If you are passionate about a subject and want to go beyond what you learn in the classroom, a research program can be one of the most rewarding opportunities available in high school. Compared to academic competitions, general pre-college programs, or internships, research programs introduce you to advanced learning while helping you build a strong foundation in your chosen field. Most research programs are time-bound, spanning anywhere from a few weeks to several months, and give you the opportunity to work alongside scientists, mathematicians, or engineers in an environment built around learning and skill development rather than workplace productivity. Because most programs are highly selective, earning a place in one also serves as a strong indicator of your academic achievement in your resume.
Several programs also feature built-in professional development support, whether that means weekly seminars, mentor check-ins, or coursework that runs alongside the lab work itself. Many also offer stipends, academic credit, or certificates of completion. Unlike an internship, where your primary role is to contribute to organizational goals, a research program is designed around your development as a learner and an emerging researcher. The timeline, mentorship model, and project scope are calibrated to help you gain knowledge, develop technical skills and learn how research is conducted in a real-world academic setting.
What do research programs for high schoolers include?
The research experience varies depending on your field of interest, but most research programs combine hands-on learning with independent inquiry. In a biology or chemistry research program, you might learn to run gel electrophoresis, conduct PCR reactions, perform cell culture, or use advanced instruments such as mass spectrometers or electron microscopes, depending on your lab placement. If you’re working on computational projects, you might work with computational tools, ranging from Python and R for data analysis to bioinformatics pipelines, statistical modeling software, or simulation platforms. Programs focused on mathematics or data science could have you working in proof-writing, algorithm development, combinatorial reasoning, or large-scale dataset analysis. Depending on the program, you may also attend regular lab meetings, contribute to ongoing research projects, and gain access to specialized national laboratory equipment research facilities or field sites that are rarely available to high school students.
Beyond technical skills, you’ll learn how researchers think and communicate their research findings. You’ll practice reading and synthesizing primary scientific literature, writing up your methods and results, designing controlled experiments, and presenting your findings to a scientific audience. The skills and confidence you gain through these experiences can even prepare you to pursue an independent research project of your own! If that is something you’re interested in, this article can help you take the first step.
For now, we have compiled a list of some of the most prestigious and competitive research programs available for high school students that you can benefit from. No matter what your niche is, you’re likely to find multiple avenues to pursue it across these programs.
Key Takeaways
- This list covers some of the most competitive research programs available to high school students, with acceptance rates as low as 2.5 percent at RSI and highly selective cohorts of just 12 students at the Anson L. Clark Scholars Program.
Most of these programs are free or fully funded, and many pay a stipend on top of covering costs. The Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Program offers a $7,500 stipend, the Broad Summer Scholars Program offers $3,600, and the University of Michigan Aspirnaut program offers $3,000. - Several programs are geographically restricted despite their prestige. The Broad Summer Scholars Program requires commuting distance to Cambridge, MA, the MSK Summer Student Program requires residing within 25 miles of NYC, and the Princeton Laboratory Learning Program is limited to New Jersey school districts.
- Research areas span nearly every STEM discipline, from pure mathematics at MIT PRIMES to cancer biology at Memorial Sloan Kettering, genetics and genomics at the Jackson Laboratory, and polymer science at the Garcia Research Scholars Program.
- Program length and structure vary considerably, from five week intensives like the Princeton Laboratory Learning Program, to year long commitments like MIT PRIMES and the AMNH Science Research Mentoring Program, which runs from August through June.
- Nearly all of these programs culminate in a formal presentation, whether that is a symposium, poster session, or conference style presentation, and several have historically led to publications, patents, or recognition at competitions like the Regeneron Science Talent Search.
- These research programs represent some of the most selective options available, but they are not the only path toward a strong research credential. Students interested in a mentored research experience with a different application timeline and subject range might consider Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs, a virtual research program with 600+ specializations across subjects like data science, political theory, and machine learning.
