35+ Medical Internships for High School Students in 2026

Updated in October 2026

TL;DR

Medical internships for high school students are mostly lab research and clinical shadowing placements run by medical schools and research institutes, and the strongest take 20 or fewer students or pay up to $4,000 for a summer. Most applications open in the fall and close between January and March, so the time to plan is now. More than a third of these programs only accept students from one city, county or state, and nearly all of the rest run in person. Ladder Internships is fully online, so you can work on a health tech or biotech project with a startup wherever you live.

A summer in a medical school lab or clinic is the closest a high school student can get to the daily work of a doctor or medical researcher. Below are 37 programs at places like Yale, UCSF, Mount Sinai and Michigan Medicine, sorted into prestigious, paid, summer and online programs, each with current dates, costs and eligibility.

Benefits of Medical Internships for High School Students

A medical internship lets you test whether you like the daily work of medicine or research before you commit years of study to it, and several of the programs below pay $1,500 to $4,000 for a summer.

You see the job before you train for it: Shadowing in programs like Georgetown's Gateway Exploration Program or UT Tyler's externship shows you what a physician's day involves in a way a biology class can't. Healthcare and social assistance is projected to add more than 2.2 million jobs over the next decade, more than any other sector, so early exposure helps you find your place in a very large field.

You build skills labs and employers look for: Interns leave with lab techniques, CPR certification, data analysis in R or Python, and practice presenting research to scientists. Those skills carry into college research jobs and first healthcare roles.

You gain a mentor who knows your work: Nearly every program pairs you with a faculty member, scientist or clinician who can speak to what you did. In a survey of 85 Ladder alumni who applied in the 2024 to 2025 cycle, 64 percent had a manager write them a recommendation letter, according to Ladder's admissions report.

How to Get a Medical Internship in High School

Most medical internships for high school students open applications between November and January and close between January and March, so the best time to start is the fall before the summer you want.

Start with programs you're eligible for: Many programs only take students from one city, county or state, such as the Bronx for BEYOND ALBERT or St. Lucie County for FIU's internship, so filter by where you live and your grade first. Then check age floors, since the Arthritis Foundation internship requires you to be 17 by June 1.

Prepare the standard materials early: Most applications ask for a transcript, a recommendation from a science teacher and a short essay about why you want to work in medicine or research. Request letters at least a month before the deadline.

Show interest you've already acted on: A science project, time spent exploring health careers on your own or a volunteer role gives reviewers evidence that you'll commit to a full summer and know why you're applying. An online research program such as the Horizon Academic Research Program, where you study biology or neuroscience with a professor or Ph.D. mentor, is another way to show it.

Medical Internships vs. Volunteering in Healthcare

A medical internship gives you a defined project, a mentor and sometimes pay, while healthcare volunteering gives you steady time around patients with fewer requirements and is easier to find near home.

Factor	Medical internship	Healthcare volunteering
What you do	Lab research, clinical shadowing or a mentored project	Patient comfort, guest services and support tasks
Length	Two to eight weeks, often full time	A few hours a week over months
What you finish with	A poster, research talk or report	Service hours and comfort around patients
Pay	Some pay $1,500 to $4,000	Unpaid

What you do day to day: Interns run experiments, analyze data or shadow clinicians on a set schedule, and several programs below, such as UCSF's Summer Student Research Program, let you try clinical research, which is medical research that involves people. Volunteers usually help patients and staff with support tasks rather than research.

Where to find each: Internships come from medical schools and research institutes, while volunteer, junior volunteer and pediatric internships mostly run through hospitals and children's hospitals, which our hospital and healthcare internships list covers. The two work well together across a few summers.

What Can a 16 Year Old Do in the Medical Field?

At 16 you're old enough for most of the internships below, since programs such as Yale's Discovery to Cure, UCSF's Summer Student Research Program and BEYOND ALBERT set 16 as their minimum age.

Research and shadowing are open at 16: Lab research, clinical shadowing and online programs make up most opportunities at this age. Federal rules still bar anyone under 18 from hazardous tasks such as operating or helping to operate patient lifts, according to the Department of Labor's healthcare guidance.

Options at 15 are narrower: Medical internships for 15 year olds are mostly online, such as UC Irvine's Summer Online Research Program for ages 15 to 18 or Columbia's BrainSTORM, which goes by grade rather than age. Federal youth employment rules also limit the hours 14 and 15 year olds can work, which is one reason most paid placements start at 16.

How We Selected These Programs

Every program below is run by a medical school, university, research institute or nonprofit, accepts high school students, and shows a current or upcoming cycle on its own website.

Real medical or research work: Each program places students in labs, clinics or mentored projects rather than classrooms. Medical camps and courses are in our medical summer programs list, and medical research internships already in our science internships list aren't repeated here.

Open to high schoolers now: We read each program's own eligibility rules and kept only programs that take high school students in their current or most recent cycle.

Strongest programs first: Within each section, programs are ordered by selectivity, the standing of the host institution and the depth of mentorship.

