If you are considering studying sociology, political science, or social research in college or as a career, you may already find yourself asking questions about inequality, culture, or institutions. A sociology research program allows you to test that interest in a real research environment before committing to a major.
You may frame a research question, review sources, collect qualitative or quantitative data, and analyze findings. You begin to understand how social scientists move from observation to evidence. Working with mentors and peers in a focused setting often sharpens your thinking and strengthens your reasoning.
Why should you choose a research program?
Research experience gives you clarity and direction. When you move from discussing social issues to actually investigating them, you begin to understand whether you enjoy forming research questions, working with data, and building evidence-based arguments. That firsthand exposure helps you decide whether sociology or related fields are something you want to pursue seriously in college.
It also strengthens your academic profile. Completing a research paper, survey project, or data analysis shows that you can handle structured inquiry and sustained work. Instead of simply stating interest in social science, you demonstrate it through evidence.
With that, here are 15 sociology research programs for high school students! If you’re interested in exploring sociology further, check out sociology fall programs and sociology internships to see how hands-on fieldwork complements research-focused learning.
15 Sociology Research Programs for High School Students
1. UC Santa Barbara Research Mentorship Program- Sociology Track
Location: UC Santa Barbara, CA
Cost: Commuter: $5,675 | Residential: $13,274
Program Dates: June 15–July 31
Application Deadline: December 15–March 9
Eligibility: High school students
The UC Santa Barbara Research Mentorship Program places you in a six-week, on-campus research experience working with a graduate student, postdoc, or faculty mentor in sociology. Before arriving, you complete a short virtual orientation to explore research resources and identify potential mentors. Once on campus, you select a focused research question and conduct sustained work that may involve interviews, ethnographic observation, archival research, or statistical analysis of social data. You use university library databases, collect or analyze data, and write a formal research paper. The program concludes with a symposium where you present your findings, and you earn eight university credits tied to research and presentation courses.
2. Hofstra University Summer Science Research Program (HUSSRP)- Sociology Track
Location: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Cost: $2,250
Program Dates: July 6–July 31
Application Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Students in 10th or 11th grade, and must be at least 15 years old by program start
Hofstra University’s Summer Science Research Program allows you to conduct faculty-guided research on campus for four weeks. In the sociology track, you design a project examining a specific social issue such as inequality, demographic change, institutional behavior, or cultural norms. Your work may include survey design, qualitative interviews, or analysis of existing datasets. Faculty mentors guide you through refining a research question, organizing evidence, and interpreting findings using sociological frameworks. The program ends with a poster session where you present your research to peers and faculty.
3. UC Santa Barbara Summer Research Academies
Location: UC Santa Barbara, CA
Cost: Commuter: $3,475 | Residential: $9,874
Program Dates: June 26–July 24
Application Deadline: December 15–March 23
Eligibility: Qualified high school students
The UC Santa Barbara Summer Research Academies offer a four-week, project-based research experience with several tracks that incorporate sociology. In tracks such as Digital Frontlines or Invisible Cities, you work in research groups to examine social systems, urban change, digital activism, or communication networks. You develop a research question, build a project framework, analyze data or texts, and produce written findings. Lectures introduce theoretical context, while lab-style sessions focus on applying research methods. You earn four university credits and complete a structured academic project grounded in social analysis.
4. University of Chicago Data Science Institute Summer Lab
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cost: $5,600 stipend
Program Dates: June 15–August 7
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: Chicago-area high school students who can comfortably commute to the Hyde Park campus; undergraduate students enrolled in college
The University of Chicago Data Science Institute Summer Lab is a paid research program where you work with a mentor on a data-driven project, including projects in social science. If placed in a sociology-related lab, you analyze demographic patterns, policy outcomes, social networks, or behavioral trends using quantitative tools. You learn to clean datasets, apply statistical models, and interpret patterns within broader social structures. The work takes place over eight weeks on campus, and you collaborate directly with researchers while developing practical research skills used in contemporary sociology.
5. Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS)
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Cost: $7,000
Program Dates: Session I: June 21–July 3 | Session II: July 5–July 17 | Session III: July 19–July 31
Application Deadline: January 7
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores or juniors; English fluency required, and only first-time YYGS participants can apply
Yale Young Global Scholars is a two-week residential program where you engage with interdisciplinary topics that include sociology, politics, economics, and global development. In tracks such as Politics, Law, and Economics or Solving Global Challenges, you examine inequality, governance systems, and social institutions through lectures, seminars, and breakout discussions. A core component is the Capstone Project, where you work in a small group to frame a research question, draw from academic material, and present your analysis. The structure requires you to connect theory with evidence and articulate how social systems shape outcomes.
6. Brown University Leadership Institute
Location: Brown University, Providence, RI (residential) and Online
Cost: On-campus residential: $6,052 | On-campus commuter: $4,748 | Online: $5,778
Program Dates: On Campus: June 21–July 2 or July 12–July 24 | Online: June 22–July 17
Application Deadline: May 8
Eligibility: Students completing grades 9–12
The Brown Leadership Institute runs as a two-week residential or online program centered on analyzing complex social problems. You select a course topic such as social justice, law and social movements, or intercultural communication, and spend the program researching how institutions and power structures shape the issue. Through guided discussion and structured assignments, you build an analytical framework and develop an Action Plan grounded in social research. The program focuses on linking sociological understanding with practical intervention in community settings.
7. Stanford Summer Humanities Institute
Location: Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Cost: $8,850
Program Dates: Session I: June 21–July 10 | Session II: July 12–July 31
Application Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Students currently in grades 10–11 at the time of application; must be at least 15 and under 18 during the program.
Stanford Summer Humanities Institute is a three-week residential seminar where you take one intensive course led by Stanford faculty. Many course themes intersect with sociology, including culture, politics, historical power structures, and institutional development. You engage deeply with primary texts, participate in structured discussions, and write analytical essays grounded in evidence. The seminar model requires close reading, independent argument development, and sustained engagement with complex social questions that underpin sociological inquiry.
8. Harvard Secondary School Program (SSP)- Sociology & Social Sciences Courses
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Cost: 7-Week Online/Commuting: $4,180 or $8,160 | 7-Week Residential: $15,735 | 4-Week Residential: $9,100
Program Dates: 4-Week: July 12–August 8 | 7-Week: June 20–August 8
Application Deadline: February 11
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors who must be at least 16 years old and under 19 years by the program start date
Harvard’s Secondary School Program allows you to enroll in actual Harvard College courses for credit during a four- or seven-week session. Sociology-related offerings include courses on criminal justice, global migration, inequality, human trafficking, and social justice. You attend lectures with college students, complete assigned readings, write analytical papers, and sit for graded assessments. Coursework demands engagement with sociological theory, empirical research, and structured argumentation. You receive an official Harvard transcript reflecting completed coursework.
9. Georgetown University Bridges to Social Justice Academy
Location: Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Cost: Residential: $9,085 | Commuter: $7,085
Program Dates: June 28–July 17
Application Deadline: April 15
Eligibility: Current 8th–12th graders with a minimum 2.0 GPA and must be at least 15 years old by the program start date
Georgetown’s Bridges to Social Justice Academy is a three-week residential program structured around understanding and addressing systemic inequality. Using frameworks such as the Social Change Model, you analyze how institutions produce and sustain injustice across economic, racial, and political systems. The program incorporates community-engaged research methods, site visits to advocacy organizations, and structured discussions with policy professionals. You develop a capstone project that identifies a social issue, traces its structural roots, and outlines a research-informed response.
10. Columbia University Freedom & Citizenship
Location: Columbia University, New York City, NY
Cost: Free. $2,500 stipend offered
Program Dates: Summer Dates: June 29 – July 24; Academic Year: Sep 3 – May 3
Application Deadline: Early: Mar 2 / Reg: Mar 30
Eligibility: NYC residents currently in junior year of high school; priority given to first-generation college-bound students and those from low-income families
Columbia University’s Freedom & Citizenship program is a funded, year-round experience beginning with a four-week summer seminar in political philosophy and social theory. During the residential component, you examine texts and ideas related to power, citizenship, and social institutions, writing analytical responses and participating in seminar discussions. In the academic-year phase, you work in small groups to research a contemporary social issue, connect with community organizations, and design a civic action project. The program integrates theoretical inquiry with applied research into real social systems.
