15 Summer Medical Programs for High School Students in Dallas, TX
If you’re a high school student interested in medicine, a summer program is a good way to learn about the subject outside the classroom. Summer medical programs for high school students offer practical experience, exposure to healthcare settings, and connections with mentors. Participating in a summer medical program can also help your college applications stand out, especially if you’re applying to competitive pre-med programs.
Many established colleges and local organizations in Dallas, such as the University of Texas at Dallas and the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, host these opportunities, making them options worth exploring. Summer medical programs in Dallas reduce travel and housing costs by offering you work experience near home. To help you get started, we’ve gathered the top 15 summer medical programs for high school students in Dallas, TX.
15 Summer Medical Programs for High School Students in Dallas, TX
1. UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Summer Research Opportunities (STARS)
Location: UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Cost/Stipend: None / Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly selective / 12 students per summer
Dates: Eight 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 | U.S. citizens or permanent residents |
The UT Southwestern Medical Center’s STARS Summer Research Opportunities program is a highly selective eight-week summer initiative designed to introduce high school juniors to authentic biomedical research. In this program, you’ll work alongside faculty in a real biomedical research lab and learn practical lab skills, from data collection to experiment design and result analysis. Faculty and graduate students will guide you through hands-on projects, providing valuable experience in a modern research environment. You will prepare and present your findings at a campus symposium at the program’s end.
2. Ladder Internships
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies according to program type; financial aid is available / None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: 10-25% / 70-100 students
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year; Summer Cohort I: June 2; Summer Cohort II: July 14
Application Deadline: Varies by each cohort; Summer Cohort I: May 11; Summer Cohort II: June 23; apply here
Eligibility: High school students, undergrads, or gap year students who can work 10–20 hours a week for 8–16 weeks
Ladder Internships allow you to join a virtual internship where you’re matched with startups or nonprofits in healthcare, biotech, or digital health. You will work on real projects like building patient-experience tools or health-tech solutions, and meet weekly with both your company manager and a Ladder Coach. You will develop workplace skills such as communication, project planning, and time management. The structure includes milestone check-ins and a final presentation to the host organization. The program stands out for combining real-world assignments with dual mentorship and being fully online, allowing you to participate from anywhere and build your skills without needing to travel.
3. UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Health Professionals Recruitment Exposure Program (HPREP)
Location: UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX
Cost: None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive / About 20 students
Dates: January 11, 18, and 25
Application Deadline: November 15
Eligibility: Students in 10th through 12th grades
The Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) is an enrichment initiative designed to expose high school students to the fields of medicine and science. In this program, you will spend three Saturdays on campus attending hands-on workshops on CPR, cow-eye dissection, suturing, prosthetics-orthotics, genetics, microbiology, neuroscience, and physical therapy. You will connect with mentors from UT Southwestern’s Medical School, Graduate School, School of Public Health, and School of Health Professions. You will also take part in a college fair and mentoring groups, learning what healthcare careers actually involve. You get the opportunity to work with real-world tools, in real-world labs, guided by students and faculty.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type; full financial aid is available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly selective / 400+ participants
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year; Summer Cohort I: June 2; Summer Cohort II: July 14
Application Deadline: Varies by each cohort; Summer Cohort I: May 11; Summer Cohort II: June 23
Eligibility: Currently enrolled in high school | Students must demonstrate a high level of academic achievement (Note: accepted students have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4)
In this online research program, you will work one-on-one with a Ph.D. mentor on an independent research project. You can choose a topic from fields such as finance, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more, and develop an independent research paper over 12 weeks. The program includes structured mentor sessions and writing support. You will get help publishing or earning college credit through UC San Diego Extended Studies. After the internship, you leave with a solid research project and insight into academic work, guided closely by an expert. You can apply here.
5. Parkland Health High School Summer Internship Program
Location: Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX
Cost/Stipend: None / $18.25 per hour
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective / Not specified
Dates: 8 weeks during summer; typically the second week of June and ending the first week of August.
