Start exploring Marine Science summer programs for high schoolers

Dates:

Jun 20 – Aug 1, 2027

Length:

6 weeks

Cost:

$19,100

Location:

Cape Eleuthera, South Eleuthera, The Bahamas

Grades:

Rising Sophomores-Seniors (completed grades 9–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due January 15, 2027

Six-week, field-based residential program combining Marine Ecology and Human Ecology coursework, connecting students to the natural and cultural landscape of South Eleuthera through fieldwork alongside scientists at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, including scuba-diving-based coral reef study.

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$6,700

Location:

Athens, Greece

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Group Housing

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

12 hours of service-learning: coastal dune restoration work with local NGOs on Aegina island. Water quality assessment, snorkeling, and tide pool exploration. Excursions to Cape Sounion (Temple of Poseidon) and Vouliagmeni Beach.

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$5,800

Location:

Cape Town, South Africa

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Group Housing

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

12 hours of service-learning including a citizen-science snorkeling research project with Cape RADD and an artistic beach-cleanup/repurposing project; fieldwork observing African penguins in False Bay. Behind-the-scenes visit to the Two Oceans Aquarium, a Cape Floristic Region field trip, and a safari.

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$6,200

Location:

Lisbon, Portugal

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Residential (Homestay)

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

12 hours of service-learning working with local NGOs on coastal dune preservation and plastics awareness, plus fieldwork including birdwatching at a coastal lagoon, snorkeling in a marine park, river kayaking, dolphin observation, and intertidal monitoring at Avencas Beach.

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$5,150

Location:

Merida, Mexico

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Residential (Homestay)

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

Fieldwork-based program studying mangroves, cenotes, and coastal lagoons with local ecologists; 12 hours of service-learning working with NGOs on beach conservation. Overnight trips to Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (flamingos) and El Palmar State Ecological Reserve (mangrove kayaking).

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$7,000

Location:

Nice, France

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Group Housing

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

Field research and 12 hours of service-learning; includes visits to Monaco's Oceanographic Museum.

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$6,500

Location:

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Residential (Homestay)

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

Fieldwork with local ecologists conducting species inventories and habitat monitoring, plus swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, paddleboarding; overnight trip to Cabrera National Park and a Tramuntana mountains hike.

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$5,100

Location:

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Group Housing

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

12 hours of service-learning on a group sustainability project focused on preserving Puerto Rico's marine ecosystems; visits to the Submerged Gardens marine reserve and a coral-gardening conservation project. Excursions to the bioluminescent Laguna Grande and El Yunque rainforest (including ziplining).

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$6,525

Location:

Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Residential (Homestay)

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

Spanish-taught version of the Palma marine ecology program. Gated by a STAMP 4S test (Intermediate-Mid minimum), completed Spanish Level 3+ (or qualifying oral interview).

Dates:

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

Length:

3 weeks

Cost:

$6,900

Location:

Sydney, Australia

Grades:

Current grades 9-12

Format:

Group Housing

Deadline:

Jan 20, 2027

Field research across marine, coastal, and bushland ecosystems with a local conservationist guide; includes snorkeling at Cabbage Tree Aquatic Reserve, a Blue Mountains excursion, and a traditional Aboriginal Bushtucker Tour.

Dates:

Jun 28 – Aug 6, 2027

Length:

6 weeks

Cost:

$0

Location:

Stony Brook, NY (Stony Brook University)

Grades:

Current high school juniors (rising seniors), age 16+, nominated by their school

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

School nomination Jan 29, 2027 · Application Feb 5, 2027 · Recommendations Feb 12, 2027

Fellows join a Stony Brook faculty research group in science, math or engineering for six weeks, running experiments, analyzing data and pursuing a question of their own, and present a research poster at the end.

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Davis, CA (UC Davis campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

The biology, chemistry and engineering of raising fish, shellfish, seaweed and plants through freshwater and marine aquaculture, hydroponics and aquaponics. Field trips include caviar producers, Bodega Marine Lab, oyster companies and the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 5–31, 2027

Length:

4 weeks

Cost:

$5,518 (2026 pricing; housing, meals and field trips)

Location:

Merced, CA (UC Merced campus)

Grades:

Rising 9th–12th graders attending high school in California (completed grades 8–11)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Due Feb 5, 2027

Studies the partnership between the Hawaiian bobtail squid and its glowing bacteria: students culture bioluminescent bacteria, watch infection change squid development under the microscope, run DNA extraction and PCR, explore CRISPR, and design their own experiment.

Residency restriction: CA residents

Dates:

Jul 1–20, 2027

Length:

20 days

Cost:

$6,600–$7,600

Location:

Panama

Grades:

Completed 9th-12th grade (not yet in college)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Feb 15, 2027

Three-week program in Panama exploring cloud forests, coral reefs, and city life: hiking highland trails, snorkeling in the Caribbean, and living with local families while learning how communities balance conservation with daily life.

