14 Competitive Biology Programs for High School Students

If you’re a high school student passionate about biology, participating in a competitive program can be a good way to challenge yourself and explore the field. These programs are designed to help you go beyond classroom learning by exploring molecular biology, genetics, ecology, and biomedical science in professional and academic environments. You will develop research skills, learn how to analyze data, and gain experience in how scientists design experiments and communicate their results.

What are the benefits of a competitive biology program?

Competitive biology programs typically combine lectures, lab work, and mentored research projects to help you deepen your understanding of the scientific process. You might work with professional researchers in university labs, participate in computational biology projects, or take part in team-based studies that mirror how research groups operate. These experiences allow you to apply classroom knowledge to practical challenges, strengthen your analytical and technical abilities, and prepare for future studies in biology and related fields. 

To help you get started, we’ve put together this list of 14 competitive biology programs for high school students. 

If you are looking for biology research programs, check out our blog here.

1. Research Science Institute (RSI)

Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Cost/Stipend: None

Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~3%; 100 students

Dates: June 28 – August 8 (tentative, based on previous years)

Application Deadline: December 10 (tentative, based on previous years)

Eligibility: Academically advanced high school juniors. Detailed requirements can be found here

This competitive high school program emphasizes the full research cycle, beginning with intensive coursework that provides the theoretical foundation to understand advanced scientific literature and develop a viable research plan. Afterward, you’ll spend several weeks working on individual research projects under close mentorship, utilizing institutional computing tools to model systems, analyze data, and prepare scholarly papers. The program also immerses students in a research culture through lectures and interactions with active scientists and researchers. Throughout the program, you can gain experience in formal scientific communication by preparing conference-style reports and delivering oral presentations.

2. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)

Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA

Cost/Stipend: $50 application fee (can be waived); limited need-based stipends available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: <3%, 50 students

Dates: June 8 – July 30

Application Deadline: February 21

Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are 16 or older and U.S. citizens/permanent residents

You spend eight weeks embedded in a medically focused research environment, working directly with a mentor on a defined project. You’ll be placed within a specific research institute and learn how day-to-day biological research is planned, executed, and reviewed. The experience emphasizes experimental design, data interpretation, and scientific reasoning across genomics, immunology, and neuroscience. For students interested in applied biomedical research, this competitive biology program for high school students prioritizes sustained mentorship over short-term exposure. An alternative track allows you to focus on bioengineering concepts without a traditional wet-lab component.

3. Veritas AI's AI + Medicine Deep Dive

Location: Virtual

Cost: Varies depending on program; financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective

Dates: Several cohorts year-round

Application Deadline: Varies by cohort. You can apply to the program here.

Eligibility: High school scholars who have completed the AI Scholars program or have coding experience

This program focuses on how computational methods intersect with biology and medicine, particularly through applied machine learning techniques. You begin by learning how medical data is structured, cleaned, and explored before moving into model-based approaches such as convolutional neural networks. As the weeks progress, the emphasis shifts toward image-based biological and clinical problems, including segmentation and transfer learning. You apply these methods in collaborative projects that mirror real-world analytical workflows rather than isolated exercises. 

4. Urban Barcode Research Program (UBRP)

Location: DNALC, Cold Spring Harbor, NY

Stipend: $500

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; ~36 students

Dates: Year-round

Application Deadline: May 27

Eligibility: High school students 

UBRP centers on biodiversity research using DNA barcoding as a primary investigative tool. You begin with structured training covering conservation biology, molecular techniques, and research design, then transition to a student-driven project. Under mentor guidance, you move through each stage of the research process, from proposal writing and sample collection to DNA analysis and interpretation. The program extends beyond a single summer, allowing time for iterative problem-solving and refinement of results. Among competitive biology programs for high school students, UBRP stands out for its focus on connecting molecular biology methods to real-world ecological questions.

5. Immerse Education’s Academic Insights Pathway

Location: Oxford, Cambridge, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Boston

Cost: Varies; financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective

Dates: 2 weeks in the summer 

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

Eligibility: Students aged 13-18 currently enrolled in middle or high school

The Academic Insights Program provides school students with an opportunity to take undergraduate-level classes at universities around the world. Participants work with academics from universities like Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard in classes of 4-10 students. They attend university-style lectures and 1:1 weekly sessions with their tutor. The program includes practical experiences such as dissections in medicine, robotic arm building in engineering, or moot courts for law. Students can choose from over 20 subjects, including biology, artificial intelligence, business management, computer science, economics, medicine, philosophy, and more. By the end of the program, they complete a personal project and receive written feedback and a certificate of completion. You can find more details about the application here.

6. Broad Summer Scholars Program (BSSP)

Location: Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA

Stipend: $3,600

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; <20 students

Dates: June 29 – August 7

Application Deadline: January 21

Eligibility: Rising seniors who attend high school in Massachusetts, have a B or better in math and science, and are authorized to work in the U.S.

Research at BSSP is organized around a clearly defined project that contributes meaningfully to an active lab. You work under the guidance of a scientist while learning both experimental and computational approaches used in modern biology. You’ll also have one-on-one meetings with a staff instructor to help you translate classroom learning to your research projects. Structured training helps develop skills like scientific poster design and research presentation. Additionally, the program provides insights into how large research institutes function through talks and internal events. 