Application Deadline: March 14
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors attending a public high school in the Dallas-Fort Worth area | At least 16 years old | Minimum 3.0 GPA
The Parkland Health High School Summer Internship Program runs for eight weeks, where you will be working in real hospital settings. You will learn about healthcare operations administration and gain hands-on exposure through mentorship from department staff. You will also sit in on meetings, help prepare materials, and observe professional routines. You will also connect with skilled professionals across hospital departments and explore how leadership, safety, and patient services come together. Through this summer medical program, you will get a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of medical care and build your confidence in medical settings, along with earning practical insights and experiencing what a healthcare career could really feel like.
6. UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Inspiring Careers in Mental Health Internship
Location: Remote
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective / Around 20 interns
Dates: 2 weeks in June
Application Deadline: Early February
Eligibility: Rising 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students and rising college first-years
The Inspiring Careers in Mental Health Internship at UT Southwestern is a two-week online program created for high school students interested in exploring mental health professions. Throughout the internship, you’ll engage in interactive discussions with experts such as psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, licensed clinical social workers, and physician assistants. The sessions introduce you to areas like psychotherapy, neuropsychological assessments, interventional psychiatry, and community-based psychiatry, while also giving insight into the role of a social worker. To prepare, participants are asked to review selected articles and readings from both scientific journals and mainstream media before the program begins.
7. Texas Christian University (TCU) Nurse Camp
Location: Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
Cost: $980; limited scholarships are available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly selective / 40 students
Dates: Session One: June 22 – 27; Session Two: July 6 – 11
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Students entering their junior or senior year of high school in the fall
In this internship, you will stay on TCU’s campus for five days and learn nursing basics such as taking vital signs, wound care, medical terms, and building your scientific communication skills. You will practice with human patient simulators, tour a local hospital, and, at the end, earn an American Heart Association CPR certificate. Faculty and nursing students will guide you through hands-on sessions, and you will better understand how a nursing school operates. You will also witness anatomy in action and patient care routines, and connect with peers and leaders. After the program, you will be equipped with new skills, clear ideas, and stronger confidence about a career in nursing.
8. University of North Texas (UNT) Digital Health Pioneers Camp
Location: Frisco Landing, Preston Rd. Frisco, Texas (29.4 miles from Dallas)
Cost/Stipend: $350
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective / Around 30 students
Dates: June 2 – 6
Application Deadline: May 22
Eligibility: Rising 9th graders to high school seniors
The University of North Texas (UNT) Digital Health Pioneers Camp is an innovative summer program designed for students from rising 9th grade through high school seniors who are passionate about the intersection of technology and healthcare. You will work on hands-on projects, attend workshops, sit in expert-led seminars, learn about telemedicine, wearable health tech, and digital health data, and collaborate with UNT faculty and grad-student mentors. You will join a small group of peers eager to explore healthcare innovation and practice real-world digital health tools and methods. By the end of the week, you will have a clearer view of careers in healthcare tech.
9. UT Dallas Summer Biology Research Workshop (SBRW)
Location: University of Texas, Dallas, TX
Cost: $2,000; need-based scholarships are available
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective / Approximately 24 students per session
Dates: June 29 – July 25
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: 10th, 11th, and 12th graders | At least 15 years of age at the time of registration | Completed all requirements of the Office of the Program for Minors at UT Dallas
In this program, you will spend four weeks working in biology research labs. In the first week, you will learn lab tools and methods in fields from molecular biology to microbiology and computational biology alongside faculty and graduate mentors. After training, you join a small research team for three weeks and work about 20–25 hours per week on a discovery project. Additionally, you will attend departmental seminars and present your work at a summer research symposium. The program explores topics like neuro-immune interactions, antibiotic generation, and genetic analysis, and you gain hands-on lab experience and real mentorship.
10. High School Student Service Learning Program
Location: Texas Health Dallas
Cost: None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly competitive / 20 students
Dates: June 2 – August
Application Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Current high school students | At least 16 years old on or before May 1
In this summer medical program, you will volunteer in both clinical and administrative hospital areas and gain exposure to healthcare operations, teamwork, and patient care routines. You will be assigned to various departments where you need to serve Monday to Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m., over several weeks. You complete at least 128 hours and attend a mandatory orientation early on. You will work alongside hospital staff and learn how different teams contribute to patient well-being. You will also help build your skills in service, professionalism, and communication.
