Science & Engineering
Research Based Programs
USC SHINE Program with Viterbi School of Engineering
Designed for Los Angeles-based high school students, this is a competitive and unique seven-week opportunity to participate in hands-on engineering laboratory research focused on real-world problems. Close mentorship is provided by USC Viterbi faculty and staff, graduate student researchers, and students from around the nation in the SURE program.
MIT’s Research Science Institute (2023 application is closed)
Each summer, 80 of the world's most accomplished high school students gather at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the Research Science Institute (RSI). RSI is a free summer science & engineering program to combine on-campus course work in scientific theory with off-campus work in science and technology research.
Participants experience the entire research cycle from start to finish. They read the most current literature in their field, draft and execute a detailed research plan, and deliver conference-style oral and written reports on their findings.
RSI scholars first participate in a week of intensive STEM classes with accomplished professors. The heart of RSI is the five-week research internship where students conduct individual projects under the tutelage of mentors who are experienced scientists and researchers. During the final week of RSI, students prepare written and oral presentations on their research projects.
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory – Summer Internship (virtual)
PPPL's Science Education department offers a limited number of internship positions for outstanding high school seniors throughout the school year and the summer after graduation. Each term, which lasts about 8 (summer) to 16 (semester) weeks, offers students the chance to work on a project with a member of our research or engineering staff. The exact dates of the internship depend on the participant's school schedule. The summer internship schedule is typically Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but occasionally, alternate arrangements can be made.
COSMOS at UCs (2023 application is closed)
COSMOS is an intensive four-week summer residential program for students who have demonstrated an aptitude for academic and professional careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Talented and motivated students completing grades 8-12 have the opportunity to work with renowned faculty, researchers, and scientists in state-of-the-art facilities while exploring advanced STEM topics far beyond the courses usually offered in California high schools. Through challenging curricula that are both hands-on and lab intensive, COSMOS fosters its students’ interests, skills, and awareness of educational and career options in STEM fields.
Summer Science Program
The Summer Science Program offers teens an exhilarating and inspiring immersion into hands-on experimental science. Working in teams of three, 36 participants and 7 faculty form a supportive “living and learning community” over 39 days. Each team completes a real research project, taking and analyzing original data. Afterward, they join a worldwide network of 2,500+ alumni of all ages. In 2022 we will operate six programs:
three in Astrophysics: research in near-earth asteroid orbit determination at New Mexico Tech, Univ. of Colorado Boulder, and Univ. of North Carolina Chapel Hill
two in Biochemistry: research in fungal crop pathogens at Purdue Univ. and Indiana Univ.
one in Genomics: research in evolution of antibiotic resistance, also at Purdue
SSP is an independent nonprofit, the only summer program operated, governed, and largely funded by its own alumni and former faculty … eloquent testimony to its impact on young people for more than six decades. Many alumni call it “the educational experience of a lifetime.”
Cedars-Sinai - CIRM SPARK Program (2023 application is closed)
Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative medicine Knowledge (SPARK) offers California high school students an invaluable opportunity to gain hands-on training in stem cell research at some of the leading research institutes in California. SPARK program specifically select students who represent the diversity of California's population, particularly those who might not otherwise have opportunities to partake in research internships to due socioeconomic constraints. SPARK students will spend the summer learning about stem cells and regenerative medicine and will conduct a six week research internship in a stem cell lab. At the end of their program, students get to show off their hard work by presenting their research at the SPARK annual conference. Currently, there are 11 active SPARK programs located in Northern and Southern California. Each program has its own application process and way of selecting students for their SPARK program. If you are a student, teacher or family member interested in learning more information about how to apply or when application deadlines are, please visit the individual SPARK program websites in the table via the link above for details about each program.
SEAP – Science & Engineering Apprenticeship Program (2023 application is closed)
The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) places high school students in Department of Navy (DoN) laboratories where they take part in real Naval research for eight weeks during the summer.
SEAP gives academically talented sophomores, juniors, and seniors interested in STEM the opportunity to learn about Naval research and technology while receiving first-class mentoring by top scientists and engineers.
SEAP is a competitive program with around 300 placements in more than 30 laboratories around the country in which many participants go on to careers within the DoN. Interns are selected based upon academic achievement, personal statements, recommendations, and career and research interests.
