10 STEM Programs for High School Students in Illinois
If you’re an ambitious high school student interested in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, you should consider applying for a STEM summer program. While your high school curriculum may be expansive, summer programs like academic enrichment opportunities or research internships have many benefits. You gain hands-on experience by engaging in lab activities and fieldwork and exposure to scientific research.
You also get the opportunity to receive mentorship from university faculty and industry experts. Moreover, STEM summer programs generally involve tangible results such as a research paper or a poster presentation. Such projects showcase your skills and can make your college applications stand out.
For high school students in Illinois, here are 10 STEM programs that should be on your radar:
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort.
Location: Remote — you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
Program Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Cost: Full financial aid is available!
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Stipend: A stipend is provided, but the amount is not specified
Program dates: June 23 – August 1
Application deadline: January 26
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors who are at least 16 years old
Northwestern University’s Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program is a six-week internship for high school students interested in the biological sciences. As an intern, you will be matched with a faculty member to work on a hypothesis-driven or hypothesis-generating basic or clinical research project. Previous students have learned about data analysis, scientific presentation, wet bench techniques, and working in a collaborative lab environment. You will also attend various professional development and college preparation sessions. At the end of the program, you will present your research at a symposium. Each cohort accepts 30-35 students, making this program fairly competitive for admission!
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,290 for the 10-week AI Scholars program | $5,400 for the 15-week AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase | $6,900 for both. Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars. You can apply here.
Application deadline: On a rolling basis. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
Program dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Eligibility: High school students. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students who are looking to get started with AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and get a chance to work on real-world projects.
Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that students have access to the in-house publication team to help them secure publications in high school research journals. You can also check out some examples of past projects here.
Location: Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL
Cost: Ranges from $300 – $6,500 depending on the course subject and format
Program dates: Varies with each course. You can choose between 1, 2, or 4-week courses
Application deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Rising 9-12th graders (residential programs are only for those between the ages of 15-17)
Illinois Institute of Technology’s summer programs allow middle and high school students to take STEM courses that broaden their knowledge and enhance their skills. There are several subjects to choose from, including cybersecurity, chemistry, biomedical engineering, gaming, medicine, psychology, aerospace engineering, robotics, and more. The courses use a combination of lectures, field trips, and activities like building a robot, using defensive hacking methods, or creating an app. You will network with Illinois Tech’s students and faculty. The program also offers the opportunity to earn Edge Awards, which include a $500 scholarship per experience.
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Stipend: $3,000
Program Dates: Second week of June to the first week of August
Application Deadline: January 20
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are at least 16 years of age
ResearcHStart is a selective summer program for high school students interested in biomedicine, bioengineering, biochemistry, and related fields. The program focuses on cancer research, exploring cancer therapeutics, cancer disparities, cancer immunology, and more. You will work full-time in a cancer researcher’s laboratory and attend lectures, skill-building workshops, and career development sessions. There will also be opportunities to network with faculty and peers. The program ends with a research symposium.
Location: Fermilab, Batavia, IL
Stipend: Interns are paid $17.20/hour
Program Dates: June 17 – July 26
Application Deadline: February 5
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores and juniors enrolled in an Illinois high school with a minimum 3.0 GPA who are eligible to work in the USA
TARGET is a summer internship at Fermilab, an established particle physics and accelerator research laboratory run by the US government. A highly competitive program that accepts only 10-25 interns per cohort, TARGET is for students interested in physics, mathematics, computer science, and engineering. As an intern, you will split your time between research work conducted under a project supervisor and workshops on STEM topics. You will also give an oral presentation of your work at the end of the program. To learn more about this program, check out our complete guide here.
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Stipend: $4,800
Program Dates: June 16 – August 12
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: High school students located in Chicago. International students may apply as long as they have authorization to work in the US.
The University of Chicago’s Data Science Institute Summer Lab is an 8-week research program where you will be paired with a data science mentor. You will engage in research exploring data science's intersection with fields like public policy, biomedical science, environmental science, and computer science. Previous students have worked on topics like the optimization of air pollution sensing or detecting animals in low-quality camera images. You will learn about various research methodologies and end the program with a final video presentation at a conference-style symposium. Note that high school students are not provided housing for this program. To learn more about this program, check out our complete guide here.
Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL
Stipend: A fellowship payment is provided, but the amount is not specified
Program Dates: June 20 – August 1
Application Deadline: Applications open February 1.
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors residing in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Iowa, or Wisconsin
As a participant, you will assist researchers, learn from weekly seminars, develop college-ready skills, and network with professionals. The program culminates in a symposium, where you will present your findings through a research poster. You can choose between two research groups, the SpHERES Young Scholars or the Grainger Engineering Young Scholars (GEnYuS). The former explores bioengineering and medicine, while the latter covers topics like computer science, quantum physics, aerospace engineering, materials science, and more. This program has a 5% acceptance rate and could be challenging to gain admission to. To learn more about this program, check out our complete guide here.
Location: The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL
Stipend: A stipend is provided, but the amount has not been specified
Program Dates: TBA
Application Deadline: April 14
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years of age
The Morton Arboretum’s Research Technician Fellowship is a research program for high school students interested in tree science and related fields. You will join a scientific research group and participate in ongoing research on plant lineages, forest growth trends, wood anatomy, and root biology. You can expect a combination of field, lab, and computer-based work such as specimen processing, DNA extractions, and data entry.
Location: University of Illinois – College of Medicine, Rockford, IL
Stipend: A stipend is provided, but the amount is not specified
Program Dates: June 10 – August 2
Application Deadline: April 1
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old and attend an eligible high school (the complete list is available on the program’s website)
The University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford and Thermo Fisher Scientific offer this mentorship program for high school students interested in research and medicine. You will work with one of the university’s scientists, learn laboratory skills, work as part of a research team, and attend career-building sessions. The college’s labs focus on areas like cancer research, vaccine development, and the innovation of new medical products. You can expect your work to intersect with these topics as well. There are only 5 internship spots available, which makes this a highly competitive program.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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