15 Science Programs for High School Students in New York City (NYC)
If you are a high school student interested in scientific subjects, structured programs offer a way to move beyond textbook learning into real research environments. They allow you to develop practical lab skills, professional experience, and connections with scientists who can shape your academic path. Whether you are drawn to neuroscience, cancer biology, ecology, or engineering, there are options available through universities, hospitals, and research institutions that offer exposure of the kind that no classroom can provide.
Why should you attend a science program in New York City?
New York City is home to universities, hospitals, museums, and research institutes that offer science programs across a wide range of disciplines. Organizations such as the American Museum of Natural History, Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center give students opportunities to engage with scientific research through laboratory work, mentorship, field studies, and academic coursework. These programs can be valuable whether you are interested in pursuing research, exploring a specific scientific field, or gaining experience in a professional scientific environment.
We have narrowed the list to 15 science programs for high school students in New York City.
If you’re looking for online summer programs, check out our blog here.
1. AMNH Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP)
Location: American Museum of Natural History, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free. Participants earn a stipend of $2,500 upon completion
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Academic year (August – June)
Application deadline: March 1
Eligibility: NYC high school students in grades 10–11. Additionally, students need to have either completed/be taking a course in one of six programs, or be attending one of SRMP’s partner schools or programs
SRMP is a year-long paid research experience at the American Museum of Natural History that pairs you with a working Museum scientist from August through June. The program opens with a four-week Summer Institute, running Monday through Friday, covering data science foundations, equity frameworks, and lab orientation before the academic-year research begins. From September onward, you will meet with your scientist mentor twice a week after school for a minimum of two hours per session, plus once or twice a month on Friday afternoons for group workshops covering science careers, presentation skills, and guest lectures. Research areas include astrophysics, biology, anthropology, and genomics, and every project is tied to something the Museum is actively investigating. The program closes with the SRMP Colloquium in June, where you will present a scientific poster and deliver an oral talk on your findings. College readiness support, including one free Kaplan SAT or ACT prep course, is built into the program schedule.
2. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies as per program. Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars. You can apply here.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Application deadline: Rolling. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students looking to get started in AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and have the opportunity to work on real-world projects. Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, you get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that you have access to the in-house publication team to help you secure publications in high school research journals. You can also check out some examples of past projects here.
3. NYU ARISE (Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering)
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: Free! Students receive a $2,000 stipend.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly selective
Dates: June 1 – 25 for the remote workshops, followed by the lab experience from July 6 to August 14
Application Deadline: February 27
Eligibility: Current 10th or 11th graders who live in one of the five NYC boroughs
ARISE is a 10-week summer research program that places you in an active NYU faculty lab across disciplines, including biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil and urban engineering, and computer science. The first four weeks consist of remote evening workshops in June covering scientific ethics, lab safety, data collection, and research methods. The program eventually shifts to six weeks of full-time, in-person lab work, during which you contribute directly to your research team's ongoing projects. Applicants apply broadly to the ARISE program and are matched to labs through a group interview and tour process rather than a specific lab placement. The program concludes with a colloquium at NYU and a poster symposium at the American Museum of Natural History.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; financial assistance offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Sessions run throughout the year, including in the summer
Application deadline: Varies by cohort. You can apply here.
Eligibility: High school students; accepted students typically have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4.0
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 physics, data science, computer science, engineering, and more.
5. Rockefeller University LAB Jumpstart
Location: The Rockefeller University, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free! Students earn a $500 stipend in phase one and a $3,250 stipend in phase two
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective, only 16 students per cohort
Dates: February 26 – June 11 for phase one, June 22 – August 6 for phase two
Application deadline: January 2
Eligibility: NYC high school juniors or seniors, age 16 or older at program start
LAB Jumpstart runs in two consecutive phases spanning spring and summer. During the spring, you will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays on the Rockefeller campus, building foundational molecular biology skills, learning to read primary scientific literature, and connecting with scientist-mentors in the RockEDU teaching laboratory. You are also paired with a Jumpstart Advocate, a practicing scientist who provides educational and professional guidance beyond the lab sessions. The summer phase transitions into the Rockefeller Summer Science Research Program (SSRP), where you join a Tri-Institutional research team from Rockefeller, Weill Cornell, and Memorial Sloan Kettering and work full-time. The program closes with a "Celebrating Science" poster session where you share your research with scientists, peers, and family.
6. Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)
Location: The Rockefeller University, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective, only around 32 students per batch
Dates: June 22 – August 6
Application deadline: January 2
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors at least 16 years old at program start
SSRP is a seven-week full-time research experience open to high school students nationally, placing you on a Tri-Institutional research team led by scientific trainees from Rockefeller, Weill Cornell, and MSK. The first week orients you to the team's research topic and lab environment, and from there, you select an individual research question to investigate, collect and analyze your data, and design a poster presenting your conclusions. The team structure is like that of a real working laboratory: there are lead researchers, supporting scientists, and peer collaborators, and you learn to function within that environment as the weeks progress. Elective courses, guest lectures, and workshops run alongside the lab work throughout the summer, and the program closes with a symposium where all SSRP students present their findings.
7. Simons-NYU Science Explorations Program
Location: New York University, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free!
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, only around 80 students per batch
Dates: July 5 – 25
Application deadline: March 13
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors, seniors, or recent graduates who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and at least age 16
This fully funded three-week residential program brings students from across the country to NYU's Manhattan campus for college-level science coursework across five disciplines: biology, chemistry, neural science, physics, and psychology. NYU faculty lead all sessions, and the coursework is at an introductory college level, meaning you will encounter scientific reasoning and lab techniques that go beyond what most high school curricula cover. Labs are hands-on and directly tied to the day's lecture content, so theoretical and practical work reinforce each other throughout the program. You will also have the chance to connect with researchers during and after sessions, building relationships with faculty who are actively working across these fields. This program is a good option if you want to get a broader picture of how the sciences connect before you commit to a single college track.
8. CCNY College Now STEM Research Academy
Location: City College of New York, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free, with a stipend of $1,575 for students who complete the summer phase
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective. Only 25 students are selected for the spring course, of which only 10 advance to the summer internship
Dates: Spring: February 10 – May 23 | Summer: July 6 – August 6
Application deadline: January 16
Eligibility: NYC high school sophomores or juniors with a minimum GPA of 80, who also meet the specific NYS Regents score criteria or have an 85+ GPA in English or U.S. History
This two-phase program begins with a 45-hour spring research science course at CCNY covering DNA, genetic instructions, experimental design, and scientific communication, run on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons across the spring semester. Students who perform well go on to a five-week summer research internship, during which each student is matched with a CUNY or CCNY faculty mentor based on their area of interest and works in that researcher's lab four to five days per week. The summer work is real faculty research, where you will be paired with a mentor working on an active project. Both phases carry academic credit: the spring course can count toward a high school science elective and the summer toward one college credit, both subject to your school's approval. The summer closes with a research presentation on the CCNY campus and a poster session at the American Museum of Natural History.
9. Lamont-Doherty Secondary School Field Research Program (SSFRP)
Location: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY (approximately 30 miles from Manhattan)
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Six weeks in summer
Application deadline: March 2
Eligibility: NYC high school students nominated and selected through partner schools, whose science teachers are co-participating in the program
SSFRP places you in six weeks of field and laboratory research at the Piermont Marsh, part of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve, under the mentorship of Lamont-Doherty researchers, Columbia graduate students, and undergraduate near-peer mentors. Research topics shift from year to year based on the science team's current interests, and past projects have covered sediment accumulation, nutrient cycling, groundwater chemistry, invasive plant management, microplastics, and the construction of rechargeable batteries powered by soil bacteria. You will work through the full scientific cycle, reading and discussing relevant literature, designing and refining sampling protocols, collecting field data, running laboratory experiments on your samples, and presenting your findings at an end-of-summer symposium. You are treated as early-career scientists throughout the program rather than as observers, making this a solid program choice if you’re more interested in hands-on work rather than advanced classroom learning.
10. Columbia Engineering the Next Generation (ENG)
Location: Columbia University Fu Foundation School of Engineering, New York, NY
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly selective
Dates: July 6 – August 13
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors from the Harlem area who are interested in engineering and the social sciences
ENG places you in a Columbia Engineering research lab for six weeks, working directly with faculty, graduate students, and postdocs on active projects across biomedical engineering, environmental engineering, computer science, and urban technology. The Center for Smart Streetscapes track focuses on how technology shapes communities in Harlem, with research touching on AI, computer vision, IoT devices, and transportation engineering, alongside questions about community trust and privacy. Research skills seminars and science communication workshops run alongside the lab work, and the program closes with a poster symposium where you present your findings. There is also an opportunity for your work to be considered for publication in the Columbia Research Scholars Journal. A formal college letter of recommendation is issued upon completion of the program.
