If you’re in high school in Canada and thinking about a future in medicine, getting hands-on experience early can help you figure out if this path is right for you, especially if it’s local. Medical programs for high school students are a great way to try out real skills, see how healthcare teams work, and learn directly from experts in hospitals, labs, and universities around you.
As a participant, you might get to practice CPR, suturing, or reading EKGs. Some programs let you join research projects, visit medical facilities, or explore areas like genetics, microbiology, or biomedical engineering. You’ll see what the day-to-day of medicine actually looks like and start to understand where your interests fit.
Doing a program like this can also give you an edge when it comes to college applications and future opportunities, and be a financially affordable option to explore if you’re based in one of the many cities below. It shows that you’re serious about exploring the medical field and that you’ve already taken steps to build practical medical experience.
With that, here are 15 medical programs for high school students in Canada!
15 Medical Programs for High School Students in Canada
1. Horizon Academic Research Program (HARP)
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Financial aid available.
Application Date: Multiple deadlines throughout the year for the Spring, Summer and Fall cohorts.
Program Dates: The spring and fall cohorts run 15 weeks, while the summer cohort runs 10 weeks (June-September).
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! A few tracks require prerequisites, see here.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas 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 that you can use to work on future projects. Apply here!
2. University of Toronto’s Med Youth Summer Program (Med YSP)
Location: University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Cost: $1,668 CAD per module
Program dates: Multiple sessions offered from June to August
Application deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the program is full
Eligibility: Students in grades 10-12
The University of Toronto’s Med Youth Summer Program (Med YSP) offers four one-week modules for students in grades 10–12. In the Human Physiology module, you study cardiovascular, hematological, renal, respiratory, and metabolic systems, and perform lab tasks like measuring lung volumes, blood pressure, and blood type. The Pharmacology and Toxicology module introduces drug metabolism, pharmacodynamics, pharmacogenetics, and toxicology, showing how medications interact with the body. In Molecular Biology and Genetics, you learn about DNA fingerprinting, gene expression, and forensic applications in medicine. The Microbiology module teaches bacterial isolation, staining techniques, and microbial diagnostics, and grade 9 students can join this module.
3. Veritas AI + Medicine Deep Dive
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by the program. Financial aid is available
Application deadline: On a rolling basis. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
Program dates: Multiple 10-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world. Applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
Veritas AI offers programs for high school students interested in learning about artificial intelligence and its real-world uses. If you’re interested in learning how AI is applied in healthcare, the Deep Dive: AI + Medicine program will allow you to learn from AI experts through lectures, coding notebooks, and hands-on projects based on real medical cases. You’ll explore how AI is changing healthcare by working on projects that use machine learning and AI to diagnose diseases, improve medical scans, and explain results to help doctors and patients. You’ll also study how AI is applied in genomics, hospital admissions, drug discovery, neuroscience, and more. Here is the program brochure and the application form.
4. Xavier Pelletier High School Internship Program
Location: BC Cancer’s Deeley Research Centre, Victoria, BC
Cost: Free. Students receive a $3,000 bursary toward post-secondary education on completion of the program
Program dates: July 2 – August 26
Application deadline: March 3
Eligibility: Grade 11 students who are at least 16 years of age and attend school on Southern Vancouver Island. Students must demonstrate an 85% projected average in Biology 11 or 12*, and any two of math, chemistry, or physics.
The Xavier Pelletier High School Internship Program is an eight-week, full-time summer research program at BC Cancer’s Victoria Centre. Open to Grade 11 students from Vancouver Island, you get hands-on experience in cancer research through lab work, scientific techniques, and learning about research ethics. You are assigned a research project and work under a supervisor and a team of scientists. You plan and conduct experiments, analyze data, and present your findings in an oral presentation at the end of the program.
5. University of Alberta’s High School Youth Researcher Summer Program (HYRS)
Location: University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, and other Alberta institutions
Cost/Stipend: You will be paid approximately $15 CAD/hour for 30–35 hours/week
Program dates: July 3 – August 14
Application deadline: March 14
Eligibility: Students in grade 11 who are eligible to work in Canada, reside in or north of Red Deer, and have completed or are currently enrolled in Mathematics 20-1 or 20-2, Biology 20, and one other Grade 11 science course.
