17 Summer Research Internships for High School Students
As a high schooler, you’re probably already thinking about your college major and career options. When it comes to exploring a subject or field you’re interested in, conducting research is a solid place to start. Research internships also offer real-world work experience and practical insight into the field of your choice.
Internships provide a platform to build skills and knowledge and create a professional network. College admissions officers seek students who demonstrate genuine interest in their chosen fields and have taken steps to pursue that interest—which is what internships signal.Â
Also check out our lists of paid research internships, online research internships, spring internships, and physics internships for high schoolers.
So if you’re an ambitious high school student looking for ways to boost your profile and further your academic goals, this list of 17 summer research internships should definitely be on your radar! Note that the following information is based on the most recent program, with dates subject to change but generally similar from year to year.
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.Â
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.
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!
Sandia National Laboratories is a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s ‘National Nuclear Security Administration’ (NNSA). You can apply for internship roles in different departments at Sandia—technical, business, and Research & Development—allowing you to work on national projects. As an intern, you will work with scientists and engineers on projects that contribute to technological advancements. Your role could involve work in cyber security, energy, engineering, and software.
Cost/Stipend:Â No cost. Students will receive a stipend that varies with the internship role.
Location:Â Livermore, CA | Albuquerque, NM | other Sandia sites.
Application Deadline: Rolling deadline, as internship openings are continuously updated.
Program Dates:Â Year-round, if you choose that program option. For the Co-op internships, you can select your internship period in coordination with Sandia and your school.
Eligibility:Â Students who are at least 16 years old, are enrolled full-time in an accredited college, university, or high school, and are U.S. citizens can apply. Those applying must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for R&D, technical, or business roles.Â
Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries from tech/deep tech, and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. You can explore all the options here on their application form. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. In the program, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company. Here is the application form.Â
Cost: $2,490 (Financial Aid Available)
Location:Â Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world
Application deadline:Â Deadlines vary depending on the cohortÂ
Program dates:Â Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
4. TARGET by Fermilab
If you’re a high school junior or senior in Illinois interested in exploring physics, mathematics, computer science, and engineering, this 6-week intensive summer internship is a great choice. As an intern, you will have the opportunity to work with scientists and engineers to conduct research and create content about Fermilab research. Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) operates under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science and is one of America’s top labs for STEM research. Past work done by interns in the TARGET program includes interviewing scientists about their current projects and participating in workshops to understand 3D modeling and computational thinking.
Cost/Stipend:Â No cost. Students will be paid $17.20 per hour.
Program dates: June 17 – July 26.
Application deadline:Â Applications typically close in February.
Location:Â Fermilab, Batavia, IL.
Eligibility:Â Students whoÂ
are enrolled in an Illinois high school;
are sophomores or juniors at the time of application;
have a 3.0 GPA or above on a 4.0 scale; andÂ
are eligible to work in the U.S. can apply.
SIMR is a solid medical program that offers both internship and research components. You will collaborate one-on-one with a mentor, who will be a Stanford graduate student or a postdoctoral fellow, and engage in research. You will have to select one of eight fields – Immunology, Neurobiology, Cancer Biology, Bioengineering, Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, Cardiovascular Biology, Bioinformatics, and Genetics and Genomics. This is a competitive program with a cohort size of about 50 students – at an acceptance rate of less than 3% (approximately). During the last 2 weeks of the program, you will work on the research poster of your project, which you will present to your peers, teachers, family, and the Stanford community.
Cost/Stipend: There is a $40 application fee, which can be waived. Students earn a stipend of $500 - $2,500. Housing and transportation are not provided. Please note: Stipends of $2500 and above are given on a needs-based system from special grants.
Program dates: June 10 – August 1.
Application deadline:Â Applications typically close in February.
Location:Â Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Eligibility:Â Current juniors or seniors who are at least 16 years of age are eligible.
This internship program is ideal for students keen on exploring neurological sciences. With a goal to make the field more inclusive and representative, this summer research program is for high school students from underrepresented communities. As an intern, you will conduct research under the mentorship of researchers in the field. You will engage in projects, discussions, scientific seminars, weekly personal and professional development sessions, and interactions with neuroscientists at JHU. The program is also offered virtually. At the end of the program, you will present your research via an oral or poster presentation. Take a look at some of the past projects!
Cost/Stipend: No cost. In-person participants receive an hourly stipend (amount varies), while virtual interns receive a stipend of $500.
Program Dates: 8 weeks, June - August (in-person); 5 weeks, July - August (virtual).
Application Deadline: March 1.
Location: Virtual and in-person options. The in-person program will be held at the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurology on the East Baltimore campus.
Eligibility:
Juniors and seniors from around the country are eligible to apply to the 5-week virtual program.
