If you are a high school student in New York City with a serious interest in research, you are already in an unusually well-positioned place. The city and its surrounding metropolitan area are home to some of the most active scientific, historical, and environmental research institutions in the world — among them Columbia University, Rockefeller University, NYU, and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Knowing that these institutions exist and knowing how to access them are two different things, however.
For New York students who know where to look, this concentration of institutions means that some of the most advanced research in the country is accessible within a subway ride.
Research programs for high school students offer something that classroom instruction alone cannot: the experience of working on an open question alongside experienced researchers. Whether your interests lie in cancer biology, neuroscience, engineering, or American history, there is likely a program in or near New York City designed to accommodate that curiosity.
The research opportunities described in this guide range from free stipend-bearing laboratory placements to cost-involved programs offering college credit, reflecting the full breadth of what New York’s research institutions have made available to motivated young scholars. Taken together, these programs provide a strong foundation for students who want to approach university study not just with academic credentials but with genuine experience doing the kind of intellectual work that research demands.
This guide covers sixteen of the most substantive research programs currently available to high school students in the New York City area — spanning STEM and the humanities, with options that are entirely free, stipend-bearing, or cost-involved. Eligibility requirements, formats, and application timelines vary considerably, so read each entry carefully before deciding where to direct your effort.
For high school students, research programs offer something distinct from other academic enrichment activities: the experience of working on a genuine question without a predetermined answer. This is, at its core, what research is — an extended inquiry into something no one fully understands yet. It requires intellectual tolerance for uncertainty, the ability to work methodically over weeks or months, and the willingness to revise a hypothesis when evidence does not cooperate. Learning to formulate research questions that are both answerable and genuinely unresolved is itself a skill that most classroom environments have little time to teach — and one that the programs in this guide develop explicitly.
New York City students have access to an unusual concentration of research institutions. Within commuting distance of most of the five boroughs, students can find biomedical research at Rockefeller University, earth and environmental science at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, neuroscience at the Columbia Zuckerman Institute, and archival historical research at the New York Historical Society and the Schomburg Center.
The programs housed within these institutions give students access to working researchers, real primary materials, and questions that have not yet been answered.
What a research experience develops — the ability to formulate a question, design a method, collect and interpret evidence, and communicate findings — is a set of intellectual competencies that translates directly into university-level work and beyond. Students who complete serious research programs often describe the experience as a turning point: the moment when academic interest became something more like a vocation.
Students who complete a rigorous high school research program often describe it as their first genuine encounter with university level research — work that is evaluated not by whether it produces the right answer, but by whether it is conducted with intellectual honesty and methodological care.
There are many research programs for high school students, which usually fall into three main categories:
The best research programs are usually university-driven because their institutionally defined standards and oversight help guarantee a rigorous academic experience for all who participate. There are also select non-profit opportunities that provide analogous experiences, especially when they offer the highest quality of mentorship, a high degree of student agency, and/or clearly defined academic outcomes.
The sixteen programs featured in this guide were selected based on the following criteria:
NYU ARISE (Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering) is a free ten-week summer research program that places New York City high school students in active NYU research laboratories across more than 80 projects in fields including biomedical engineering, computer science, data science, electrochemical engineering, cellular biology, and materials science.
Because eligibility is restricted to full-time NYC residents attending NYC schools, ARISE is specifically designed for the students most likely to be reading this guide. The program includes both a research component and a professional development curriculum, concluding with a public symposium at which students present their work; the $2,000 stipend ensures the program is financially accessible across the city’s economic range.
As a summer research internship at a major research university, ARISE is particularly well-suited to students who want structured laboratory experience but have not yet settled on a specific scientific discipline. Students interesting in learning more should check out our full guide to the ARISE program.
The Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program is among the most competitive university research experiences available to high school students in the country: each summer, approximately 32 students are placed full-time in Rockefeller University laboratories. Students are placed across a wide range of research areas, including molecular biology, immunology, neuroscience, biophysics, and biochemistry, reflecting the breadth of the university’s own scientific enterprise.
Students commit to a full-time schedule of approximately 35 hours per week and agree not to use their Rockefeller research in any science competition — a condition that reflects the institution’s intent for students to participate as genuine scientific collaborators rather than as competitors building an extracurricular profile.
We have detailed the Rockefeller University SSRP program, so if you are interested in learning more about the application details and whether the program is worth it, we encourage you to check out our full guide here.
