Internships and research for high school students.
Lab research, hospital programs and government internships that take high school students. Each one lists who can apply, where it runs, when it usually closes and whether it pays.
29 opportunities, 23 free · Links and programs checked October 18, 2026 · By Lokesh Pampatti, founder of Clarity Prep
Real internships for high school students are rare, and the good ones are competitive. Many of the best are close to home: a hospital, a university lab or a government agency near you, so check where each one runs before you apply.
Programs where you pay a company to place you in an internship or to mentor a paper are listed too, with a light rating. Cold-emailing professors and local companies costs nothing and often reads better.
29 of 29 shown
Research & internshipsFreeBrooklyn, NY
NYU Tandon School of Engineering ARISE
NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Ten-week research program with a stipend for NYC students.
Our take: Free, paid research in NYU labs for New York City public and charter school students.
Research & internshipsFreeLaurel, MD
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory ASPIRE
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Mentored STEM internship at APL for juniors and seniors.
Our take: Unpaid mentorship in a national lab, during the school year or summer. Commuting distance to Laurel, MD is the real requirement.
Research & internshipsFreeCambridge, MA
Broad Summer Scholars Program
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Six weeks of research at the Broad with a stipend.
Our take: Paid genomics research for Massachusetts rising seniors. If you live near Boston, this is a top-tier free option.
Research & internshipsFreeLubbock, TX
Clark Scholars Program
Texas Tech University
Seven-week intensive research program with Texas Tech faculty. Free with a stipend.
Our take: Twelve students a year, a $750 stipend, any field including humanities. Age 17 by the start date.
Research & internshipsFreeUniversity and Army labs nationwide
High School Apprenticeships
Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP)
Stipend-paid summer apprenticeships in Army-sponsored labs.
Our take: Paid research placements funded by the Army, many at universities near you. Less famous than NIH or NASA, which helps your odds.
Research & internshipsFreeNew York, NY
HOPP Summer Student Program
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Eight-week research in Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program labs.
Our take: Paid cancer research at MSK for students 14 and up. Commuter only.
Research & internshipsFreePrinceton, NJ
Laboratory Learning Program
Princeton University
Unpaid research placement with Princeton faculty in engineering and natural sciences.
Our take: Free, full-time research in a Princeton lab. No housing, so it is realistic only if you can commute. Age 16 and up.
Research & internshipsFreeNASA centers + virtual
OSTEM Internships
NASA
Paid internships at NASA centers for high school and college students.
Our take: Paid, and NASA on a résumé speaks for itself. Age 16 and up; apply to several projects, not one.
Research & internshipsFreeBoston area (PRIMES) or remote nationwide (PRIMES-USA)
PRIMES and PRIMES-USA
MIT Department of Mathematics
Free year-long math and CS research program for high school students.
Our take: Year-long research with an MIT mentor. PRIMES-USA is the remote track for juniors anywhere in the country; the entrance problem set is the application.
Research & internshipsFreeCambridge, MA
Center for Excellence in Education / MIT Research Science Institute (RSI)
Center for Excellence in Education / MIT
Six weeks of original STEM research with MIT and Broad Institute mentors, entirely free.
Our take: The most selective summer program in the country, about 100 students worldwide. If you have research already, apply; if not, this is not the place to start.
Research & internshipsFreeNavy laboratories nationwide
Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)
U.S. Navy / Office of Naval Research
Navy research apprenticeship for students who have finished at least 9th grade.
Our take: Paid eight weeks in a Navy lab. Deadline is November 1, far earlier than most; U.S. citizenship required.
Research & internshipsFreeAustin, TX + remote work
SEES High School Summer Intern Program
NASA / UT Austin Center for Space Research
Earth and space research internship for rising juniors and seniors.
Our take: Free NASA-funded earth and space science research. Most of the work is remote; the two weeks in Austin are covered.
Research & internshipsFreeStony Brook, NY
Simons Summer Research Program
Stony Brook University
Hands-on research with Stony Brook faculty for rising seniors, with a stipend.
Our take: Real lab, real stipend, a poster at the end. You need a teacher nomination; ask in December.
Research & internshipsFreeStanford, CA
Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
Stanford School of Medicine
Eight weeks of hands-on medical research with a stipend.
Our take: Paid biomedical research at Stanford Medicine. No housing is provided, so Bay Area students have a practical edge.
Research & internshipsFreeStanford, CA
Stanford Medical Youth Science Program
Stanford School of Medicine
Five-week medical science and college-readiness program.
Our take: Free residential program for low-income Northern and Central California students interested in medicine.
Research & internshipsFreeNonprofits in your metro + Washington, DC summit
Student Leaders
Bank of America
Eight-week paid internship at a local nonprofit for juniors and seniors, plus a leadership summit.