1. Research Science Institute (RSI)
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free apart from a non-refundable $75 application fee (waivers available)
Acceptance rate: About 2.5% acceptance rate | 80 – 100 students / year
Dates: Six weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Mid-December
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors, aged 16 years and above
The Research Science Institute (RSI) gives high school students the opportunity to experience university-level research while building a strong foundation in STEM. The six-week, fully funded program begins with a week of advanced STEM lectures delivered by MIT professors, before transitioning into a five-week individual research project. You’ll be matched with mentors at university labs, hospitals, or corporate research facilities across the Boston area, based on your interests and academic background. Working one-on-one with a practicing scientist or faculty researcher, you’ll read current literature in your field, develop a detailed research plan, conduct experiments, and produce a final research paper. The program concludes with the RSI Symposium, where you’ll present your findings in a conference-style setting. Research projects span a wide range of STEM disciplines, from cancer biology and materials science to pure mathematics and computational theory. Many RSI projects have gone on to earn recognition at the Regeneron Science Talent Search, and the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), while some have resulted in peer-reviewed publications. A number of participants have also received co-authorship credit on journal articles published by their host labs.
2. MIT PRIMES / PRIMES-USA
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: January 1 – December 31
Application deadline: December 1
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors, residing in the United States outside the Greater Boston area for PRIMES-USA, or within Greater Boston for PRIMES
PRIMES assigns each student a faculty-formulated unsolved research problem, and pairs them with an MIT graduate student or postdoctoral mentor for a ten-month research experience running from January through October. The program unfolds in four phases: active research, independent study, a paper write-up period, and a final public presentation at the Annual PRIMES Conference in May. Research topics span algebraic combinatorics, number theory, dynamical systems, representation theory, machine learning, theoretical computer science, and computational biology, with problems contributed by faculty at MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and Northwestern, and other leading universities. You’ll work either independently or in a team of two to three students to investigate an open research question and produce a final paper. These papers are posted on the PRIMES website, and may be submitted to professional journals or entered into national science competitions. PRIMES runs an in-person program for Greater Boston students and a nationwide remote program called PRIMES-USA for students elsewhere in the United States. Both follow the same mentorship model and use the same faculty-developed research problems. Over the years, PRIMES students have repeatedly earned top placements in the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the S.-T. Yau High School Science Award, and have presented their work at the MAA MathFest.
3. Horizon Academic Research Program (HARP)
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Financial aid available.
Dates: The spring and fall cohorts run 15 weeks, while the summer cohort runs 10 weeks (June-September).
Application Date: Multiple deadlines throughout the year for the Spring, Summer and Fall cohorts.
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th- or 11th-graders! A few tracks require prerequisites; see here.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students in subjects such as data science, machine learning, political theory, and more! Horizon is one of the few research programs for high school students that offers you the choice to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research. Once you select a particular subject track, Horizon pairs you with a professor/PhD scholar who acts as a mentor throughout your research journey. As a participant, you will be expected to develop a 20-page research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student and detailed project feedback you can use to improve future projects. Apply here!
4. Anson L. Clark Scholars Program
Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Cost: $25 application fee. Participants also receive a $750 stipend.
Cohort Size: 12 students / year
Dates: June 21 – August 6
Application Deadline: February 16
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (17+) who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
The Anson L. Clark program selects only 12 students nationwide each year, making it one of the most competitive research opportunities in the United States. Each scholar is paired with a Texas Tech University faculty mentor for a seven-week research project in a field of their choosing, with opportunities spanning virtually every academic discipline offered at the university. You’ll get to work full-time in the lab alongside graduate students and postdocs, attending weekly seminars, engaging in scholarly discussions and developing your project from conception to a final written report. Research areas span biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science, health sciences, and the social sciences, and the program has historically hosted scholars conducting work in the humanities and economics as well. At the end of the program, you’ll present your findings to the Texas Tech community and submit your completed research report. The cohort size of 12 means direct access to faculty mentors, individualized guidance and a close knit community where scholars work closely with each other throughout the seven weeks.