The Pioneer Research Institute is a fully online, university-driven research program in which high school students work one-on-one with a university professor over 12 or 25 weeks to complete an original research paper in a field of their choosing — spanning the sciences, mathematics, social sciences, and the humanities.
PRI is particularly well-suited to students who want the depth and academic structure of a university-supervised research experience but whose schedule, geography, or research interests are not served by the in-person programs in this guide; students earn four credits through Oberlin College upon completion.
If you are
LAB Jumpstart is a two-phase Rockefeller University program that begins with an after-school spring component — meeting twice per week at the Rockefeller campus — and transitions into a full-time summer laboratory placement; students who apply must commit to both phases, and the program is designed to build scientific thinking and research skills incrementally across the full arc.
The combined spring and summer commitment distinguishes this program from single-season offerings and provides a depth of laboratory experience that a shorter placement cannot replicate.
Students who arrive with a background in junior science coursework — whether through science olympiad, research electives, or independent study — often find that the spring phase of the program provides an ideal bridge between their existing scientific interests and the expectations of professional laboratory research.
BRAINYAC (Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia) places high school students in active neuroscience laboratories at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute for Mind Brain Behavior, where they work one-on-one with scientist mentors on projects in behavioral neuroscience, cognitive science, and cellular and molecular brain research.
Students placed through the program work under the direct supervision of Columbia faculty and postdoctoral researchers for whom the questions they investigate are active areas of inquiry rather than educational demonstrations with predetermined outcomes.
The AMNH Science Research Mentoring Program is one of the few programs in this guide that runs for a full academic year: students matched with Museum scientists work on projects across astrophysics, paleontology, comparative genomics, ecology, and other disciplines reflecting the Museum’s own research mission, and earn one college credit through CUNY Lehman College upon completion.
The program culminates in a research symposium at which students present their findings to Museum scientists, educators, and peers — providing structured experience in scientific communication that complements the laboratory and field work of the preceding months.
Like BRAINYAC, the SRMP does not accept direct public applications; access runs through partner programs and partner schools, and students should contact their school counselor to determine whether an institutional pathway into the program is available to them.
The Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP) Summer Student Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center places high school juniors in cancer research laboratories for an eight-week full-time internship, with students matched to mentors — typically postdoctoral researchers, senior graduate students, or research technicians — in areas including immuno-oncology, pharmacology, developmental biology, and computational genomics.
For students considering stem careers in oncology, pharmacology, or translational medicine, the HOPP program provides a realistic early encounter with what research at one of the world’s most recognized cancer centers actually involves.
YES in THE HEIGHTS is a summer internship at Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) in which up to 21 students per cohort participate in cancer research laboratories, clinical rotations, and professional development workshops designed to develop both scientific competency and understanding of how research translates into patient care.
With an acceptance rate below 10% for high school applicants, YES in THE HEIGHTS is among the most selective programs in this guide; applicants are evaluated holistically, with particular weight given to demonstrated intellectual curiosity and growth potential.
The program spans two summers for returning participants, deepening the research experience over time. YES in THE HEIGHTS draws students from across the new york city metro area — including Westchester County, Rockland County, and Bergen County — reflecting the HICCC’s regional commitment to building a more diverse pipeline into cancer research and clinical science.
The Baruch College Now STEM Research Academy is a two-phase program beginning with a competitive spring research methods course — capped at 25 students — that teaches scientific literature review, experimental design, hypothesis formation, and data interpretation, followed by a five-to-six-week summer laboratory internship with CUNY faculty.
The program draws on CUNY’s broader research network — including faculty and facilities from Baruch, city college, and other campuses — to provide students with mentors whose work spans environmental science, public health, and the biological sciences.
The program’s explicit focus on students from historically underrepresented groups in science reflects its mission to widen access to research experience. Students interested in applying should be aware that the December deadline arrives earlier than most other programs in this guide.
HK Maker Lab is a Columbia Engineering program that combines the first three weeks of Columbia’s Summer High School Academic Program for Engineers (SHAPE) with a two-week Health Equity Hackathon in which student teams develop engineering-based solutions to real public health challenges — providing a structured introduction to engineering design principles and collaborative problem-solving.
Students who complete the program and go on to pursue independent projects have used skills developed here in engineering fair submissions and regional design competitions, though HK Maker Lab itself is structured around applied problem-solving rather than competition preparation.
