13 Medical Summer Programs for High School Students in Houston, Texas
If you are a high school student interested in medicine, structured programs offer exposure to healthcare, combining academic learning with practical experience. These programs help you build foundational skills such as clinical observation, medical research, and scientific analysis while interacting with professionals in the field. Many of these programs are hosted by universities, hospitals, and research institutions, giving you access to medical environments. You may participate in lab work, patient case discussions, or public health projects that reflect current medical practice.
Why should you attend a program in Houston?
Houston is home to the Texas Medical Center, one of the largest medical complexes in the world, as well as institutions such as Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. These programs often include activities such as lab research, clinical simulations, healthcare workshops, and mentorship from medical professionals. These programs are suitable for both local students seeking access to nearby institutions and out-of-city students interested in training in a major healthcare hub.
To help you get started, we’ve narrowed down a list of 13 medical summer programs for high school students in Houston, Texas.
If you’re looking for online summer programs, check out our blog here.
1. Houston Methodist High School Emerging Researcher Experience
Location: Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX
Cost/Stipend: No cost; unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 8 – July 31
Application Deadline: January 30
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors (16+) with a minimum 3.5 GPA
During this program at Houston Methodist's Texas Medical Center campus, you'll work alongside undergraduate interns and faculty researchers on translational research projects. Each intern is matched with a faculty mentor based on their research interest, and day-to-day work involves hands-on lab techniques specific to that mentor's area. The program supplements bench work with career development seminars, scientific writing instruction, and college preparation sessions. You'll present your research at a poster symposium at the end of the program, sharing findings with scientists, students, and clinical staff. It's a full-time commitment running Monday through Friday for the full duration.
2. Veritas AI — AI + Medicine Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; rolling cohorts
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: Varies depending on cohort
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12; completion of the AI Scholars program or prior Python experience recommended for AI + Medicine track
Veritas AI is a virtual program founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offering high school students structured entry points into artificial intelligence, including a specialized AI + Medicine track. In the AI + Medicine Deep Dive, you'll work on collaborative projects using ML models to diagnose diseases, improve medical image quality, and generate explainable outputs for clinical contexts. The curriculum covers AI applications in genomics, hospital admissions prediction, drug discovery, and neuroscience. Sessions run across 10 weeks with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio, ensuring personalized guidance. Students completing the program are eligible for post-baccalaureate credit from UCSD Extended Studies and can pursue publication of their work through Veritas AI's in-house team.
3. MD Anderson Cancer Center — Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation High School Summer Program
Location: MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Stipend: $7,200 stipend for 10 weeks (taxable)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; up to 12 students
Dates: June 1 – August 8 (two start dates depending on graduation timing)
Application Deadline: November 17 – January 14
Eligibility: Texas high school seniors, 18+ by program start, preferring allied health careers; U.S. citizenship or eligible work status required
This 10-week program at MD Anderson places a small cohort of Texas high school seniors directly in biomedical research laboratories under the mentorship of full-time faculty. The focus is on foundational scientific investigation. You'll learn what it actually means to conduct biomedical research by spending five days a week in the lab. Seminars and supplementary programming include abstract writing, poster competitions, and elevator speech practice. The program concludes with formal research presentations. A competitive stipend is provided to help offset living costs, though housing and meals are the participant's responsibility.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program — Medical Track
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Cost; need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; rolling cohorts
Dates: Summer cohort typically begins in June (12 weeks)
Application Deadline: Rolling; summer deadline typically in May
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12; strong academic record recommended (unweighted GPA of 3.3+ preferred)
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs high school students one-on-one with PhD-level mentors from universities like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford to complete an original 12-week research project. The medical track covers areas including neuroscience, public health, biomedical sciences, clinical research, and more. You work directly with your mentor to design a research question, review literature, develop a methodology, and produce a college-level research paper. The program runs across spring, summer, fall, and winter cohorts, and students who complete it are eligible for 3 post-baccalaureate credits from UCSD Extended Studies. Need-based financial aid is available through the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation.
5. UTHealth Rio Grande Valley / UT Health Houston Summer Science Internship
Location: UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, Brownsville, TX; and UTRGV campuses in Brownsville and Edinburg, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free; $750 stipend upon completion
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 12 – July 25
Application Deadline: April 18
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors from Rio Grande Valley school districts with an interest in science
This six-week research internship is offered through UTHealth Houston and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and targets rising juniors and seniors from Rio Grande Valley school districts. You'll be matched with a faculty mentor at UTHealth or UTRGV campuses based on your research interests, then complete 20 hours per week of hands-on science work in a university research setting. The internship concludes with an in-person research presentation. A $750 stipend is awarded upon successful completion of the program, and its explicit goal is to increase the number of RGV students pursuing STEM degrees.
6. Rice University / Houston Methodist — NSF Digital Health Workforce Program
Location: Rice University and Houston Methodist, Houston, TX
Stipend: Up to a $1,800 stipend for high school students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 15 high school students per cohort
Dates: Software Track: June 8 – June 1 | Hardware Track: June 22 – July 2
Application Deadline: February 8
Eligibility: Current 9th and 10th-grade students from the Houston area
This program, offered by Rice University's Office of STEM Engagement and Houston Methodist, provides high school students with two intensive, two-week summer tracks in digital health. The hardware track covers wearables, sensors, microcontrollers, circuits, and rapid prototyping. The software track covers Python, PyTorch, data science, and the development of AI models for clinical applications. Both tracks involve direct collaboration with Houston Methodist clinicians, giving participants exposure to how digital health technologies are used in real hospital settings.
