§ NC

Research programs in North Carolina.

24 local programs run in North Carolina, 15 of them free or paid, and 2 explicitly prioritize under-resourced or first-generation students. Plus 46 nationwide programs open to anyone in the US.

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Local to North Carolina

NC State University Global Training Initiative
36 Hours to Save the World / Global Challenge Weekend
Students form remote teams and spend 36 hours developing solutions to global sustainability and policy challenges before presenting to judges.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
NC State University Global Training Initiative
Advanced Research Duo Track
Ten-week advanced research program in which pairs of students work with an NC State faculty mentor toward conference- or manuscript-level research.
🎓 Grades 11–12
Moderate
UNC Charlotte Center for STEM Education / AEOP
AEOP High School Internship STEM Research Program
Rising juniors and seniors complete roughly 220–300 hours of faculty-mentored STEM research and present their findings through program research events.
🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
North Carolina Association for Scholastic Activities
Art Showcase
Students create work in painting, drawing, collage, photography and other media; top entries advance from school-level competition to statewide judging.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
College Foundation of North Carolina
Aubrey Lee Brooks Scholarship
Need-based scholarship for graduating seniors from fourteen designated North Carolina counties attending NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill or UNC Greensboro.
🎓 Grade 12
Selective
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
NC State University
Biomass to Brilliance: Engineering a Greener Future
Residential program explores biomass, paper engineering, biofuels, recycling, bioplastics and printed electronics through laboratory work.
🎓 Grades 11–12
Moderate
NCSSM-Durham
Blue Mirror
Primarily student-run art and literature journal publishing creative writing and visual work from NCSSM students multiple times each year.
🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
Brevard Music Center
Brevard Music Center High School Institute
Six-week classical music intensive in North Carolina mountains.
⏱ 6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
NCSSM-Durham
Broad Street Scientific
Student STEM research journal publishing original work by NCSSM-Durham Residential and NCSSM Online students.
🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Café Coordinators
High-school students organize monthly Teen Science Cafés, select topics, recruit speakers, market events and lead public science programming.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
North Carolina Zoo
Camp Crew
Teen volunteers assist zoo educators with wildlife camps, crafts, games and educational activities.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
North Carolina Community College System / NC DPI
Career and College Promise
North Carolina high-school students take tuition-free college courses through community-college and cooperative pathways and can earn transferable college credit before graduation.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
NC State University
Catalyst: Creating Opportunities in STEM for Students with Disabilities
Year-long STEM and college/career-readiness cohort with workshops, field experiences, certifications and access to paid STEM internships.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Duke University Department of Cell Biology
Cell Biology Academy (CeBA)
Six-week paid laboratory research academy for Triangle-area high-school students, with close mentoring in contemporary cell and molecular biology.
🎓 Grades 10–12
Selective
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Climate Resilience Camp
Students investigate climate change, resilience and environmental solutions through field and laboratory activities.
🎓 Grades 9–11
Moderate
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Code Your Own Adventure
Students combine coding, digital design, game development and 3-D modeling in a weeklong technology camp.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Duke Summer Session
Commuter Courses (High School)
High school students living in the local area can commute to Duke's campus to take courses for college credit during the summer.
📅 June🎓 Grades 10–11
Selective
Davidson College
Davidson Summer Promise Program
Free residential college-access program that begins before ninth grade and brings participants back to Davidson for annual summer enrichment through high school.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
NC State College of Design
Design Connections Residential Experience
Free residential design program for North Carolina students with limited access to design education; participants complete an interdisciplinary studio project.
🎓 Grades 10–12
Selective
Duke University
Duke Marine Lab Community Science Program
A hands-on summer research program at the Duke University Marine Lab focusing on ocean science and environmental justice.
⏱ 2 weeks📅 April🎓 Grades 10–11
Highly Selective
Duke Biomedical Engineering
Duke Research in Engineering Program (DukeREP)
Seven-week biomedical-engineering research placement where students work in Duke laboratories and participate in STEM seminars and research presentations.
🎓 Grades 10–11
Selective
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
Duke University Neuroscience Experience (DUNE)
Eight-week neuroscience research experience placing Durham-area students in Duke laboratories with research mentors, professional-development sessions and scientific presentations.
🎓 Grades 10–11
Highly Selective
City of Durham
Durham YouthWorks
Paid career-development program connecting Durham youth with work experiences, professional training and employer projects in several career pathways.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective

Nationwide programs open to North Carolina students

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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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