Eligibility is restricted to students from high-need NYC schools who meet the program’s family income criteria, reflecting HK Maker Lab’s mission to bring engineering education to students who would not otherwise encounter it. Students who complete both phases of the program build skills in engineering design, collaborative decision-making, and evidence-based advocacy that carry forward into the paid research or healthcare internship the program makes available the following summer.
GSTEM pairs each of its 40 admitted students individually with an NYU Tandon faculty member or researcher to pursue an original project in a field of the student’s choosing — a model that provides direct, one-on-one faculty mentorship rather than the group-based lab placement common to most programs in this guide.
The $5,000 tuition is the most significant cost barrier among the programs in this list, but NYU’s need-based scholarship infrastructure and the full-tuition Winston Data Scholarship for students interested in data science make the program more financially accessible than the headline figure suggests; students who require financial support should not rule out GSTEM without investigating their scholarship eligibility.
The Simons Summer Research Program at Stony Brook University is one of the most competitive and widely recognized high school research programs in the northeastern United States: approximately 40 high school juniors are placed in Stony Brook University laboratories each summer to work alongside faculty mentors across the sciences, mathematics, and engineering, with the program culminating in a written research abstract and poster presentation.
The program is located on Long Island approximately 60 miles from Manhattan, which students should account for when considering commute or housing; residential housing is available at an additional cost.
Students drawn to this offering should consider reading our full program guide here.
The Garcia Center Summer Scholars Program at Stony Brook University is an intensive seven-week research program focused on polymer science and materials engineering, in which students design and conduct original research projects under the guidance of Garcia Center faculty, graduate students, and research staff — in areas spanning polymer blends, surface chemistry, materials engineering, and computational modeling.
The program’s $4,000 laboratory usage fee sets it apart from many others in this guide, and students who require on-campus housing will incur additional costs; however, the Garcia program offers a depth of independent laboratory research that is rare at the high school level, and students who complete it may continue their work during the academic year through the program’s year-round mentor component.
The Lamont-Doherty SSFRP places high school students, undergraduate mentors, and science teachers into research teams that conduct field and laboratory work in earth and environmental science at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory — with field sites including the Piermont Marsh, where students investigate nutrient cycling, natural carbon sequestration, invasive plant management, and soil-based microbial energy systems.
Students in the program analyze data from both field sites and laboratory samples — developing skills in ecological measurement, statistical interpretation, and scientific documentation that translate directly into undergraduate environmental science coursework.
Like BRAINYAC and AMNH SRMP, access runs through partner programs rather than a direct public application, so students interested in the program should contact the Lamont-Doherty education office directly. For students with a genuine interest in earth science, ecology, or environmental research, it offers a field-based experience that no other program in this guide provides.
Student Historians at the New-York Historical Society use the museum’s archives — including the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books division and the Photographs and Prints division — to conduct original historical research organized around a central theme, translating that research into public-facing digital scholarship including journalism, documentary video, radio, and visual art.
Public-facing work produced by Student Historians is presented at a humanities symposium at the conclusion of the program term, giving participants experience communicating original research to a general audience rather than exclusively to academic evaluators.
The program offers two formats: a summer cohort meeting Tuesday through Thursday for approximately six weeks, and a longer academic year cohort meeting weekly from October through June; both formats are free, with stipends available for income-eligible students.
The Schomburg Center’s Junior Scholars Program is a tuition-free Saturday program at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in which 100 students per year engage in college-style lectures, primary source research in the Schomburg’s archives, group seminars, and project-based learning organized around African and African American history and culture.
The program is distinctive in its use of one of the world’s most significant archives of Black history and culture as both a classroom and a research environment, and students work with the collection directly as part of their research process.
The program year culminates in a Spring Youth Summit at which students present their research through multimedia projects. Operating on a school year schedule rather than a summer calendar, the Junior Scholars Program asks students to balance their research and seminar commitments with regular academic coursework — a structure that more closely mirrors the experience of university research than a concentrated summer immersion.
The most important factor in selecting a research program is not name recognition — it is fit with your interests, your situation, and the kind of work you want to do.
A strong interest in the specific subject matter — genuine curiosity about the questions a program is designed to investigate — tends to predict which students will find the experience most meaningful and produce the most substantive work. The research papers, posters, and digital projects that result from these programs can add genuine intellectual substance to college applications, but students who approach them primarily as a credential risk missing the experience that makes them educationally valuable in the first place.
