13 Medical Internships for High School Students in Utah
If you’re a high school student interested in pursuing a career in medicine, an internship is a reliable way to gain experience in the healthcare industry and apply classroom knowledge to medical scenarios. These programs can provide you with experience in healthcare, ranging from hospitals to research labs, and they often pair you with mentors who are doctors, scientists, or other medical professionals. You may observe clinical procedures, assist in research projects, or learn medical skills in workshops - experiences that can make you a stronger pre-med applicant.
High school is a great time to explore and challenge yourself outside the classroom. And to help you get started, we’ve curated this list of the top 15 medical internships for high school students in Utah that can guide you in the right direction.
13 Medical Internships for High School Students in Utah
1. PathMaker Scholars Summer Research Program
Location: University of Utah (Huntsman Cancer Institute), Salt Lake City, UT
Stipend: Up to $3,000 stipend; housing and meals
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Late May - Late July (10-week residential, tentative)
Application Deadline: November - February (tentative)
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors
If you’re a high school student interested in biomedical cancer research, PathMaker Scholars is a fully funded 10-week summer internship that lets you live on the University of Utah campus and work in a cancer research lab. You’ll be matched with a researcher (principal investigator) at Huntsman Cancer Institute and learn laboratory techniques while working on cancer research questions. Students dedicate 40 hours a week to the lab and present their findings at a symposium by the end of the summer. The program encourages students from underserved or rural communities to apply, and if you do well, you’re invited back the next year without reapplying. PathMaker Scholars is highly selective, with the application requiring essays and recommendation letters.
2. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts year-round (8–12 week internships in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)
Application Deadline: Rolling by cohort (January, May, September, November)
Eligibility: Ages 16+
Ladder Internships is a selective online internship program for ambitious high school students. In this program, you’ll be matched with a high-growth startup, potentially in fields like health tech, biotech, or public health, based on your interests. In this virtual internship, you’ll work 10–20 hours per week for 8–12 weeks on a project. Each intern gets a company mentor and a Ladder Coach who guides them through the experience. By the end, you’ll present your work to the company’s leadership.
3. NIH STEP-UP Summer Research Program
Location: Various – you conduct research in your local area (placements arranged in Utah)
Stipend: Paid research internship (stipend provided by NIH; not disclosed)
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: 8 weeks in summer (flexible, typically June–August)
Application Deadline: February 15 (national deadline)
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (must be 16+)
The NIH’s Research Experience Program to Unlock Potential (STEP-UP) is a national program funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and coordinated regionally. As a STEP-UP student, you’ll be matched with a research mentor in a field of your interest (often at a university or medical school near your home). You’ll spend 8 weeks in the summer working on a research project, which could involve lab work, clinical research, or public health research. Areas of focus include diabetes, endocrinology, nutrition, kidney diseases, and more, and there’s a range of biomedical topics available. At the end of summer, STEP-UP students usually present their research at a symposium with peers from across the country.
4. Summer Health Care Experience (SHE) in Oncology
Location: Virtual (hosted by Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah)
Stipend: Up to $500 stipend for completion
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: July 7–18 (2 weeks, Monday–Friday, tentative)
Application Deadline: February - Late April (tentative)
Eligibility: Female students in UT/Mountain West, rising 10th or 11th graders
SHE in Oncology is a two-week virtual program aimed at young women interested in medicine and cancer research. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the program’s mission is to encourage more women to pursue careers in biomedical fields. As a SHE participant, you’ll join live online workshops, science labs, and career panels each morning. Week 1 focuses on cancer research: you’ll receive a lab kit at home and conduct guided experiments in cancer biology. Week 2 emphasizes career exploration, where you’ll attend panels and professional development sessions featuring women oncologists, researchers, and physicians.
5. Pre-Health Summer Program (Utah AHEC)
Location: Salt Lake Community College (Jordan Campus), West Jordan, UT
Stipend: $15/hour + free lunches and bus pass
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: June 9 – July 18 (6-week program, tentative)
Application Deadline: Mid-April (tentative)
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors in Salt Lake County
This Pre-Health Summer Program is a great option if you want an introduction to healthcare careers and a head start on college academics. Run by the Crossroads Utah Area Health Education Center (AHEC), it’s designed for students from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds in Salt Lake County. During the six weeks, you’ll spend mornings in college-level prep classes (Math, English, and Biology) to sharpen skills for pre-med coursework. In the afternoons, you’ll explore healthcare through group projects and listen to daily guest talks from professionals – pharmacists, nurses, therapists, and more. Once a week, you head out on field trips to hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities to see different healthcare settings firsthand.
6. Remote Immersive Science Experience (RISE) – Huntsman Cancer Institute
Location: Virtual (hosted from Salt Lake City; open to students in UT, ID, MT, NV, WY)
Stipend: Up to $500 upon completion
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: July 7–11 and 14–18 (tentative)
Application Deadline: Spring
Eligibility: High school students in the Mountain West who have completed 9th grade
RISE is a two-week virtual research internship that introduces students to cancer science through a mix of live online workshops and at-home experiments. Developed by Huntsman Cancer Institute to reach rural and underserved areas, the program ships a laboratory science kit to each student, enabling them to perform experiments in topics like cell biology, genetics, and cancer research from home. Mornings are spent in live online lab sessions, where instructors guide students through experiments. In the second week, you’ll engage in virtual career exploration panels and professional development workshops, interacting with physicians, researchers, and other healthcare professionals from Huntsman Cancer Institute.
