17 Best High School Summer Research Programs in Texas
Have you been finding it hard to narrow down on some great summer research opportunities in Texas that are open for high school students? We have you covered! In this article, we list 17 of the best research-oriented programs in Texas that provide a rewarding learning experience for high schoolers. The opportunities range from highly selective to fairly welcoming, and while some have a fee associated with them, others provide a stipend. There is something here for everyone.
Not seeing something you like? You can also look at the opportunities we’ve curated in psychology research, medical research, biology research, and virtual research.
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort.
Duration: Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
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.
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.
Subject areas: STEM
Location: University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX)
Fee / stipend: Fee- $3,500 per student (+ $5 Application Fee). Need-based scholarships are available.
Application deadline: March
Program dates: June 13 – July 20
Program selectivity: Open enrollment
Eligibility: Applicants must be 15 years old by June 15 to be considered.
This 5-week program provides high school students with an interdisciplinary research experience. Students participate in research projects in active College of Natural Sciences (CNS) laboratories related to the fields of biochemistry, biology, environmental science, genetics, neuroscience, genome engineering, data analytics, ecology, and more.
3. Veritas AI - AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase
Location: Virtual
Cost: $5,400 for the 15-week AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase
Application deadline: Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September) and Winter (November).
Program dates: Multiple 15-week cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
Eligibility: AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
Veritas AI focuses on providing high school students who are passionate about the field of AI with a suitable environment in which to explore their interests. The programs include collaborative learning, project development, and 1-on-1 mentorship. Students are expected to have a basic understanding of Python or are recommended to complete the AI scholars program before pursuing the fellowship. The AI Fellowship program will allow students to pursue independent AI research projects. Students work on their research projects over 15 weeks and can opt to combine AI with any other field of interest.You can find examples of previous projects here.
Subject areas: Business
Location: University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX)
Fee/stipend: None
Application deadline: January 31
Program dates: June
Program selectivity: Moderate
Eligibility: Applicants must be a junior or senior in high school (underrepresented backgrounds preferred)
This 6-day program offers students the chance to learn and interact with McCombs students, faculty, and corporate representatives with a focus on understanding the skill sets required for business-oriented careers. There are three programs that students can choose from: McCombs Future Executive Academy (MFEA), The Academy for Rising Leaders, and Discover Yourself in Accounting Majors and Careers.
Subject areas: STEM
Location: Varies, depending on the program
Fee/stipend: The program provides a stipend, but amount is not known.
Application deadline: December 15 – February 28
Program dates: Varies depending on the program
Program selectivity: Open enrolment
Eligibility: Applicants must be a high school student.
In collaboration with universities and U.S. Army Research Laboratories and Centers, the AEOP offers summer apprenticeships for high school students throughout the United States. Apprentices will receive formal mentorship from a professional scientist or engineer. In addition, there will be multiple opportunities to learn from STEM practitioners of varying experience levels.
Subject areas: STEM
Location: University of Texas, Dallas (Dallas, TX)
Fee/stipend: Not known
Application deadline: TBA
Program dates: TBA with the opening of the application
Program selectivity: High
Eligibility: Applicants must be sophomores, juniors, or seniors.
This 7-week program aims to inspire high school students to become scientists and engineers by enabling them to do original research. Students join a faculty member’s research lab based on their interests and are taught the skills needed to test their ideas, teamwork, innovation, and new concepts. The work is associated with funded programs at the university, and students work to deliver real results.
Subject areas: Architecture, visualization, construction science, and urban planning
Location: Texas A&M (College Station, TX)
Fee/stipend: Fee - $1,200
Application deadline: April
Program dates: July 11 – 16
Program selectivity: Moderate
Eligibility: Applicants must be sophomores, juniors, or seniors. Students graduating in the spring are ineligible.
This 1-week program hosted by the School of Architecture at Texas A&M is for high-achieving high school students. Camp ARCH combines academic instruction with social activities to create an engaging pre-college experience focused on research.
Subject areas: Biology, medicine
Location: MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston, TX)
Fee/stipend: The program offers a $6,000 stipend for a 10-week participation and a $5,400 stipend for a 9-week participation.
Application deadline: January 20
Program dates: June – August
Program selectivity: Moderate
Eligibility: Current Texas high school seniors with demonstrated academic excellence.
Hosted by the University of Texas and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, this program allows students to participate in a research project in a biomedical discipline under the guidance of an MD Anderson faculty member. Emphasis is placed on the importance of the basic principles that form the foundation for scientific investigation. Seminars supplement the laboratory experience.
Subject areas: STEM
Location: Texas A&M (College Station, TX)
Fee/stipend: Fee - $1499 for the 1-week program; $2,599 for the 2-week program. Both programs also charge a $500 deposit. Scholarships are available to individuals based on financial need.