The High School Youth Researcher Summer Program (HYRS), funded by Alberta Innovates, is a six-week, full-time research program for Grade 11 students in Alberta. You join a cohort of 25–30 students and are placed in one of three areas: digital or data-driven health research, commercialization of health technologies, or health system transformation. You work in university labs, clinical settings, or research offices under faculty and research staff supervision. Projects cover topics like dentistry, public health, surgery, chemistry, microbiology, and biomedical innovation. Previous students have dived into fields like dentistry, urogynecology, public health, surgery, chemistry, microbiology, and more.
6. BC Children’s Hospital’s Mini Med School
Location: BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC. Virtual tracks are also available for this program!
Cost: Free
Program dates: October 22 – November 12
Application deadline: September 26
Eligibility: BC & Yukon students in grades 11-12
BC Children’s Hospital’s Mini Med School is a free fall program for high school students in British Columbia and Yukon who are interested in advanced medical topics. This year, the series includes four university-level lectures on rare diseases, health inequity, medical technology, collaboration in healthcare, and the future of rare disease care. Experts lead the sessions, and you can ask questions and interact with presenters. The program does not include lab work or hands-on activities, but it gives you the chance to learn directly from medical professionals and researchers.
7. Sunnybrook Research Institute’s Focused Ultrasound High School Summer Research Program
Location: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON
Cost/Stipend: Free. This is a paid position, but the amount has not been specified
Program dates: The program generally begins on July 1, but the end date will vary based on your assigned project
Application deadline: February 14
Eligibility: Students in grades 10-12 who are at least 16 years of age and are legally allowed to work in Canada
The Focused Ultrasound High School Summer Research Program at Sunnybrook Research Institute is an eight-week, full-time internship for high school students interested in medical research and device development. You work alongside scientists in the Focused Ultrasound (FUS) Lab on active research projects in engineering, experimental science, programming, and biology. You gain hands-on experience designing and testing circuit boards, building image analysis tools, and studying how focused ultrasound interacts with brain function and neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s.
8. University of Calgary’s Summer Studentship Program
Location: University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Cost/Stipend: Free. This is a paid position
Program dates: Dates have not been specified
Application deadline: December 23
Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, and graduate students
The University of Calgary’s Summer Studentship Program lets high school and undergraduate students conduct full-time research in health data science. You are matched with a faculty mentor based on your interests and work on projects in health services, health informatics, basic data science, or data visualization. You typically work up to 35 hours per week and submit a final report summarizing your findings. The program focuses on real-world research experience and contributes to ongoing healthcare innovation. Selected students receive financial support for the program.
9. University of Toronto’s Summer Mentorship Program
Location: University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
Cost/Stipend: Free. You will receive $1,600 on completion of the program
Program dates: July 2-25
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students in grades 10-11 who self-identify as Indigenous or Black African, Black Caribbean, Black North American, or multi-racial
The University of Toronto’s Summer Mentorship Program is a four-week, full-time program for high school students from underrepresented communities interested in health sciences. Hosted by the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, you explore fields like dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, public health, kinesiology, and social work. You take part in hands-on lab activities, complete assignments and group projects, and attend lectures led by faculty and professionals. Each student is paired with a current university student pursuing a healthcare career, providing mentorship that can continue beyond the summer.
10. Hamilton Health Sciences Secondary School Research Bursary
Location: Hamilton Health Science Labs, Hamilton, ON, or McMaster University, Hamilton, ON
Cost: Free. Students receive a $1,500 bursary on completion of the program
Program dates: June 30 – August 15
Application deadline: March 23
Eligibility: Students in grades 11-12
The Sciences Secondary School Research Bursary is a 7-week internship during which high school students are given the chance to join one of the research teams at Hamilton Health Sciences or McMaster University. As a participant, you will experience a research environment, take part in basic or clinical research activities, and network with professional researchers. The available research areas include cancer, immunology, infectious diseases, population health, and geriatric research.
