If you’re a high schooler who likes chemistry and wants to get better at it, a summer program can help you move faster than a normal school course. You get focused time to study chemistry without juggling five other classes, and you can go deeper into topics that usually get rushed during the school year.
Depending on the program, you might work on experiments, problem sets, lab techniques, or research-style projects. Some programs also introduce areas like biochemistry, forensic chemistry, environmental chemistry, or materials science, which can help you see what chemistry looks like outside a textbook.
Why choose Florida for a summer program?
Florida hosts chemistry learning opportunities through colleges, science centers, and research programs that welcome high school participants. You can explore fields like environmental chemistry, biochemistry, materials science, and laboratory methods in settings that emphasize hands-on work.
Local programs also tend to be more affordable and easier to attend, since travel and housing are often not required. These experiences help you build practical skills and give you concrete examples to reference in college applications or science discussions.
With that, here are 15 chemistry summer programs for high school students in Florida! You can also
15 Chemistry Summer Programs for High School Students in Florida
1. Florida State University Young Scholars Program
Location: Florida State University
Cost: Fully funded; includes housing and meals
Dates: June 7 – July 18
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Rising 12th-grade Florida residents with a 3.0+ unweighted GPA and standardized test scores in the 90th percentile
The Florida State University Young Scholars Program runs like a real six-week academic term, except you are living on campus and your schedule is built around science. You take advanced math and science classes, and you also spend two days each week doing mentored research with FSU faculty. If you want chemistry, you can usually signal that interest when you apply and try to align your research placement. A big part of the program is learning how research actually gets written up, so you work toward a formal paper and present your work out loud, the same way undergraduate researchers do in labs.
2. University of Florida Student Science Training Program (SSTP)
Location: University of Florida, Gainesville
Cost: $5,500 + $50 non-refundable application fee (Need-based scholarships are available)
Dates: June 7 – July 25
Application Deadline: Typically, Mid-April
Eligibility: Rising 12th-grade students who are at least 16 years old.
The University of Florida Student Science Training Program (SSTP) is a research-heavy summer program where your main job is working in a lab. You spend long hours each week working with a UF research group, often alongside graduate students and postdocs, and the chemistry placements can include analytical work, synthesis, or materials-focused projects. Outside of lab time, you attend lectures that expose you to other research areas across STEM, which helps you understand how chemistry overlaps with biology, engineering, and medicine. By the end, you are expected to present your work formally, usually through a poster and an oral presentation, which forces you to explain your results clearly.
3. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)
Location: Various Locations including Jacksonville, Panama City, and Orlando, FL
Cost: Free (Participants receive a $4,000 to $4,500 stipend)
Dates: Eight weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: November 1
Eligibility: High school students who have completed grade 9 and are at least 16 years old
Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) places you inside Department of the Navy labs, which makes the experience feel different from a university program. The projects are tied to real research needs, so if you land a chemistry-related placement, you might be helping with lab testing, materials analysis, or experimental work connected to engineering and defense research. You work under professional scientists and learn how government labs operate, including documentation, lab safety standards, and structured reporting.
4. Florida International University’s Summer Research Internship
Location: Florida International University, Miami, FL
Cost: Free (Participants typically receive a stipend)
Dates: June 12 – August 7
Application Deadline: Applications typically open in the spring; check the FIU website for dates. Register here for more info.
Eligibility: South Florida high school juniors or seniors planning to attend FIU, aged 16+ with a 3.0 GPA.
Florida International University’s Summer Research Internship is built around chemistry and biology through a health lens, with a strong focus on cardiovascular research. You spend time in FIU labs each week and also participate in a journal club, which means you practice reading real research papers and discussing them as a research group would. The program is structured, with safety training, workshops, and guided discussions, so you are not thrown into lab work without context. You also work toward a final symposium presentation, which pushes you to explain your experiment, your data, and your conclusions in a clear way.