11. Baylor Scott & White McLane Children's Health Sciences Summer Camp
Location: Baylor Scott & White McLane Children’s Hospital, Temple, TX (12.2 miles from Dallas)
Cost: None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly selective / Limited cohort size
Dates: Session I: June 16 – 20; Session II: July 14 – 18
Application Deadline: May 1 (Session I); May 31 (Session II)
Eligibility: Current 9th - 12th grade students
In this camp, you will spend a full week behind the scenes at a pediatric hospital where you observe daily routines in high-impact areas like the NICU, radiology, oncology, and physical therapy. You will shadow healthcare professionals, join hands-on simulations, and patient-care demonstrations guided by medical staff. You will understand how different departments work and what skills they use every day. Through this program, you can build your confidence and broaden your understanding of pediatric care. This immersive week gives you real exposure to healthcare in action, and you will leave with clear insights, new connections, and a deeper grasp of what a medical career might feel like.
12. Student Summer Volunteer Program
Location: Children’s Medical Center of Dallas
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Competitive / Not specified
Dates: Varies during the summer
Application Deadline: Rolling acceptance
Eligibility: All high school students
In this summer medical program, you will volunteer directly in a hospital setting and gain a close view of pediatric healthcare. You will assist staff with patient support, greet families, and help in non-clinical areas that keep the hospital running smoothly. You will learn skills such as professionalism, teamwork, and communication skills in a fast-paced medical environment. The program also builds your understanding of patient care and hospital operations. You will connect with healthcare professionals and observe how every role contributes to children’s recovery. With weekly shifts and a consistent schedule, you will experience responsibility similar to a workplace.
13. Stanford Clinical Summer Internship (CSI)
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: $4,380 + $95 application fee; financial aid is available / None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly competitive / 60-65 students
Dates: July 28 – August 8
Application Deadline: February 24
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors (age 16 or older), seniors, and undergraduate pre-med students; additional criteria may apply
In this program, you will spend two weeks training by practicing hands-on skills such as dissection, suturing, knot-tying, and administering injections, while also learning to perform physical exams, build differential diagnoses, and respond to trauma scenarios through live simulations. Daily “A Day in the Life” conversations with specialists provide insight into different medical fields and career paths. It also includes case-based learning, interactive demonstrations, and small-group breakouts, giving you the chance to engage with instructors and peers in real time. The program emphasizes Stanford’s clinical teaching style and mentorship, ensuring you gain meaningful exposure to the practice of medicine.
14. Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine & Imaging Summer Research Internship
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: $40 (Application Fee) + $850 (Participation Fee); financial aid is available for both fee types / None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Highly competitive / Around 25 students
Dates: June 16 – 27
Application Deadline: February 28
Eligibility: High school student | Above 14 years old | Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or provide documentation of valid visa status
In this program, you will work with Stanford faculty and research teams on projects at the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare. You will engage in tasks such as data analysis, literature reviews, and supporting ongoing research in medical imaging, and gain exposure to how AI tools are built and tested to improve diagnosis and patient care. Mentorship is central to this program, with guidance from graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. The program allows you to collaborate in a professional research setting, and you may also be able to continue to research innovative AI solutions for improved healthcare through AIMI’s extended independent research opportunity.
15. The Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Science Program (JHIBS)
Location: Virtual
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Selective / Not specified
Dates: 5 weeks, July - August
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors from around the country are eligible to apply to the 5-week virtual program
The JHIBS program is a five-week virtual internship designed to introduce students to various areas of neuroscience. Through interactive seminars led by experts, case-based learning, mentorship sessions, and professional development workshops, you will gain exposure to both the scientific and practical aspects of the field. The curriculum covers topics such as mental health disorders, neurodegenerative conditions, and brain development, along with an introduction to essential laboratory methods and experiments. In addition to scientific knowledge, the program emphasizes critical thinking, research skills, collaboration, and effective scientific communication. By the end of the internship, all participants who complete the program will earn a certificate of completion.
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