Dates:

Jul 4–24, 2027

Length:

21 days

Cost:

$7,900–$8,900

Location:

Ecuador (Quito, Mindo Cloud Forest, Andean homestay, Galápagos Islands)

Grades:

Completed 9th-12th grade (not yet in college)

Format:

Residential

Deadline:

Feb 15, 2027

Three-week program in Ecuador combining the Mindo Cloud Forest, a weeklong Andean homestay with community service, and six days in the Galápagos snorkeling, hiking, and visiting the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Dates:

Jun 6–9, 2027

Length:

4 days

Cost:

$500–$1,184

Location:

Wilmington, NC (UNCW campus and coast)

Ages:

15–17 (completed grades 9–11)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Registration opens mid-Nov 2026 · closes 2 weeks before each session

A four-day session in which students act as engineers and coastal advocates, building prototype devices to capture energy from the sea, gathering data with ocean instruments, and learning waves and currents firsthand through boogie boarding, kayaking and snorkeling.

Dates:

Jun 28 – Jul 2, 2027

Length:

5 days

Cost:

$680–$1,535

Location:

Wilmington, NC (UNCW campus and coast)

Ages:

15–17 (completed grades 9–11)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Registration opens mid-Nov 2026 · closes 2 weeks before each session

Students design and build a sea glider, an autonomous underwater vehicle that moves by changing its buoyancy, use it to measure water temperature as it travels, and study how buoyancy and wings work together to propel it. Soldering skills required.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 21–Aug 6, 2027 (5 days options)

Length:

5 days

Cost:

$680–$1,535

Location:

Wilmington, NC (UNCW campus and coast)

Ages:

13–15 (completed grades 7–9)

Format:

Residential / Commuter

Deadline:

Registration opens mid-Nov 2026 · closes 2 weeks before each session

Students design, build, solder and test their own SeaPerch remotely operated vehicle and use it to explore underwater, along with simulated scientific investigations of the beach, fouling communities and salt marsh. No soldering experience needed.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 14–Jul 16, 2027 (5 days options)

Length:

5 days

Cost:

$680–$1,535

Location:

Wilmington, NC (UNCW campus and coast)

Ages:

15–17 (completed grades 9–11)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Registration opens mid-Nov 2026 · closes 2 weeks before each session

Students split time between field and lab work collecting data on marine life and assessing ecosystem health, sail on an ocean-going research vessel, kayak a sensitive coastal habitat to survey its ecology, and test water quality at a finfish hatchery.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 28–Jul 23, 2027 (5 days options)

Length:

5 days

Cost:

$850–$1,705

Location:

Wilmington, NC (UNCW campus and coast)

Ages:

15–17 (completed grades 9–11)

Format:

Commuter / Residential

Deadline:

Registration opens mid-Nov 2026 · closes 2 weeks before each session

Mornings bring four surf lessons and a paddleboard adventure at Wrightsville Beach; afternoons use scientific tools and data to study ocean plastics, how plastic moves through coastal systems, coastal flooding and how communities prepare for storms.

Dates:

4 sessions between Jun 5–Jul 29, 2027 (6 days, 5 nights options)

Length:

6 days, 5 nights

Cost:

$1,725

Location:

San Diego, CA (Mission Bay)

Grades:

Entering grades 7–12 in fall 2027 (completed grades 6–11)

Format:

Residential

A residential marine science camp on Mission Bay with labs, plankton and water chemistry studies, a shark snorkel at La Jolla Shores, kayaking, paddleboarding, boogie boarding and a full-day boat trip for snorkeling and marine mammal watching.

Dates:

6 sessions between Jun 17–Aug 9, 2027 (7 days options)

Length:

7 days

Cost:

$3,580

Location:

St. Martin + St. Barths, Caribbean

Grades:

Completing grades 9-12

Format:

Residential

Entry-level liveaboard week combining scuba and sailing; PADI Scuba Diver or Advanced Open Water certification plus one sailing certification available. No experience required.

Dates:

2 sessions between Jun 18–Jul 2, 2027 (7 days, 6 nights and 8 days, 7 nights options)

Length:

7 days, 6 nights–8 days, 7 nights

Cost:

$2,695–$3,195

Location:

San Diego, CA (Mission Bay)

Grades:

7–11 (varies by track)

Format:

Residential

Advanced overnight SEACAMP on Mission Bay for students who have already attended SEACAMP.

Dates:

8 sessions between Jul 4–Aug 28, 2027 (1 week options)

Length:

1 week

Cost:

$1,625

Location:

Edmonds, WA (Puget Sound)

Grades:

8-9 at time of registration

Format:

Residential

Weeklong overnight camp on a bay in Edmonds, on Puget Sound. Campers live in cabins, choose water activities, and do marine mammal science projects. Weeklong overnight marine science and water-adventure camp on Puget Sound for the oldest campers, who drive outboard Zodiacs, sail, foil board, and (weather permitting) sea kayak across the Sound to Whidbey Island, and can earn service-learning hours on marine mammal science projects. Sessions run Sunday to Saturday, and campers can attend one or more weeks.