4. Florida Atlantic University’s Crystal Summer School
Location: Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Campus
Cost: Free
Dates: June 30 – July 3
Application Deadline: Typically early June
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–12
Florida Atlantic University’s Crystal Summer School is a short program, but it is unusually specific, and that is what makes it worth listing. You spend a few days learning the chemistry and physics behind crystallization, biomineralization, and nanoscale structures, with hands-on activities like growing crystals and studying natural materials. One of the standout parts is access to advanced microscopy tools, which is rare for a middle or high school program. Because the cohort is very small, you get more direct interaction with faculty and researchers, and the learning is more like a focused lab mini-course than a general STEM camp.
5. Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience High School Internship
Location: Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, FL
Cost: Free; A stipend of $14/hour is provided
Dates: June 22 – July 31
Application Deadline: February 8
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors from Palm Beach or Martin County (residents of other counties are not eligible to apply) | 16 years and above | Must be authorized to work in the U.S.
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience High School Internship puts you inside an active research institute where the work is built around real lab projects, not demos. You pick a track like neuroscience, scientific programming, or mechanical engineering, and your day-to-day depends on what you choose. In the lab track, that can mean hands-on biology work and data analysis tied to brain research. In the programming track, you are more likely to build tools that help researchers handle complex datasets. If you choose engineering, you may work with CAD and help design parts used in experiments. The program ends with you writing an abstract and presenting your work to the MPFI staff.
7. FIU High School Summer Internship Program (St. Lucie County)
Location: Centre for Translational Science, St. Lucie, FL
Cost: Free
Dates: June 8 through July 9
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors residing and attending school in St. Lucie County, Florida
The FIU High School Summer Internship Program (St. Lucie County) is a local research placement where you spend five weeks working with scientists in labs that cover areas like neuroscience, immunology, and medicinal chemistry. If you request the Nefzi Lab, your focus shifts toward medicinal chemistry and organic synthesis, which is rare at the high school level. The structure is pretty straightforward: you learn lab routines, run experiments under supervision, and help with data analysis, while also getting a feel for how a professional lab stays organized and safe. The program ends with a research poster and a final presentation, so you leave with a concrete output you can talk about later without stretching the truth.
8. Eckerd College Marine Science Pre-College Program
Location: Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida
Cost: $2,250 (Scholarships are available)
Dates: June 14 – 19 (Session I) | June 21 – 26 (Session II)
Application Deadline: Applications open in January; no specific deadline is mentioned.
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 11 and 12 who can pass a pool swim test.
The Eckerd College Marine Science Pre-College Program is built around the chemistry of coastal ecosystems, so you are not stuck the whole time indoors. You split your time between college labs and field work on the water, testing things like salinity and seawater composition, and learning how chemical changes show up in marine life. The program also leans into observation and sampling, so you might spend time on microscopes looking at plankton, while also doing structured work tied to coastal biodiversity. Since it is residential on a waterfront campus, you also get a realistic preview of what a college schedule feels like, with early mornings, labs, and long days outside.
9. University of Miami Summer Scholars: Food M³ – Molecules, Meaning and Memory
Location: University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
Cost: Not specified (check website for current rates)
Dates: June 27 – July 17
Application Deadline: December 31 (early); April 1 (regular)
Eligibility: Current sophomores and juniors with a 3.0+ GPA
University of Miami Summer Scholars Food M³ track is built around CHM101 Chemistry and Society, a course that approaches chemistry through the lens of food, memory, and molecular biology. You spend three weeks on campus taking college-level chemistry coursework that emphasizes how molecules shape consumer choices, environmental impact, and human health. The program includes lab work and integrates themes like energy, nutrition, and food chemistry. You also take a complementary anthropology course that examines food from an evolutionary and cultural perspective, so you understand how chemistry connects to human behavior and society.
