, June 22 to August 14. 2027 details are expected in November 2026

Application Deadline: March 13 in the 2026 cycle

Eligibility: Students between 11th and 12th grade, age 16 by the start date. Residence in Greater Seattle or the surrounding area required. Out-of-state and international applicants are not accepted

SHIP is structured in two stages. The first two weeks provide hands-on training in pipetting, sterile technique and foundational molecular biology, after which interns spend six weeks embedded in a research group on an active project, developing skills in data collection, analysis and experimental design. Weekly research talks, college and career workshops and group activities run throughout, and the internship concludes with a presentation to the Fred Hutch community. The dedicated training period makes this the most suitable entry point on this list for students with no laboratory experience. Related reading: 15 lab opportunities in Seattle.

Who is it right for? Greater Seattle rising seniors with no prior laboratory experience who want structured training before independent work.

Programs charging tuition

The programs below charge tuition. Both provide structured laboratory training with an attached project rather than a place on an existing research programme, which can be the appropriate choice for sophomores and for students the stipend-paying programs above do not yet accept.

20. Research in the Biological Sciences (RIBS), University of Chicago

Location: University of Chicago, Hyde Park. Residential

Cost: $15,200. Partial need-based aid is available, generally for US families earning under $125,000. The university states that only partial awards are offered and that aid is not guaranteed

Cohort size: Not published

Dates: 4 weeks. In 2026, arrival was June 13 with the course running June 15 to July 10. 2027 applications open in December 2026

Application Deadline: Rolling until the program fills

Eligibility: Grades 10 and 11. High school biology required; a year of advanced biology is recommended

The first half of the course covers core laboratory techniques, which students then apply to an independent project in the second half. Most contact time is spent at the bench, supplemented by faculty seminars, literature review and maintenance of a laboratory notebook. RIBS places explicit emphasis on scientific documentation and communication, with writing undertaken throughout rather than at the end, and results presented at a closing research forum. Subject coverage spans molecular biology, microbiology, cell biology and developmental biology. The university advises that students with substantial prior laboratory experience may find the content repetitive. Note that the current fee is $15,200; lower figures published elsewhere are out of date.

Who is it right for? Sophomores and juniors without laboratory experience who want intensive technique training and can meet the cost.

21. Waksman Institute Summer Experience (WISE), Rutgers

Location: Waksman Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey. A fully online version, vWISE, is also offered

Cost: $2,200, non-refundable. $600 for vWISE

Cohort size: Not published. Limited enrolment, first come first served

Dates: 2 weeks. In 2026, sessions ran June 22 to July 2 and July 27 to August 7, with vWISE running August 10 to 21

Application Deadline: No fixed deadline. Applications opened January 12 in the 2026 cycle and are accepted until the program fills

Eligibility: Completion of one high school biology course. No grade, age, citizenship or residency requirements

Participants purify DNA from duckweed, study specific genes, sequence the DNA, and compare those sequences against genes from other species, supported by training in the bioinformatics tools used in current research. The program also addresses how researchers judge whether a result is sufficiently robust to publish. Sequences passing scientific review are submitted to GenBank, with participating students named in the published records. WISE is the only program on this list with no grade, age, citizenship or residency restrictions of any kind, and the online version is the least expensive route to a genuine sequencing project identified in this research.

Who is it right for? Students excluded from other programs by grade, age or location who want sequencing work credited under their own name.

Program running during the school year

22. Partners for the Future (PFF), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Location: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island, New York

Cost: None. No stipend disclosed

Cohort size: Not published. Semi-finalists are interviewed by Laboratory scientists

Dates: September through March of the student’s senior year, at a minimum of 10 hours per week

Application Deadline: Applications are currently closed, and CSHL’s page does not specify which cycle this refers to. Applicants should contact the education office before planning around this program

Eligibility: Students entering their senior year, nominated by their school’s science chairperson, with two nominations per school during junior year. Directed primarily at Long Island students

Students spend at least ten hours per week in a CSHL laboratory with a scientist mentor, working on an original project and learning how experiments are planned, conducted, documented, and evaluated. Sustained contact with graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and faculty across seven months provides a fuller picture of laboratory practice than a short summer placement allows, and the extended timeline gives students the opportunity to develop genuine command of their project. The program concludes with a presentation to mentors, laboratory staff, teachers and family. As with the Simons program, the initial approach should be to the applicant’s own science department rather than to the Laboratory.

Who is it right for? Long Island juniors entering senior year who want an extended project across the academic year rather than a compressed summer placement.

Frequently asked questions

Resources- More from Horizon

Biology and life sciences

• 15 best biology programs for high school students
• 40 biology research topics for high school students
• 8 tips on how to do biology research in high school
• 15 genetics summer programs
• 15 bioinformatics research programs
• 15 biotech internships
• 15 disease research project ideas

Getting in

• How to get into a top high school research program
• 7 ways to find a research lab, beyond cold emailing
• 14 research programs for complete beginners
• Do summer research programs actually help with college admissions?

Writing and publishing your 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?
• 7 steps to turn your paper into a competition submission
• Publishing a research paper: gains, losses and growth

Program deep dives

• Everything you need to know about RSI
• The ultimate guide to applying to SIMR

By location and format

• 16 research programs in New York City
• 15 lab opportunities in Boston
• 15 lab opportunities in Seattle
• 15 best summer programs in Massachusetts
• 20 summer research mentorship programs
• 11 free research mentorship programs
• 12 paid research mentorship programs
• 16 fully funded STEM programs
• 14 grants for high school research
• The most competitive research programs
• Prestigious summer research programs with low acceptance rates

Go start your own project

Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs are fully online, run three times a year, and end with a college-level research paper that’s yours. A professor or PhD mentor works with you one-on-one, week after week, until the thing is finished. Tuition is $6,950, need-based aid is available for families under $75,000, and you’ll need an unweighted GPA of 3.67 or equivalent. The life science courses include Gene Editing and CRISPR, Protein Biophysics, Neuroscience, Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Bio-Industry.

Image source: George Mason University