11. Women’s College Hospital’s Emily Stowe Scholar Program
Location: Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, ON
Cost: Students are paid a stipend of $17.2/hour
Program dates: July 7 – August 16
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students who are in grades 11-12 and self-identify as Black, Indigenous, or racialized women, 2SLGBTQI+, trans, two-spirit, non-binary, and persons with a disability.
The Emily Stowe Scholar Program is a six-week internship that allows high school students to get a firsthand experience of research at Women’s College Hospital. The program aims to provide academic and networking opportunities to those who have been systematically excluded from healthcare. As a participant, you will be matched with a mentor and contribute to their research. Previous students have studied topics like familial breast cancer, genetic risk for diabetic kidney disease, vaginoplasty, and trauma therapy. At the end of the program, you will have a chance to present your work to the staff.
12. University of Toronto’s Blueprint Summer Program
Location: University of Toronto, St. George Campus, Toronto, ON
Cost: Free
Program dates: July 7 – August 1, followed by year-long sessions
Application deadline: March 28
Eligibility: Black high school students in grades 10-11 who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents
The University of Toronto’s Blueprint Summer Program is a four-week STEM program where you learn the engineering design process and use it to solve real-world challenges in healthcare and medicine. The curriculum mixes technical instruction with problem-solving workshops, so you get to explore topics like gene therapy, prosthetic design, and medical device innovation. You work in teams to design and test solutions, gaining experience with both small-scale treatments and large health technologies. The program is hosted by the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, runs in July, and applications usually open in early spring.
13. NOSM University’s CampMed
Location: NOSM University, Sudbury, ON, and Thunder Bay, ON
Cost: $450. Financial aid is available
Program dates: July 7 – 11 in Sudbury, July 14 – 18 in Thunder Bay
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students in Ontario
NOSM University’s CampMed is a week-long summer program for high school students in Northern Ontario and other rural or remote communities in Canada. It takes place at NOSM’s campuses in Sudbury and Thunder Bay and introduces you to healthcare careers through workshops, cultural sessions, and clinical training. You learn skills like suturing, casting, CPR, and inserting NG tubes, and explore areas such as AI in medicine, forensic medicine, orthopedics, oral surgery, and ECG interpretation. The program also highlights Indigenous and Francophone health and culture, giving you a perspective on healthcare in diverse communities. You can go through camp testimonies here.
14. The Hospital for Sick Children’s Student Advancement Research (StAR) Program
Location: The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON
Cost/Stipend: Free. Students will be paid $15/hour
Program dates: 6 weeks during July and August
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Black, Filipino, or Indigenous students in grades 11-12 who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, are at least 16 years old, and have taken Grade 10 Science
The Student Advancement Research (StAR) Program at SickKids Research Institute in Toronto is a six-week paid summer internship for high school students in Grades 11 and 12. You work full-time in a professional lab, paired with a SickKids scientist, and develop your own research project in areas like neuroscience, stem cell biology, pediatric medicine, or translational research. Alongside lab work, you attend weekly seminars on research methods and career paths. The program ends with a research symposium where you present your findings to peers and professionals.
15. Southern Health-Santé Sud’s Indigenous Health High School Internship Program
Location: Southern Health-Santé Sud, Southern Manitoba, MB
Cost: Free. Students will be paid a salary for Phase 2
Program dates: Phase 1 from February – June, Phase 2 from July – August
Application deadline: Applications are processed on a rolling basis
Eligibility: Indigenous students in grades 10-12 who have an average grade of 65% or higher
Southern Health-Santé Sud’s Indigenous Health High School Internship Program is open to Indigenous students in Grades 10–12. It runs in two phases. From February to June, you complete 55 hours of volunteer work and job shadowing every two weeks in hospitals, public health offices, and long-term care facilities, earning 0.5 school credit. In July and August, you move into six weeks of paid work in a healthcare setting, adding another 2 credits. The program combines mentorship, career exploration, and cultural learning to prepare you for future studies in health.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, and chemistry, 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!
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