Application deadline: March
Program dates: Will take place in 3 sessions across June – July
Program selectivity: Moderate
Eligibility: Applicants must be high school students
This program has 1- and 2-week durations and is ideal for high school students looking to deepen their understanding of STEM subjects. Students will have the opportunity to explore topics in discrete mathematics, statistics, coding, atmospheric science, and engineering design.
Subject areas: Arts and humanities
Location: Various program locations across Houston, TX
Fee/stipend: Depends on the program. Scholarships are available.
Application deadline: March
Program dates: Will take place in 3 sessions across June – July
Program selectivity: Moderate
Eligibility: Applicants must be sophomores, juniors or seniors.
Wonderworks is a non-profit organization that provides pre-college summer learning experiences in arts and humanities, primarily for Houston-area and Texas high school students through various partner organizations. The programs enable students to learn key academic and interpersonal skills before entering college.
Subject areas: Biology, medicine
Location: Various program locations across Houston, TX
Fee/stipend: None. Scholarships are available to cover room and board.
Application deadline: January 27
Program dates: May 30 – August 4
Program selectivity: High
Eligibility: Applicants must be 16 or older by the start of the program on May 30. Must be enrolled in high school or undergraduate studies. Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or Foreign National who holds a legal visa status (F-1, J-1, EADs).
*The Kadoorie and Fields Rosenberg programs do not accept High School students.
This program offers training in a translational research lab and a professional development curriculum that helps with college selection, scholarship applications, and scientific writing. Students have access to Houston Methodist's faculty mentors who help guide them through proper lab techniques, and each intern is assigned a study or focus area on an active research project.
Subject areas: Journalism
Location: Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, TX)
Fee/stipend: Fee - $2,000
Application deadline: TBA
Program dates: June 4 – 16
Program selectivity: Open enrolment
Eligibility: Applicants must be high school students.
This 2-week journalism program for high school students is an intensive college readiness program. Students develop their critical thinking and writing skills while generating story ideas, which they then report and develop into news stories. They also produce content for a newscast and write for a website. Media professionals from Fort Worth and Dallas volunteer their time to share their expertise and experiences with students. They talk about changes in media and discuss media careers with students.
Subject areas: Biology, medicine
Location: University of Houston (Houston, TX)
Fee/ stipend: This program provides a $2,000 scholarship
Application deadline: Applications open in June
Program dates: June 20 – August 5
Program selectivity: High
Eligibility: Applicants must be juniors or seniors in the fall semester and have an interest in pursuing science degrees. Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on 4.0 scale. Math/Science cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above on 4.0 scale
This program on infectious diseases pharmacotherapy gives students training in the generation, analysis, rigor, and reproducibility of research data under the supervision of a program mentor. Research training includes basic lab skills, literature reviews, biological sample processing, running PCR assays, plating bacteria, and basic microbiological methodology.
Subject areas: STEM
Location: University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX) along with on-line coursework components
Fee/ stipend: Housing, meals, and local transportation will be provided for those selected. A limited number of travel scholarships to Texas are available
Application deadline: February 21
Program dates: March – August with the onsite component in July
Program selectivity: High
Eligibility: Applicants must be sophomores or juniors in high school. Must be 16 by July 1 and have a strong interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. Ability to complete online requirements prior to the on-site intern program. Must be a U.S. citizen.
This is a nationally competitive STEM program where students work beside NASA subject matter experts to analyze and visualize data. The program is focused on Earth and space research. All project teams will present their research during the Virtual SEES Science Symposium.
Subject areas: Art and design
Location: University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX)
Fee/ stipend: Fee - $7,175. Scholarships are available.
Application deadline: Applications open in February
Program dates: June – July
Program selectivity: Open enrolment
Eligibility: High school students
This 4-week pre-college program invites student artists to explore their artistic process, style, and voice through engaging programs in Art + Design. Students develop their skills and generate new artworks in one area of focus through concentration studio sessions. They also build their portfolio and get expert as well as peer reviews.
Subject areas: STEM
Location: Rice University (Houston, TX). Virtual camps are also available.
Fee/ stipend: Fee - $1,495 for the commuter program; $595 for the virtual program. Scholarships are available.
Application deadline: TBA
Program selectivity: High
Eligibility: Students in grades 8 to 11 with a great degree of familiarity with coding and other technology concepts.
This is a competitive pre-college engineering summer program for high school students. The program contains a technology track supplemented by college readiness and engineering leadership preparation components. Students will participate in intensive science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning activities while learning to apply the engineering design process to solve real-world problems.
Subject areas: Biology
Location: Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX)
Fee/ stipend: The program provides a $750 tax-free stipend and a $500 meal card along with room and board
Application deadline: February 13
Program dates: June 18 – August 3
Program selectivity: High
Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 17 years of age by the program start date and should graduate in the next 2 years. There are no exceptions to this rule
This intensive, 7-week program allows talented students to work with faculty on the general academic campus and the Health Science Center. While the program is research-intensive, it also includes weekly seminars, discussions, and field trips.
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.