Fully-funded and stipend-paying summer programs — no tuition required.
Programs in this collection (12)
Research Science Institute: MIT / CEE. Summer Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Stanford, California, USA. Free summer research program run by CEE at MIT and Stanford. Students take a week of intensive STEM classes, then do a five-week individual research internship. Open to high school juniors who are 16 by July 1; seniors are not eligible. U.S. and some international students apply directly.
Summer Science Program: SSP. Summer Program, Multiple, USA. Five-week residential research program on college campuses for high school juniors, who work in teams of three on astrophysics, biochemistry, cell biology or bacterial genomics. Applicants must be at least 15 and under 19. A fee is charged, with need-based financial aid requested after admission.
Yale Young Global Scholars: Yale University. Summer Program, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. A two-week residential academic program on Yale's campus in New Haven for current high school sophomores and juniors from any country. Students choose academic tracks in science and technology, politics, law and economics, or global challenges, and attend one of three sessions in June and July. Tuition is $7,500 per session and covers on-campus housing, meals and materials but not travel. Need-based aid covers up to full tuition, and local commuters get a $1,000 discount.
PROMYS: Boston University. Summer Program, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Six-week residential summer of deep, creative work in number theory at Boston University (June 27 - August 7, 2027) for students aged 14-18 who have finished 9th grade. Free, including room and board, for U.S. families earning under $80,000 a year, with need-based aid above that. The 2027 application, including a problem set, opens in January with a deadline at the end of February.
Ross Mathematics Program: Ohio State / multiple. Summer Program, Multiple, USA. Six-week residential summer math program where students work through number theory problem sets, with a daily lecture and small-group discussions. Nearly all first-year students are 15 to 18. The fee is $7,500 for tuition, housing and meals, and financial aid is available.
MITES (MIT Introduction to Technology, Engineering & Science): MIT. Summer Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Free six-week residential STEM program on MIT's campus for high school juniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Program costs are covered except travel to and from MIT, and travel scholarships are available. Students apply online in the fall of junior year.
Stanford SIMR: Stanford School of Medicine. Summer Program, Stanford, California, USA. Summer medical research program at Stanford for current high school juniors and seniors who are U.S. citizens or green card holders, at least 16, and attend a U.S. high school. The program is free and favors Bay Area students; most students get no stipend, but a few need-based stipends exist.
NIH Summer Internship Program: NIH. Internship, Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Paid summer research placement in the NIH Intramural Research Program. Graduating seniors qualify only if they turn 17 by June 1 and 18 by September 30 of the program year, live within 40 miles of an NIH campus, and will have graduated before the internship starts. U.S. citizens and permanent residents only.
Beaver Works Summer Institute: MIT Lincoln Lab. Summer Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Four-week summer STEM program at MIT for rising high school seniors living in the U.S., with project courses in areas such as autonomous systems, programming, microelectronics and cybersecurity. Students take an online course before applying. Free for families under $200,000; others pay $3,000.
Applied Research Innovation in Science & Engineering (ARISE): New York University. Research, Brooklyn, New York, USA. A free seven-week summer research program at NYU Tandon for New York City high school students in 10th and 11th grade who show interest in STEM. Students spend five weeks in a participating NYU faculty lab with mentoring from a graduate or postdoctoral student, plus two weeks of workshops and college advising, and receive a stipend. Applicants must live in one of the five boroughs and apply to the program as a whole rather than to a specific lab.
PRIMES: MIT. Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Free year-long after-school research program in which high school sophomores and juniors living in the Greater Boston area work with mentors on math or bioinformatics projects, at least 10 hours a week. Applicants must solve an entrance math problem set.
Girls Who Code Pathways: Girls Who Code. Summer Program, Worldwide. A free, self-paced virtual coding program from Girls Who Code for high school girls and nonbinary students, including rising 9th graders and graduating seniors. Students take courses in AI and society, data science and AI, cybersecurity, game design or web development, and each course takes 3 to 6 hours to complete. Students get support through advisor events, student hours and Discord, and earn certificates for completed courses.