Free Research Programs for High School Students

Every program on this page costs $0 to attend — cost should never be the reason a strong student skips research opportunities.

Many free programs are more selective than paid ones precisely because they are funded; treat their deadlines seriously.

182 verified programs match this page; 30 of the featured listings are completely free; 6 can be done online.

Featured programs

Browse 30+ curated programs for high school students:

• Yau Science Awards (Asia) — Tsinghua University / Harvard University: Showcase your scientific research skills in this prestigious high school competition. Gain hands-on experience, boost college applications, and connec
• Davidson Fellows — Davidson Institute: Win $50k, $25k, or $10k scholarships in this elite STEM competition for high-achieving high school students. Boost college applications with hands-on
• Scripps Research High School Internship Program — Scripps Research: Gain hands-on biomedical research experience in this free high school internship for grades 11-12. Build STEM skills and boost college applications th
• Fulbright U.S. Student Program — U.S. Department of State / IIE: Prestigious international fellowship offering virtual research and teaching opportunities for high school seniors. Boosts college applications and bui
• Clark Scholars Program — Texas Tech: Elite summer research program for high school juniors and seniors. Gain hands-on STEM experience, earn a $750 stipend, and boost your college applicat
• Amgen Scholars Program — Amgen Foundation: Transform your summer with a paid high school research internship in biotech. Conduct hands-on projects at top universities to boost skills and colleg
• Caltech Signature Award for Innovation — California Institute of Technology: Earn recognition for your groundbreaking ideas in science with this free high school research award. Boost your college applications and showcase your
• Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar (SIYSS) — Swedish Federation of Young Scientists: Selected students attend Nobel Prize ceremonies and meet Nobel laureates. Fully funded. US representatives chosen through ISEF and other national scie
• MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) Youth Program — MIT: Program engaging youth in climate research and innovation
• Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) — JEI (founded by Harvard-trained scientists): Publish your high school research in a peer-reviewed science journal! Build writing and STEM skills, enhance college applications, and gain hands-on e
• Duke Summer Academy — Duke University: Pre-college program at Duke University for high school students focusing on stem.
• Siemens Competition Regional Finals — Siemens Foundation: Regional finalists present original STEM research to panels of scientists. Top projects advance to national competition with major scholarships.
• DARPA Prize Competitions — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): Open prize challenges from DARPA that fund and reward breakthrough solutions in science, engineering, and national security technology.
• Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award — Society for Neuroscience: Recognizes exceptional high school students conducting neuroscience research. Winners present at annual neuroscience conferences.
• Janelia High School Internships — HHMI Janelia Research Campus: Paid summer internship for high school juniors and seniors to explore neuroscience, imaging, and computational biology. Gain hands-on research skills
• Garcia Summer Scholars Program — Stony Brook University: Residential research program at Stony Brook University.
• TARGET Science and Engineering Program — Fermilab: Explore a free, in-person high school internship in physics, engineering, and computing. Gain research skills, hands-on STEM experience, and boost you
• New York City Science and Engineering Fair — New York City Department of Education & CUNY: NYC’s premier high school research competition where students present original science and engineering projects and compete for ISEF slots.
• Harvard Undergraduate Economics Association Essay Competition — Harvard College: International essay competition on economics topics. Winners published in Harvard Economic Review and receive prizes.
• International Young Physicists' Tournament — International Young Physicists' Tournament Association: A global team-based physics research and debate competition for high school students.
• International Physicists' Tournament (IPT) — International Physicists' Tournament Association: Team-based international physics tournament where students solve open-ended research problems and debate their solutions.
• Harvard-Westlake Summer Research Internship — Harvard-Westlake School: 8-week research internship placing students with university professors and industry researchers. Students complete publishable research projects.
• UT Southwestern STARS Summer Research Program — UT Southwestern Medical Center: Gain hands-on research experience in biomedical labs through this free summer program for high school juniors and seniors. Boost your STEM skills and
• Harvard Radcliffe Science Research Program — Harvard Radcliffe Institute: Summer research fellowship working with Harvard faculty on cutting-edge research
• Yale Pathways to Science Summer Scholars — Yale University: Free summer research program for underrepresented students in STEM
• Fermilab TARGET Program — Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory: Summer research internship at premier US particle physics laboratory. Work with world-class physicists on cutting-edge experiments. Exceptional prepar
• High School Research Academy (HRA) — The University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences: High school research academy offering hands-on STEM experience in biology, physics, and data science. Build skills for college applications in this fr
• Polygence Research Program — Polygence: 1-on-1 research mentorship program; opportunity to publish or present research
• iGEM High School Synthetic Biology Competition — iGEM Foundation: Premier synthetic biology competition; teams design biological systems
• Environmental Science & Policy Scholars Program (Duke) — Duke University: Summer program exploring environmental science and policy with Duke faculty

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