7. Baylor College of Medicine DocPrep Program
Location: Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free for selected participants
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 60 students + 12 teacher mentors
Dates: One week in summer (exact dates vary)
Application Deadline: Available starting in March via affiliated schools
Eligibility: Rising seniors from South Texas-affiliated high school districts
DocPrep is a week-long academic enrichment program hosted at Baylor College of Medicine for rising seniors from South Texas-affiliated high schools. The curriculum runs through the Texas Medical Center and covers medical lectures, communication courses led by Rice University graduate students, hands-on simulation lab experiences, and college and medical school counseling. Baylor medical students serve as counselors and accompany participants throughout the program, offering a student-level perspective on medical education. The program is free for selected students, and admission is through affiliated school districts rather than a general application process.
8. MohanLab Summer Internship Program (MLSI) — University of Houston
Location: University of Houston, Houston, TX
Cost/Stipend: No cost; no stipend provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 8 – July 31
Application Deadline: March 26
Eligibility: Rising seniors (completed 11th grade); strong academic record; interest in biomedical, bioengineering, or computer science; out-of-Houston students responsible for their own housing
The MohanLab at the University of Houston's Biomedical Engineering department offers a competitive summer research internship for rising high school seniors. The program begins with one to two weeks of foundational instruction in basic laboratory techniques before transitioning to eight weeks of hands-on bench research. Research areas include biomedical sciences, biomedical engineering, big data analytics (including AI and image analysis), and neuroscience. You'll be mentored directly by a scientist or graduate student and present your findings in an oral presentation at the program's conclusion. Depending on the project, work may contribute to research publications, and students may continue beyond the internship period.
9. Harris Health Summer Junior Volunteer Program
Location: Ben Taub Hospital, LBJ Hospital, and Harris Health clinics across Harris County, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free; unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; program fills quickly
Dates: Summer months; typically 6–8 weeks
Application Deadline: Applications open in spring; check website for current cycle
Eligibility: High school students ages 14–18
The Harris Health Summer Junior Volunteer Program places high school students across Harris Health's hospital and clinic network, including Ben Taub Hospital, Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, and multiple ambulatory care centers throughout Harris County. Volunteers commit to a minimum of four hours per week over six to eight weeks and are assigned to tasks such as patient transport, meal cart assistance, nursing station support, and clerical duties. A mandatory orientation is held at the start of the program. While this is a volunteer experience rather than a structured program, it provides direct exposure to how a large public healthcare system operates and is particularly valuable for students interested in clinical medicine or hospital administration.
10. Baylor College of Medicine Saturday Morning Science (SMS) Summer Research Program
Location: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipend approximately equivalent to Texas minimum wage (taxable)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 11 – August 4
Application Deadline: April 18
Eligibility: High school students, 18+ by program start; prior Saturday Morning Science participation or affiliated partner institution required; U.S. citizen or permanent resident
The SMS Summer Research Program at Baylor College of Medicine is an eight-week lab-based internship for students who have previously participated in the Saturday Morning Science program or are affiliated with specific partner institutions (including Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M, and others serving underrepresented communities in medicine). You'll work 40 hours per week in a BCM faculty lab, with research areas spanning biomedical sciences broadly. Weekly "Lunch and Learn" sessions supplement bench work with professional development content, and the program concludes with the SMS Summer Research Symposium, where you present your findings to faculty and peers.
11. Rice University PATHS-UP Digital Health Young Scholars Program
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 12 students per cohort
Dates: Three weeks in summer (applications close in April; results announced in May)
Application Deadline: Early April
Eligibility: Current 10th and 11th-grade students residing in the Houston area; priority given to underrepresented and underserved communities
This free, three-week program at Rice University introduces 10th and 11th-grade students from the Houston area to engineering research with direct applications in healthcare. Working under the guidance of university staff, graduate students, and Houston-area educators, you'll combine instruments such as pulse oximeters, accelerometers, GPS devices, speakers, and microphones to understand digital design and construct an introductory healthcare device. The program culminates in a design challenge in which teams build, test, and pitch their solutions to a panel of judges. Participation builds skills in scientific writing, communication, and digital prototyping. The program is funded through a targeted grant and is open to Houston-area residents.
12. Rice University Bio Academies — BioMed and BioTech Tracks
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost: $599 per week (includes daily lunch)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited spaces; first-come, first-served with waitlist
Dates: One week in the summer
Application Deadline: Rolling registration; sessions sell out quickly
Eligibility: Current 9th–11th grade students; must have completed or be currently enrolled in high school biology
The Rice Bio Academies offer one-week, immersive summer programs for high school students through the Rice Center for STEM Engagement. The BioMed and BioTech tracks (for students in grades 9–11) focus on biomedical science, genetics, and biotechnology lab techniques with real-world applications. BioMed covers anatomy, prosthetic development, and engineering design; BioTech introduces genetics through hands-on bench techniques. Both tracks are taught with direct application of current biomedical research. Students must have completed a biology course or be currently enrolled in one to participate.
13. UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School High School Summer Research Program
Location: McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Houston, TX
Cost: $3,800 (includes registration and lab coats)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 8 – July 2
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school students, 16+ by program start date; rising juniors and seniors preferred
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston offers high school students a four-week placement in real biomedical research labs, where they work alongside faculty, medical students, and research staff. Accepted students are assigned to laboratories based on their stated preferences, and the program includes Monday morning didactic sessions covering introductory principles of biochemistry and molecular biology. Fridays are reserved for student-driven seminars and workshops. The program emphasizes both scientific skill development and professional communication, helping participants understand how to present and contextualize their work.