Our take: Paid nonprofit internship plus a week in DC, and Atlanta is one of the markets. Deadline is mid-January.
Research & internshipsFreeSeattle, WA
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Eight-week paid internship at Fred Hutch.
Our take: Paid cancer research internship for Washington rising seniors from groups underrepresented in science.
Research & internshipsFreeBethesda, MD and other NIH campuses
National Institutes of Health Summer Internship Program (SIP)
National Institutes of Health
Summer research internships in NIH labs. High school seniors can apply if they meet the age rule.
Our take: Paid research in an NIH lab. The separate high school track (HS-SIP) was folded into the main program, so it is now for graduating seniors who are 18 by the start, with a narrow exception for 17-year-olds who live near a campus. Check the age rule before you apply.
Research & internshipsFreeNew York, NY
The Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program
The Rockefeller University
Seven weeks of mentored research for students 16 and up.
Our take: Team-based research at one of the top biomedical institutions. Free, commuter, early deadline.
Research & internshipsFreeBar Harbor, ME and Farmington, CT
The Jackson Laboratory Summer Student Program
The Jackson Laboratory
Independent research project in a JAX lab with a mentor.
Our take: Ten weeks of genetics and genomics research with a stipend and housing paid. Mostly undergraduates; a few rising seniors get in each year.
Research & internshipsFreeOnline
THINK Scholars
MIT THINK
Student-run program that funds and mentors high school STEM projects.
Our take: You propose a project; MIT students mentor it and fund up to $1,000. The proposal is a real piece of writing; give it weeks.
Research & internshipsCost variesNew Mexico, Colorado, Indiana, and others
Summer Science Program (SSP)
Summer Science Program
Immersive team research program with a 60-year track record.
Our take: Need-blind admission and a sliding-scale fee down to zero. Astrophysics, biochemistry, genomics, or synthetic chemistry, in a team, at full intensity.
Research & internshipsFreePlacements near you
Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program
American Fisheries Society
Summer mentoring program in fisheries and aquatic science, with a stipend.
Our take: Paid ($3,000) fieldwork with a fisheries biologist, placed near where you live. Underapplied.
Research & internshipsFreeAthens, GA
University of Georgia Young Dawgs
University of Georgia
UGA's high school internship program, placing students in campus units and labs.
Our take: Internships across UGA departments for Georgia juniors and seniors. Unpaid, commuter, and a real look at a university from the inside.
Research & internships$1k–5kStony Brook, NY
Garcia Summer Scholars
Stony Brook University Garcia Center
Seven-week research program in materials science with an optional year-round continuation.
Our take: Polymer and materials research that often continues through the school year and into science fairs. There is a fee.
Research & internshipsOver $5kOnline
Pioneer Research Program
Pioneer Academics
Structured online research program with faculty mentors and a final paper.
Our take: Online research with a professor, graded, with a credit option through Oberlin. It is paid, but more selective and more rigorous than most in this category.
Research & internships$1k–5kOnline
Ladder Internships
Ladder
Paid placement into remote startup internships.
Our take: You pay to intern at a startup. Cold-emailing twenty local companies costs nothing and reads better.
Research & internships$1k–5kOnline
Polygence
Polygence
Paid project-based research mentorship.
Our take: Same model as Lumiere. If you use one of these, the output has to stand on its own: a publication, a competition entry, something a reader can verify.
Research & internships$1k–5kOnline
Lumiere Education Research Scholar Program
Lumiere Education
Paid one-on-one research mentorship ending in an independent paper.
Our take: You pay a PhD student to mentor a paper. The paper can be real work, but admissions readers know the model.
“Helps an application” is our read on how much an admissions reader is likely to weigh it: Strong means getting in or placing is a real achievement, Solid means it shows real interest and effort, and Light usually means most students who apply and pay can attend. It’s our opinion, not a ranking from any college, and a light one can still be a great summer.
Questions
Can high school students get internships?
Yes, though most formal internships are for students who are 16 or older and live near the lab, hospital or agency. Universities, hospitals, NASA and research institutes run the best-known ones. Many students also find research by emailing professors directly.
Are there paid internships for high school students?
Some, mostly at research institutes and government labs. Others are free but give a stipend or college credit. Be careful with programs that charge you to be placed in an internship.
When should you apply for a summer internship in high school?
Most summer research programs open in late fall and close between January and March. A few close as early as December, so plan in the fall of the year before.
Want a list picked for you?
Clarity Prep members get opportunities matched to their grade, interests and state in the app, plus a mentor who helps them decide what’s worth applying to and checks in every week until the applications are in.
Free tools: GPA calculator · chances calculator · college acceptance rates · essay grader
Every program here is real and links to its own official site. Dates, costs and rules change every year, so check the official page before you apply. Deadlines are shown as the months they usually close. Spot something out of date? Email sessions@joinclarityprep.com.