10. Scripps Research Kenan Fellows High School Summer Internships
Location: Scripps Research, Jupiter, FL
Cost: Free (stipend provided)
Dates: Summer (check website for specific dates)
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school students (specific grade requirements not specified)
Scripps Research Kenan Fellows program opens up biological and chemical research at a world-class institute in Florida. You work in active research labs focused on basic biomedical science, which means if you are placed in a chemistry-heavy lab, you could be working on chemical biology, medicinal chemistry, or molecular synthesis. The program is research-intensive and exposes you to how professional scientists structure experiments, analyze data, and present findings. Unlike broader STEM camps, this is a genuine research internship where you contribute to ongoing projects under faculty mentorship.
11. Embry-Riddle SKY-CARE Summer Program
Location: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL
Cost: Free (funded by NSF ExLENT Grant)
Dates: June – July (8 weeks)
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students from partner schools in Volusia County
Embry-Riddle SKY-CARE Summer Program is an aerospace-focused research experience that includes significant chemistry and materials science components. You work on projects like nanotechnology innovations for carbon fiber materials, Mxene synthesis for electromagnetic interference shielding, and nano-modification of composites using hydrothermally grown metal oxides. These are advanced chemistry and materials engineering projects that have real applications in aviation and aerospace. The program includes lab work at Embry-Riddle’s research park, field trips to Kennedy Space Center, and a research symposium where you present your chemistry or materials science project.
12. UCF High School Summer Internship Program (PREM)
Location: University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (UCF Main Campus & UCF Medical Campus)
Cost: Free (Participants receive a $1,000 stipend)
Dates: June 9 – July 18
Application Deadline: May 15
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors interested in research at the intersection of physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering
The UCF High School Summer Internship Program is built around quantum materials research, which puts you at the intersection of chemistry, physics, and engineering. You intern in one of ten PREM research labs studying atomic-scale materials that could solve future energy, computing, and medical challenges. If you are interested in chemistry specifically, the program covers areas like electronic structure and light-matter interaction in layered quantum materials, catalysis on topological materials, and quantum material-biological material interfaces.
13. Palm Beach Atlantic University Summer Science Institute
Location: Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL
Cost: Not specified (check website for current rates)
Dates: June 8 – 12
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–12 (incoming Fall)
The Palm Beach Atlantic University Summer Science Institute focuses on forensics, which means you are using chemistry as a tool to solve problems rather than studying it in isolation. You develop skills in chemical analysis, molecular biology, microscopy, and applied physics through hands-on lab work. The program includes lectures from guest professionals who share real-world expertise, and you work toward a simulated crime scene investigation at the end. While the program includes middle school students, the high school cohort works with more advanced techniques and analysis.
14. George Mason’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: In person or virtual, as per selected format
Cost: $1,299
Dates: June 22 – August 12
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Students who are 15 years or older by the program start date
George Mason’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) is a mentor-based research program where you can work virtually and still end up doing serious science work, depending on the project you are matched with. You apply to specific research areas, and if you want chemistry or biochemistry, you can try to target those projects from the start. The program runs for several weeks, so you have time to build something more complete than a quick final slideshow. A big part of the experience is writing and presenting your results in a research format, and many students use the structure to produce work they later expand into publications or conference-style presentations.
15. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes: Topics in Biochemistry
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,200 (Financial aid is available)
Dates: July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: March 20
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–11
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes: Topics in Biochemistry is a two-week virtual course that moves fast and stays focused on how biological molecules actually work. You spend time on core topics like proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids, and the teaching is closer to an intro college course than a casual summer overview. The course includes live sessions, small group activities, and a final group presentation where you explain a modern topic like CRISPR or mRNA vaccines in a structured way. It is less about memorizing definitions and more about building the habit of thinking through mechanisms, which is what biochemistry eventually demands.
One more option—Horizon Academic Research Program
If you are looking for a competitive mentored research program in chemistry, you can consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! It is a selective virtual research program that allows you to engage in advanced research and come up with a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1,000+ high school students so far, offering 600+ research specializations to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image source: Florida Atlantic University