UC Davis Young Scholars Program
The UC Davis Young Scholars Program is a summer residential research program designed to expose approximately 40 high achieving high school students to the world of original research within the fields of the biological, agricultural, environmental and natural sciences. Participants in the UC Davis Young Scholars Program will work one-on-one with research faculty and research groups in state of the art laboratories for six weeks. Each student will work on an individual project and prepare a journal quality paper and symposium presentation about their work. In addition to scientific research, the UC Davis Young Scholars Program strives to introduce participants to the climate and culture of living and learning on a university campus. Staff make every effort to model the experiences that participants will have during their first years of college.
All participants will be enrolled in five (5) units of University Group Study Credit. Assignments for the program include research notebooks, a written article of journal quality describing the research project and its conclusions, presentation of the individual project at a research symposium and presentation of research to students at the home high school. All work in the program is graded and credit will be awarded after home presentations are completed.
Lehigh Summer Engineering Institute
Talented, motivated kids spring from every background, culture, and neighborhood. But not all of them have access to programs or people that allow them to visualize how their dreams can become real. Lehigh University’s Summer Engineering Institute (SEI) is a chance for deserving kids to experience the challenge and thrill of science, technology, engineering and math in a cooperative, team-based environment. Topics and projects are drawn from across majors and disciplines. It’s a lab-based, research-centric approach to learning that provides a glimpse into the world of science and technology through a variety of settings and activities. Lehigh students and faculty lead these enriching academic experiences, serving as mentors and role models and breathing life into the idea that such a future is within reach. For high-schoolers from underrepresented groups, many of whom would be first-generation college students, SEI may activate dreams they didn't even know they had.
SEI maintains a partnership with the Lehigh University School Study Council (LUSCC), a consortium of regional school districts that partner with Lehigh's College of Education to participate in executive and professional development experiences and share best practices among key school leaders across the Lehigh Valley and beyond. Districts represented on the Council offer exclusive access to students in our region for whom the program would resonate deeply, and typically be out of reach.
cornell summer residential program
The Summer Residential Program will not be offered in 2023. Instead, all Summer 2023 courses for precollege students will be offered online. We invite you to learn more about online study, which features rigorous Cornell University undergraduate classes taught by top faculty. In addition to experiencing college academics, you can explore potential majors, build college study skills, earn college credit, receive a Cornell transcript, and prep for college admissions. You can select from more than 100 fascinating online Cornell courses in Architecture and the Arts, Business and Hospitality, Health and Humanities, International Relations, Science and Technology, Social Change, Veterinary Medicine, and more. Courses will be added throughout the year.
Woods Hole Science Aquarium Internship (2023 application is closed)
A research project is at the heart of the Summer Student Fellowship program. All Fellows work on a project selected in collaboration with their sponsor(s) that will provide meaningful results in one summer’s work. Project topics span the vast spectrum of research in ocean sciences and engineering conducted in WHOI’s science departments and the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center of the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Fellowship recipients have the opportunity to attend and participate in a busy schedule of talks, seminars and a hands-on, one-day ocean sampling cruise onboard the R/V Tioga focusing on data collection and sampling methods with advanced oceanographic technology and instruments.
Fellows also have many occasions to interact with current MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate students, from the Q&A session designed specifically for that purpose to the Ethics in Science Workshop and a near-peer mentoring program.
Members of groups underrepresented in ocean science and engineering are encouraged to apply. WHOI actively recruits underrepresented minorities in ocean science as defined by the National Science Foundation (African-, Hispanic- and Native-Americans, and Pacific Islanders) in all of our education programs, as well as programs of the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative, such as the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program.
UC Santa Barbara’s Research Mentorship Program
The Research Mentorship Program is a competitive, six-week summer program that engages qualified, high-achieving high school students from all over the world in interdisciplinary, hands-on, university-level research. Students will be paired up with a mentor (graduate student, postdoc, or faculty) and choose a research project from a large list of disciplines offered by the program each year.
In addition to gaining a deep relationship with their mentor, they will learn about research techniques, gain insight into professional research-based opportunities, and mature their academic goals. The lecture series - GRIT talks - will connect students to some of the best minds among the UCSB research community who present on their ground-breaking research and innovative technology. Along with these academic benefits, the students will be immersed in university life and networked with equally ambitious and curious peers.
BU Research Internship Program
If you’re passionate about the sciences and are a domestic student currently in your junior year of high school, we invite you to apply for the Research in Science & Engineering (RISE) program. You will spend six weeks at BU conducting university laboratory research with some of the nation’s brightest scientific minds while advancing your STEM knowledge and skills. RISE offers two tracks: Internship and Practicum.