Juniors and seniors residing in Baltimore City and the metro area from underrepresented groups are eligible for the in-person program.
If you’re inclined to conduct research in history or are looking to build your knowledge base in American history, you should consider applying to this internship. This internship offers a chance to use the New York Historical Society's resources to conduct research and create digital projects. As an intern, you will participate in sessions with professionals, where you will gain valuable insight into museums, libraries, digital humanities, and history. You will work closely with peers to enhance your historical analysis, communication, and digital media abilities. You will also participate in activities designed to deepen your knowledge of American history and the digital humanities.
Cost/Stipend:Â No cost. Interns who attend a Title 1 School or are eligible for free or reduced lunch will be offered a stipend. Other students have the option to receive community service hours or school credit.
Program dates: October - June.
Application deadline: Applications will open in February.
Location:Â New York Historical Society, New York, NY.
Eligibility:Â High school students entering grades 10, 11, or 12 can apply. Applicants must live in and attend school in the New York City metro area (includes the five boroughs of New York City, as well as areas of New York State, Connecticut, and New Jersey).
This highly selective program offers an opportunity to work with faculty and researchers in Princeton laboratories on ongoing engineering and natural sciences research. There are around 25 Princeton laboratories which accept about 40 interns every year. Princeton faculty lead research teams, which typically include postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students, and other staff researchers – along with interns like you. At the end of the program, you will produce a 2-page research summary report. Research opportunities vary year on year, depending on the laboratory and the researcher’s focus. You can see a list of past research opportunities here.
Cost/Stipend: None.
Program dates:Â 5-6 weeks in the summer, depending on the research project and the schedule of the researchers.
Application deadline: Applications typically close in March.
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.
Eligibility: Students who
are enrolled in a U.S. high school and are at least 16 years old. High school graduates who will not turn 18 by June 15 can apply.
are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. International students enrolled in a U.S. high school can also apply.
The University of Texas, Austin, and NASA host this internship program. It’s highly competitive, with only 6-7 interns selected to participate every year. During this program, you will work with NASA experts on Earth and space research. You will assist scientists and researchers with analyzing and visualizing data, building foundational knowledge for aerospace engineering. All project teams present research during the Virtual SEES Science Symposium. The program includes a virtual learning component and an on-site experience at the University of Texas, Austin campus.
Cost/Stipend: None.
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February.
Program Dates: May - July
Location: Hybrid (virtual component + on-site experience at the UT Austin campus)
Eligibility: High school juniors who hold U.S. citizenship can apply.
The Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program allows high school students to work one-on-one with faculty researchers at George Mason University, developing their own independent research projects. As an intern, you will work across disciplines like astronomy, nanoscience, game design, drug discovery, robotics, women’s health, stem-related entrepreneurship, and more. You will gain experience using cutting-edge equipment and technology, develop scientific writing and communication skills, and explore STEM career choices. You can look at previous research here! This program is fairly selective, with an acceptance rate of around 10%.
Cost/Stipend:Â $25 application fee (transportation and housing are not covered). No stipend is offered.
Program Dates: June-end to mid-August.
Application Deadline: Typically around January or February.
Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. Internships can either be fully remote, entirely in-person, or hybrid, depending on your mentor's requirements.
Eligibility: For the remote internships and in-person/hybrid computer lab internships, students must be 15 years or older by June-end. For the ‘wet-lab’ in-person or hybrid internships, students must be 16 or older by June-end. Note: Specific research labs may be unavailable for non-U.S. citizens.
This program is designed to offer research experience to high achieving high school students. It’s a highly competitive program, with only 12 students accepted every year - an acceptance rate of less than 3%. You will work one-on-one with expert scientists and researchers, attend weekly seminars, and participate in discussions, field visits and social activities. You get the opportunity to conduct research across a wide range of fields.
While not a traditional internship, the program is structured like one. Research areas included nutritional sciences, computer science, biology and microbiology, mechanical engineering, neurobiology, history, chemistry, and electrical and computer engineering.
Cost/Stipend: No cost. Stipend of $750 + free housing and meals
Program Dates: June 16 - August 1 (7 weeks)
Application Deadline: February every year
Location: Texas Tech University campus, Lubbock, TX
Eligibility: Students who will be at least 17 years old by the program start date, will graduate in the next 2 years, and are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Fermilab operates under the U.S. Department of Energy and is America’s premier lab for particle physics research. The lab offers a 7-week research internship for high school students keen on exploring research in engineering physics. As an intern, you will contribute to Fermilab research. The fact that a government-affiliated body offers the program can make it a prestigious addition to your profile, especially if you’re planning to pursue STEM. You will work on projects involving particle physics, particle accelerators and detectors, computer science, and quantum science. You will also collect data, write a research abstract, and give oral presentations!Â
Cost/Stipend:Â No cost. Students will be paid $16.20 per hour.
