Top 11 STEM Virtual Research Opportunities for High School Students
In the rapidly advancing landscape of STEM education, research programs are an opportunity for high school students to get ahead of the game. However, residential and on-location programs are not accessible to everyone. In such cases, virtual programs are a great option allowing students to engage in cutting-edge research from home.
Why should you attend a STEM research program?
Engaging in STEM research during high school goes beyond acquiring scientific knowledge; it provides hands-on experience in experimentation, data analysis, and real-world problem-solving. Through the process, you will also complete projects that will demonstrate your dedication to the field and hence strengthen your college applications. This is in addition to the intellectual curiosity and collaborative skills that a research project will leave you with.
In order to help you get started, here are the top 10 virtual STEM research opportunities for high school students.
1. Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC) Online
Application deadline: February 1, 2024
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors with certain academic prerequisites (depending on the chosen track)
Program dates: Session 1 from June 17, 2024 – July 5, 2024, Session July 8, 2024 – July 26, 2024
Fee: $3,550
Financial assistance: Available
SUMaC is an intensive summer program designed for high school students with a strong interest in studying math. Through lectures, guided research, and group problem solving, the program takes students through advanced mathematical concepts in a college-level setting. In the online version of this program, you will attend live online classes in one of two academic tracks — Abstract Algebra & Number Theory or Algebraic Topology.
As part of the curriculum, you will also work on a research project and present it towards the end of the program. Additionally, there will be guest lectures and workshops for all participants. With only 64 students accepted into the program, do keep in mind that admission can be quite competitive.
2. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Application deadline: Four cohorts throughout the year, applications due in February, May, September, and December, apply here.
Eligibility: All high school students
Program dates: There are four cohorts throughout the year in spring, summer, fall, and winter
Fee: $2800 (12 week program), $5400 (16-20 week program), $8900 (6-12 month program).
Founded by researchers at Harvard and Oxford, Lumiere is a program for high school students to produce university-level research papers. Each student is paired with a top PhD and receives 1-1 coaching from their mentor.
There is a wide range of subjects to choose from, including STEM fields like data science, chemistry engineering, computer science and medicine. The programs are fully virtual and vary in duration based on the student’s end goal concerning how much of a deep dive they would prefer.
You can also consider the Lumiere Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.
Application deadline: Program runs in cohorts throughout the year. Upcoming Spring deadline is February 25, 2024.
Eligibility: For the AI Fellowship program, applicants will either need to complete the AI Scholars program or have had past experience with AI concepts or Python.
Program dates: Rolling. Upcoming sessions start March 10, 2025. You can apply here!
Fee: $1,790 for the AI Scholars program (The 10-week bootcamp), $4,900 for the AI Fellowship (the 12–15-week, 1-1 mentorship)
Financial assistance: Need-based financial aid is available.
Veritas AI offers a spectrum of AI programs designed for high school students, ranging from small-group learning experiences to personalized project pathways with one-on-one mentorship. In the AI Scholars program, participants collaborate with Ph.D. mentors from top institutions, gaining proficiency in Python, and mastering essential concepts in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.
The AI Fellowship program empowers students to embark on a self-directed AI project, guided by a mentor throughout a 12-15 week period. Students can opt to create research papers from scratch and submit them to high school journals for publication. Run by Harvard graduate students & alumni, these virtual programs are a great way to learn the fundamentals of coding and build experience creating AI models.
4. Center for Talented Youth’s Programs
Application deadline: January 9, 2024 (You can apply anytime for individually paced courses)
Eligibility: Open to students from grades 2 to 12, changing with each course
Program dates: Spring and summer cohorts are available, individually paced courses run through the whole year
Fee: In between $955 and $2,130, depending on the course
Financial assistance: Limited financial aid is available
The CTY is a non-profit that provides educational programs to train students in more advanced and challenging subjects in-depth. The online programs come in three formats — session-based courses with a balance of structure and flexibility, individually paced courses where you work at your own pace, and live sessions that include synchronous, real-time classes. You can choose from a number of different STEM courses, each of which usually involves hands-on assignments or projects that will hone your research skills and creativity.
5. Horizon Academic Research Program
Location: Virtual
Application Date: May 21, 2024 for the summer cohort, and September 25, 2024 for the fall cohort
Program Dates:
Summer seminar - June 24, 2024 - September 2, 2024
Fall seminar - October 23, 2024 - February 19, 2025
Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 weeks in advance.