Section	Top programs	Cost	Best for
Prestigious Medical Internships	Yale Discovery to Cure, Ragon Institute RISE, UCSF Summer Student Research Program	Free, with stipends up to $4,000	Students aiming for the most selective research and clinical placements
Paid Medical Internships	UCSF Radiology RISE, Arthritis Foundation Summer Science Internship, BEYOND ALBERT	Stipends of $1,500 to $3,000	Students who need to earn money over the summer
Summer Medical Internships	VCU Massey CHiSEL, Wake Forest regenerative medicine program, MCW Apprenticeship in Medicine	Free to a $4,000 fee	Students who want lab or shadowing experience near home
Online Medical Internships	Columbia BrainSTORM, DREAM-High, UNC Nutrition Research Institute VIP	Free to $3,190	Students anywhere who need a remote option

Prestigious Medical Internships

These are the most selective medical internships open to high school students, run by Yale, the Ragon Institute, UCSF, Mount Sinai, Michigan Medicine, Georgetown, Emory and TGen, and several take 20 or fewer students or only accept students from one city or state. For more options, see our full list of prestigious medical internships.

1. Peter E. Schwartz, MD, Discovery to Cure High School Internship Program at Yale

Location: Yale School of Medicine research labs, New Haven, Connecticut
Cost/Stipend: Not published; ask the program office about pay and costs before applying
Acceptance rate/cohort size: No more than 20 interns a year
Dates: Six and a half weeks between June and August; the internship ran in summer 2026 and 2027 dates aren't posted yet
Application deadline: February 13, 2026 for the Summer 2026 internship; expect a similar mid-February deadline in 2027
Eligibility: High school juniors who will be entering senior year, at least 16 years old

Discovery to Cure is a summer research internship run through the obstetrics and gynecology department at Yale School of Medicine, and it places interns directly in Yale research labs. Each intern works alongside Yale faculty and lab staff, learning the lab techniques and scientific reading that a medical research career runs on. The program is small, with no more than 20 interns a year, so every student gets close mentorship rather than a seat in a lecture hall. Past interns have published in peer-reviewed journals and placed in science competitions, which shows how far a summer project here can go.

Who it's best for: A rising senior who can get to New Haven and wants a demanding lab placement with Yale faculty and a real shot at publishable work.

2. RISE: Ragon Institute Summer Experience

Location: Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts (in person)
Cost/Stipend: $17 an hour for high school interns
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published; each intern is matched to a Ragon faculty lab
Dates: June 22 to August 7, 2026 for high school interns
Application deadline: February 15, 2026 for Summer 2026 (applications opened November 24, 2025)
Eligibility: Rising seniors or 2026 graduates, at least 16, who attend or attended high school in Boston, Cambridge, Everett, Revere, Lynn, Brockton or Chelsea

RISE places local high school students in the labs of the Ragon Institute, an immunology research center founded by Mass General, MIT and Harvard. Each intern is assigned to a project in a Ragon faculty member's lab and works on it all summer with that lab's mentors. The cohort also takes an introductory immunology course and joins a journal club, so you learn how researchers read and debate new findings. The summer ends with a final presentation to the wider Ragon community, and the hourly pay makes it a real job as well as training.

Who it's best for: A rising senior from one of the seven eligible cities who wants a paid immunology lab job at a nationally known research institute.

3. UCSF Summer Student Research Program (SSRP)

Location: UCSF clinics and basic science labs in the San Francisco Bay Area (in person)
Cost/Stipend: About $3,000 stipend for high school students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Seven weeks, June 15 to July 31, 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet
Application deadline: The 2027 application cycle is expected to open in December 2026
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors and seniors who are 16 or older by June 1 and have completed at least one year of math and biology

UCSF's Summer Student Research Program pairs each student with a mentor who guides a clinical or basic science research project over seven weeks. Depending on the match, you might work in a local clinic or in a lab running experiments, which gives a clear look at both sides of academic medicine. Orientation, a research symposium and other program events are held in person, and every student presents in both a poster and an oral session at the end. The roughly $3,000 stipend works out to about $430 a week, so the summer pays like a part-time job.

Who it's best for: A Bay Area sophomore, junior or senior who wants to try clinical or lab research at a top medical school and learn to present findings to scientists.

4. Internship Placement Program at Mount Sinai's Center for Excellence in Youth Education

Location: Mount Sinai Health System departments, New York City (in person)
Cost/Stipend: Pay not published; contact the Center for Excellence in Youth Education for details
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive, and open to students from any New York City high school during the application window
Dates: A daily summer internship; the session ran in summer 2026 and Summer 2027 details come out in December 2026
Application deadline: Summer 2026 applications are closed; the Summer 2027 timeline will be released in December 2026
Eligibility: New York City high school juniors and seniors

The Internship Placement Program is run by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai's Center for Excellence in Youth Education. In its Hospital Placement track, each intern spends the summer in a single Mount Sinai Health System department, working daily alongside a mentor in that unit. That steady placement lets you see how one part of a major academic medical center runs, from the people who staff it to the problems they solve each day. Any New York City high school junior or senior can apply, unlike many of the center's school-year programs, which only take students from partner schools.

Who it's best for: A New York City junior or senior who wants to spend the summer embedded in one department of a major academic medical center.