Michigan State - High School Summer Science Research Program (HSSSRP)
The HSHSP provides its participants with a unique opportunity to “live and breathe” research in a university environment. Its goals are not only to educate individuals about the research process but to provide the right kind of social context for such knowledge and expertise to flourish. Our goal is not to produce award-winning projects (which often happens, I am pleased to note), but to provide opportunities to enrich one’s knowledge about intellectual work in science and mathematics and to make new and, hopefully, lasting friendships.
Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
SIMR is an 8-week summer internship program open to high school juniors and seniors. The program consists of hands-on research under the direct guidance of a one-on-one mentor at a top class lab within the Institutes of Medicine at Stanford University as well as select departments.
Students applying to the program can choose from our eight areas of research (institutes). After being accepted, they are then assigned to a specific institute based on their choices. To learn more about each institute and the research involved, click on the links to the department websites below.
Another option students in SIMR have is participating in the bioengineering bootcamp. This is a hands-on learning experience in bioengineering that does not involve a lab research component.
The Clark Scholars Program
The Clark Scholars Program is designed to attract gifted students from around the nation. The program allows students the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with outstanding faculty in a research intensive setting. The seven-week program also includes weekly seminars, discussions, and field trips. The students are afforded an atmosphere designed to develop their critical thinking abilities and career interests with faculty and other students like themselves. Students are selected on the basis of their academic accomplishments, teacher recommendations and career objectives. For the 2011 program, appointments were very competitive. For example, the average SAT score for the 12 participants was greater than 2276 and PSAT was greater than 223.
During the past 21 summers outstanding high school students from around the country have come to Texas Tech University to involve themselves in what has become a unique research opportunity. The Clark Scholars Program is unique in that it is open to gifted students in almost any area of academe from not only the natural sciences and mathematics but to the humanities and fine arts as well. Many of these Clark Scholars have used their research experience to help formulate their career paths and goals. The Clark Scholars Program was created by a generous endowment from the Anson L. Clark Foundation and to date has provided more than 250 students the opportunity to work with outstanding, dedicated faculty in one-on-one, hands-on research experiences. Texas Tech is extremely proud of the faculty and Clark Scholars. Their collaborative efforts have established this program as one of the premiere educational experience for pre-college students.
Program Garcia Summer Scholars - Research Scholar Program
The Research Scholar Program for High School Students offers the opportunity for high school teachers and students to perform research on the forefronts of polymer science and technology together with GARCIA faculty and staff. Students work as part of focused research teams and are taught to make original contributions of interest to the scientific community. In addition to entering national competitions, the students are encouraged to publish in refereed scientific journals and to present their results at national conferences. Our goal is to convey to the students the excitement we enjoy daily in research. The program has no set time limits. Research is a lifetime learning experience, and we hope to remain a resource to our students long after "graduation".
This is an intensive seven-week program for gifted high school students which combines formal instruction with independent research and allows students to design original research projects with guidance from Garcia Center faculty, students, and staff. Students can continue during the academic year in the Mentor Program, which allows them to plan a research schedule with a faculty mentor throughout the year. Pre-arranged transportation and class schedules are coordinated with local school boards to enable students from a large geographical area to enroll in the program. Almost three hundred high school students have participated in this program since its inception.
International Summer School for Young Physicists (ISSYP) (virtual)
ISSYP is an exciting and challenging two-week online program for Canadian and international high school students with a keen interest in theoretical physics who intend to pursue physics at the university level. Operated by Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, ISSYP is now in its 20th year and includes over 900 alumni in 60 countries. Over two weeks of online activity, the program super-charges potential "Einsteins" and "Curies" with:
Mini-courses — These short sessions provide a sound conceptual introduction to the profound and revolutionary ideas at the foundations of modern physics, including topics like quantum mechanics, special relativity, cosmology, general relativity, and black holes. They will include:
Independent work conducted before scheduled live sessions — mandatory preparation will include background reading, sample problems, and viewing of recorded lectures.
Interactive online sessions — scheduled live sessions will include instructor-led content, lots of time for questions, and group work in breakout rooms.
Hands-on tasks — complete simple experiments from home.
Keynote sessions — Perimeter Institute researchers will discuss their work, providing a window into the deep mysteries facing 21st-century theoretical physicists, with lots of time for questions.