5. Simons Summer Research Program
Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Cost: Free (residential costs may apply). Stipend offered.
Acceptance Rate: <5%
Dates: June 29 – August 7
Application Deadline: February 5
Eligibility: U.S. citizens or permanent residents currently in 11th grade (16+)
The Simon’s Summer Research Program pairs high school students with faculty members at Stony Brook University for a summer of hands-on research. After being matched with a faculty mentor based on your research interests, you’ll join an active research group for the summer and take on a defined project that contributes to the lab’s ongoing work. Depending on the participating faculty member each year, research areas span the life sciences, physical sciences, chemistry, marine and atmospheric science, applied mathematics, engineering, and computer science. In addition to conducting research, you’ll attend weekly talks highlighting the research happening across Stony Brook’s departments, and participate in workshops and tours. Throughout the program, you’ll work in live labs alongside graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, attend actual group meetings and contribute to the lab’s active scientific agenda. You will prepare a written research abstract and a research poster, both of which will be presented at the closing symposium.
6. Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)
Location: The Rockefeller University, New York, NY
Cost: Free
Cohort Size: 32 students/cohort
Dates: June 22 – August 6
Application Deadline: October 13 – January 2
Eligibility: Current high school juniors and seniors (16+)
Rockefeller University’s Summer Science Research Program (SSRP) runs at the RockEDU Science Outreach Laboratory on Rockefeller’s Manhattan campus, where you spend seven weeks working as part of a small research team composed of fellow SSRP students and scientist mentors. Each project sits within Rockefeller’s core research areas, which span cell biology, genetics, structural biology, neuroscience, infectious disease, chemistry, and physics. You will begin by building foundational lab skills through dedicated training in the early weeks, then apply these techniques to investigate open research questions, refine your methods and troubleshoot experiments as new results emerge. The seven-week timeline gives you enough time to experience multiple rounds of experimental design, troubleshooting, and data interpretation before arriving at final results. The broader RockEDU ecosystem also runs a year-round Jumpstart program for NYC high school students with limited prior access to STEM opportunities. Students in Jumpstart receive additional preparation in spring before joining the SSRP summer component, giving those students an additional spring preparation period before lab work begins.
7. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost: Free, with need-based stipends available starting at $2,500, depending on family income
Acceptance Rate: Extremely selective
Dates: June 8 – July 30
Application Deadline: February 21
Eligibility: U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are juniors or seniors currently attending high school in the U.S. and are at least 16 by the program start date
Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR) places high school students in one of eight research areas at Stanford School of Medicine, including immunology, cancer biology, stem cell biology, neuroscience, cardiovascular science, genetics, bioinformatics, and bioengineering. Over eight weeks, you’ll work in a faculty member’s lab, under the day-to-day guidance of mentors, graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. You’ll carry a single project through the full arc of experimental science, from literature review and hypothesis formation to data collection, analysis, and a final poster presentation. If you are selected for the separate Bioengineering Team Internship track, you’ll work in a team of four to five students building biomedical prototypes addressing a defined medical need, using Stanford’s machine shop, wet labs, and maker spaces. Past design teams have developed projects such as a novel eye-drop delivery system, a light-based diagnostic tool for cancer detection, and a football helmet using machine learning to predict concussions in real time. Students across both tracks present their work at the SIMR Poster Session on the Stanford campus at the close of the program in late July.
8. Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Program
Location: The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, or Farmington, CT
Cost: Fully funded, and participants receive a $7,500 stipend
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: May 30 – August 7
Application Deadline: January 26
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors (18+) who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Genetics and genomics are the exclusive focus of the Summer Student Program at the Jackson Laboratory (JAX). Over ten weeks, you’ll be embedded in one of the laboratory’s research programs in Bar Harbor, Maine or Farmington, Connecticut, working on a project tied to your host lab’s actual scientific agenda. There is increasing independence as the fellowship progresses, and you’ll progress from learning techniques and background material in the opening weeks to contributing original data toward ongoing research by the end of the program. Weekly professional development sessions help you build practical scientific skills in areas including genetic testing, data visualization, science communication, and peer review. Beyond your lab work, you’ll have opportunities to engage with the broader scientific community. Students at the Bar Harbor campus are invited to participate in the McKusick Short Course in July, while Farmington students attend the Annual Short Course on Experimental Models of Human Cancer in Bar Harbor in early August. You present your completed research to JAX scientists, fellow SSP participants, and family members at the close of the program. All students live in campus housing together, sharing meals and weekend activities as a cohort throughout the ten weeks.
9. Garcia Research Scholars Program
Location: Garcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Cost: $4,000
Acceptance Rate: Extremely selective
Dates: June 24 – August 7
Application Deadline: Usually in the spring, keep an eye on the program website for details
Eligibility: High school students aged 16+ with an unweighted GPA of 95/100 or 3.8/4.0, standardized test scores of at least 60 percentile, and who have taken at least 3 of English, Chemistry, Mathematics/Calculus, Physics or Biology
The Garcia Scholars Program places high school students at the Stony Brook’s Garcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces for a seven-week research experience that blends formal instruction with original research in polymer science and materials engineering, and adjacent fields including tissue engineering, energy storage, pharmacology, and computational modeling. Working as part of a focused research team under the guidance of Garcia Center faculty, you’ll gain meaningful ownership over the scientific questions you investigate and the decisions you make throughout the research process. Garcia students regularly submit abstracts to the Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting, one of the most prominent international materials science conferences, and present their work alongside researchers from universities, national labs, and industry. Students who continue beyond the summer through the year-round Mentor Program coordinate directly with a faculty mentor during the school year, allowing their research projects to develop and deepen across multiple terms. You’ll also have access to Brookhaven National Laboratory’s X-ray and neutron scattering facilities as part of the research instrumentation available to your team.
10. Salk Institute Heithoff-Brody High School Summer Scholars
Location: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
Cost: No cost, this is a paid opportunity
Acceptance Rate: Extremely selective
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school students aged 16+ who live in San Diego County
Salk Institute Heithoff-Brody High School Summer Scholars Program begins with a one-week bootcamp at the Biocom Institute’s Life Science Young Leaders program, where you’ll build foundational wet lab skills and receive safety training before moving into a Salk research lab for the remaining seven weeks. You’ll be placed in an active laboratory working in one of the Salk Institute’s core research programs, including plant biology, neuroscience, cancer biology, immunology, molecular and cell biology, aging, and cardiovascular science. Rather than working on a separate student project, you’ll work full-time alongside graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and principal investigators, attending regular lab meetings and contributing to ongoing experimental work. The research experience is complemented by weekly seminars and visits to biotech industry site visits. You’ll present your research as either a formal scientific talk or a research poster at the Summer Scholars Research Symposium, held at the close of the eight weeks, for mentors, lab teams, and family members.
11. AMNH Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP)
Location: American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free. Participants earn a stipend of $2,500 upon completion
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: Academic year (August – June)
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: NYC high school students in grades 10–11. Additionally, students need to have either completed/be taking a course in one of six programs, or be attending one of SRMP’s partner schools or programs
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Science Research Mentoring Program gives high school students the opportunity to join an ongoing research project at the Museum, working alongside a scientist mentor through the academic year. You’ll meet with your Museum scientist mentor twice a week throughout the school year, from September through June, in two-hour sessions held in AMNH research labs. You’ll work in a small team consisting of two to three students paired with a dedicated researcher. The research topics available each year span the Museum’s full scientific scope, from astrophysics and planetary sciences to evolutionary biology, conservation genetics, invertebrate zoology, and anthropology. Before the school year begins, you’ll attend the SRMP Summer Institute in August, a month-long on-campus session where you explore available projects, select your mentor preferences, and build foundational research skills alongside your incoming cohort. Each year, the program offers approximately 20 different research projects, with teams working simultaneously across disciplines that showcase the wide range of scientific research carried out at the Natural History Museum. The program concludes with a Colloquium where each team presents its research through videos and posters to the Museum community.
