High school summer programs offer an opportunity to go beyond regular classes and deeply explore your academic interests. Literature research programs enable you to interact with texts, theories, and analyses in ways that typical school courses might not provide. These programs help you develop research skills, craft well-structured arguments, and receive mentorship from professors or Ph.D. scholars. You will analyze primary and secondary texts, use various analytical frameworks, and produce papers suitable for academic publication.
What kinds of literature research programs for high school students are there?
Literature programs vary from short-term workshops and courses to trimester-long, faculty-mentored research experiences. You might explore literary theory, textual analysis, historical context, comparative studies, or connections between literature and other disciplines. Some programs culminate in a formal research paper, journal submission, or presentation.
To help you navigate your options, we have compiled a list of 15 literature research summer programs for high school students.
10 Literature Research Summer Programs for High School Students
1. NextGen Leadership Institute – Writing and Literature Track
Location: Barnard College, New York, NY
Cost: $10,771 (Residential) | $8,160 (Commuter)
Program Dates: Session 1: June 29 – July 17 | Session 2: July 20 – August 7
Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school students (see official criteria for grade requirements)
The Writing and Literature Track at Barnard College’s NextGen Leadership Institute combines close reading, critical analysis, and multi-genre writing in an academically rigorous summer setting. You can study fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and literary criticism while examining authors connected to Barnard’s literary tradition, including Greta Gerwig, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jhumpa Lahiri. Depending on course offerings, you can learn through seminar-style discussions or writing workshops led by Barnard faculty and instructors. Coursework emphasizes interpretive frameworks, narrative structure, and the relationship between literary form and cultural context.
2. Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS)
Location: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY & University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost / Stipend: Fully funded (tuition, books, room & board, field trips; travel aid available)
Program Dates: June 21 – July 25
Application Deadline: December 3
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors (ages 15–17); U.S. and international students eligible (international applicants must meet specified age and grade criteria)
The Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS) is a five-week residential humanities program centered on literature and related disciplines. You enroll in one seminar area — TASS-CBS or TASS-AOS — each of which examines literature alongside history, politics, and art to study how power and social structures operate. You attend a three-hour, college-level class each weekday that emphasizes discussion, close reading, and analytical writing. Coursework includes books, articles, films, and other cultural texts, and you write multiple essays with structured feedback from faculty. Outside class, you participate in a democratically run residential community that includes public speaking workshops and guest lectures. The program does not assign grades.
3. NYU Precollege – Humanities & Social Sciences (Literature Focus)
Location: New York University, New York, NY (in-person and online options available)
Cost: $700 (0-credit course) – $16,016 (6–8 credits full-time), $1,944 international student charges
Program Dates: Fall, Spring, and Summer sessions; Summer: July 1 – August 12
Application Deadline: June 15
Eligibility: Rising 11th and 12th-grade high school students; minimum 3.0 GPA; international students must provide proof of English proficiency
Through NYU Precollege’s Humanities & Social Sciences offerings, you can enroll in literature-focused undergraduate courses while earning college credit. Courses are led by NYU faculty and place you in an academically rigorous classroom environment where you engage with literary texts and participate in structured discussion. The instruction highlights critical thinking, analytical writing, and communication skills within a university-level context. You learn alongside NYU undergraduates and other Precollege students, gaining insight into the expectations and structure of college coursework.
4. Harvard Secondary School Program (SSP)
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA (Residential, Commuter, and Online options available)
Cost: $9,100 (4-week residential) | $15,735 (7-week residential)
Program Dates: 4-Week and 7-Week sessions throughout the summer
Application Deadline: February 11
Eligibility: High school students who will graduate in the next 3 years, who are at least 16 years old
Harvard’s Secondary School Program (SSP), offered through the Harvard Division of Continuing Education, allows you to enroll in summer courses across disciplines, including Arts, Writing, and the Humanities. You choose between a 4-week residential format and a 7-week format, with residential, commuting, or online options. Literature-related offerings include courses such as Scary Stories in American Literature, Women Writers in Greater Mexico, and Memory of the Movement: Representing Jim Crow and Civil Rights in Film. Courses are small and interactive, and some 7-week Career Pathway courses incorporate team projects and guest speakers.
5. Columbia University Pre-college Courses: Deception in Literature
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $12,837 per session (NYC Residential Summer)
Program Dates: July 21 – August 7
Application Deadline: April 2
Eligibility: Rising 9th through current 12th grade domestic and international students. Students must be 15 years of age or older; students who are 15 must turn 16 by December 31 of the year they attend the NYC Residential Summer program.
In this course, you examine how writers construct convincingly deceptive characters and consider whether fiction itself functions as a form of deception. You begin with The Odyssey and move through texts such as The Turn of the Screw, Passing, and The Talented Mr. Ripley to trace literary portrayals of deception across periods. Through close reading and discussion, you analyze the relationship between the liar and the deceived, as well as the shifts in self-perception that occur when manipulation is revealed. Writing exercises guide you in developing complex characters whose deceptions shape identity, relationships, and narrative structure. The course emphasizes how deception functions as a literary device to build tension, develop plot, and interrogate questions of truth and trust.
