Summer programs, research and internships
We're building an index of programs for high school students, from the most selective to open enrollment. Every entry links to the program's official page and shows the date we last checked it. Browsing is free; Pro will add an unlimited shortlist with deadline reminders.
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AI Scholars
Summer programPittsburgh, PAFor students entering grade 12
Four-week fully funded residential program at Carnegie Mellon with college-level courses in computing and AI, for rising seniors, with college-application writing support.
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American Legion Auxiliary California Girls State
Summer programCAFor students entering grade 12
Week-long residential civics program in which rising seniors, selected and sponsored by a local American Legion Auxiliary unit, build a mock state government and learn how local and state government work.
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American Legion California Boys State
Summer programSacramento, CAFor students entering grade 12
Week-long civics program at Sacramento State in which delegates chosen by local American Legion posts run a mock state government.
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Anson L. Clark Scholars Program
ResearchLubbock, TXFor students entering grade 12 or college
Seven-week paid-for research program at Texas Tech for twelve scholars, each working with a faculty mentor on a project in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering or economics.
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ASPIRE
InternshipLaurel, MDFor students entering grade 11, 12
Unpaid summer internship at the Applied Physics Laboratory for high school juniors and seniors from the surrounding region, working at least 190 hours with a mentor.
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B-BAY Summer Entrepreneurship Residency
Summer programCA
Two-week residential program where about 50 high schoolers develop a business idea and business plan on the Berkeley campus.
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Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)
Summer programCambridge, MAFor students entering grade 12
Four-week project-based courses at MIT in areas such as autonomy, cybersecurity and AI, preceded by free online prerequisite courses that count toward selection.
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Berkeley Lab Director's Apprenticeship Program (BLDAP)
InternshipBerkeley, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Six-week, in-person project-based STEM apprenticeship at Berkeley Lab with a computer science short course and weekly talks with STEM professionals; it can lead to a later lab internship.
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Berkeley Lab Experiences in Research (EinR)
InternshipBerkeley, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Paid six-week summer internship at Berkeley Lab where students work on projects with lab staff; Northern California applicants are reviewed, with priority within 30 miles.
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Boston University Summer Challenge
Summer programBoston, MAFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12
Two-week pre-college sessions at BU, residential or commuter, in which rising sophomores through seniors take two noncredit seminars.
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Boston University Tanglewood Institute
Summer programLenox, MA
Summer training for young musicians in the Berkshires: Young Artists Programs of up to six weeks (orchestra, wind ensemble, vocal, piano, composition and more) plus two-week workshops, admitted by audition; the Young Artists Orchestra carries 6 hours of transferable course credit.
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Broad Summer Scholars Program (BSSP)
InternshipCambridge, MAFor students entering grade 12
Six-week paid biomedical research program at the Broad Institute for rising seniors at Massachusetts high schools within commuting distance, ending with a poster session.
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California Academy of Sciences Careers in Science (CiS) Intern Program
InternshipSan Francisco, CAFor students entering grade 10, 11
Multi-year paid internship for San Francisco public high schoolers underrepresented in STEM, with project work and science teaching at the Academy.
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California State Summer School for the Arts
Summer programPomona, CAFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12 or college
Four-week residential preprofessional arts program with eight departments including animation, dance, film, music, theater, visual art and writing; now hosted at Cal Poly Pomona.
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Canada/USA Mathcamp
Summer programBurlington, VTFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12 or college
Five-week residential math camp for about 120 students, with advanced classes chosen by students. Admission requires a qualifying quiz of challenging problems.
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Carleton Summer Liberal Arts Institute
Summer programNorthfield, MNFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12
On-campus summer institute at Carleton College with three-week for-credit courses and one-week non-credit courses taught by Carleton faculty for high school students.
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Carnegie Mellon Pre-College Programs
Summer programPittsburgh, PAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Three- to six-week summer programs at Carnegie Mellon in computing, engineering, design, arts and writing, residential or commuter, including fully funded merit programs; only Summer Session awards college credit.
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Chabot Galaxy Explorers Program
InternshipOakland, CAFor students entering grade 10
Three-year service, STEM learning and leadership program at Chabot in Oakland that high schoolers typically join the summer before 10th grade; members staff floor shifts and join inquiry teams.
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CIEE Global Navigator High School Summer Abroad
Summer programFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Three- and four-week (some eight-week) summer programs abroad for U.S. and international high school students, in language and culture, arts, business, leadership and service, and STEM tracks; Language & Culture programs use homestays and offer optional Tulane University credit for a fee.