Eligibility constraints can also narrow your options. Several programs in this guide — including BRAINYAC, AMNH SRMP, and Lamont-Doherty SSFRP — are accessible only through partner programs or schools, meaning your institutional affiliations determine whether you can apply at all.
Programs like ARISE and LAB Jumpstart are open to a broader pool of NYC students but carry their own grade-level and residency requirements. Read each program’s eligibility criteria before investing time in an application, and note that many programs have deadlines in December, January, or February — earlier than most students anticipate.
For students who want a university-supervised original research experience but find that timing, geographic restrictions, or subject-area limitations prevent participation, the Pioneer Research Institute offers a fully online alternative: students in grades 9–12 work one-on-one with a university professor over 12 or 25 weeks to complete an original research project in STEM sciences, social sciences, humanities, and pre-professional disciplines. Pioneer scholars earn four Oberlin College credits upon completion. It is a rigorous option for students whose interests or circumstances point them toward an online format.
If you’re interested in conducting the highest level of research for high school students, consider joining a Pioneer information session to learn more about the Pioneer Research Institute.
Several of the most substantive programs in this guide are entirely free and many provide paid stipends. NYU ARISE offers a $2,000 stipend to NYC students in its 10-week summer laboratory program. The Pioneer Research Institute will meet 100% of demonstrated financial aid. The Rockefeller SSRP and LAB Jumpstart are both free and stipend-bearing, with Jumpstart also covering transportation costs. The AMNH SRMP provides a $2,500 stipend and one college credit at no cost, though access runs through partner programs.
BRAINYAC, the MSK HOPP program ($1,200 stipend), the Baruch STEM Research Academy ($1,575 summer stipend), HK Maker Lab, Lamont-Doherty SSFRP, the Student Historian program, and the Schomburg Junior Scholars program are all free.
Competitiveness varies significantly. The Rockefeller SSRP and the Simons Summer Research Program at Stony Brook each admit approximately 40 students annually and are estimated to have acceptance rates around 5%, placing them among the most selective high school research experiences in the country. YES in THE HEIGHTS reports an acceptance rate below 10% for high school applicants.
The Student Historian program at the New-York Historical Society receives over 400 applicants for its summer cohort. Programs like ARISE, MSK HOPP, and GSTEM are highly competitive but do not publish official rates.
Most programs have deadlines between December and early March. The Baruch STEM Research Academy closes in early December. The Rockefeller SSRP closes in early January. ARISE, MSK HOPP, YES in THE HEIGHTS, and Simons all have February deadlines. AMNH SRMP and Lamont-Doherty SSFRP close in early March.
The Student Historian academic year cohort closes in late August. Students interested in summer programs should begin researching their options in the fall of the year before they want to participate and should plan to have application materials ready by January at the latest. The Schomburg Junior Scholars program, which runs on a Saturday academic year schedule, accepts applications through late June for the following fall cohort.
Yes. Two programs in this guide are specifically designed around humanities research. The Student Historian Internship Program at the New-York Historical Society places students in original archival research projects organized around a central historical theme, with findings translated into public-facing digital scholarship. The Schomburg Center’s Junior Scholars Program at the New York Public Library immerses students in the Schomburg’s archives of African and African American history and culture through a year-long Saturday program.
For students who want to conduct humanities research complete collegiate rigor, the Pioneer Research Institute offers online original research in fields including history, literature, economics, political science, and philosophy, alongside its STEM tracks.
Several programs in this guide place students directly in university laboratories. NYU ARISE places students across more than 80 NYU projects. The Rockefeller SSRP and LAB Jumpstart both provide full-time laboratory placements at Rockefeller University. Columbia’s BRAINYAC program places students in Zuckerman Institute neuroscience laboratories, and NYU GSTEM pairs each student individually with a Tandon faculty member.
For students who cannot access any of the in-person NYC programs listed here, the Pioneer Research Institute provides a fully online, faculty-supervised original research experience open to students in grades 9–12, where 100% of faculty mentors are university professors.
Doing research is commonplace. How do you choose the research opportunity that makes a difference?
Join us for a free online info session to learn about Pioneer
Check exclusive sharings From directors of prestigious programs
Sign up to receive alerts for upcoming deadlines and other opportunities for high-achieving students.
Thank you for your interest in Pioneer’s Global Problem-Solving Institute (GPSI). The application for the Fall 2025 terms is now available. Please select your country/region below:
