If you are a high schooler interested in physics, structured programs in the field can be a great way to deepen your knowledge, gain research experience, and explore potential career paths. Physics programs designed for high school students vary in format, but most aim to introduce you to advanced scientific concepts and hands-on experimentation beyond what is typically offered in school classrooms. These programs include lectures, laboratory sessions, and collaborative projects led by university faculty, graduate students, or professional researchers. As a participant, you may explore topics such as mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum physics, astrophysics, and computational physics. Some research-focused programs allow you to work directly with mentors on ongoing scientific investigations.
In addition to academic learning, these programs also help you develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills. Many programs also include college-preparation workshops, career talks by physicists, and opportunities to connect with like-minded peers.
Why should you choose a program in Maryland?
Maryland is home to several renowned universities, research centers, and government institutions involved in cutting-edge scientific work. This makes it an ideal location for high school students who want early exposure to physics research, laboratory work, and mentorship from experienced scientists. Being close to Washington, D.C., Maryland also offers exposure to a broader network of scientists, policymakers, and research initiatives. Here, you can find programs offering research opportunities, academic mentorship, and professional inspiration to pursue a career in physics.
In this article, we have listed 15 physics programs for high school students in Maryland.
If you are also looking for physics programs beyond Maryland, you can check out our lists of online opportunities here and research programs here.
15 Physics Programs for High School Students in Maryland
1. University of Maryland’s Advanced Physics Summer Program
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost: $375
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Not specified
Dates: July 20 – 31
Eligibility: Rising 9th – 12th graders
The University of Maryland Advanced Physics Summer Program offers high school students a hands-on physics-focused learning experience over two weeks. This program introduces topics beyond the standard high school curriculum through hands-on projects and exposure to research labs. You will participate in physics demonstrations, experiments, soldering, coding, and robotics projects. You will also visit research labs and discuss current physics research and career paths with professors and graduate students. You will engage in small group discussions, explore Einstein’s thought experiments, and study modern code-breaking applications.
2. University of Maryland Physics Makers Camp
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: TBA
Dates: Week-long summer program (specific dates vary yearly)
Eligibility: Rising 9th and 10th graders
The Physics Makers Camp immerses rising 9th- and 10th-graders in hands-on workshops that emphasize design thinking, problem-solving, and construction using core physics concepts such as mechanics, electricity, and motion. You will learn through physics demonstrations and projects involving building sensors or simple circuits. You will collaborate with peers on maker challenges that mirror real-world engineering, and present your creations to peers and instructors. The program is designed to help you sharpen creativity and technical skills in a supportive environment at UMD’s physics facilities, as well as help you discover pathways to STEM careers.
3. John Hopkins APL STEM Academy
Location: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
Cost: $59/course
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Varies by session
Dates: Fall and spring sessions each year; 12-week after-school sessions with varying dates
Eligibility: Students in grades 9–12; priority given to Maryland students
The APL STEM Academy offers project-based STEM courses taught by professionals from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, featuring physics-focused modules for high schoolers. Depending on the course you choose, you will learn about optics, electromagnetism, applied mechanics, or flight physics drawn from real-world missions in defense and space exploration. You will build technical skills through weekly after-school sessions (in person or virtual), tackling hands-on challenges such as designing laser experiments or analyzing simulation data. Simultaneously, you will explore career paths via guest speakers and lab tours at the Laurel campus.
4. John Hopkins APL ASPIRE Program
Location: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Less than 10% acceptance rate
Application deadline: February 15; recommendations due on March 1.
Dates: Summer: June 23 – August 21 (30 – 40 hours/week on-site); Optional academic year commitment: September – May (up to 10 hours/week)
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are at least 15 by June 1, have a minimum 2.8 GPA, are U.S. citizens from specific MD/VA/D.C. counties, have reliable transportation to APL, and have no criminal record
ASPIRE offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to participate in an on-site STEM-focused internship at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. During the program, you will be matched with a staff mentor and work on projects relevant to the laboratory while building technical and workplace skills. Projects span several STEM areas, including aerospace and physics tracks. You may assist in building Arduino-based tools to study electromagnetic wavelengths, explore improvements to quantum algorithms using nuclear magnetic resonance methods, or help develop electric-field sensing tools paired with web-based mapping. Your project may involve research, experimental lab work, coding/software-related tasks, or defense-focused tasks, among other assignments.
5. NIST Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
Location: NIST campuses in Gaithersburg, MD, or Boulder, CO
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~10.4%; around 35 students/year
Application deadline: January 26
Dates: June 22 – August 7
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are U.S. citizens with a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0/4.0; applicants must live within a 50-mile radius of their host campus.
