15 Medical Programs for High School Students
If you are a high school student interested in medicine, medical programs can be a worthwhile way to explore this field. These programs build practical skills, give you industry experience, and help you connect with mentors who can answer your questions about working in the field. Many of the medical programs on this list are hosted by leading colleges and trusted organizations, making them reliable and worth investing your time in. If you want to explore careers in medicine, research, or allied health, these opportunities can help you learn the basics, which helps build your confidence.
To help you get started, we have put together 15 medical programs for high school students.
1. Summer Student Program by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Location: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City
Stipend: $1,200
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: 20 students per cohort
Dates: June 30 - August 22
Application Deadline: February 7
Eligibility: High school junior, living in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, within 25 miles of the Main Campus of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on the Upper East Side in Manhattan
In this 8-week medical program for high school students, you’ll conduct hands-on biomedical research at Sloan Kettering Institute. Your projects focus on areas such as molecular biology, genetics, or computational oncology. You will work under the guidance of faculty, postdocs, or graduate students who will train you in lab methods and data analysis. Along with your daily lab work, you will attend seminars on cancer biology, career opportunities, and scientific ethics. You will also collaborate with other interns across different labs and gain experience in presenting your findings. At the end of the program, you will deliver a formal presentation of your project to faculty and fellow interns.
2. Ladder’s Healthcare Internship
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: Varies depending on the program type
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Multiple cohorts throughout the day, including Fall, Winter, Spring & Summer
Dates: Varies depending on each cohort
Application Deadline: Varies by each cohort
Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, or gap year students
In this medical program for high school students, you’ll work remotely with startups or nonprofit teams in healthcare, health tech, or medicine. You will contribute to real projects such as developing tools, conducting research, or supporting patient-experience platforms. Throughout the program, you will receive guidance from both a company mentor and a Ladder Coach, along with group training sessions on communication, project planning, and time management. You’ll collaborate with professionals, connect with peers in virtual sessions, and gain an understanding of how real healthcare startups operate. At the end of the program, you will present your work to the organization’s stakeholders.
3. Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI) Summer Research Internship
Location: Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, Florida
Cost/Stipend: $13/hour
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: 6–8 cohorts each year
Dates: Six weeks during summer (mid-June through July)
Application Deadline: March 4
Eligibility: Must be entering junior or senior year in a Palm Beach or Martin County high school, be at least 16 years old, and legally authorized to work in the U.S.
You can join a lab and participate in real neuroscience research, studying brain structure, neural circuits, and imaging methods. You may handle “wet lab” work like histological staining, microscopy, or genetic techniques. If you have programming skills, you can contribute to data analysis or software development for neuroscience tools. There’s also a mechanical design track where you can create custom components using CAD tools. You get 1-on-1 mentoring with MPFI scientists, gaining valuable guidance. At the end of the internship, you will present your findings in a public session, write an abstract, and gain hands-on experience in a professional research environment.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Location: Remote , you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort.
Program Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here, and check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
5. Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP)
Location: Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: 24 students per cohort
Dates: June 22 - July 26
Application Deadline: Application opens in mid-December
Eligibility: Low-income, first-generation rising high school juniors from Northern California
You can spend 5 weeks at Stanford being part of hospital internships, public health research, and academic workshops. You will rotate through departments at Stanford Hospital, shadow medical professionals, and observe patient care firsthand. Working in teams, you will complete a research project on health disparities and present your findings through a paper, poster, and presentation. The program also includes seminars on anatomy, public health, and research methods, along with workshops on college readiness and financial aid. You will attend guest lectures, lab tours, and site visits, giving you an inside look at Stanford’s medical community. Throughout the program, you are paired with mentors who provide guidance during and after the program.
6. NIH Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research
Location: Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Stipend: Starts at $3,010 and increases with your graduation year
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Competitive
Dates: Between May to September
Application Deadline: Mid-February
Eligibility: At least half-time enrolled as a senior in high school, must be 18 years of age
In this medical program for high school students, you’ll spend the summer working in an NIH lab on research projects in biomedical, behavioral, or social science. High school interns assist with experiments, data analysis, and literature review while gaining hands-on experience in lab methods and scientific inquiry. You will receive daily mentorship from NIH researchers and attend seminars on science careers, ethics, and public health. Many sites also host poster sessions where you present your findings. The program encourages collaboration across disciplines and campuses, helping you understand how research connects to medicine and public health. It’s a nationally recognized opportunity to work with leading scientists and contribute to real-world research.
7. Harvard Medical School Project Success
Location: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Cost/Stipend: Paid stipend
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Selective
Dates: Not specified
Application Deadline: Releases in late fall/early winter
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who reside in Boston or Cambridge
In this 7-week medical program for high school students, you will join a research lab at Harvard or one of its affiliated institutions. You will work on actual biomedical projects, assist with experiments, and analyze data under the guidance of a mentor. You will attend seminars with physicians and scientists, build skills in writing, speaking, and computational tools, participate in site visits to hospitals and biotech companies, and connect with peers in related programs. You can conclude the experience by presenting your written and oral research as part of a group.