11. MSK Summer Student Program
Location: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free! Participants earn a $1,200 stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective
Dates: June 29 – August 21
Application deadline: February 6
Eligibility: Current high school juniors with a minimum 3.5 GPA in science, permanent address within 25 miles of MSK's main campus, age 14 or older
Each intern is placed in an active cancer research lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering for eight weeks, paired with a mentor who supervises a self-directed project tied to the lab's ongoing work. Research areas span immuno-oncology, pharmacology, developmental biology, and computational genomics, and the work you complete is genuine lab research rather than a structured curriculum with predetermined outcomes. You will attend lab meetings, build technical skills relevant to your placement, and develop a project that supports the principal investigator's research objectives. Professional development events organized by MSK departments run alongside the lab work, giving you direct exposure to translational medicine and the full range of careers within a major cancer research institution.
12. Biorocket Research Internship Program at Genspace
Location: Genspace, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: Free! Interns earn a $2,000 stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Spring session: February 25 – May 21 | Summer session: July 6 – August 14
Application deadline: Early January
Eligibility: NYC public or charter high school students, age 16 or older by orientation date, who live or attend school within 45 minutes of Genspace
Biorocket is a 6-month internship at Genspace's Brooklyn lab, where you will build foundational skills in genetic engineering and modern biology techniques, including DNA sequencing, genetic modification, and basic bioinformatics. Science communication is treated as a core skill rather than an add-on, with improv-based workshops running throughout the spring to help you explain complex scientific ideas clearly to different audiences. In the summer phase, you will complete an original research project at an external lab placement under the guidance of scientist mentors. Past sites have included Columbia Engineering, Weill Cornell Medicine, and NYC life science companies. Lab tours and field trips to local biotech institutions run throughout the program, and participants finish by drafting an original scientific paper based on their summer project.
13. BRAINYAC at Columbia University's Zuckerman Institute
Location: Columbia University, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely selective
Dates: Summer, exact dates vary by project
Application deadline: October 31
Eligibility: 10th and 11th-grade high schoolers who are New York City residents and enrolled in one of the Zuckerman Institute partner programs – S-PREP, BioBus, Lang Youth Medical, Columbia Secondary School, or Double Discovery Center.
BRAINYAC places you in a Columbia neuroscience lab for a seven-week full-time summer internship, working on experiments connected to active faculty research in areas like brain development, neurodegeneration, and cognitive function. Before the summer begins, Saturday training sessions in the spring cover lab techniques, neuroanatomy, and how to read and critically discuss scientific papers, so that by the time you enter the lab, you already have context for what you are doing and why. Your mentor is a Columbia neuroscientist who guides you through the research process, from experimental design through data analysis, and weekly Thursday sessions cover additional neuroscience topics throughout the summer. The program closes with a formal poster presentation at the Zuckerman Institute.
14. MSK Bridge to Biostats Summer Program (B2BSP)
Location: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Manhattan, NY
Cost: Free! Students are also paid a stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: June 29 – August 14
Application deadline: February 20
Eligibility: NYC high school students
B2BSP introduces you to biostatistics and data science through the specific context of cancer research over seven weeks at MSK. You will receive training in statistics fundamentals and R programming through a mix of lectures and computing labs, working directly with real cancer datasets under the guidance of MSK biostatisticians. "Statistical thinking" sessions run throughout the program on topics such as data ethics, p-values, sampling bias, and the distinction between correlation and causation, all advanced concepts and tools you will use in your own analysis. SAT preparation and college-readiness workshops are also part of the schedule. The program closes with a presentation of a cancer-focused data analysis project that you develop and complete over the final weeks, delivered to an audience of MSK researchers and program staff.
15. Columbia University Science Honors Program (SHP)
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $900 per year
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly competitive
Dates: September 20 – April 25 on Saturday mornings
Application Deadline: April 15
Eligibility: 10th-12th graders attending a high school in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut within a 75-mile radius of Columbia's campus
SHP places you in a Saturday morning course taught by an active Columbia researcher or scientist for the full academic year, from September through April. The curriculum rotates year to year across the physical, chemical, biological, behavioral, and computing sciences, and recent offerings have included Relativistic Astrophysics, Organic Chemistry with Laboratory, Principles of Immunology, Eukaryotic Genetics and Genomics, Quantum Theory and Its Applications, and Chaos and Fractals. The coursework is designed for students who are already strong in math and science and want material that pushes beyond what a standard high school curriculum offers.