12. UC Santa Cruz Science Internship Program (SIP)
Location: UC Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
Cost: $4,250 tuition and $68 non-refundable application fee. Partial and full need-based scholarships are available, and some students receive a stipend to offset the costs of attending
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Application Deadline: February 27
Eligibility: Current high school students ages 14–17
The UC Santa Cruz Science Internship Program (SIP) gives high school students the opportunity to contribute to ongoing UCSC research projects, and work on scientific questions that your mentor is actively pursuing toward publication or other scientific outcomes. Each mentor hosts a group of three interns who work together on one project, and your mentor may be a graduate student, postdoctoral scholar, staff researcher, or faculty member, affiliated with active UCSC research programs. Projects span all five academic divisions at UCSC, including arts, engineering, humanities, physical and biological sciences, and social sciences. SIP begins with a remote preparation week where you meet your mentor and complete any required background reading or safety training, then move into seven weeks of in-person research on the Santa Cruz campus. The program concludes with a public Presentation Day where all student teams present their research simultaneously in a hybrid format.
13. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Hybrid or fully virtual placements
Cost: $1,200 + $5 application fee; Need-based financial aid offered
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective; Only 48 students
Dates: June 23 – August 6
Application Deadline: Opens on April 15; Rolling till full
Eligibility: High school students
TheAspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) gives high school students the opportunity to work one-on-one or in a small group with a George Mason University faculty researcher on an original research project for eight weeks. The research areas available through ASSIP span everything from proteomics, cancer biology, bioinformatics, computational biology, and neuroscience to physics, chemistry, materials science, environmental science, and computer science. Some placements are in-person at GMU’s Fairfax, Manassas Science and Technology, or Potomac Science Center campuses, while others are fully remote depending on the mentor’s chosen format, making the program accessible to students outside the immediate Washington, DC area. Mentors select their own interns by reviewing applications directly, which means your stated research interests need to align clearly with the active work of at least one faculty mentor. The program culminates in a mandatory Research Symposium and Celebration, where all interns present their findings. Upon completion of the program, you’ll earn three undergraduate college credits from George Mason University. Students in past cohorts have filed patents and developed technologies that have since been adopted by external organizations.
14. NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP)
Location: One of several NIH facilities across the country
Cost: None, these are paid internships
Acceptance Rate: Extremely selective
Dates: 8 weeks in the summer (typically June – August)
Application Deadline: February 18
Eligibility: Graduating high school students enrolled at least half-time as a senior in high school, aged 17+ years by June 1, with a permanent home address within 40 miles of an NIH campus | Must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
The NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP) gives high school students the opportunity to spend the summer conducting full-time research in a laboratory within the NH Intramural Research Program. To participate, you’ll identify a Principal Investigator whose work interests you, contact them directly, and, if accepted, spend the summer conducting full-time research in their lab at an NIH campus. Research opportunities span the full breadth of NIH’s intramural programs, covering the biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences. Depending on your host laboratory, you might work in fields such as cancer biology, immunology, neuroscience, genetics, epidemiology, environmental health, and mental health. Internships are available at NIH’s main Bethesda location as well as Rockville, Frederick, and satellite campuses in Phoenix, Framingham, and Research Triangle Park, each housing different institutes with different scientific focus areas. The internship carries no course component and no pre-set programming beyond what your hosting PI establishes, making it function more like a direct professional research appointment than a structured program. The summer concludes with the NIH Summer Poster Days in August, where interns from across the NIH’s intramural program present their research on one of the world’s largest biomedical research campuses.
15. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Partners for the Future (PFF)
Location: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY
Cost: Fully funded
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: September – March
Application Deadline: Applications open in January and close once nominations are received
Eligibility: Rising seniors from the Long Island area nominated by their high school science chairperson
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CHSL) Partners for the Future (PFF) gives high school students the opportunity to conduct original biological research from September through the following March. During your senior year of high school, you’ll spend at least ten hours each week in a CHSL laboratory, working on original biological research in one of CSHL’s core areas: cancer biology, plant biology, neuroscience, genomics, or quantitative biology. Your day-to-day mentor is a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher in your assigned lab, and you’ll attend lab meetings, read primary literature, and contribute to live experiments rather than working on a project set aside specifically for high school participants. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a top-ranked institution for molecular biology and genetics research by citation impact, and the labs available to PFF students include those working on problems in epigenetics, plant development, cancer biology, and neuroscience. The program concludes in spring with a formal oral presentation, where you’ll share your research with an audience that includes CSHL scientists, administrators, parents, and teachers.
16. Broad Summer Scholars Program (BSSP)
Location: Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA
Cost: Free; a $3,600 stipend is paid to all participants upon program completion
Acceptance Rate: Not specified
Dates: June 29 – August 7
Application Deadline: January 21
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors in the greater Boston area within commuting distance to the Broad Institute who have earned a B or better in science and math classes. Must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or non-U.S. citizen with employment authorization (including DACA)
The Broad Summer Scholars Program (BSSP) gives high school students the opportunity to spend six weeks working alongside Broad Institute scientists on active research projects. Research areas include cancer biology, psychiatric disease, infectious disease, computational biology, and chemical biology, with your specific project aligned with both your research interests and the availability of a participating lab. The Broad Institute brings together researchers from MIT, Harvard, and Harvard-affiliated hospitals, and the research questions you work on during the summer are part of the Institute’s current scientific agenda. Both experimental and computational placements are available, with some students working primarily at the bench and others working in data analysis and bioinformatics, depending on their matched lab. You will present your work at a scientific poster session at the end of the summer. Beyond the research experience, the program also includes guest speaker events, a college fair, and social and team-building activities throughout the six weeks. A staff tutor is available throughout the program to help you work through scientific concepts relevant to your project area.
17. MSK Summer Student Program
Location: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Manhattan
Cost: Fully funded (housing and transport not included); students receive a $1,200 stipend
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 29 – August 21
Application Deadline: February 6
Eligibility: Current high school juniors residing within 25 miles of NYC, with a 3.5 GPA in science subjects
The Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Summer Student Program gives high school students the opportunity to spend eight weeks working on a self-directed project that advances the Principal Investigator’s broader research objectives. Memorial Sloan Kettering’s research centers on cancer biology and translational medicine, so projects span areas such as experimental oncology, cancer genetics, immunotherapy, radiation biology, drug discovery, computational biology, and clinical research. In addition to the bench or computational work, you will participate in regular lab meetings and gain exposure to how cancer research moves from basic science toward clinical application. The program also includes a series of events organized by MSK’s clinical departments and human resources team, including hospital tours and career programming that provide a broader perspective on careers in cancer research and medicine. At the close of the program in August, you present your research findings to your lab team and the broader MSK community.
18. Princeton University Laboratory Learning Program (LLP)
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate: Extremely selective, over 3,000 applicants for a limited number of lab placements
Dates: 5–6 weeks in summer, actual schedule set by individual lab at time of acceptance
Application Deadline: March 17
Eligibility: High school students attending local NJ school districts, 16 or older by June 15. Must be U.S. citizens only
The Princeton University Laboratory Learning Program (LLP) places high school students in a Princeton research lab for five to six weeks during the summer, working on a project under the guidance of a Princeton faculty member. Research opportunities vary from year to year depending on which faculty choose to host the students, with past research areas having spanned chemistry, physics, molecular biology, neuroscience, materials science, computer science, and engineering. The program has no residential component, no enrichment programming, and no social activities, meaning you’ll have to work directly in a university research environment. You’ll work alongside Princeton graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, gaining firsthand experience of how research is conducted. Faculty must agree to host you before you can participate in the program, so admission depends on the support of a faculty researcher whose work most closely aligns with your application and stated interests. You must submit a two-page written research summary at the end of the program, documenting your methods and findings.
19. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
Location: Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Seattle, WA
Cost: Free, these are paid internships
Acceptance Rate: Extremely selective
Dates: June 22 – August 14
Application Deadline: Applications open in November and close in the spring
Eligibility: High school students entering senior year, aged 16+, currently residing in Greater Seattle or surrounding area
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP) places high school students in a Fred Hutch research group for eight weeks, where you’ll contribute to ongoing research work in basic cancer science, human biology, or public health and epidemiology depending on your assigned team. In addition to the research work, you will attend education seminars and professional development workshops organized by the program, running in parallel with the core research hours. Fred Hutch specializes in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and other immune-based cancer therapies, and the labs available to summer students are part of this broader research environment. The program actively focuses on broadening access to biomedical research careers and does not require prior research experience. At the end of the eight weeks, you’ll participate in a poster session presenting your summer findings to the Fred Hutch community.
20. Boston University Research in Science & Engineering (RISE)
Location: Boston University, Boston, MA
Cost: Commuter: $5,350 (tuition) | Residential: $8,500 (tuition plus room & board)
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 28 – August 7
Application Deadline: February 4
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents
Boston University Research in Science & Engineering (RISE) offers two distinct pathways. The Internship track places you in a Boston University faculty research lab for six weeks, where you’ll work on a research project across fields spanning astronomy, biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, computer science, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, medical laboratory science, neuroscience, physics, psychology, and public health. If you choose the Practicum track, you’ll work in teams on computational projects in computational neurobiology or data science under the guidance of BU instructional staff, rather than being placed in a research laboratory. One day each week across both tracks is dedicated to workshops covering scientific ethics, reading and interpreting a research paper, presenting research findings, and building professional networks in science and engineering. You’ll advance to a faculty matching phase after initial review, and a final offer of admission is made only if a faculty member agrees to host you, meaning your placement depends on your scientific fit with the available mentors. Both tracks conclude with a Poster Symposium.
21. UChicago Data Science Institute (DSI) Summer Lab
Location: DSI at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cost: No cost; this is a paid internship
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective, most positions are for undergraduates
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: Chicago area high school students
The University of Chicago Data Science Institute (DSI) Summer Lab pairs high school students with a data science mentor from the University of Chicago or one of its affiliated institutions, including Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab, Over eight weeks, you’ll work on a research project that applies data science methods to your mentor’s research work. Project areas range from machine learning and computer science to political science, climate and energy policy, biomedical research, materials science, and urban equity. A weekly speaker series features researchers working at the current frontier of data science and related fields. You’ll be part of a cohort that includes high school students, undergraduates, and graduate students working alongside each other. No prior research experience is required, though applicants are expected to be familiar with at least one programming language. The program culminates in a final video presentation at an end-of-summer symposium run like a professional research conference.
22. Yale Peter E. Schwartz Discovery to Cure Program
Location: Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective, only up to 20 students admitted
Dates: 6.5 weeks from June through August
Application Deadline: February 13
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors aged 16+
The Discovery to Cure Program gives high school students the opportunity to work on a biomedical project in areas such as cancer biology, reproductive medicine, genetics, and immunology, contributing to the work that department scientists are actively doing. Access to the program runs through your school, which can nominate up to two students per year. This nomination-based model connects the program with teachers and advisors who guide students toward research opportunities. Past participants have gone on to study science and medicine at institutions including Harvard, Cornell, the University of Chicago, and Yale itself, with some returning for subsequent undergraduate research experiences. The program concludes with students presenting their research at the end of the summer internship.
