Research programs in Massachusetts.

Local to Massachusetts

1. Boston University

   Academic Immersion

   Spend three weeks immersing yourself in the study of psychology, business, medicine, or creative writing.

   📅 May🎓 Grades 9–12

   Highly Selective
2. UMass Amherst

   Avian Physiology Lab Research Intensive

   Students spend six weeks embedded in the Gerson Lab studying how birds physiologically respond to extreme environmental conditions and contribute to ongoing faculty research before presenting a poster.

   🎓 Grades 11–12

   Moderate
3. Babson College

   Babson Summer Study

   Earn college credit in entrepreneurship at the #1 ranked program.

   ⏱ 3 weeks📅 March🎓 Grades 11–12

   Moderate
4. Berklee College of Music

   Bass Workshop

   Students age 15+ receive intensive bass instruction and performance training with Berklee faculty and professional musicians.

   🎓 Grades 9–12

   Moderate
5. Berklee

   Berklee Aspire

   Five-week music performance intensive in Boston for musicians ages 15 and up.

   ⏱ 1 week📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12

   Moderate
6. Berklee College of Music

   Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance

   Five-week immersive music performance program.

   ⏱ 5 weeks📅 January🎓 Grades 9–12

   Highly Selective
7. Berklee College of Music

   Berklee Online Summer Courses

   Students age 14+ can take twelve-week accredited online Berklee courses in songwriting, music production, theory, music business, and related areas, with college-credit options.

   🎓 Grades 9–12

   Moderate
8. Biogen

   Biogen Community Lab

   Free hands-on biotech labs and high school research opportunities at Biogen sites.

   ⏱ Day to weeks📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
9. MIT

   Blueprint by HackMIT

   Annual learnathon and hackathon for HS students at MIT.

   ⏱ 2 days📅 Winter🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
10. City of Boston

    Boston Mayor's Youth Council

    Boston high-school students represent youth in city government, collaborate with officials, and develop projects addressing community and civic issues.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
11. City of Boston

    Boston SuccessLink

    Free paid summer employment program for Boston youth ages 14-18.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
12. Boston University

    Boston University Lab Apprenticeship in Science & Technology (BLAST)

    Boston-area students participate in a paid biomedical-science internship featuring laboratory practicums and mentoring; the longer-term program can lead into immersive laboratory research.

    🎓 Grades 11–12

    Highly Selective
13. Boston University

    Boston University PROMYS

    Six-week intensive mathematics program (also listed independently).

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12

    Highly Selective
14. Boston University

    Boston University Research in Science & Engineering (RISE)

    Six-week summer research program in 14 STEM disciplines.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 11–12

    Highly Selective
15. Berklee College of Music

    Brass Workshop

    Students age 15+ study brass performance with Berklee faculty through intensive instruction and ensemble work.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
16. Broad Institute (MIT & Harvard)

    Broad Summer Scholars Program

    Paid genomics research for Boston-area rising seniors from underrepresented groups.

    ⏱ 6 weeks (summer)📅 January🎓 Grade 11

    Selective
17. Harvard GSD

    Career Discovery in Architecture

    Six-week summer program for HS juniors and seniors exploring careers in design at Harvard.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 April🎓 Grades 11–12

    Moderate
18. Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

    Clean Energy Internship Program — High School Vocational Track

    Eligible Massachusetts vocational-technical high-school students can obtain paid internships with clean-energy and water-innovation employers during the academic year and summer.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
19. Smith College

    College Readiness Program

    Rising juniors and seniors spend a residential week strengthening academic skills and preparing for college applications and the transition to university study. The 2026 fee was $2,795.

    🎓 Grades 11–12

    Highly Selective
20. Smith College

    Creative Writing Workshop

    Students spend two weeks developing creative writing through an iterative workshop process across multiple forms and genres.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
21. UMass Amherst

    Developmental Neurobiology: Neural Stem Cells and Brain Development Lab

    Students use zebrafish to investigate nervous-system development, neural stem-cell proliferation, brain growth, and gene expression alongside the Karlstrom Lab.

