Start exploring Pre-Med & Life Sciences summer programs for high schoolers

Dates:

Jun 20–Jul 31, 2027

Length:

6 weeks (42 days)

Cost:

$0

Location:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Grades:

Current high school juniors (one year left before graduation), at least 16 by July 1, 2027

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Dec 11, 2026

Six-week, cost-free summer research program at MIT that opens with a week of intensive STEM seminars taught by professors, followed by a five-week individual research internship with a scientist mentor and a final research paper and symposium presentation.

Dates:

Jun 27–Aug 7, 2027

Length:

6 weeks (42 days)

Cost:

$0

Location:

Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Grades:

Current high school juniors (one year left before graduation), at least 16 by July 1, 2027

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Dec 11, 2026

Six-week, cost-free summer research program at Stanford that opens with a week of intensive STEM seminars taught by professors, followed by a five-week individual research internship with a scientist mentor and a final research paper and symposium presentation.

Dates:

Jun 28–Aug 6, 2027

Length:

6 weeks (full-time, 40 hours/week)

Cost:

$0

Location:

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY

Grades:

Current high school juniors (class of 2028) in Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, or Chautauqua County, NY

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 1, 2027

Six-week, full-time cancer research internship at Roswell Park in Buffalo where Western New York high school juniors work on a mentored lab, population-health, or computational project, attend cancer biology lectures and professional development sessions, and present a scientific poster at a closing symposium.

Residency restriction: Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, or Chautauqua County, NY students only

Dates:

Jun 7–Jul 9, 2027

Length:

About 5 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

Cook Children's Medical Center, Fort Worth, TX

Eligibility:

Texas high school students, including homeschoolers, at least 16 years old (matches completed grades 10–12 in search filters)

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 4, 2027

Paid summer research program at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, part of Duke's STAR program, where a small cohort of Texas high school students joins an active pediatric study with a mentor, takes short courses on research methods, scientific writing, and professional development, and finishes with a capstone presentation or research poster.

Residency restriction: TX residents

Dates:

Jun 21–Aug 5, 2027

Length:

7 weeks (full-time, about 35 hours/week)

Cost:

$0

Location:

The Rockefeller University, New York, NY

Grades:

Current high school juniors and seniors, at least 16 at program start

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 4, 2027

Seven-week, full-time research program at The Rockefeller University in Manhattan where 32 high school scholars work in teams of 8–10 with team leaders and mentors, learning lab techniques, developing their own research question, analyzing data, and presenting a poster at a closing symposium.

Dates:

Jun 21–Jul 23, 2027 (in person)

Length:

About 5 weeks in person (weekdays), plus remote spring preparation

Cost:

$0

Location:

Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC

Grades:

Age 18 by June 21, 2027; U.S. citizens and permanent residents only

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 6, 2027

Paid five-week clinical research program at the Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham where students work in teams with Duke faculty mentors on an original project about the uses and effects of a medication, attend workshops on manuscript writing, statistics, and research ethics, and finish with a team presentation and written thesis aimed at co-authorship on a peer-reviewed paper.

Dates:

Jun 14–Aug 6, 2027

Length:

8 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI

Eligibility:

Michigan high school students within commuting distance of Ann Arbor (matches completed grades 9–11 in search filters)

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Interest form closes Jan 8, 2027

Eight-week paid biomedical research program at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor where Michigan high school students complete an independent lab project with a research mentor and take courses in science communication and college preparation, presenting a research talk at the end.

Residency restriction: MI residents

Dates:

Not confirmed for 2027

Length:

10 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX

Grades:

Local high school students entering senior year in fall 2027, age 18 by June 7, 2027; economically or educationally disadvantaged, with disabilities, or first-generation

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 13, 2027

Ten-week, full-time paid cancer research experience at MD Anderson in Houston where up to 10 local high school students are matched with a faculty mentor for lab research, coursework, and seminars, finishing with a poster session.

Dates:

Jun 7–Jul 2, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$4,000

Location:

UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School, Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX

Grades:

Rising juniors and seniors (completed grades 10-11), 16 years old by June 7, 2027

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 15, 2027

Four-week bench-science research program at UTHealth Houston's McGovern Medical School where rising juniors and seniors work on lab projects with faculty and student mentors, attend seminars, meet healthcare professionals, and receive career guidance.

Dates:

Jun 28–Jul 30, 2027

Length:

About 5 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

Marshall Health Network sites in Huntington, Point Pleasant, and Logan, WV

Eligibility:

Rising 11th-12th graders in West Virginia, including homeschoolers (matches completed grades 10–11 in search filters)

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 15, 2027

Paid summer research program for West Virginia high school students at Marshall Health Network sites, part of Duke's STAR program, where a cohort of four does hands-on research with Marshall faculty, takes short courses in research methods and medical writing, and, where appropriate, shadows in clinical settings.

Residency restriction: WV residents

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 16–Jul 28, 2027 (3 weeks options)

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$5,750

Location:

Gaborone, Botswana

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Residential (Homestay)

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

Students choose one course or track.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 16–Jul 28, 2027 (3 weeks options)

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$5,050

Location:

Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Residential (Homestay)

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

50 hours of service-learning; students design and run a health education fair. Visits to both a public hospital (Hospital Universitario Jose María Cabral y Baez) and a private clinic (Clínica Corominas) to compare care models. Tubing/rope-swing excursion in the Mao region.

Dates:

Jul 6–Aug 13, 2027

Length:

6 weeks (weekdays, 9am–5pm)

Cost:

$0

Location:

Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA (Kendall Square)

Eligibility:

Rising 12th graders at Massachusetts high schools (matches completed grade 11 in search filters)

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

Paid six-week research program in which Massachusetts high school juniors work full-time alongside Broad Institute scientists on an original project in areas such as cancer biology, psychiatric disease, or computational biology, with a staff tutor, scientific talks, career exploration, and a closing poster session.