8. Summer Medical Academy by Rady Children’s Hospital
Location: Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, California
Cost/Stipend: Applies; financial aid is available
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Session 1: June 16-27; Session 2: July 7-18
Application Deadline: February 21
Eligibility: Students who have completed 9th grade and are 15-19 years old in June of the program year
You can join this 2-week medical program for high school students that combines lectures, interactive discussions, and hands-on skills labs. You will learn and practice medical techniques such as suturing, first aid, and vital signs while also learning about public health and medical ethics. You will collaborate in teams on group projects, attend career panels, and meet mentors from UCSD School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy, and industry partners like Illumina and Janssen. The program also includes site visits to labs and healthcare facilities as part of the experience.
9. Scripps Student Research Internship Program
Location: Scripps Research Translational Institute, La Jolla, California
Cost/Stipend: Not specified
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: 40 students per cohort
Dates: June 2 - August 8 or June 16 - August 22
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years of age
In this 10-week medical program for high school students, you will work on translational research at Scripps Research and focus on projects related to personalized medicine, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and mobile health monitoring. You will gain hands-on experience in data collection, computational analysis, and biomedical research methods through mentorship. You will work alongside leading scientists, take part in faculty roundtables, seminars, and intern journal clubs, and collaborate with peers from different academic levels. At the end of the program, you will present your project findings to faculty and peers.
10. ResearcHStart by The University of Chicago Medicine
Location: The University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL
Cost/Stipend: $3,000
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: 30 students per cohort
Dates: Second full week of June through the first week of August
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school junior or senior who is a resident of Illinois or Lake County, Indiana
ResearcHStart is an 8-week medical program for high school students, offering an opportunity to work full-time in cancer research labs at leading Illinois universities. You will take part in full-time projects on topics like immunology, bioengineering, and experimental therapeutics. In addition to lab work, you will attend career workshops, lectures, and receive mentorship from scientists and peers, and learn how to design experiments, analyze data, and present your findings at a symposium attended by family and researchers. The program’s multi-institution setup helps you to connect with professionals across several campuses, helping you to expand your professional network..
11. The Harris Neuroscience Internship
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: May
Application Deadline: April 4
Eligibility: U.S. high school students
The Harris Neuroscience Internship at Stanford places high school students in a clinical research setting within the Department of Neurosurgery. You must participate in ongoing studies, work with patient data, and learn the research methods used in brain science. Mentorship from neurosurgeons, residents, and medical students is a key part of this program, giving you direct exposure to the field. You will also attend case discussions, journal clubs, and lab meetings, which help you understand both the scientific and practical aspects of neurosurgery.
12. Summer Research Internship by FIU
Location: Florida International University
Cost/Stipend: No cost
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: June 12 - August 7
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school juniors, graduating seniors entering FIU, and accepted transfer students; must be 16+ years old with a 3.0 GPA
In this 8-week medical program for high school students, you will be doing cardiovascular health research in FIU labs. You will combine hands-on lab work with structured learning through journal clubs, case studies, and research ethics workshops. You will spend at least 15 hours a week in the lab under the guidance of a faculty mentor and attend group sessions 3 times a week. The program helps you to gain skills in experimental design, critical thinking, and communication. At the end of the program, you will write an abstract and present your findings at a symposium, with awards given for top projects.
13. UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Summer Research Opportunities (STARS)
Location: UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Cost/Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Highly selective with 12 students per summer
Dates: 8 weeks during summer (typically early June through late July)
Application Deadline: January 20
Eligibility: High school juniors who are at least 16 years old by June 1; must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
UT Southwestern’s STARS Summer Research Program places high school students in a working biomedical research lab, where they assist faculty mentors and graduate researchers on active projects. You will gain hands-on experience in lab techniques, data collection, and analysis. The program also includes weekly lectures from UT Southwestern scientists, providing insight into different fields of medicine and science. You will visit advanced research facilities and learn how discoveries progress from the lab to patient care. At the end of the program, you can present your research at a symposium, sharing your research findings with peers and professionals.
14. Massachusetts Life Science Center High School Apprenticeship Challenge
Location: Life sciences companies, incubators, and research institutions across Massachusetts, with special training sites in Brockton, New Bedford, Worcester, and Greater Boston
Cost/Stipend: $17 per hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 150 students per cohort
Dates: May 1 – April 30
Application Deadline: First-come, first-served basis
Eligibility: Massachusetts high school students who are at least 16+ years of age
The High School Apprenticeship Challenge connects high school students with research labs, biotech firms, and academic institutions across Massachusetts. During the summer, you will work alongside scientists and industry professionals, developing skills in lab techniques, data handling, and teamwork. Each placement is unique, but all of them offer structured mentorship and hands-on projects that prepare you for future STEM studies. Many apprenticeships also include career development workshops and networking opportunities. This program combines meaningful work with financial support, giving students a solid foundation for future career growth.
15. American Cancer Society Internship Program
Location: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Coral Gables, FL
Stipend: Competitive stipend provided; summer housing and transportation included
Acceptance rate/ cohort size: Not specified
Dates: May - July
Application Deadline: January
Eligibility: Rising sophomore, junior, or senior at a Florida institution with a GPA of at least 3.0
The American Cancer Society Internship Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center gives high school students 10 weeks of experience in active cancer research labs. You will work with faculty and research staff on real cancer projects, learning hands-on experience in lab techniques, data analysis, and problem-solving skills. In this medical program, you will receive mentorship and guidance on academic and career paths in science and medicine. You will also attend seminars and discussions covering cancer biology, prevention, and treatment. The internship concludes with a research symposium where you present your research work to faculty and peers.
Image Source - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Logo