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Columbia Pre-College NYC Residential Summer
Summer programNew York, NYFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12 or college
Three-week non-credit courses for high school students who live on Columbia's Morningside campus in New York City; Columbia runs a separate commuter program with its own deadline.
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Concordia Language Villages Summer Youth Programs
Summer programBemidji, MNFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12
Residential language and culture immersion camps in northern Minnesota in about 15 languages, including two- and four-week high school credit programs for students entering grades 9-12 and a four-week dual credit program in Spanish or French.
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Cornell University Summer College
Summer programIthaca, NYFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Three- and six-week residential and commuter program where high school students take Cornell courses for credit.
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COSMOS (California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science)
Summer programMultiple, CAFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12 or college
Four-week residential STEM program for California students on one of six UC campuses, where students study a themed cluster of advanced courses with UC faculty.
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Duke Pre-College Programs
Summer programDurham, NCFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Twelve-day residential courses on Duke's campus for students in grades 6-12, in three 2027 sessions.
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Economics for Leaders
Summer programFor students entering grade 11, 12
One-week residential program held at about a dozen university campuses that teaches rising juniors and seniors to apply economic reasoning and leadership to public policy decisions.
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Emory Pre-College Program
Summer programAtlanta, GAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Two-week non-credit sessions for sophomores and juniors, plus Pre-Med Institute and credit Summer College sessions.
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Enterprise for Youth Paid Internships
InternshipSan Francisco, CA
Paid internships for San Francisco youth who have started high school, usually after the program's paid job-readiness training; an internship totals 75 hours at 12 hours a week.
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Garcia Summer Research Program
ResearchStony Brook, NY
Seven-week in-person research program at Stony Brook's Garcia Center for polymers and materials; high school students work with faculty and graduate students on laboratory projects. Campus housing is optional.
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Georgetown Summer Programs for High School Students
Summer programWashington, DCFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12 or college
Georgetown's pre-college umbrella: one-to-three-week non-credit Academies and credit-bearing College Prep and Summer College courses on the DC campus.
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Girls Who Code Pathways
Summer programOnlineFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12 or college
Free virtual self-paced program for high school girls and non-binary students with tracks in game design, data science, AI, cybersecurity and web development, run in seasonal cohorts with an online community.
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Great Books Summer Program
Summer programFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12 or college
One-week residential and day sessions at Amherst, Stanford and Haverford, plus online and abroad options, built around seminar discussion of classic texts and writer's workshops.
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Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics (HCSSiM)
Summer programAmherst, MA
Six-week residential summer program in mathematics for talented high schoolers, with an application that includes the Interesting Test of math problems.
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Harvard Summer School Pre-College Program
Summer programCambridge, MAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Two-week non-credit residential program for rising juniors and seniors, with three sessions on the Harvard campus.
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Harvard Summer School Secondary School Program
Summer programCambridge, MAFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Four- or seven-week program where high school students take Harvard college-credit courses with letter grades, residential, commuting or online.
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Hidden Genius Project Intensive Immersion Program (Oakland)
Summer programOakland, CAFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11
Free 15-month tech and entrepreneurship mentorship program for Black male high school students, with two seven-week summer sessions and a year of after-school sessions in Oakland.
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HOPP Summer Student Program
InternshipNew York, NYFor students entering grade 12
Eight-week full-time paid laboratory internship in cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering for New York-area high school juniors, ending with a poster presentation.
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Interlochen Arts Camp
Summer programInterlochen, MIFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Residential summer arts camp in northern Michigan with one- to six-week programs in music, theatre, dance, visual arts, film and creative writing; the high school division serves grades 9-12.
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Iowa Young Writers' Studio (Summer Residential Program)
Summer programIowa City, IAFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Two-week residential creative writing program at the University of Iowa where students choose one core course such as fiction, poetry, TV writing or playwriting.
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Johns Hopkins CTY Summer Programs
Summer programMultiple
Residential and day courses for academically talented students, mostly requiring qualifying test scores.
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Johns Hopkins Summer at Hopkins Pre-College Programs
Summer programBaltimore, MD
On-campus, commuter and online pre-college courses for high school students on the Homewood campus.
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Juilliard Summer Music
Summer programNew York, NY
Three-week summer program at Juilliard for current high school instrumentalists, pianists, singers and composers, admitted by recorded audition.
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Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop (Residential)
Summer programGambier, OHFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Two-week residential creative writing workshop at Kenyon College for rising juniors and seniors, with daily workshops and individual conferences.
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Kode With Klossy Camp
Summer program
Free two-week summer coding camp for young women and gender-expansive people ages 13-18, with web development, AI/machine learning and data science tracks, held in nine cities and online.