Residency restriction: Massachusetts high school students only

Dates:

Not confirmed for 2027

Length:

8 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX

Grades:

Current high school juniors in North Texas, age 16 by June 1, 2027; no prior biomedical research experience

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 22, 2027

Eight-week paid research program at UT Southwestern in Dallas where North Texas high school juniors work in a biomedical research lab, present their results at the end of the summer, and share their experience at their home schools.

Residency restriction: North Texas students only

Dates:

Flexible within May 10–Aug 31, 2027 (set with the lab)

Length:

Full-time, summer (dates set with lab)

Cost:

$0

Location:

NIH campuses, including Bethesda, MD

Grades:

Graduating high school seniors, age 18 by Sep 30, 2027 (17 allowed if home is within 40 miles of an NIH campus); U.S. citizens and permanent residents

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 26, 2027

Full-time summer research internship at the National Institutes of Health where interns join a lab led by an NIH principal investigator in biomedical, behavioral, or social science research, with career programming and a summer poster day.

Dates:

Jun 7–Aug 6, 2027

Length:

8 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX

Grades:

Current high school juniors and seniors, age 16+; minimum 3.5 GPA

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Jan 29, 2027

Eight-week, full-time paid translational research internship at Houston Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center where high school juniors and seniors work on a mentor-selected lab project, take a career and college-preparation curriculum, and present a poster at a closing research symposium.

Dates:

3 sessions between Jul 3–Jul 31, 2027 (2 weeks and 4 weeks (both sessions) options)

Length:

2 weeks–4 weeks (both sessions)

Cost:

$4,985–$9,970

Location:

Smith College, Northampton, MA

Grades:

Students entering grades 9–12 in fall 2027

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Priority Feb 1, 2027 · Tuition assistance Mar 1, 2027 · Final May 1, 2027

Students choose one course or track.

Dates:

Jun 29–Aug 20, 2027

Length:

8 weeks (full-time, 40 hours/week)

Cost:

$0

Location:

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Main Campus, New York, NY

Grades:

Current high school juniors living within 25 miles of MSK in Manhattan

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Feb 5, 2027

Eight-week, full-time paid research internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan where about 20 high school juniors each complete a self-directed lab project with a mentor and attend lab meetings and professional development events.

Residency restriction: Within 25 miles of MSK in Manhattan only

Dates:

Jun 14–Aug 6, 2027

Length:

8 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

UCSF, San Francisco, CA

Grades:

Current 11th graders living in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, or San Mateo County; age 16+ by program start; minimum 2.5 GPA

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Feb 7, 2027

Eight-week, full-time research internship in a UCSF laboratory for Bay Area high school juniors, mentored by UCSF faculty, postdocs, and graduate students, with a weekly college seminar, college and career advising, and a closing research showcase.

Residency restriction: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, or San Mateo County students only

Dates:

Jun 14–Aug 6, 2027

Length:

8 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA

Eligibility:

San Diego County high school students, at least 16 by June 14, 2027; minimum 2.75 GPA and one high school biology class (matches completed grades 10–12 in search filters)

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Feb 15, 2027

Eight-week paid research internship at the Salk Institute in La Jolla where San Diego County high school students work one-on-one with a Salk scientist on a research project, attend seminars, career workshops, and biotech site visits, and present at a closing symposium.

Residency restriction: San Diego County students only

Dates:

Jul 11–30, 2027

Length:

3 weeks (20 days)

Cost:

$9,250

Location:

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Grades:

Rising 10th–12th graders (completed grades 9-11), 15 years old or older by program start; minimum 3.0 GPA

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Feb 17, 2027

Credit:

Yes (0.5 Penn credit units, about 1.5 semester credits)

Three-week residential college-credit course at the University of Pennsylvania where students learn the machine learning algorithms behind generative AI, apply them to biological design in Python, and complete group projects shared on platforms used by AI researchers.

Dates:

Jul 11–30, 2027

Length:

3 weeks (20 days)

Cost:

$9,250

Location:

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Grades:

Rising 10th–12th graders (completed grades 9-11), 15 years old or older by program start; minimum 3.0 GPA

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Feb 17, 2027

Credit:

Yes (0.5 Penn credit units, about 1.5 semester credits)

Three-week residential college-credit course at the University of Pennsylvania where students learn molecular biology and genetic engineering, run molecular cloning experiments in the lab, join a journal club, and write a group research proposal with a Penn engineering PhD mentor.

Dates:

Jul 11–Aug 6, 2027

Length:

4 weeks (weekdays residential)

Cost:

$0

Location:

Worcester, MA (UMass Chan Medical School; housing at Worcester State University)

Grades:

Completed 10th-11th grade (Massachusetts residents)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Mar 1, 2027

Free four-week residential program at UMass Chan Medical School for Massachusetts high schoolers, combining biology, math, and English enrichment with a health equity research project, clinical exposure, and job shadowing.

Residency restriction: MA residents

Dates:

Jun 21–25, 2027

Length:

1 week (5 days)

Cost:

$0

Location:

FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, FL

Eligibility:

Rising juniors and seniors; minimum 3.0 GPA (matches completed grades 10–11 in search filters)

Format:

Commuter

Deadline:

Apr 1, 2027

Free one-week day program at FIU's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in Miami where rising juniors and seniors explore medicine through hands-on clinical workshops, interactive learning sessions, and mentorship from medical professionals, in a group of up to 30 students.