15 Medical Programs for High School Students in Seattle, Washington
If you are a high school student interested in medicine, structured programs can help you explore your interests and build your profile. These programs enable you to develop laboratory techniques, simulate patient interactions, and gain exposure to healthcare environments. You can connect with professionals who provide insights into medical careers, helping you build a network early on.
Why should you attend a program in Seattle, Washington?
Seattle, Washington, hosts institutions such as the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, which offer medical programs for high school students focused on cancer research, nursing, and injury prevention. You can engage in projects such as lab experiments, data analysis, or shadowing healthcare professionals, as in programs that involve microscopy, patient simulations, or public health studies. If you live in or near the city, these programs offer convenient access to top facilities, while out-of-city students can benefit from exploring this hub of biomedical innovation.
To make your research easier, we've selected 15 medical programs for high school students in Seattle, Washington.
If you’re looking for free online programs, check out our blog here.
1. Summer High School Internship Program - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Location: Fred Hutch campus, South Lake Union, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: Free / Paid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive / Not specified
Dates: June 22 – August 14
Application Deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Students entering senior year with a strong scientific interest and academic background; must be 16 years or older by program start
The Fred Hutch Summer High School Internship Program is a competitive, eight-week, full-time paid internship that begins with two weeks of hands-on training in laboratory safety and essential research techniques, along with an introduction to Fred Hutch and its scientific work. For the remaining six weeks, you are paired with another intern and placed in a Fred Hutch research group in Seattle, where you’ll take part in mentored research activities and gain direct experience in how medical and scientific studies are conducted in a professional lab setting. You also attend research seminars, participate in professional development workshops focused on college planning and science careers, and join social activities with your research team and fellow interns. The program concludes with a formal presentation of your work to the Fred Hutch community, allowing you to communicate your research findings in a clear and professional setting.
2. Veritas AI's AI+Medicine Deep Dive
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies by program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks (weekends)
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Grades 8-12 with completion of AI Scholars or a background in coding
Veritas AI Medicine Deep Dive Program provides focused training on how artificial intelligence is used in real-world medical and healthcare settings. You’ll learn core techniques, including medical data preparation, exploratory data analysis, convolutional neural networks, and image segmentation, while exploring applications in disease diagnosis, medical imaging, genomics, and drug discovery. Each week, you’ll work in small groups with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio, receiving close guidance from mentors from top universities as you build AI and machine learning models to detect diseases, sharpen medical scans, and interpret results for doctors and patients. Sessions combine short lectures with discussion-based workshops lasting about 2.5 hours per session, emphasizing practical coding, collaboration, and problem-solving. You’ll complete the program with a team project and a presentation on a real-world healthcare challenge, reviewed by PhD-level experts, and gain hands-on experience, technical skills, and a strong academic project for future study in AI and medicine.
3. INSIGHT High School Program - Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center
Location: Virtual, by Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Cost: $2,200
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 6 – 31
Application Deadline: May 18
Eligibility: Students entering grades 10-12 or recent graduates
INSIGHT High School Program at Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center is a four-week introduction to public health, biomedical research, and medicine that centers on social justice and health disparities. You can collaborate on an original public health research project, learn core concepts, and practice data collection, analysis, critical thinking, public speaking, and data visualization. You’ll complete a capstone on an injury and violence prevention topic and design an earthquake evacuation plan in the Transportation Routing and Rescue for Emergency Care in an Earthquake (TRREK) project, focusing on reaching trauma care when infrastructure fails. The program also includes virtual research seminars, a drowning-prevention communication workshop, speaker panels featuring undergraduates and health professionals, resume and presentation-skills sessions, and peer networking. You’ll present your work at an online symposium to physicians and researchers and receive a Certificate of Completion after fulfilling all requirements.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program - Medicine Track
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies by program; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified / 1-on-1
Dates: 12 weeks
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students interested in medical research
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here, and check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
5. UDOC High School Program - UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA (part virtual)
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Approximately 30 students
Dates: June 22 – July 31
Application Deadline: March 20
Eligibility: High school juniors interested in health careers
University of Washington Doctor for a Day Program UDOC is a free six-week hybrid summer residential program that combines three weeks online and three weeks in person. You’ll explore a wide range of health professions through an experiential, action-based curriculum designed to foster and affirm your interest in healthcare careers while reducing barriers to participation. You also complete STEM coursework, attend weekly guest lectures by healthcare professionals, and join professional development workshops and facilitated community-building circles. You can gain hands-on experience in simulation labs focused on nursing, dental skills, anatomy, and suturing, participate in full-day hospital and clinic shadowing, and earn Stop the Bleed certification. The program also includes social activities led by Residential Teaching Assistants, mid and final program dinners, and a graduation ceremony that celebrates your achievements and strengthens your foundation for future study and careers in health.