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KP LAUNCH High School Program
InternshipCAFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Seven-week paid full-time summer work experience at Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California, with weekly workshops; interns do administrative work and shadow clinicians.
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LaunchX Entrepreneurship (In Person)
Summer programAnn Arbor, MI
Four-week residential program in Ann Arbor where teams of high school students build and launch a revenue-generating startup; LaunchX also runs online versions.
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Lawrence Hall of Science Teen Internship
InternshipBerkeley, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Paid summer internship at the Lawrence Hall of Science for rising juniors and seniors, with May Saturday workshops and a full-time summer placement.
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LLNL Biotechnology Summer Experience
Summer programLivermore, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Free two-week lab workshop at Livermore where high schoolers do molecular biology and bioinformatics research on duckweed genes.
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LLRISE (Lincoln Laboratory Radar Introduction for Student Engineers)
Summer programLexington, MAFor students entering grade 12
Free two-week workshop in which rising seniors build small radar systems at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
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MathILy
Summer programBryn Mawr, PA
Five-week residential summer program in mathematics for mathematically strong secondary students, held at Bryn Mawr College.
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MIT Women's Technology Program (WTP)
Summer programCambridge, MAFor students entering grade 12
Four-week residential engineering introduction at MIT for rising seniors with little engineering background, with hands-on classes, labs and team projects. Cost is on a sliding scale by family income.
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MITES Semester
Summer programOnlineFor students entering grade 12
Six-month online STEM and college-preparation program for rising seniors (June to December) from the MITES team; it shares one national application with MITES Summer.
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MITES Summer
Summer programCambridge, MAFor students entering grade 12
Free six-week residential STEM program at MIT for rising seniors, aimed at students who are underrepresented or first in their families in STEM.
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NASA GeneLab for High Schools (GL4HS)
Summer programOnlineFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Free 12-week self-paced online course in bioinformatics analysis of NASA space biology data, run by NASA Ames for US high school students; those who complete it earn a certificate.
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National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) Summer Abroad
Summer programFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Fully funded six- to seven-week summer language immersion abroad for U.S. high school students, with a host-family stay and at least 120 hours of instruction in Arabic, Chinese, Korean or Russian.
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NOLS Teen Expeditions
Summer program
Multi-week wilderness backpacking, mountaineering and other expeditions for ages 14-17 taught by NOLS instructors, built around outdoor skills and leadership development.
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Northwestern College Preparation Program
Summer programEvanston, ILFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12
Credit courses, two-week IN FOCUS seminars, one-week Immersion and online options for high school students at Northwestern.
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Notre Dame Leadership Seminars
Summer programNotre Dame, INFor students entering grade 12
Ten-day residential seminars at Notre Dame for rising seniors who show leadership, on topics such as global issues and social and economic inequity, with tuition, housing and meals paid by the university.
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Notre Dame Summer Scholars
Summer programNotre Dame, INFor students entering grade 11, 12
Two-week residential program on the Notre Dame campus where current sophomores and juniors take a small college-level course taught by Notre Dame faculty and can earn one transferable credit.
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NYU Tisch Summer High School
Summer programNew York, NYFor students entering grade 11, 12
Four-week residential arts intensives for sophomores and juniors in drama, film, dance, game design and more.
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Oakland Zoo Teen Summer Internships
InternshipOakland, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Seven-week summer teen internships at the Oakland Zoo (about 200 hours) in program and animal-related teams for rising juniors and seniors.
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Oakland Zoo Teen Wild Guides
InternshipOakland, CA
Teen volunteer program at the Oakland Zoo with seasonal training, interview and regular shifts educating visitors; applications are accepted year-round for the next onboarding round.
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Otis College Summer of Art
Summer programLos Angeles, CA
Four-week studio pre-college program in Los Angeles in art and design, with college credit for full-day students and optional on-campus housing.
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Outward Bound Boundary Waters Intercept (Canoe)
Summer programDuluth, MN
Canoe expedition of about three weeks in the Boundary Waters, run as a family-focused course for teens and their parents or caregivers seeking a change, with a family seminar near the end.
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Penn Arts and Sciences Summer Programs for High School Students
Summer programPhiladelphia, PAFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12
Two- and three-week residential Summer Academies plus credit Pre-College programs in residential and online formats.
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PRIMES-USA
ResearchOnlineFor students entering grade 11, 12
Year-long online research program in mathematics and bioinformatics for sophomores and juniors living outside the Boston area, with an entrance problem set and an interview.