Program Dates: June 17 – August 2.
Application Deadline:Â Applications typically close in January.
Location:Â Varies based on lab choice.
Eligibility:Â Open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are U.S. citizens or those with permanent resident status and Illinois high school enrollment.
The Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars program is a paid internship opportunity for high school students keen to explore aerospace engineering. As a scholar, you will be mentored by full-time AFRL scientists and engineers. You will also get to tour AFRL laboratories. The program offers a range of research topics, and you can look at the different mentor bios here. Some of the topics offered are Advanced Carbon-Based Conductors for Aerospace Applications and Characterization of High-Temperature Structural Materials. The program also offers projects that require you to apply computer science concepts.
Cost/Stipend:Â No cost. Students will be paid $492.40 per week.
Program Dates: The program typically offers summer internships, with limited positions during the fall and spring semesters. Dates vary each year. ARFL internships typically run 10–12 weeks, with a minimum requirement of 8 weeks.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary based on the chosen site.
Location: Several locations across the United States. Find one that works for you!
Eligibility:Â High school students who are at least 16 years old can apply.
The Idaho National Laboratory, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, offers internships to high school students that allow them to conduct research. During the internship, you’ll spend 80% of your time in the lab with your mentor and 20% on enrichment and skill-building activities. The internships cover a range of research topics. As an intern, you could work on advanced transportation technology, clean energy, critical infrastructure protection, and cyber security. You can view projects across different subjects through past Intern Poster sessions.
Cost/Stipend:Â A stipend is provided, but the exact amount is unavailable.
Program Dates:Â 10-16 weeks in the summer.
Application Deadline:Â Applications typically close in the spring.
Location: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID.
Eligibility: High school students above the age of 16 who hold U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status are eligible to apply. (Exceptions can be made for foreign nationals who attend an accredited U.S. college or university.)
This internship offers a unique chance for students to explore diverse subjects remotely. As an intern, you will work on interdisciplinary projects that go beyond the traditional classroom curriculum. You will spend most of the time conducting research (if you are working on hardware projects, materials will be sent to you) while maintaining regular communication with your mentors and group members. Stanford's faculty and industry experts will guide you. Topics cover information science, engineering, arts, linguistics, psychology, biology, neuroscience, computer science, technology, philosophy, and design.
Cost/Stipend:Â None.
Program dates:Â June 17 - August 9.
Application Deadline:Â Applications typically close in January.
Location:Â Virtual.
Eligibility:Â Students who will be in grades 11-12 at the time of application are eligible to apply.
This selective apprenticeship program, conducted by the Department of Navy, places high school students in Navy labs nationwide to participate in STEM research. Every year, around 300 students are placed in 38 labs—making this a prestigious and competitive program. During this program, you can choose a field you wish to conduct research in. As an apprentice, you will work directly with and be mentored by Navy scientists, engineers, and researchers. While working on Naval projects, you will gain valuable knowledge in various STEM disciplines, such as engineering, computer science, physics, aeronautics, and more.
Cost/Stipend: No cost. Students receive a stipend – $4,000 (new participant) | $4,500 (returning participants).
Location:Â Varies.
Application Deadline:Â Applications open in August and close on November 1 every year.Â
Program Dates:Â Eight weeks in the summer. Exact dates vary depending on the lab you choose.
Eligibility: High school students who have completed at least grade 9 and are at least 16 years old when the internship begins can apply. Graduating seniors are eligible as well. Check whether your preferred lab choice has any other requirements.Â
Conducted by NIH, this internship is ideal for high schoolers interested in exploring biomedicine and healthcare. HS-SIP allows you to engage in biomedical research, working alongside scientists and mentors. During this program, you will work on current research projects, learn to analyze data, and acquire essential laboratory skills. This is a fairly competitive program. As an intern, you will have access to professional development programs offered by NIH and receive educational and career guidance. At the end of the program, interns are invited to share their research with the NIH community on Summer Poster Day.
Cost/Stipend: No cost. Students will receive a stipend – $2,300-2,530 (students in high school) | $2,570-2,840 (students who have graduated high school)
Program dates:Â Eight weeks in the summer, typically June - August.
Application Deadline:Â Applications close on February 1 every year.
Location:Â Students can choose from NIH campuses in Bethesda, Baltimore, and Frederick, MD; Research Triangle Park, NC; Hamilton, MT; Framingham, MA; and Phoenix, AZ.Â
Eligibility: Students who are high school juniors or seniors at the time of application (or have recently graduated) and are 17 years or older on June 15 may apply. Look through the eligibility requirements here.Â
Bonus!Â
Here are a few more summer research internships you can consider as a high school student:Â
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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