7. IHealth Summer Program
Location: Various Intermountain Healthcare facilities (Northern Utah)
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: June–July
Application Deadline: March - Varies (coordinated through school counselors, spring)
Eligibility: Ages 16–18 (sophomore to senior high school students)
IHealth is Intermountain Health’s summer internship program for high school students in Utah. It offers experiences across different healthcare careers within the Intermountain system. If selected, you’ll be invited through your high school to participate. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in on-site visits and job shadows in various hospital departments, including nursing units and labs. The program also includes in-class learning and simulations, where you can practice basic medical skills or learn about patient care in a controlled setting. To get involved, talk to your school’s work-based learning or CTE coordinator, as spots fill up quickly once enrollment opens in March.
8. Wasatch Front High School Partnership
Location: Salt Lake County, UT (Intermountain Medical Center and partners)
Cost/Stipend: None (school-year internship for credit)
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: Semester-long (offered in Fall and Spring semesters)
Application Deadline: Varies by school (apply through high school counselors)
Eligibility: High school seniors in Salt Lake County (partner schools)
The Wasatch Front Partnership is a semester-long medical work-study program that gives Salt Lake area seniors broad exposure to healthcare. It’s run in collaboration with the Utah Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) and local hospitals. If you’re selected, you’ll spend a semester (fall or spring) splitting time between the classroom and healthcare settings. Students visit multiple sites, including Intermountain Health hospitals, Salt Lake Community College health labs, Shriners Children’s Hospital, and MountainStar Healthcare facilities. There’s also a hybrid learning component: you’ll attend some skills labs (without patients) to practice things like first aid, CPR, or medical simulations in an educational setting. You’ll need to arrange this internship through your high school’s work-based learning coordinator and fit it into your class schedule.
9. Health Care Career Academy
Location: Salt Lake County, UT (Primary Children’s Hospital & Intermountain sites)
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: Fall semester (after school and some weekends)
Application Deadline: Varies (coordinate via high school counselor)
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (Salt Lake County)
Health Care Career Academy is an Intermountain program that partners with Primary Children’s Hospital to give students a glimpse of pediatric and public health careers. Over the course of one semester in the fall, students complete observation hours at Primary Children’s Hospital, where they may shadow pediatric nurses, doctors, or specialists and observe how a children’s hospital operates. You’ll attend sessions led by medical residents focusing on public health issues. The program also features labs at Intermountain facilities where you practice medical skills in a simulated environment.
10. Medical Laboratory Science Summer Immersion
Location: University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Cost: $25 registration fee; lunches and lab supplies provided
Acceptance Rate/Cohort: Selective
Dates: One week in late June
Application Deadline: First Monday of January - First Monday of March
Eligibility: High school students 16–18
The Medical Laboratory Science Summer Immersion Program is a week-long introduction to medical diagnostics. During this camp, students enter a simulated hospital laboratory to learn how blood, urine, and other patient specimens are tested to diagnose diseases. Each day centers on a different lab specialty; you might stain microscope slides to identify bacteria, type blood samples for transfusion, analyze glucose levels, or examine parasites, all using laboratory techniques and equipment. As a participant, you will also tour a major clinical lab (ARUP Laboratories) to see automation and meet laboratory scientists in the field.
11. Uintah Basin Student Research Internship (USU)
Location: Utah State University, Uintah Basin Campus, UT
Stipend: Paid (8-week paid research internship; stipend amount varies)
Acceptance rate: Highly selective (6 students each summer)
Dates: Early June – Late July (8 weeks)
Application Deadline: January 15 - March 21
Eligibility: High school students 16+ who have completed 11th grade
This is an 8-week, paid internship where you’ll design a project with a mentor, carry out experiments or fieldwork, and present your findings to the local research community at the end. The projects vary across environmental and life sciences, but there’s often a biomedical angle. For instance, one project involves studying nervous system function and evolution, using techniques like protein modeling and electrophysiology. Another project involves working on medicinal chemistry for the future of anti-cancer medicine.
12. Utah Department of Health & Human Services Summer Internship
Location: Salt Lake County & Utah County, UT (various DHHS offices)
Stipend: Paid ($15/hour, part-time)
Acceptance rate: Moderately selective
Dates: Mid-June – Early August (8 weeks)
Application Deadline: Early May (tentative)
Eligibility: Utah youth ages 16–19 with prior involvement in DHHS programs (e.g., foster care, juvenile justice, disability services)
This summer internship is offered by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to empower youth who have lived experience with state services. It’s specifically for students who have been in systems like child welfare (foster care), juvenile justice, or youth disability services. Interns spend 8 weeks rotating through different DHHS divisions, learning how public health and human services agencies operate. It’s also a chance to turn your personal experience into positive change since interns often contribute ideas on how to improve services for youth.
13. Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences (JHIBS)
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: July - August (5 weeks, tentative)
Application Deadline: December 1 - March 1
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors nationwide
This five-week virtual research internship program is designed to expose students (especially those from underrepresented backgrounds) to fundamental academic research and medical career paths. You will engage in daily educational seminars, basic lab technique simulations, mentorship, professional development training, and collaborative projects. As an intern, you will be paired with Johns Hopkins neuroscientists and mentors, culminating in discussions and a final presentation of your work.