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Princeton Summer Journalism Program
Summer programPrinceton, NJFor students entering grade 12
Year-long journalism and college-preparation program for juniors from low-income backgrounds: a four-week hybrid summer intensive ending in a 10-day residential stay at Princeton, then one-on-one college application guidance in senior year.
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PROMYS
Summer programBoston, MAFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Six-week residential number-theory-centered program at Boston University where students work on daily problem sets with counselors; no grades or credit are given.
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REACH Summer Internship Program
InternshipLa Jolla, CA
Seven-week full-time paid laboratory internship at Scripps Research in La Jolla for students from partner schools, preceded by a three-day training boot camp.
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Research in Science & Engineering (RISE)
ResearchBoston, MAFor students entering grade 12
Six-week summer research program at BU with an Internship track in a lab and a Practicum track of lectures and group lab work, for domestic rising seniors.
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Research Mentorship Program (RMP)
ResearchSanta Barbara, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Seven-week program pairing high school students with UCSB graduate students, postdocs or faculty for hands-on research, with a short virtual start.
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Research Science Institute (RSI)
ResearchCambridge, MAFor students entering grade 12
Free six-week residential program: one week of STEM classes, then a five-week individual research internship with a mentor, ending in written and oral reports. In 2027 it expands to a second site at Stanford.
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RISD Pre-College (On-Campus)
Summer programProvidence, RIFor students entering grade 11, 12
Five-week college-level studio program at RISD for rising juniors and seniors, with residential and commuter options; no portfolio is required. RISD also runs a separate online Pre-College.
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Ross Mathematics Program
Summer programColumbus / Terre Haute, OH / IN
Six-week residential program focused on one subject, number theory, with daily problem sets and counselor feedback. Runs at two campus sites.
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Santa Clara University Summer Engineering Seminar (SES)
Summer programSanta Clara, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Free five-day residential introduction to engineering for sophomores and juniors, with priority for students with limited access to engineering programs.
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Santa Clara University Young Scholars Program
Summer programSanta Clara, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Rising juniors and seniors take college courses at Santa Clara University for credit in a five-week summer session, with advising and campus meetings.
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SCA Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps Youth Summer Program
InternshipPA
Paid summer conservation crew work on Pennsylvania public lands for high-school-age students, run with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
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Science and Engineering Apprentice Program (SEAP)
InternshipFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Eight-week paid apprenticeship in a Navy laboratory placing academically strong high school students with research mentors.
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SeA Bilingual STEM Camp at Berkeley Lab
Summer programBerkeley, CAFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Free four-day spring-break STEM camp for English learners and Spanish-English bilingual high school students, with meals and materials provided.
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Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP)
ResearchIowa City, IAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Five-and-a-half-week residential research program where students in grades 10-11 work in university faculty labs and present a poster, earning three semester hours of Iowa credit.
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SEES High School Summer Intern Program
InternshipAustin, TXFor students entering grade 11, 12
NASA-supported internship where high schoolers analyze and visualize Earth and space data with NASA-linked mentors, remotely with a short on-site stretch at UT Austin.
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Sewanee Young Writers' Conference
Summer programSewanee, TNFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12
Two-week residential creative writing conference on the Sewanee campus taught by published writers, for students in grades 9-11.
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Simons Summer Research Program
ResearchStony Brook, NYFor students entering grade 12
Six-week research program at Stony Brook where nominated juniors work in faculty labs in fields such as chemistry, computer science and geosciences. Each school may nominate up to three students.
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Stanford AI4ALL
Summer programStanford, CAFor students entering grade 10
Two-week introduction to AI for current ninth graders, offered online or residential at Stanford.
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Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
ResearchStanford, CAFor students entering grade 12 or college
Eight-week program where high school students do medically oriented research with Stanford faculty, postdocs and students. Selection favors Bay Area students.
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Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes
Summer programOnlineFor students entering grade 9, 10, 11, 12
Two-week live online courses taught by Stanford instructors for middle and high school students; one course per summer, no credit.
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Stanford Summer Humanities Institute
Summer programStanford, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Three-week residential program where rising juniors and seniors take one humanities seminar with Stanford faculty and complete an independent research paper.
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Stanford Summer Session for High School Students
Summer programStanford, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Eight-week program where high schoolers take Stanford courses alongside undergraduates, living on campus or commuting, and earn a Stanford transcript.
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Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC)
Summer programStanford, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Advanced mathematics program (abstract algebra, number theory or topology) for students with strong interest in math; online and residential tracks.