NIST SHIP places high school juniors and seniors in research environments for seven weeks of STEM-focused project work. During the internship, you will work with scientists and engineers on research projects connected to fields such as physics, electronics, quantum science, materials science, and measurement science. As a participant, you will contribute to a research project under the guidance of a mentor. Projects may involve activities such as spectroscopic experiments, robotics challenges, machine-learning approaches to crystal-structure classification, or introductory explorations in quantum computing. Some projects focus on experimental laboratory work using scientific instruments, while others involve data analysis, simulations, or computational tasks. You will present your work at the end of seven weeks.
6. Johns Hopkins University’s Biophysics Research for Baltimore Teens (BRBT)
Location: Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus, Baltimore, MD
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipend of $15/hour typically offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: March 1
Dates: July 7 – August 7
Eligibility: Baltimore City Public School rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors living within Baltimore City
BRBT offers Baltimore high school students paid, hands-on biophysics research experiences within Johns Hopkins labs. As a participant, you will work with graduate students, postdocs, and faculty on research tasks and explore biophysics research techniques in the process. The program begins with classroom preparation covering core biomedical concepts before moving on to hands-on exposure to microbiology methods and DNA protein engineering. Over the course of five weeks, you will learn how to use advanced lab instruments in a teaching lab environment and build a foundation in STEM research.
7. Johns Hopkins CTY Advanced Topics in Physics: Special Relativity
Location: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Cost: $7,801 (residential) | $6,969 (commuter) + a $55 CTY joining fee (if not yet a member) + a $75 non-refundable in-person registration fee; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; typical class size is 18 – 20 students.
Application deadline: May 11 for Summer A | June 8 for Summer B; rolling enrollment while seats are available
Dates: Summer A: June 21 – July 10 | Summer B: July 12 – 31; other sessions may be available during the year.
Eligibility: Rising 9th – 12th graders; applicants must join CTY and submit qualifying above-grade-level test scores at the CTY Quantitative level. Course prerequisites include successful completion of Physics, Trigonometry, or Algebra II/Honors Algebra II.
This three-week course at Johns Hopkins University walks you through Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, a topic that goes well beyond standard high school physics. You will start by examining the limits of Newtonian mechanics, then work through Einstein’s solution, covering relativity, the speed of light, simultaneity, Lorentz transformations, relativistic kinematics and dynamics, light cones, k-calculus, and Minkowski spacetime. The course is built around class discussions and extensive problem-solving. You will also get an introduction to the General Theory of Relativity and concepts like gravitational lensing and black holes.
8. Johns Hopkins University’s Explore Engineering Innovation (EEI)
Location: Virtual, hybrid, or in-person (commuter/residential) at Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus, Baltimore, MD
Cost: $3,960 – $10,190, depending on format + $60 non-refundable application fee; need-based scholarships available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Early Action: January 30; Final deadline for most formats: May 27
Dates: In-person/residential: June 29 – July 24 | Hybrid (Session 1): June 15 – July 10; (Session 2): July 6 – 31 | Online: June 29 – July 31
Eligibility: Current high school students and recent graduates with As and Bs in math and science; applicants must have completed Algebra II, a trigonometry course, and a full year of high school chemistry and/or physics with lab. Residential students must be 15 – 17 years old for the duration of the program.
EEI is a college-level summer engineering program run by Johns Hopkins University, where you will work through the same curriculum that JHU first-year engineering students cover in a full semester compressed into four to five weeks. You will rotate through civil, chemical, electrical, computer, and mechanical engineering and materials science. You will also learn how to apply physics, chemistry, and design concepts to projects such as building a spaghetti bridge, programming a microcontroller, and running a chemical process lab. Upon completion, you will earn three college credits from Johns Hopkins. The program is designed for students who have a general interest in engineering or related areas but haven’t yet settled on a specific field.
9. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)
Location: Various labs across the U.S., including sites in MD
Stipend: $4,000 for new participants | $4,500 for returning participants
Cohort size: ~300 students/year; Maryland-specific numbers not available
Application deadline: November 1; applications open on August 1
Dates: Eight weeks in the summer
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are 16 or older; labs may have additional requirements
SEAP is a STEM program that places high school students in advanced naval labs. During the eight-week program, you will learn about naval science and research while working closely with scientists within your assigned lab. You will contribute to research projects and learn about careers in naval research and tech while assisting with projects focused on STEM areas, including physics-focused topics. SEAP also offers professional development options, including shadowing opportunities, seminars, meetings, and presentations.