6. UW Nurse Camp - UW School of Nursing
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 20 – 24
Application Deadline: April
Eligibility: Washington state high school sophomores and juniors interested in nursing; must be 16 years old before the first day of camp
University of Washington Nurse Camp is a free week-long program designed to expand access to nursing careers for high school students in Washington State. During the week, you can shadow nurses in multiple hospital units at UW Medical Center Northwest and UW Medical Center Montlake, complete CPR and HIPAA training, and learn core clinical skills, including infection control, proper handwashing, taking blood pressure, and measuring vital signs. You’ll spend time in the School of Nursing learning and simulation lab and the WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare Lab, where you can practice hands-on scenarios. You also prepare for college and the nursing school application process, join nursing speed rounds to speak directly with professionals in fields such as forensics, public health, emergency care, and research, and receive mentorship from UW nursing students while building connections with peers throughout the week.
7. Summer Scrubs & 'Scopes Camp - Seattle Children's Hospital
Location: Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: August 10 – 14
Application Deadline: March 23
Eligibility: Students ages 16-18 by camp start
Scrubs and ’Scopes Camp at Seattle Children’s is a free five-day program that introduces you to allied health careers, the professionals who support diagnosis, treatment, and patient monitoring across the healthcare system. Allied health staff includes medical assistants, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, radiology technologists, and anesthesia and sterile processing teams who perform imaging tests, prepare and dispense medications, perform and analyze laboratory tests, monitor vital signs, and assist in surgical care. During the camp, you’ll job shadow these professionals in clinical areas such as ambulatory clinics, inpatient pharmacy, laboratory, radiology, sterile processing, surgery, and anesthesia, observing how they contribute to patient care. You also participate in interactive simulation labs where you practice skills on models, including taking blood pressure and oxygen levels, compounding oral and IV medications, using microscopes, and taking X-rays. Throughout the week, you can engage directly with allied health professionals to ask questions and learn about their education pathways and career options.
8. Pathways Research Explorers Program - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Location: Fred Hutch campus, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Session 1: July 27– August 7; Session 2: August 10 – 21
Application Deadline: March 6
Eligibility: Students starting 10th or 11th grade in the fall
The Fred Hutchinson Pathways Research Explorers Program is a two-week introduction to biomedical research that teaches you how scientific discoveries are translated into cancer treatment and prevention. You’ll explore research conducted at Fred Hutch, which is internationally recognized for pioneering work in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and other immune-based cancer therapies, as well as cancer prevention, public health, epidemiology, and biostatistics. During the program, you can complete hands-on activities in the Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc Learning Lab, tour active research laboratories, and meet students and scientists at different stages of their careers. You also discuss practical next steps for those considering a future in biomedical research, providing clearer insight into academic pathways and career options in science and medicine.
9. High School Intern Programs - Institute for Systems Biology
Location: Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA (some virtual components)
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid or paid, depending on position; stipends available as needed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive / 4-10 for summer internship
Dates: June 29 – August 21
Application Deadline: March 11
Eligibility: Current 10th and 11th graders for most opportunities; 11th graders for summer and academic year internships
ISB High School Intern Programs offer multiple ways for you to explore systems biology and biomedical research. Through the free Systems Thinkers in STEM Ambassadorship, you’ll join virtual workshops and micro courses in systems medicine or environmental research and connect with a STEM learning community. As a current 11th grader, you can apply for the competitive eight-week summer internship, which involves mentor-guided research in areas such as computational biology, cancer, microbiology, infectious diseases, and the microbiome. You will build coding, data analysis, and professional skills; interview ISB staff; and create a website to present your work, with both paid and unpaid options available. You may also join DREAM High, a six-week collaboration with Columbia University and Stanford University, where you analyze cancer data using R and Python in weekly sessions with researchers, or continue with a flexible academic year internship during senior year for sustained research experience in a professional lab setting.
10. Students Exploring Pharmacy (STEP) - UW School of Pharmacy
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Cost: $100
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: TBD; Four days in summer
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9-12 interested in pharmacy; priority given to rising juniors and seniors
Students Exploring Pharmacy STEP is a four-day summer program at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy that introduces you to pharmacy as a career. You’ll take part in hands-on activities that demonstrate how pharmacists improve patient health beyond dispensing medications, while learning directly from nationally recognized faculty and interacting with current pharmacy students. Through discussions with pharmacists across specialties, you can gain insight into diverse career paths within the field and a clearer understanding of pharmacy practice in real-world clinical and community settings. The program also includes interactive healthcare activities and School of Pharmacy materials provided to participants.