5. BioMed Focus at Michigan Medicine

Location: University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor (commuter program)
Cost/Stipend: $4,000 for participating
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: June 14 to August 6, 2027, eight weeks; scholars must be on campus at least 35 of the 40 days
Application deadline: The 2027 interest form closes January 8, 2027 at 11:59 p.m.
Eligibility: Students who live in Michigan and attend a Michigan high school, ideally rising juniors or seniors

BioMed Focus is a paid, full-time summer research program at Michigan Medicine in which each scholar completes their own biomedical research project with a selected mentor. Alongside lab work, you take a science communication course, write a research paper and give a 10-minute research talk at a closing symposium for family and friends. A career component covers paths in the sciences, so you leave knowing which jobs that research training leads to. The $4,000 award is one of the largest here, but it's a commuter program, so you need a way to reach Ann Arbor every day for eight weeks.

Who it's best for: A Michigan sophomore or junior who wants a paid, independent research project and training in how scientists write and present.

6. Gateway Exploration Program at Georgetown University School of Medicine

Location: Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC
Cost/Stipend: Cost and pay not published; contact the School of Medicine for details
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: June 22 to July 31, 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet
Application deadline: The 2027 deadline hasn't been announced; ask your school counselor about it in early spring
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors at DC Public Schools or, from 2026, Prince William County Public Schools

The Gateway Exploration Program matches scholars to medical departments at Georgetown's School of Medicine as interns, where they shadow clinicians and receive mentorship. Scholars also take part in medical simulations, attend lectures by Georgetown faculty and join professional development workshops. A research thread runs through the summer: you study health disparities in local communities and present a health disparities research project at the end. The mix of clinical shadowing and research makes it a strong first look at what a physician's work involves.

Who it's best for: A DC or Prince William County student who wants to shadow doctors and study health disparities before choosing a medical path.

7. NextGen High School Internship Program at Emory

Location: Emory University area, Atlanta, Georgia
Cost/Stipend: Paid; the rate isn't published
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Summer 2026 interns were selected in March 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet
Application deadline: Summer 2026 applications were reviewed in early 2026, with results shared March 27; watch for the 2027 window in winter
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are at least 16 by June 1

NextGen is a paid summer internship run by Emory School of Medicine's Department of Human Genetics for high school students of all backgrounds. Interns rotate through a variety of labs and clinical experiences, so you see both how genetic research is done and how it reaches patients. Lectures during the summer give you the background needed to follow the work in each rotation. The mix of lab and clinical rotations makes it a good fit if you like genetics but haven't decided between research and patient care.

Who it's best for: A rising junior or senior in Atlanta who wants to compare genetics research with clinical genetics before picking a direction.

8. Helios Scholars at TGen

Location: TGen headquarters in downtown Phoenix, or TGen North in Flagstaff, Arizona
Cost/Stipend: $15.15 an hour for high school graduates; housing isn't provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Admission is competitive; TGen doesn't publish the number of positions
Dates: Full-time summer program that began June 8, 2026
Application deadline: Applications opened December 15, 2025; recommendation letters were due February 6, 2026
Eligibility: Graduates of an Arizona high school by June 8, 2026, or Arizona college students, at least 16; sophomores and juniors apply to TGen's Bioscience Leadership Academy instead

Helios Scholars is a paid, full-time internship at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, where each intern works on a research project under the mentorship of a TGen scientist. Projects span laboratory research, computational biology and bioinformatics, so it suits students drawn to the data side of medicine as much as the lab bench. The summer closes with a formal research symposium where every scholar presents results. Graduating Arizona seniors are the only high school students eligible, which makes it a strong bridge between high school and a college science major.

Who it's best for: A graduating Arizona senior who wants a paid genomics or bioinformatics job before starting college.

Paid Medical Internships

Every internship in this section pays a stipend or hourly wage, with published awards from $1,500 to $3,000 for a summer, and most only take students who live near the host institution. The section includes a radiology research internship at UCSF and a cancer research program in the Bronx, and our longer list of medical internships, including paid ones, has more by city.

9. UCSF Radiology Initiative for Scholarly Engagement (RISE)

Location: UCSF Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, San Francisco
Cost/Stipend: $3,000 stipend for high school students; housing and health insurance aren't provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Eight weeks, with a flexible start between June 1 and July 1; the program ran in summer 2026 and 2027 dates aren't posted yet
Application deadline: The application portal reopens for Summer 2027 in December 2026
Eligibility: High school students, along with college and medical students, including students from medically, economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds

RISE gives students eight weeks with a UCSF faculty mentor on a basic science, translational or clinical radiology research project. The department matches each participant with a project and mentor based on their interests, so you might work on imaging technology, a clinical study or the science behind new scans. The program ends with an abstract for the department's Summer Students Symposium, which is practice in writing up research the way radiologists do. It's a rare chance to focus on radiology and medical imaging, a specialty most students never see before medical school.

Who it's best for: A student curious about radiology or imaging who wants a paid, mentored project inside a top academic radiology department.

10. Arthritis Foundation Summer Science Internship

Location: UCSF and affiliated research institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area
Cost/Stipend: $2,500 stipend, paid in two halves; the second half follows the final paper
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Eight weeks between June 1 and August 28, 2026, about 40 hours a week
Application deadline: March 9, 2026 for Summer 2026; applicants were notified by April 27, 2026
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors and college undergraduates who are at least 17 by June 1, with no exceptions

The Arthritis Foundation funds this summer internship so students can do research at UCSF and its affiliated institutions. Interns choose among bench lab research, clinical or epidemiological research focused on patient outcomes, and computational bioinformatics, and they work about 40 hours a week. Each intern presents a poster at a UCSF session and submits a two-page summary paper in September. The age floor of 17 by June 1 is strict, so younger juniors should plan to apply the following year.