23. University of Michigan Aspirnaut Summer Research Internship
Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Cost: Free, interns receive a $3,000 stipend
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 14 – July 24
Application Deadline: Usually in the spring
Eligibility: Current high school juniors enrolled in and attending a high school in the state of Michigan, who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
The University of Michigan Aspirnaut Summer Research Internship gives high school students the opportunity to live on the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus for six weeks, while working as a part of an active research group alongside graduate students and postdoctoral mentors. The Life Sciences Institute places students in labs across multiple University of Michigan schools and colleges, and past students have worked in areas including molecular biology, environmental science, evolutionary biology, cancer biology, and ecology. Outside of lab hours, the program includes college preparation workshops, writing development sessions, professional development activities, and standardized test preparation, all organized to support your transition from high school to university. Only 6 to 10 students are accepted in each cohort.
24. Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Summer Research Volunteer Program
Location: Lombardi Cancer Center, Washington, DC
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 22 – August 14
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Current high school students aged 16+, recommended to have completed AP Science
The Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Summer Research Volunteer Program gives high school students the opportunity to spend eight weeks under the guidance of a Georgetown University scientist at one of the 71 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers in the United States. Research areas at Georgetown Lombardi span a wide range of cancer-focused disciplines, including cancer biology, molecular oncology, cancer prevention, genomics, bioinformatics, epidemiology, and clinical research. Throughout the program, you’ll get to interact with researchers from across Georgetown University Medical Center’s broader ecosystem, giving you exposure to how a large academic medical institution operates across multiple disciplines simultaneously. You’ll be working in the same lab environments as graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
25. Duke Research in Engineering Program (DukeREP)
Location: Durham, NC
Cost: Free, students receive a stipend
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 15 – July 31
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors or seniors aged 16+ from North Carolina, with a priority given to Durham Public School students
The Duke Research in Engineering Program (DukeREP) places high school students in a biomedical engineering research group for seven weeks, in one of the BME departments working on biomedical imaging, biomechanics, neural engineering, computational biology, tissue engineering, or bioelectric medicine. You’ll work alongside Duke undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, contributing to research outcomes and adapting to results. Weekly seminars run throughout the seven weeks and include guest speakers, college advising sessions, and conversations with Duke professionals about STEM careers. At the close of the program, you will present a research poster at a symposium showcasing your contributions to the BME department community. Duke’s Biomedical Engineering program has ranked among the top BME programs in the country for decades, and the labs within DukeREP include groups conducting federally funded clinical and translational research.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which of these programs are considered the most selective?
The Research Science Institute has an acceptance rate around 2.5 percent, the Simons Summer Research Program admits under 5 percent of applicants, and the Anson L. Clark Scholars Program selects only 12 students nationwide each year, making these among the most competitive options on this list.
Do I need to live near the host institution to apply?
Many do require regional proximity. The Broad Summer Scholars Program requires commuting distance to the Boston area, the Salk Institute program requires San Diego County residency, and the University of Michigan Aspirnaut program is limited to Michigan residents. Others, like MIT PRIMES-USA and the UC Santa Cruz Science Internship Program, are open to students from a wider geographic range.
Which programs offer the largest stipends?
The Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Program offers a $7,500 stipend over ten weeks, the Broad Summer Scholars Program offers $3,600, and the University of Michigan Aspirnaut program and AMNH’s SRMP each offer stipends around $2,500 to $3,000.
Are any of these programs free of cost but not necessarily paid?
Yes. Programs like the Princeton Laboratory Learning Program, Cold Spring Harbor’s Partners for the Future, and the Georgetown Lombardi Summer Research Volunteer Program are free to attend but do not include a stipend, unlike paid options such as the NIH Summer Internship Program.
What if I want a mentored research experience but don’t meet the eligibility requirements or selectivity of these programs?
These programs are among the most competitive available, but students looking for a different mentored research pathway might consider Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs, a virtual research program that pairs students with a mentor to develop an original research paper across subjects like data science, political theory, and machine learning.
Image source: Stony Brook University