11. Summer Nurse Camp - Seattle Children's Hospital
Location: Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 13 – 17
Application Deadline: March 23
Eligibility: High school students between 16 and 18 years interested in nursing and residing in the Puget Sound area
Summer Nurse Camp at Seattle Children’s is a free five-day program for local high school students that introduces them to pediatric nursing through direct exposure to clinical environments. If you participate, you’ll shadow nurses during clinical observation sessions and watch how they provide patient care and communicate with patients and families, while understanding that you do not perform patient care yourself. You can practice core nursing skills in interactive skills labs using models, and join educational panels where you can ask questions about nursing pathways and training. Past observation areas have included Advanced Practice Providers, Ambulatory Care, Cancer Care, Cardiac Intensive Care, Infusion Clinic, Emergency Room, Medical Units, Neonatal and Pediatric Intensive Care Units, Pharmacy, Phlebotomy, Pre- and Post-Anesthesia Care, Radiology, and Surgical Units. You also hear from staff and former RN residents about the one-year RN Residency Program, helping you see how high school interest in nursing can progress into professional pediatric practice.
12. UW BRIGHT-UP Biomedical Research Internship
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: Free / Paid (amount not specified)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive, about 20 students
Dates: Eight weeks from June to August
Application Deadline: Typically in March
Eligibility: First-generation students in grades 9-12 from under-resourced communities
BRIGHT UP at UW School of Medicine is an eight-week summer internship designed to expand access to research opportunities for educationally and economically underserved students. Through the program, you’ll explore biomedical research as a potential career path while working in a lab throughout the summer and developing project-specific laboratory skills. You are introduced to STEM through Pathways to Science discussion panels with trainees and professionals, as well as open houses across various research labs and disciplines, providing both hands-on research experience and insight into academic and professional pathways in biomedical science.
13. Doctor For a Day (DFAD) - UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 560 students
Dates: Monthly workshops on Saturday, especially from September to May.
Application Deadline: Varies by event; register as needed
Eligibility: K-12 students interested in health careers.
Doctor for a Day at the UW School of Medicine invites you to participate in monthly workshops that introduce health careers through hands-on activities, such as suturing, patient interviewing, and physical exams. The program partners with clinical departments and non-profits to provide mentorship from medical students and healthcare professionals. You conduct sessions that introduce K-12 youth to diverse roles in medicine, emphasizing representation and role models. Activities focus on practical skills and discussions about healthcare pathways, fostering interest in the field. You can attend events held in collaboration with school districts to buildconnections with peers and experts. The program supports exploration of medical professions in a supportive, interactive environment.
14. Camp BIOmed - Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR)
Location: Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: $795 - $845
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Week-long sessions from July 6 to August 14
Application Deadline: Rolling (registration opens January 15)
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9-12
Camp BIOmed invites you to engage in a week-long camp focused on biomedical research through hands-on lab experiments and case studies in a university setting. The program offers tracks like molecular biology of cancer, genetic engineering, CSI investigations, microbiology, bioinformatics, and global health, where you perform techniques such as DNA manipulation, PCR, and data analysis. You’ll work on projects that apply lab findings to real-world scenarios, such as patient case histories or the design of health interventions. Ethical considerations in research are integrated into the activities, along with discussions on science careers. You’ll conclude with a culminating expo to present your work to family and peers. The camp builds foundational skills in scientific methods while fostering collaboration among participants.
15. Outset Teen Medicine Summer Program - University of Washington
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Cost/Stipend: $2,950 (financial aid available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive / Less than 50%
Dates: July 26 – 31 or August 2 – 7
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12 interested in medical careers
The Outset Teen Medicine Summer Program gives you a chance to participate in hands-on biology laboratory research at Seattle Children's Research Institute, focusing on topics like biochemistry, gene editing, and infectious diseases. The program includes workshops on college readiness and career exploration, allowing you to develop skills in techniques such as microscopy, PCR, and immunoassays. You’ll work in a professional lab setting, contributing to ongoing research projects without direct patient interaction. Mentorship from scientists guides your learning, and you’ll engage in group activities to build teamwork abilities. This two-year commitment begins with an intensive summer session that provides a structured introduction to scientific inquiry.
Image source - University of Washington