Who it's best for: A Bay Area junior or senior who is already 17 and wants to test bench, clinical or computational research in one paid summer.

11. Explorations in Neuroscience Research Internship at Ohio State

Location: The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio
Cost/Stipend: Paid; the amount isn't published
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Eight weeks in summer; the internship ran in summer 2026 and 2027 dates aren't posted yet
Application deadline: Details for the 2027 internship will be released in January 2027
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors or seniors who are U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals or permanent residents

Explorations in Neuroscience is an eight-week paid internship in Ohio State's Department of Neuroscience, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Interns work directly with a trained mentor on lab research in neuroscience, neurological injury or neurodegeneration, and learn from the graduate students and technicians in the lab as well. A journal club teaches you to read and discuss current neuroscience papers, and the program trains you to present your findings at the end of the eight weeks. The internship runs only while its NIH grant funding continues, so watch the January announcement closely.

Who it's best for: A rising junior or senior interested in the brain who wants paid lab experience in neuroscience research.

12. BEYOND ALBERT High School Research Program

Location: Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, Bronx, New York
Cost/Stipend: $2,500 stipend, plus a daily meal voucher and an OMNY card
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Summer 2026 ran eight weeks from late June through August, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, followed by Thursday sessions from September through May
Application deadline: Applications for the 2026 cohort ran November 1, 2025 to January 12, 2026; the window usually opens November 1
Eligibility: Rising juniors or seniors who live in the Bronx, attend a Bronx high school and are at least 16 by the start of summer

BEYOND ALBERT is a year-long program at the Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center that starts with eight weeks of full-time, in-person laboratory research. Interns work in research labs during the summer and join biomedical education sessions and career workshops along the way. The program continues through the school year with weekly Thursday meetings for seminars, workshops and mentorship, and it ends with an independent research presentation to faculty. Students can also earn up to three college credits through Lehman College's College Now program.

Who it's best for: A Bronx junior or senior who wants a paid cancer research job that continues into a year of mentorship.

13. Magee-Womens Research Institute High School Summer Internship Program

Location: Magee-Womens Research Institute or Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Cost/Stipend: $1,800 stipend for students whose households qualify for the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program; parking and housing aren't provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 259 scholars have completed the program since 1995
Dates: Six weeks, 240 hours in total; the program ran in summer 2026 and 2027 dates aren't posted yet
Application deadline: Applications for Summer 2027 open in December 2026
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors (no rising sophomores or graduating seniors), over 16 by the start date, who live in southwestern Pennsylvania

Magee-Womens Research Institute's internship lets students take part in basic, translational or clinical research under the guidance of an investigator and their staff. Each intern works on their own research project over a six-week, 240-hour summer at the institute or at Magee-Womens Hospital. Lunch and Learn sessions introduce the wider range of research happening around you, and the summer ends with a High School Internship Presentation Day. The $1,800 stipend goes to students from lunch-program households, so check whether you qualify when you apply.

Who it's best for: A southwestern Pennsylvania sophomore or junior interested in women's health research who wants their own project with an investigator.

14. OPTIMUS at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center

Location: Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego (in person)
Cost/Stipend: Paid stipend; the amount isn't published
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open only to students at eight San Diego high schools; cohort size isn't published
Dates: Usually about eight weeks from mid-June to early August
Application deadline: The 2027 deadline hasn't been announced; applications are submitted online
Eligibility: 10th and 11th graders who live in San Diego and attend Lincoln, Hoover, Crawford, Morse, Madison, Garfield, Mark Twain or Preuss High School

OPTIMUS is a paid summer program at UC San Diego's Moores Cancer Center for students from eight San Diego high schools. Interns work in cancer research labs and also spend time shadowing doctors in clinic, so you see both the science and the patient care that cancer medicine involves. Along the way you learn about cancer, medicine and how research connects to treatment. It's in person at Moores, so you need a way to get to the UC San Diego campus each day.

Who it's best for: A sophomore or junior at one of the eight eligible San Diego schools who wants to see cancer care from both the lab and the clinic.

15. CTSI 500 Stars at the Medical College of Wisconsin

Location: Medical College of Wisconsin CTSI partner sites and community settings, Milwaukee area
Cost/Stipend: Paid summer internship; the amount isn't published
Acceptance rate/cohort size: The program aims to enroll 500 students over ten years
Dates: Eight weeks from mid-June through late July 2027
Application deadline: Applications are open now; the deadline is February 1, 2027
Eligibility: High school students in the Milwaukee area who are at least 16 at the start and meet proficiency or hold a 2.5 GPA or higher

500 Stars is a paid summer internship run by the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Interns spend eight weeks with CTSI teams and partners, getting practical training in how clinical and translational research moves lab findings toward patients and communities. Placements happen at partner sites and in the community, so the work can range from a research office to a neighborhood health project. You must commit to the full eight weeks, and the internship carries no academic credit, so treat it as a summer job rather than a course.

Who it's best for: A Milwaukee-area student 16 or older who wants a paid summer job seeing how clinical research reaches patients and communities.