11. Barnard College Pre-College Program- Global Humanities Track
Location: Barnard College, New York City, NY
Cost: Residential: $10,771 | Commuter: $8,160
Program Dates: Session 1: June 29–July 17 | Session 2: July 20–August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions starting in January
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors
The Global Humanities Track at Barnard College examines social systems, gender structures, migration, and political economy through an interdisciplinary lens that includes sociology. Courses such as Refugees: Real Lives, Real Stories or Women in Urban New York require close reading, comparative analysis, and structured research assignments. Faculty guide you through constructing evidence-based arguments grounded in social theory. The seminar format mirrors undergraduate coursework, and writing assignments build progressively toward longer analytical work.
12. Barnard College Pre-College Program- Health & Society Institute
Location: Barnard College, New York City, NY
Cost: Residential: $10,771 | Commuter: $8,160
Program Dates: Session 2: July 20–August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions starting in January
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
The Health & Society Institute program approaches health and medicine through the analytical tools of social science. You’ll examine how conditions come to be defined as illnesses, whose expertise gets recognized, and through what mechanisms health inequalities are reproduced across race, class, and geography. Major themes include biomedicine as a cultural system, the politics of healthcare surveillance, the performance and rituals of healing, and the structure of the US public health system. This course takes you through the full stages of developing and executing a qualitative research project: framing a research question, understanding the ethical implications of working with human informants, practicing interview methodology, and conducting actual interviews. You’ll engage with work from a wide range of scholars, anthropologists, philosophers, historians, physicians, scientists, and journalists.
13. GWU Pre-College Summer Immersion- Law, Politics & Social Justice Track
Location: George Washington University, Washington, DC
Cost: Residential: $4,950 | Commuter: $4,350
Program Dates: Session I: June 21–July 3 | Session II: July 5–July 17 | Session III: July 19–July 31
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; strong academic performance in advanced or college preparatory courses required
George Washington University’s Summer Immersion program offers thematic tracks that integrate sociological research methods. In courses such as Designing Next-Gen Leadership or Designing Healing Justice & Collective Care, you study how communities form, how conflict operates, and how institutions shape belonging. You apply observational and qualitative methods to structured assignments and design projects rooted in social analysis. Site visits and applied exercises connect classroom frameworks to real policy and community contexts in Washington, DC.
14. Syracuse University Summer College- Sociology of Sport
Location: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Cost: Residential: $5,595 | Commuter: $4,624
Program Dates: July 19–July 31
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors or seniors
SOC 200: Sociology of Sport at Syracuse University uses sport as a gateway into sociology. It treats sport as a social institution shaped by race, class, gender, power, and politics, and asks you to study it with the same rigor as any other social system. The course covers sociological theory, the sociological imagination, and the basics of social research. You examine how activism and social movements have transformed sport and place it within broader cultural and political contexts. Readings engage with Black athletes, patriotism, fandom, and systemic harm. The course ends with a research-based project where you apply sociological frameworks to a topic of your choice and defend an original argument.
15. Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS)
Location: Cornell University, Ithaca, NY | University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost: Free
Program Dates: June 21 – July 25
Application Deadline: December 3
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors; must be at least 15 at program start and no older than 17 by program end
TASS is a 6-week residential seminar program where you spend time on college-level classes taught by two faculty members, working through how power and privilege shape social structures. You’ll apply to one of two tracks: TASS-CBS, which focuses on the intellectual, cultural, artistic, and political contributions of people of African descent, or TASS-AOS, which examines literature, history, art, and other disciplines to analyze how various forms of power operate across social systems. You’ll read primary and secondary texts, engage with films and visual art, write analytical essays, and participate in small-group seminar discussions. Outside of class, the program runs on a model of democratic self-governance where you and your peers make collective decisions on community activities, budgeting, and conflict resolution using transformative justice practices.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like sociology, biology, and anthropology, 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 – Syracuse University