10. University of Maryland’s Physics is Phun
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost: Free!
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; open to the public
Dates: Multiple shows each year; shows run on Friday and Saturday evenings
Application deadline: Not applicable; free registration via online form
Eligibility: Open to all; primarily geared toward high school students and the general public/
Physics is Phun is a free public demonstration series that the University of Maryland Physics Department has run since 1982, with physics-focused shows held on Friday and Saturday evenings throughout the academic year. Each show lasts about 90 minutes and focuses on a specific physics theme. In the past, topics have included the physics of sound, flight, fire and ice, light, and radiation. You will watch live demonstrations performed by UMD physicists and student volunteers, with each show designed to be both educational and entertaining.
11. Johns Hopkins Pre-College Summer Program: Physics Courses
Location: Online or Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Cost: $6,140 (residential) | $4,660 (commuter) | $1,950 (online) + non-refundable $85 application fee; financial assistance available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Early action: February 3 | Regular decision: March 10; applications will be considered if space remains after the deadline.
Dates: Three two-week sessions; late June – early August
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a minimum 3.0 GPA
The Pre-College Summer Program at Johns Hopkins University allows high schoolers to enroll in short academic courses, including options in physics. Course topics vary each year and may include areas such as space science, digital society, health and medicine, or data and media studies. You can choose the Exploring the Universe with Space Telescopes course to explore how astronomers use space-based observatories to study distant objects and analyze astronomical data. You will spend two weeks attending classes that typically include lectures, discussions, and project-based assignments, which allow you to apply what you learn.
12. Stanford SPINWIP (Stanford Program for Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in Physics)
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: May 1
Dates: July 6 – 24
Eligibility: High school students in 9th – 11th grade
The SPINWIP Summer Program is a three-week virtual program for high school students interested in physics. The program features lectures by faculty members and researchers on topics including quantum physics, quantum computing, astrophysics, and cosmology. During the program, you will also learn basic Python programming and apply it to physics-related coding exercises. Much of the hands-on learning takes place in small groups guided by undergraduate students and involves short projects and problem-solving activities. The schedule typically includes research talks, coding sessions, group discussions, and a final presentation. You will also attend workshops related to college preparation and STEM career paths and find opportunities to interact with faculty and student mentors.
13. Massachusetts Institute of Technology OpenCourseWare Classical Mechanics course
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open to all
Application deadline: No application required/open enrollment
Dates: Self-paced; available year-round
Eligibility: Open to all high school students with a strong background in calculus and basic physics
The Classical Mechanics course from Massachusetts Institute of Technology covers fundamental topics in physics, including Newton’s laws, work, energy, and angular momentum. It is designed for high school students who have a strong foundation in math and physics and want to engage with college-level material. The course includes video lectures from MIT instructors, interactive problem sets, and automated exercises to help you practice and test your understanding. The curriculum is also designed to help you develop both conceptual knowledge and problem-solving skills in classical mechanics.
14. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Frontiers in Physics Course
Location: Online
Cost: $3,200 tuition + $65 non-refundable application fee; need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Session One: June 15 – 26 | Session Two: July 6 – 17
Application deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Students currently in grades 10 and 11 who have completed an algebra course and a physical science course, and have exposure to basic trigonometry
Frontiers in Physics is a two-week online course part of Stanford Pre-Collegiate Institute. The course allows you to explore three major breakthroughs in early 20th-century physics: quantum mechanics, particle physics, and Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity. You work through material focused on topics like time dilation, mass-energy equivalence, Schrödinger’s equation, quantum tunneling, and the Bohr-Einstein debates, and complete assignments including a scientific article on relativity and a general-audience article on a topic in modern physics. Each day includes a two-hour live class session plus one hour of office hours, and you should expect an additional two to three hours of independent work outside of class.
15. George Mason University Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: Virtual internships available for Maryland students
Cost: $25 application fee + $1,299 tuition for three course credits; fee waivers available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: February 15
Dates: June 18 – August 12
Eligibility: Students who are at least 15 years old
ASSIP offers virtual research internships in various fields, including physics. You can choose a mentor engaged in physical science research who is looking for remote interns. Over the course of eight weeks, you will assist your mentor with physics research while engaging in experiment design, literature review, and scientific writing. During the program, you will learn about STEM career paths through discussions led by professors, researchers, or professionals. The program ends with a symposium, where you will learn about all the STEM research conducted at ASSIP over the summer.
One more option—Horizon Academic Research Program
If you are looking for a competitive mentored research program in classical mechanics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, or another physics field, 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 – George Mason University