16. BK-SWAG (Scholar Athletes with Academic Goals) at SUNY Downstate

Location: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York (full-day, in-person sessions)
Cost/Stipend: $1,500 stipend, depending on available funding; free CPR certification
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: June 29 to July 24, 2026
Application deadline: February 8, 2026 for Summer 2026, with recommendation letters due February 15, 2026
Eligibility: Current high school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, with preference for sophomores, juniors and seniors

BK-SWAG is SUNY Downstate's summer program for students interested in careers that combine healthcare and sports. Participants shadow clinicians, meet providers in sports-related healthcare fields and take workshops on health disparities. The program also includes service learning, field trips and a group research project that every student completes. Every participant earns free CPR certification, and the $1,500 stipend depends on the funding available each year.

Who it's best for: A student athlete in Brooklyn who wants to see sports-related healthcare careers up close.

17. UConn Health High School Student Research Apprentice Program

Location: UConn Health in Farmington or Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut
Cost/Stipend: Earned stipend; the amount isn't published
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Five weeks, Monday through Friday, June 15 to July 17, 2026
Application deadline: April 1, 2026 for Summer 2026
Eligibility: Connecticut residents finishing 11th grade at a Connecticut high school, at least 16 by the start of the program

UConn Health's Research Apprentice Program gives 11th graders interested in medicine, dental medicine or biomedical research a five-week placement in a basic science or clinical laboratory. It runs through UConn Health's pathway programs for students heading toward the health professions. Apprentices commute daily to UConn Health or Central Connecticut State University and work Monday through Friday. The April 1 deadline gives Connecticut juniors more time to apply than most programs in this section, which close in February or March.

Who it's best for: A Connecticut junior weighing medicine against dentistry who wants paid lab experience close to home.

Summer Medical Internships

These summer medical internships are mostly unpaid or free, and a few charge a fee, but they bring lab, clinic and shadowing experience to more cities, from Richmond and Nashville to Houston, including the Texas Medical Center, and New Orleans. Our full list of summer medical internships has more options.

18. CHiSEL at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center

Location: VCU Medical Center campus, Richmond, Virginia
Cost/Stipend: Cost and pay not published; ask Massey's education office
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Five weeks, June 22 to July 24, 2026
Application deadline: Applications ran November 15, 2025 to February 6, 2026
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors or seniors who can attend the entire program

CHiSEL pairs each student with a Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center investigator at VCU for a five-week mentored research experience. You commit at least 25 hours a week, including 125 hours in the lab, and build working relationships with the cancer researchers around you. Interns attend cancer research seminars and network with Massey's current trainees, which shows what the next steps in a research career look like. The summer ends with a poster at Massey's Summer Research Symposium.

Who it's best for: A rising junior or senior in central Virginia who wants a structured first cancer research project with a named investigator.

19. Summer Research Exposure Program at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Location: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (commuter program)
Cost/Stipend: Cost and pay not published; selected students submit immunization and TB test records
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 8 to 10 positions
Dates: June 21 to July 16, 2026, an average of 20 to 30 hours a week
Application deadline: Applications open January 15, 2027 and close February 15, 2027 at 5 p.m. ET
Eligibility: North Carolina high school students ages 16 to 18

The Summer Research Exposure Program places North Carolina high school students at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which works on engineering replacement tissues and organs. After lab orientation and training, each student spends the rest of the four weeks in mentored research and shadowing. You see how scientists move regenerative medicine from early experiments toward treatments for patients. With only 8 to 10 positions, it's one of the most selective programs in this section.

Who it's best for: A North Carolina student 16 or older who is curious about regenerative medicine and wants a small, mentored lab placement.

20. Apprenticeship in Medicine (AIM) at the Medical College of Wisconsin

Location: Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Cost/Stipend: Cost and pay not published; ask the program before applying
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive, with holistic review of every application
Dates: Usually six weeks starting around June 21
Application deadline: Usually opens in late October and closes March 1
Eligibility: Rising juniors, rising seniors or June graduates at least 16 years old, U.S. citizens or permanent residents, attending Milwaukee Public Schools or a Milwaukee-area charter, private or suburban school

The Apprenticeship in Medicine is the Medical College of Wisconsin's six-week summer program for Milwaukee-area students who want to explore medicine, biomedical research and allied health careers. Participants practice medical skills such as simulation lab work and suturing, and hear from speakers across different medical professions. The mix of clinical skills and career exposure suits students who want to test whether they enjoy the daily work of medicine. You must be available for the full six weeks, so plan summer jobs and travel around the late June start.

Who it's best for: A Milwaukee-area rising junior or senior who wants early clinical skills practice and a broad look at medical careers.

21. M.I.N.D.S. Program at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine

Location: Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, Nutley, New Jersey, plus virtual sessions
Cost/Stipend: Cost and pay not published; ask the program before applying
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Summer 2026 ran in a hybrid format, Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Application deadline: May 15, 2026 for Summer 2026
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors entering 11th grade in the fall

M.I.N.D.S., short for Medical Internship Navigating and Discovering Science, is Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine's summer program for students considering medicine. Scholars complete CPR and Basic Life Support certification, practice medical simulation and attend workshops led by healthcare professionals. They also shadow clinicians at hospitals across different health careers and complete a research project on community health needs. The program ends with a research showcase where scholars present that work to faculty, staff and families.

Who it's best for: A New Jersey rising junior who wants certification, clinical shadowing and a community health project in one summer.