Career insight— ISSYP alumni and researchers at different career points will answer questions about university, research careers, and “Life as a Physicist”.
Connection to like-minded peers — Past participants indicate that meeting other future theoretical physicists is a valuable part of ISSYP. The program includes breaks from the scientific content to get to know one another and build relationships that last beyond the program dates.
University of Florida Student Science Training Program (SSTP)
The UF SSTP is a seven week residential research program for high school students who have completed their junior year and are considering medicine, math, computer, science, or engineering careers. The program emphasis is research participation with a UF faculty research scientist and his or her research team.
Students engage in the ongoing research of the faculty-mentor for 30 hours each week, attend a lecture series on current research topics, and participate in a UF honors seminar class. Students enrolled in a Florida high school have the option to earn dual enrollment credit.
Classroom Based Programs
Carnegie Mellon SAMS - Summer Academy for Math and Science
As SAMS Scholars, students engage in a rigorous curriculum taught by our renowned faculty and staff who are deeply committed to student success. The program allows students to develop a deeper understanding of STEM via traditional classroom instruction, through hands-on projects, and sustained engagement with world-renowned faculty and skilled staff mentors. In addition to their academic experiences, students also have the opportunity to collaborate and develop meaningful relationships with peers from across the country.
Columbia summer immersion
Enroll in an intensive pre-college course, designed to challenge and engage high-achieving students in a supportive environment.
Choose from over 70 courses in a dozen subject areas.
Study alongside a cohort of like-minded students from all over the world.
Experience college life while discovering one of the world's great cities.
Attend college success events to prepare for the academic rigors of university life.
Earn a Columbia University Certification of Participation and an instructor evaluation.
Experience college life in the Ivy League while enjoying the vibrancy of New York City. “I took a course that I absolutely loved; I made new friends from around the world; and I had access to a sprawling campus in the heart of a beautiful city.” – Lena K., Brooklyn, New York
UCLA Nanoscience Institute
The Nanoscience Lab Summer Institute is an exclusive summer workshop for high school students with a background in chemistry who are interested in advanced science and technology.
During this five-day program, students have the unique opportunity to explore technologies similar to those currently investigated by the scientific community through hands-on experiments that give students a survey of diverse topics, including bio-toxicity, supercapacitors, and photolithography. These experiments, designed by UCLA researchers, teach students the key concepts of nanoscale phenomena that make nanoscience and nanotechnology one of the most exciting fields of research today.
USC Summer Classes
USC offers several wonderful science and engineering courses. USC Summer Programs’ courses are taught by USC faculty and experienced professionals of the USC academic community who create an engaging academic experience by combining lectures, hands-on workshops and labs, and guest speakers. Each course is designed to be more interactive, engaging and challenging than accelerated high school classes or the broad introductory courses offered by other summer pre-collegiate programs. Courses run 5-6 hours per day, and students receive 3 USC elective credits upon completion. Students can choose to live on campus and live as a college student, or commute to classes.
Brown Pre-College Programs - summer@brown engineering and science courses (in-person and online)
With so many students from different locations, backgrounds, and interests, you'll join a community of peers who brings broad and deep perspectives to living and learning together. Outside of class, you’ll participate in workshops, activities, and events — scheduled from morning to night — that inform, engage and entertain. Along the way, you’ll make new friends from around the world and learn to live independently and responsibly: skills that will prepare you well for life in college and long after. You are also able to embrace the challenge of college-level academics without the pressure of formal grades and credit, in classes taught by instructors just as interested in your learning as you are, alongside students just as engaged as you.
Enroll in Summer@Brown Online and choose from more than 80 courses that are rigorous, active learning experiences, led by innovative and engaged Brown instructors. Each course involves asynchronous, mostly asynchronous, or blended online learning experiences and many interactions between and among students and instructors. Through coursework that inspires curiosity and discovery, you’ll connect with peers from around the world—students who are as enthusiastic, creative, and accomplished as you are.
University of Pennsylvania Summer Academies – Experimental Physics Research Academy
The Experimental Physics Research Academy focuses on current physics, specifically mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum dynamics, and astrophysics. Through lectures, activities, projects, and discussions with their instructors, students move past memorized equations to gain an understanding of cause and effect, and ultimately an appreciation of physics on a higher level. The Experimental Physics Research Academy is fully residential with no commuter or online options.