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Stanford Young Investigators Program
ResearchStanford, CA
Summer research internship in Stanford sustainability, Earth science and environmental labs for Bay Area high schoolers, with weekly talks, lab tours and field trips.
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Summer Academy for Math and Science (SAMS)
Summer programPittsburgh, PAFor students entering grade 12
Six-week residential program at Carnegie Mellon, with a virtual jumpstart beforehand, for rising seniors, including math and science courses, a research project and college-application writing support.
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Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
InternshipSeattle, WAFor students entering grade 12
Eight-week full-time paid research internship at Fred Hutch in Seattle for rising seniors, starting with lab-skills training; designed for students without extensive research experience.
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Summer Science Program (SSP)
Summer programFor students entering grade 12
Five-week residential research program on a college campus where students work on a hands-on project in astrophysics, biochemistry, bacterial genomics or cell biology. Admission is need-blind and aid is generous.
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Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)
ResearchNew York, NYFor students entering grade 12 or college
Seven-week full-time research program at Rockefeller University where juniors and seniors work in mentored teams on a research question and present a poster at a symposium.
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Summer@Brown
Summer programProvidence, RIFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12 or college
Brown's non-credit pre-college courses of one to three weeks on campus, with a five-week hybrid option and online versions, taken without formal grades.
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UC Berkeley Pre-College Scholars (residential, commuter, virtual)
Summer programBerkeley, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
High schoolers take lower-division Berkeley courses for college credit alongside Berkeley summer students, in residential, Bay Area commuter or online tracks.
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UC Berkeley Summer Computer Science Academy
Summer programBerkeley, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Two-week non-credit residential introduction to computer science and AI for beginners, ending with a coding showcase.
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UC Davis Young Scholars Program
ResearchDavis, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Six-week residential research program where about 40 high schoolers work one-on-one with UC Davis faculty on an original project in biological, agricultural, environmental or natural sciences, for five units of credit.
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UC Irvine Summer Session for High School Students
Summer programIrvine, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
High school students can enroll in approved UCI Summer Session courses with a 3.0 GPA.
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UC Santa Cruz Scholar Immersion Program (SIP)
ResearchSanta Cruz, CA
Summer research program placing high schoolers in UC Santa Cruz labs and research groups across sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities and arts (formerly the Science Internship Program).
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UChicago Summer Session Pre-College
Summer programChicago, IL
Residential and online courses of one to eight weeks for high school students, from Enrichment to Practicum.
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UCLA Summer College Immersion Program
Summer programLos Angeles, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Six-week UCLA program for high-achieving 10th and 11th graders: one or two UCLA courses for college credit plus college-readiness workshops, with campus housing only for students 17 and older.
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UCSB Summer Research Academies
Summer programSanta Barbara, CAFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12
Four-week pre-college research academies for grades 9-11, commuter or residential.
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UCSF SEP High School Intern Program (HIP)
InternshipSan Francisco, CAFor students entering grade 12
Paid eight-week biomedical research internship at UCSF for San Francisco public school juniors, matched with a scientist mentor.
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UCSF Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) at Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
ResearchOakland, CAFor students entering grade 11, 12 or college
Seven-week paid biomedical and clinical research program in which high school students are mentored by researchers and clinicians in Oakland; for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
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USC Summer Programs
Summer programLos Angeles, CAFor students entering grade 10, 11, 12
Four-week college-level courses for high school students, residential or commuter, earning three units.
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UVA Advance
Summer programCharlottesville, VAFor students entering grade 11, 12
Four-week residential pre-college program for rising juniors and seniors earning six transferable credits.
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Wharton Leadership in the Business World
Summer programPhiladelphia, PAFor students entering grade 12
Three-week residential program on the University of Pennsylvania campus for rising seniors (class of 2028), introducing organizational leadership and management through Wharton instructors.
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Wolfram High School Summer Research Program
Summer programWaltham, MA
Residential program in which students aged 14 to 17 build an interdisciplinary research project in the Wolfram Language and publish a computational essay.
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Yale Summer Program in Astrophysics (YSPA)
Summer programNew Haven, CTFor students entering grade 12
Residential program for 32 rising seniors combining online study with four weeks at Yale, ending in a research paper and mini-conference.
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Yale Young Global Scholars
Summer programNew Haven, CTFor students entering grade 11, 12
Two-week residential session at Yale for sophomores and juniors from around the world, in three tracks: science and technology, law and economics, and global challenges.
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Youth Conservation Corps (U.S. Forest Service)
Internship
Paid summer conservation work on national forests and public lands for students ages 15-18, offered mostly through partner organizations and some local Forest Service offices.