22. LSU Health New Orleans Genetics Summer Research Program

Location: LSU Health New Orleans, University Medical Center or Children's Hospital New Orleans, Louisiana
Cost/Stipend: Pay not published; the program is funded by the LSU School of Medicine, the Louisiana Department of Health and the National Cancer Institute
Acceptance rate/cohort size: More than 400 research experiences since 2003
Dates: Eight weeks in summer; Summer 2026 applications are closed
Application deadline: February 16, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. for high school applicants
Eligibility: High school students, through a high school track with its own deadline; undergraduates apply separately

LSU Health New Orleans runs this summer research program through its Department of Genetics, placing students with mentors in labs or clinics at LSU Health, University Medical Center or Children's Hospital New Orleans. Over eight weeks, interns learn laboratory techniques and build research skills on a mentor's project. Weekly seminars cover career preparation, and presentation training gets you ready for a poster session or oral symposium at the end. The program has provided more than 400 research experiences since 2003, so it has a long record of training New Orleans students.

Who it's best for: A Louisiana student who wants a genetics-focused research summer with the option of a clinical placement.

23. High School Summer Research Program at UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School

Location: McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Texas Medical Center, Houston
Cost/Stipend: $4,000 fee, which includes registration and lab coats
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; cohort size isn't published
Dates: Four weeks, June 7 to July 2, 2027
Application deadline: The 2027 deadline hasn't been announced yet
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors

McGovern Medical School's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology runs this four-week research program in the Texas Medical Center. Students do bench science alongside faculty and student mentors on active research projects. Seminars, networking with faculty and healthcare professionals, and career guidance fill out the program, so you leave with a clearer sense of research and medical careers in one of the largest medical centers in the world. The $4,000 fee makes it one of the most expensive programs here, so weigh it against the free and paid options above.

Who it's best for: A rising junior or senior who wants a short, intensive bench research experience in the Texas Medical Center and can cover the fee.

24. Summer Research and Clinical Externship at UT Tyler School of Medicine

Location: UT Tyler School of Medicine, Tyler, Texas; students arrange their own housing and transportation
Cost/Stipend: $250, with reduced costs for students who need support
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: July 20 to 24, 2026 and July 27 to 31, 2026
Application deadline: Selection notices went out by April 30, 2026
Eligibility: High school seniors, plus college freshmen, sophomores and juniors in good academic standing

UT Tyler School of Medicine's Summer Research and Clinical Externship gives students two weeks of clinical shadowing and research in East Texas. Shadowing covers internal medicine, cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology and family medicine, so you see several specialties rather than one. Students also do research, attend lectures and get mentoring, then give a final research presentation. It's short and inexpensive, which makes it a practical way for a senior to test an interest in medicine before college.

Who it's best for: A high school senior in East Texas who wants to shadow several specialties in a short, low-cost program.

25. High School STEM Internship Program at Meharry Medical College

Location: Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee
Cost/Stipend: No application fee; stipend not published
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: An 8-week internship in summer 2026 followed by a second 8-week internship in summer 2027
Application deadline: March 9, 2026 for the current cohort
Eligibility: Students who are rising juniors in June 2026 who won't graduate from high school before November 2027

Meharry's High School STEM Internship Program is part of the college's Together for Change GREAT Health Study and runs across two consecutive summers. Interns work on biology and genetics projects, train in lab techniques and workplace skills, and get one-on-one mentorship. Guest lectures from STEM professionals, resume building and interview preparation add career skills to the lab work. Two summers in the same program let you go much further on a project than a single eight-week placement allows.

Who it's best for: A rising junior in Nashville who wants a two-summer research commitment at a historically Black medical college.

26. Futures in Health Science Internship at Meharry Medical College

Location: Meharry Medical College's Memphis programs, Memphis, Tennessee
Cost/Stipend: Cost and pay not published; ask the program before applying
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Summer internship; the next cohort applies in Winter 2027
Application deadline: Applications reopen in Winter 2027
Eligibility: High school students from underrepresented communities

The Futures in Health Science Internship is part of Meharry's pipeline programs in Memphis for high school students from underrepresented communities. Interns shadow healthcare providers as well as the ancillary service professionals who keep a health system running. Workshops with Meharry's data science experts add a technical side to the clinical exposure. The program's central lesson is that healthcare works as a team, which helps you see roles beyond doctor and nurse that you might want to pursue.

Who it's best for: A Memphis student who wants to shadow a range of healthcare roles and learn how a care team fits together.

27. OK-STARS Summer Research Program at OSU Center for Health Sciences

Location: Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Cost/Stipend: Free, with program fees covered by OSU Center for Health Sciences; housing and transportation aren't provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: A limited number of spots each summer
Dates: June 1 to July 10, 2026, up to 20 hours a week on campus
Application deadline: Applications ran January 6 to April 30, 2026
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors

OK-STARS lets high school juniors and seniors join a research team at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and work on an ongoing project with a faculty mentor. Students may use laboratory equipment for chemical and biological analysis and can present their work at Research Day. The schedule tops out at about 20 hours a week, which leaves room for a summer job or other commitments. All program fees are covered, so the only cost is getting to campus each day.

Who it's best for: An Oklahoma junior or senior who wants a free, part-time research placement that fits around other summer plans.