University of Pennsylvania Summer Academies – Engineering
The Engineering Summer Academy at Penn (ESAP) welcomes highly motivated and talented students to explore Engineering at the college level. The Academy’s intensive, three-week programs combine sophisticated theory with hands-on practical experience in cutting edge technologies. Work with leading faculty while earning college credit, live on Penn’s historic campus, and connect with new friends from around the world. The program is designed for rising sophomores to rising seniors. ESAP is not a summer camp. Enrolled students will be immersed in an academically intense, fast-paced college environment for the duration of the 3 week program.
Yale Young Global Scholars: Innovations in Science & Technology (2023 APP CLOSED. 2024 APP OPENS SEPT 2023)
The Yale Young Global Scholars Program is a very selective leadership-development program for high school sophomores and juniors (ages 15 – 17) from around the world.
Innovations in Science & Technology (IST) is designed for students who are interested in learning about diverse topics in the STEM fields and applying scientific principles to real-world applications. Students explore a wide variety of scientific fields such as physics, molecular biology, chemistry, biochemistry, astronomy, engineering, neuroscience, immunology, psychology, and earth science. Students also are exposed to interdisciplinary applications across the many scientific fields ranging from the nanoscopic to the astronomical in scale.
Participants are challenged to examine the world as scientists as they gain exposure to a wide array of biological, physical and applied sciences topics. The session builds students’ critical thinking and analytical skills, while simultaneously stressing the importance of collaboration and teamwork, thereby training students to become more impactful scientists.
Yale Young Global Scholars: Solving Global Challenges (SGC) (2023 APP CLOSED. 2024 APP OPENS SEPT 2023)
Solving Global Challenges (SGC) focuses on innovative and cross-disciplinary approaches to solving the greatest challenges facing the global community in the 21st century. Using an interdisciplinary approach, students work towards developing solutions to issues with a global impact, focusing heavily on the 17 key challenges identified in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These wide-ranging topics include global health, artificial intelligence, poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, cyber security, and gene editing.
This session gives students the tools to translate between technical knowledge and in-practice implications. SGC draws on a multitude of academic disciplines, from STEM to social sciences to the humanities and the arts. Students will practice skills in critical analysis, problem solving, and creativity as they explore and brainstorm innovative and sustainable solutions to a wide array of contemporary social, economic, and environmental problems.
Indiana University: Foundations in Science and Mathematics (2023 TBD)
These two-week summer courses are designed to help local students prepare for upcoming high school science and mathematics courses. It will emphasize important introductory concepts and tools in order to provide a strong foundation for later learning. All students are welcome to attend, but keep in mind that most of these courses are designed for students who will attend high school in the fall.
California Science Center - Hands-On Science Camp
Exciting explorations, delightful discoveries and wild wonders await your family this summer at Hands-On Science Camp at the California Science Center. Offers more than 30 courses, including popular parent-and-child classes that give families a chance to investigate science together. The Hands-On Science Camp staff consists of education professionals and working professionals in science fields.
iD Tech STEM Summer Camp
STEM summer camps and courses teach hard skills for future careers in science, technology, engineering, and math in a fun and engaging setting. Such programs foster valuable 21st-century life skills like problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and more. As demand for coders, game developers, robotics engineers, and creative minds continues to increase, more families are turning to iD Tech for world-class STEM education via such summer camps.
Coastal Marine Biolabs residential research institutes
Hosted at the CMB lab in Ventura Harbor, CA, residential research institutes provide high school students with a rare glimpse into the daily practice of science and a unique opportunity to experience how research is conducted in real-world scientific settings. These fast-paced and intensely focused 10-day experiences unfold under the supervision of Ph.D.- level scientists within an academically challenging but nurturing environment that highlights the collaborative nature of science inquiry and the connections that exist among scientific disciplines.
Catalina Island Marine Institute
Catalina Island is a beautiful natural laboratory. Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) is a unique outdoor science school, providing an exciting outdoor education experience for 4 through 12th grade students from public and private schools. Our program is offered at three locations on Catalina Island – operated by the nonprofit corporation, Guided Discoveries – including Toyon Bay, Fox Landing, and Cherry Cove. During our three and five day programs, students and teachers enjoy a variety of hands-on labs and field activities in Marine Science and Island Ecology. CIMI is a STEM based program.
explore more programs:
Scripps Research Education & Training
For more fantastic summer opportunities, explore the math and science options via Teen Ink