    🎓 Grades 11–12

    Moderate
22. Berklee College of Music

    Drums and Percussion Workshop

    Students explore rhythm, technique, performance, and contemporary percussion with Berklee instructors.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate

Nationwide programs open to Massachusetts students

1. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP)

   AEOP High School Apprenticeship Program

   Students work alongside Army scientists and engineers on cutting-edge research projects in world-class laboratories.

   ⏱ 8 weeks📅 Early March🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
2. American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)

   AFSA National High School Essay Contest

   An essay contest designed to engage students in thinking about peace and conflict resolution.

   📅 February 15🎓 Grades 11–12

   Selective
3. Carnegie Mellon University

   AI Scholars at CMU

   Free AI-focused summer program for rising seniors underrepresented in computing.

   ⏱ 4 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grade 11

   Selective
4. AI4ALL

   AI4ALL Open Learning

   Girls in grades 6-12 learn AI and Python through interactive virtual classes.

   ⏱ 2 weeks📅 March 1🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
5. Mathematical Association of America

   AIME

   Invitational round for top AMC scorers. 15-question, 3-hour exam that gates the USAMO. No fee for invited students.

   ⏱ 3 hours📅 February🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
6. Freedom Forum

   Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference

   An all-expenses-paid journalism conference for one student from every US state and DC.

   ⏱ 1 week📅 February 15🎓 Grade 11

   Selective
7. Amazon

   Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship

   Scholarship for high school seniors planning to study computer science in college.

   ⏱ 4 years scholarship📅 December 1🎓 Grade 12

   Selective
8. Mathematical Association of America

   AMC 10/12

   The entry-level American Mathematics Competition. Top scorers qualify for AIME and the path to the USAMO. Open to all US high schoolers; school registration required.

   ⏱ 75 minutes📅 November🎓 Grades 9–12

   Moderate
9. ACSL

   American Computer Science League (ACSL)

   A multi-division computer science competition covering both theory and programming.

   ⏱ School year📅 November 30🎓 Grades 9–12

   Moderate
10. Amgen Foundation

    Amgen Scholars Future Track

    Free online biotech simulations and pipeline programs preparing high schoolers for biomedical research.

    ⏱ Self-paced📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
11. Apple Inc.

    Apple Swift Student Challenge

    Swift coding competition hosted by Apple to showcase creativity and app development skills.

    ⏱ 1 month📅 February🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
12. Berklee College of Music

    Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive

    The world's premier summer performance program for contemporary music, including jazz, rock, and pop.

    ⏱ 5 weeks📅 March 1🎓 Grades 10–12

    Moderate
13. NCWIT

    Award for Aspirations in Computing (AiC)

    Award for girls and non-binary students in computing, providing recognition and a cash prize.

    ⏱ One-time📅 April 15🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
14. Bard College at Simon's Rock

    Bard College at Simon's Rock Young Writers Workshop

    A 3-week residential program where students engage in creative and analytical thinking through literature and history.

    ⏱ 3 weeks📅 April 1🎓 Grades 10–12

    Moderate
15. MIT Lincoln Lab

    Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)

    Free MIT-led project-based courses in AI, robotics, cybersecurity.

    ⏱ 4 weeks (summer)📅 Early February🎓 Grade 11

    Selective
16. ELASH / Bebras US

    Bebras Computing Challenge (US)

    An international computational thinking and informatics competition. Students can take the test remotely or through a local school coordinator.

    ⏱ 45 minutes📅 Early February🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
17. Bennington College

    Bennington Young Writers Awards

    A prestigious creative writing competition for students to win cash prizes and publication.

    📅 January 12🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
18. Black Girls CODE

    Black Girls CODE Workshops

    Program that provides coding workshops and tech exposure to young girls of color.

    ⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
19. Blue Ocean Strategy / various

    Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneurship Competition

    Free global pitch competition with cash prizes. Teams pitch a novel business idea via video; finalists present live.

    ⏱ 3 months📅 February🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
20. Breakthrough

    Breakthrough Collaborative

    Free summer and school-year academic program for first-generation, low-income middle schoolers; high schoolers can serve as teaching fellows.

    ⏱ Multi-year📅 Spring🎓 Grades 6–12

    Selective

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