28. MohanLab High School Summer Research at the University of Houston

Location: University of Houston, Houston, Texas
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid; no funding is provided to admitted students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Eight weeks, June 8 to July 31, 2026
Application deadline: Applications ran February 1 to March 26, 2026, closing at 5 p.m. CST
Eligibility: Rising seniors who have completed 11th grade

The MohanLab in the University of Houston's biomedical engineering department takes rising seniors for an eight-week summer of bench research. Each student works under the guidance of a scientist or graduate student in the lab. You learn how a working research lab runs day to day, from planning experiments to recording and analyzing results. It's unpaid and out-of-town students must arrange their own housing, so it fits Houston-area students who can commit eight full weeks.

Who it's best for: A Houston rising senior who wants a bench research placement in a biomedical engineering lab.

29. FIU Center for Translational Science High School Summer Internship

Location: FIU Center for Translational Science, Port St. Lucie, Florida
Cost/Stipend: Cost and pay not published; ask the program before applying
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Usually five weeks from early June to mid-July
Application deadline: Usually announced through St. Lucie County schools by March
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors who live and attend school in St. Lucie County

FIU's Center for Translational Science runs this five-week internship for St. Lucie County juniors and seniors. Students do biomedical science research guided by scientists in different fields, working in the center's labs and running their own experiments. The program teaches how the scientific process produces new knowledge, which is the core of translational medicine. Program information goes out through your school each spring, so ask your counselor about it early.

Who it's best for: A St. Lucie County junior or senior who wants a biomedical research summer without leaving home.

Online Medical Internships

These medical internships and research programs run fully or partly online, so most are open to students across the country, and the DREAM-High program is free. Lumiere and Veritas AI add mentored online research, from a medical research paper to AI models for diagnosis. For more free options, see our full list of free online medical internships.

30. BrainSTORM Mentorship Program at Columbia University

Location: Virtual or in person with Columbia University neurology mentors, New York City
Cost/Stipend: Cost not published; contact the program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Up to 20 students matched with mentors each academic year
Dates: The fifth cohort begins in Summer 2027, with projects running through a year-end symposium
Application deadline: The 2027 application dates haven't been announced yet
Eligibility: Students who will be in grades 10 to 12 during the program year

BrainSTORM, the Brain Seminar for Teens and Opportunities in Research Mentorship, is run by Columbia University's Department of Neurology. Each student is matched with a mentor and carries out a guided research project that the two of them shape together. Mentorships can be virtual or in person, which opens a Columbia neurology mentor to students outside New York. Projects culminate in a year-end research symposium and poster session, so the program runs well beyond a single summer.

Who it's best for: A sophomore or junior interested in neurology who wants a long-term, one-on-one research mentorship that can happen remotely.

31. DREAM-High Collaborative Summer Experience

Location: Online weekly sessions, with an in-person option at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle
Cost/Stipend: Free, with $500 stipends available as needed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 12 to 20 scholars
Dates: About 32 hours over six weeks, tentatively the second week of July through the third week of August 2026
Application deadline: The Summer 2026 application window has closed; watch for the 2027 window in winter
Eligibility: Current 11th graders only

DREAM-High is a partnership of Columbia University, the Institute for Systems Biology and Stanford University that teaches rising seniors to analyze cancer data. Scholars learn R and Python and use them to visualize and analyze genomics, clinical and physical data from cancer cells, then apply those skills to challenge projects. Sessions meet online once a week for three to four hours, and students collaborate with peers nationally before showcasing their work online. It's a strong pick if you're drawn to the computational side of medicine, where coding shapes how diseases are studied.

Who it's best for: An 11th grader anywhere in the country who wants to learn the coding behind cancer research for free.

32. UNC Nutrition Research Institute Virtual Internship Program (VIP)

Location: Online, run by the UNC Nutrition Research Institute
Cost/Stipend: Cost not published; ask the program before applying
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 54 students selected from more than 250 applicants in 2026
Dates: June 2 to June 25, 2026
Application deadline: The 2027 deadline hasn't been announced yet
Eligibility: High school students in North Carolina and beyond

The Virtual Internship Program is an online summer experience where high school students learn nutrition research from scientists at the UNC Nutrition Research Institute. Students read scientific literature, evaluate evidence and collaborate with peers, working in pairs on a nutrient of their choice. Each pair produces a scientific poster and presents it in a virtual poster session at the end. With about one in five applicants accepted, it's more selective than most online options, and it shows how nutrition science connects to health and disease.

Who it's best for: A student anywhere who is curious about nutrition and health and wants a short, selective online research experience.

33. Inspiring Careers in Mental Health Internship at UT Southwestern

Location: Online, run by UT Southwestern Medical Center's Department of Psychiatry, Dallas
Cost/Stipend: Cost not published; ask the program before applying
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Students are selected at the end of March; cohort size isn't published
Dates: Usually a two-week internship scheduled in June
Application deadline: Usually opens in late September and closes in early February
Eligibility: Rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders and rising college first-years

Inspiring Careers in Mental Health is UT Southwestern's two-week online internship for students curious about psychiatry and the wider mental health field. Before each interactive online session, you complete readings from prepared packets, then meet leaders who demonstrate their daily work and answer practical and personal questions. Topics include psychotherapy, neuropsychological testing, neuroscience, interventional psychiatry and community psychiatry. Applications usually open in late September, so fall is the time to apply for the following June.

Who it's best for: A student weighing psychiatry, psychology or neuroscience who wants to hear from mental health professionals before committing.