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a couple of tracks require formal prerequisites, more details of which can be found here.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and more! It is one of the very few research programs for high school students that offers a choice between quantitative and qualitative research!
Once you select a particular subject track and type of research you’ll be paired with a professor or Ph.D. scholar (from a top university) who will mentor you throughout your research journey. You’ll work to create a 20-page, university-level research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student.
This program is a solid opportunity for you to pursue a research program in highly specialized fields, under the guidance of a top scholar. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student, as well as detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects and on college applications. Apply here!
6. Jump Start Program at University of Maryland
Application deadline: Qualified applicants will be accepted on a rolling basis from March 15 until April 15 or until the program reaches its capacity.
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who have completed at least one year of high school biology
Program dates: July
Fee: $300
The Jump Start Program is a science program that focuses on modern life sciences research and has both, an in-person and a virtual track. As a participant, you will attend discussions, case studies, scientific investigations, and professional development workshops. Previous courses have also included virtual laboratory activities. The two virtual tracks for 2023 were Biomedical Science and Our Microbial World and each course will focus on teaching you research tools and analysis.
7. UC San Diego’s Academic Connections
Application deadline: June 14, 2024
Eligibility: All high school students (individual courses may have prerequisites)
Program dates: July 1, 2024 - July 26, 2024
Fee: $1,500
Academic Connections is a program for high-achieving high school students to learn from UCSD’s faculty of scientists and researchers. The program offers several different courses including STEM options like Introduction to Biophysics, Introduction to Python Programming, Microbiology and Social Justice of Famous and Forgotten Diseases, and Python Advanced Topics. At the end of the program, you will receive an official transcript as well as six units of UCSD Extension pre-college credit!
The university’s Research Scholars courses also have a few online and hybrid options that you could consider.
8. Georgetown University’s Medical Research Program
Application deadline: Varying deadlines for each cohort
Eligibility: Students aged 13 and up
Program dates: Program runs in cohorts throughout the year with options for 1-week, 2-week or 4-week sessions
Fee: Up to $1,795
An ideal choice for students interested in STEM, pharmaceuticals or medical school, this program explores clinical research, evidence-based medicine, ethical considerations, and cancer research's impact on healthcare. The curriculum heavily focuses on research as it includes a capstone project where you will develop your own study.
In the end, you will create a video presentation showing the components of the scientific method for clinical trials. Over 20-30 hours of instruction and with guidance from a mentor, you will dive into the specifics of medical research.
Application deadline: February (tentative, based on previous years)
Eligibility: Rising sophomores
Program dates: June 26, 2023 - July 14, 2023
Fee: $4,000
Stanford AI4ALL is a three-week online program designed to increase diversity in AI. Participants engage in hands-on learning experiences, exploring the applications of AI in various fields like medicine or poverty alleviation.
Through the program, you will attend lectures, receive mentoring from senior researchers and work on hands-on research projects in small groups led by graduate students. The curriculum also includes guest talks and career development workshops. It’s a great way to learn about computer science, AI and other related fields.
10. George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Application deadline: February 11, 2024
Eligibility: Students who are at least 15 years old
Program dates: June 18, 2024 - August 9, 2024
Fee: Free
If you’re looking to get cutting-edge research experience while working one-on-one with a faculty researcher, consider this program. Through the internship, you will develop scientific writing skills, explore STEM careers and learn how to conduct innovative research. There are several mentors from different fields of research and many of them do offer remote internships, including those from applied proteomics, spatial information systems, chemistry, computer science, mathematics and physics. Previous participants have had their names published in scientific journals or have presented their work at conferences.
11. Rice University’s Pre-College STEM Program
Application deadline: Varies with each course
Eligibility: Students who are between the ages of 13 and 19 and haven’t been out of high school for more than a year
Program dates: Multi-length courses available throughout the year
Fee: Up to $1,495 per course
Financial assistance: Need-based scholarships are available
As a pre-college offering, this program isn’t as competitive or prestigious as some of the other options on this list. However, if you’re looking to study STEM subjects at the university level and learn from college faculty then you can consider this option. As a participant, you can sign up for as many courses as you like, making this an ideal program to explore a variety of fields.
The currently available courses include genome engineering, physiology, space exploration and psychology. Toward the end of the program, you will work on a capstone project and present your learnings.
If you’re looking to build unique projects in the field of AI/ML, consider applying to Veritas AI!
Veritas AI was founded by Harvard graduate students, and through the programs, you get a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI and computer science while collaborating on real-world projects. You can also work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn data science and AI with us. You can apply here!
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