6. Modern British and American Literature – The Modernist Novel (ENGLISH 20)
Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $14,687
Program Dates: July 6 – August 14
Application Deadline: March 9
Eligibility: Students who have completed 10th or 11th grade, have an overall B average (3.0, weighted or unweighted), and are at least 16 years old
In ENGLISH 20: Modern British and American Literature, you engage in lectures and discussions on major authors of modern British and American literature. The course surveys American, European, and Caribbean novels from the first half of the twentieth century, examining how writers reconfigured the novel in response to social and political movements, urbanization, empire, and war. You analyze the formal difficulty of these works, their attention to the materiality of language, and their experimental treatments of time, narrative, individuality, and consciousness. The syllabus centers on six primary texts: Tender Buttons, The Good Soldier, Ulysses, Mrs Dalloway, Nightwood, and Good Morning, Midnight. Additional readings include selected passages from Orlando, The Waves, The Sound and the Fury, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Finnegans Wake, and Watt, alongside consideration of evolving critical conceptions of literary value and the canon.
7. Stanford University: Literature and Belonging
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost: Tuition starts at $8,226 for commuting students; for full-time students living on campus with a meal plan, costs start at $18,771
Program Dates: June 22 – August 13
Application Deadline: January 20
Eligibility: Current sophomores, juniors, or seniors at the time of application; must be at least 16 by June 20, and no more than 19 by August 16, 2026; must not be matriculating into Stanford as a first year
In Literature and Belonging (COMPLIT161), you examine how writers across time and cultures explore questions of identity, community, and place in unsettled worlds. The course moves from the poetry of Du Fu, written during the An Lushan Rebellion, to contemporary authors including bell hooks, James Baldwin, Valeria Luiselli, Ghassan Kanafani, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Lulu Miller. You analyze how literary works respond to historical upheaval, political struggle, and personal displacement. The course also incorporates a viewing of the film All That Breathes to consider connections between human and non-human belonging. Instruction includes deliberate pacing, conversational discussions, and additional lectures by the professor, and the course carries five units of credit.
8. Beyond the Book: Text, Image, and Experiments in the In-Between
Location: Brown University, Providence, RI
Cost: $8,372 (Residential)
Program Dates: July 6 – 24
Application Deadline: May 8
Eligibility: No prior knowledge required; students should be open-minded, willing to experiment, and prepared to participate in discussion and collaboration
In Beyond the Book: Text, Image, and Experiments in the In-Between, you produce creative work daily while studying examples that combine word and image, including graphic novels, illustrated essays, zines, and artist books. You draw inspiration from visits to local institutions such as the RISD Special Collections, the John Hay Library, and the Providence Athenaeum. Class sessions include discussions, small group work, generative exercises, and field trips, with assignments centered on short readings and creative responses. Throughout the course, you develop a broader understanding of creative practice while experimenting with unfamiliar formats and media. The course culminates in the creation of a final portfolio and an original “book,” which may take the form of a website, a portfolio, a map, or a collection of stories and objects.
9. Rebel with a Cause: Teenage Lives in Literature
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $12,837 per session (NYC Residential Summer)
Program Dates: June 29 – July 17
Application Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Rising 9th through current 12th grade domestic and international students. Students must be 15 years of age or older; students who are 15 must turn 16 by December 31 of the year they attend the NYC Residential Summer program.
In Rebel with a Cause: Teenage Lives in Literature, you examine how teenage characters are portrayed in literary works and how these portrayals shape cultural understanding and identity. In a dual seminar-workshop format, you study texts that center on adolescent lives while analyzing the mechanics of young adult literature. Through weekly workshops, you develop your own fictional teenage characters and generate original creative writing. The course emphasizes close engagement with both classic and contemporary works, as well as peer discussion and critique. The term concludes with a final project consisting of revised creative pieces accompanied by an artist’s statement.
10. Davidson Institute Fellows Scholarship
Location: Online
Stipend: Awards range from $10,000 to $50,000
Program Dates: N/A
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Applicants must be younger than 18 years of age and a permanent resident or citizen of the US
The Davidson Institute Fellows Scholarship recognizes students who have created a significant body of work that demonstrates meaningful impact and is evaluated by industry experts. Under the literature category, you submit a 60–75-page portfolio of creative work along with a literary narrative reflecting your development as a writer. Applications may be completed individually or in teams of two. The scholarship is open to high-achieving students under the age of 18, and the initial portion of the application must be submitted before completing the remainder, including the nomination forms. The program emphasizes originality, scholarly rigor, and societal contribution through creative or academic projects.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image source –