34. UC Irvine School of Medicine Summer Online Research Program

Location: Online, run by UC Irvine School of Medicine
Cost/Stipend: $2,350 per three-week session, with a $75 discount for early registration; scholarships for students from underserved Southern California high schools
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size isn't published
Dates: Session One June 22 to July 10, 2026; Session Two July 13 to July 31, 2026
Application deadline: Summer 2026 is no longer accepting applications; the program usually closes by the end of January or early February
Eligibility: Students ages 15 to 18 with an unweighted GPA of at least 3.3, with priority for students in higher grades

UC Irvine School of Medicine's Summer Online Research Program is a three-week mentored program held entirely online, with instruction by email, Zoom and podcast on a flexible schedule. Students learn the responsible conduct of research involving human subjects, evidence-based medicine and how to critically evaluate medical literature. Each student writes an organized research report, and the program submits an abstract to a national meeting with accepted students listed as co-authors. Undergraduate and postgraduate coaches guide the work, so you also get advice from people a few steps ahead of you.

Who it's best for: A 15 to 18 year old with strong grades who wants to learn clinical research methods online and can cover the tuition.

35. Lumiere Research Scholar Program

Location: Remote, fully online
Cost/Stipend: Varies by program type; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; Lumiere reports more than 4,000 applicants for 500 spots in a recent year
Dates: Cohorts start through the year; the 12-week Individual Research Program's winter cohort starts December 7, 2026, and the Research Fellowship runs 6 to 12 months
Application deadline: Winter cohort priority deadline November 1 and regular deadline November 22, 2026
Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in high school with a high level of academic achievement

The Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs you one-on-one with a Ph.D. mentor to write an independent research paper, and medicine, neuroscience and biology are among its research subjects. Lumiere was founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. The Individual Research Program runs 12 weeks and ends with a college-level academic paper, while the Research Fellowship gives you 6 to 12 months for a deeper project aimed at a selective competition or publication. You choose the question you study, so you can follow a topic in medicine that a lab placement wouldn't give you.

Who it's best for: A student who wants to research a medical question of their own with a mentor, from anywhere, rather than join an existing lab.

36. Veritas AI: AI + Medicine Deep Dive

Location: Online via Zoom
Cost/Stipend: Varies by program type; need-based financial aid covers up to 100 percent
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published
Dates: Usually spring, summer, fall and winter cohorts, each 10 sessions of 2.5 hours over 10 weeks
Application deadline: Rolling admissions; cohort deadlines usually fall in January, May, September and November
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 to 12 who have completed Veritas AI's AI Scholars program or have Python experience

Veritas AI was founded and is run by Harvard graduate students, and its AI + Medicine Deep Dive shows how artificial intelligence is used in healthcare and medicine. Over 10 weekly sessions, you build models for diagnosis, medical imaging and genomics alongside a mentor working in the field. Projects use AI and machine learning models to help diagnose diseases, sharpen medical scans and explain their results to doctors and patients. Students new to coding can start with the 10-session AI Scholars boot camp, which covers the basics of AI and data science first.

Who it's best for: A student who codes in Python and wants to see where medicine and AI meet through a project rather than a lab placement.

37. Ladder Internships

Location: Remote, fully online
Cost/Stipend: $3,190 for the basic startup internship program, paid in two installments starting with a $200 deposit; full and partial financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10% for the Summer 2023 cohort, with 700 applicants for 70 spots
Dates: Four 8-week cohorts a year (spring, summer, fall and winter); the next winter cohort starts December 7, 2026
Application deadline: November 15, 2026 for the winter cohort
Eligibility: High school students who can commit about 5 to 10 hours a week; a separate program serves university and gap year students

Ladder Internships was founded by Harvard entrepreneurs and places high school students with startups for an 8-week remote project, in fields that include health tech and biotech, machine learning and AI, software engineering, environmental science, consulting, and media and journalism. Ladder suggests a project based on each applicant's interests and interview, and the student has the final say on the match. The internship follows a set timeline: you define the project with a company coach in week one, present a first deliverable to the company in week four, and present the finished project in week eight. Interns leave with a letter of completion from the host company, and students from families earning $50,000 or less a year can apply for full or partial financial aid.

Who it's best for: A student who wants startup work experience rather than a classroom program and is comfortable being embedded on a real team.

Commonly Asked Questions About Medical Internships for High School Students

1. How do I find medical internships near me?

Start with medical schools, cancer centers and research institutes within commuting distance, since most programs are in person and many only take local students. Search the institution's name with "high school summer program" each fall, when most applications open.

2. Are there pre-med internships for high school students?

Yes. Hackensack Meridian's M.I.N.D.S. Program, Georgetown's Gateway Exploration Program and UT Tyler's externship are built for students considering medicine, with clinical shadowing, CPR certification and simulation training. Pre-med itself is a college track, so these give you an early look.

3. Are there free online medical internships for high school students?

Yes. DREAM-High is free with $500 stipends as needed, Columbia's BrainSTORM can run virtually, and the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation offers fully funded remote research for low-income students. UC Irvine's program and Ladder Internships charge tuition.

4. How do high school students get experience in the medical field?

Through research internships, clinical shadowing programs, hospital volunteering and online programs. A structured summer internship is the most direct route, since programs like BioMed Focus give you a mentor, a project and a final presentation in eight weeks.