7. Fred Hutch Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)

Location: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA

Stipend: Provided

Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~5%; 20 - 30 students

Dates: June 22 – August 14

Application Deadline: March 13

Eligibility: Rising seniors who are 16 years or older and live in Greater Seattle or the surrounding areas

SHIP is a competitive biology program for high school students structured to move you from guided instruction into applied research practice. It begins with intensive training that builds foundational laboratory skills before you join a research group. You work in pairs within an active lab, observing and contributing to ongoing projects under mentor supervision. Besides developing technical skills, you explore topics like research ethics, biostatistics, and data visualization through cohort-based sessions. The experience ends with a reflective presentation that summarizes what you've learned during the internship. 

8. Stanford STaRS Internship Program

Location: Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA

Cost/Stipend: None

Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~5%; approx. 20 students

Dates: June 15 – August 7

Application Deadline: November 30

Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 by the start of the program

This competitive biology program for high school students places you in a research lab where you work on ongoing biomedical projects. Your time is split between hands-on experimentation and structured workshops that explain the biological concepts behind the techniques you use. Lab work introduces methods such as histology, imaging, and genotyping, with an emphasis on understanding why each method is used. Mentorship is integrated into daily research activities, allowing you to receive feedback on both technical execution and scientific reasoning. 

9. Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)

Location: The Rockefeller University, New York, NY

Cost/Stipend: None; stipend may be provided for eligible students

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 32 students

Dates: June 22 – August 6

Application Deadline: January 2

Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors who are at least 16 years old

SSRP places you in a small research team designed to function like an academic laboratory. The early weeks focus on learning core techniques and narrowing the research question, followed by several weeks of guided experimentation and analysis. Scientific trainees lead the teams, providing close mentorship while modeling collaborative research practices. You also engage with elective courses and workshops that support data analysis and scientific communication. 

10. MSK Human Summer Student Program

Location: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Stipend: $1,200

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 2%; 20 interns

Dates: June 29 – August 21

Application Deadline: February 6

Eligibility: High school juniors with permanent addresses within a 25-mile radius of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who have a minimum 3.5 GPA in science subjects and are at least 14 years old

The Summer Student Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering allows you to contribute to a single lab-based research project aligned with an active research group’s objectives. Working in a biomedical or computational laboratory, you develop technical skills through day-to-day research tasks and regular lab meetings. The program emphasizes independent problem-solving while still providing structured mentorship and feedback. Outside the lab, you participate in sessions that explain how biological research connects to clinical and translational science. This competitive biology program for high school students prioritizes sustained research engagement over survey-style exposure.

11. The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) Summer Student Program

Location: The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME

Stipend: $7,000

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, ~24–28 students

Dates: May 30 – August 7

Application Deadline: January 26

Eligibility: Graduated high school seniors who are at least 18 and are U.S. citizens/permanent residents

This program centers on genetics and genomics as tools for understanding complex biological systems. You join an active research group and gradually take ownership of a project connected to ongoing lab work. Training sessions throughout the program focus on core research skills, including data visualization, scientific communication, and peer review. Regular journal clubs and discussions with scientists expose you to how research questions evolve. This is one of the more competitive biology programs for high school students, as the cohort includes both undergraduate and high school students. 

12. Simons Summer Research Program

Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Cost/Stipend: No tuition fees, $2,450 for optional housing; a stipend award is provided

Acceptance rate/cohort size: <5%

Dates: June 29 – August 7

Application Deadline: February 5

Eligibility: High school juniors who are at least 16 years old and U.S. citizens/permanent residents

In this competitive biology program for high school students, you’re matched with a faculty mentor and integrated into an existing research team. Over the course of the program, you learn laboratory or analytical techniques relevant to your assigned project and contribute to the group’s broader research goals. Academic communication is a central component, culminating in a written abstract and a formal research poster. Weekly talks and workshops offer context on how research integrates into a university setting. The overall structure is crafted to reflect the workflow of undergraduate research.

13. University of Iowa Secondary Student Training Program (SSTP)

Location: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

Cost: $7,500 (financial aid and scholarships available)

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: June 17 – July 24

Application Deadline: February 16

Eligibility: Advanced 10th and 11th graders

SSTP places you directly within a university research group, where your primary responsibility is contributing to an active project. It’s an intensive program for high school students that integrates structured coursework with sustained lab research. Daily lab work is paired with seminars that develop research skills, including critical reading, scientific writing, and poster design. You engage with a wide range of biological and biomedical disciplines, depending on your assigned department. The program concludes with a formal poster presentation summarizing your findings. 

14. University of Chicago Research in the Biological Sciences (RIBS)

Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Cost: $15,200 (financial aid available)

Acceptance rate/cohort size: <10%

Dates: June 15 – July 10

Application Deadline: March 12

Eligibility: 10th and 11th graders who have completed high school biology

This program focuses on intensive technical training before transitioning into independent research. You begin by learning core molecular and cellular biology techniques, with lectures used selectively to support lab work. As the course progresses, you apply these methods to a self-directed project and document your work through detailed lab notebooks and writing assignments. Group discussions and research article analysis highlight how experiments relate to published science. This competitive biology program for high school students aims to emulate the daily workflow of a research laboratory.

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