§ CT

Research programs in Connecticut.

66 local programs run in Connecticut, 42 of them free or paid, and 1 explicitly prioritize under-resourced or first-generation students. Plus 210 nationwide programs open to anyone in the US.

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Local to Connecticut

Mystic Aquarium
Aquarium Marine Science Mentorship
A 12-week after-school mentorship for students in grades 10-12 that pairs job shadowing and independent research with hands-on work in animal behavior studies, enrichment design, and horseshoe crab conservation alongside aquarium professionals.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 10–12
Moderate
Quinnipiac University
Artificial Intelligence: Visual Imagery and Product Design
Students explore generative AI and its use in visual imagery, design and product development through hands-on projects.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Audubon Connecticut
Audubon Sharon Summer Internships (Youth)
Research and education internship at a wildlife sanctuary focusing on birds and habitat health.
⏱ 8 weeks📅 March 15🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
Trinity College
Bantam Bound
Selective two-day fly-in introducing prospective seniors to Trinity through professor-led mock classes, student discussions and exploration of campus and Hartford.
🎓 Grade 12
Selective
Fairfield University
Bridgeport Tuition Grant
Eligible Bridgeport high-school graduates admitted to Fairfield can receive full tuition, with additional need-based aid potentially covering other costs.
🎓 Grade 12
Selective
Connecticut Bar Association
CBA Law Camp
A free week-long day camp at UConn School of Law for high schoolers who have overcome adversity or would be first in their family to enter the legal profession, featuring mock trial prep, court observation, and mentorship from attorneys and judges.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
Connecticut Office of the State Treasurer
CHET Dream Big! Competition
Connecticut students submit an essay, video or artwork addressing their aspirations or how they can help their community, competing for CHET college-savings awards.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut Association of Schools / Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference
CIAC Esports
Connecticut's CIAC-sanctioned varsity esports league, run with PlayVS, competes in titles like Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, and Mario Kart across fall/winter and spring seasons, culminating in state championship events.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
Connecticut Children's Medical Center
Connecticut Children's Teen Volunteer Program
A hospital volunteer program for teens 15 and older who commit to weekly shifts assisting with clerical work, hospitality, play activities, and pet therapy support, with a dedicated summer track running late June through August.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut Debate Association (CDA)
Connecticut Debate Association
Connecticut's statewide high school debate league runs a season of monthly tournaments in college parliamentary format, culminating in State Finals open only to debaters who qualified through earlier league competition.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
DECA Inc. / Connecticut DECA
Connecticut DECA
Connecticut's chartered DECA association serves 58 chapters and over 2,500 student and adviser members statewide, running state and regional conferences and competitive events in marketing, management, finance, and entrepreneurship that feed into the International Career Development Conference.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut's Conservation Districts
Connecticut Envirothon
A team-based environmental science competition for Connecticut high schoolers covering soils, aquatics, wildlife, forestry, and a rotating current-issue scenario, with the state-winning team earning a paid trip to the national NCF-Envirothon.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
CT FBLA
Connecticut FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America)
Connecticut's chapter of the national business student organization, running a Fall Leadership Conference and a Spring Leadership Conference with competitive business events, officer elections, and networking workshops for local chapters statewide.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
National FFA Organization / Connecticut Agricultural Science and Technology Education
Connecticut FFA
Connecticut's state FFA association pairs classroom agricultural science instruction with supervised agricultural experience and leadership development, offering Career Development Event and Leadership Development Event competitions plus an annual state convention.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut Bar Association
Connecticut High School Mock Trial Competition
The CBA's statewide mock trial program runs regional trials in Connecticut courthouses each winter, advancing teams through a playoff tournament to a state championship round held before the Connecticut Supreme Court, with the winner representing the state at nationals.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Connecticut Democracy Center / National History Day affiliate
Connecticut History Day
An affiliate of National History Day, Connecticut History Day engages thousands of middle and high school students in original historical research presented as exhibits, documentaries, websites, papers, or performances at regional and state contests, with top finishers advancing to the national contest.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
CT HOSA
Connecticut HOSA (Future Health Professionals)
Connecticut's HOSA affiliate holds Fall and Spring State Leadership Conferences where high school health-science students compete in 25+ events such as Biomedical Debate, EMT, and Medical Innovation, with winners advancing toward the International Leadership Conference.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut Invention Convention / NextMinds
Connecticut Invention Convention
Students design inventions addressing real problems and advance through school, independent or community pathways to Connecticut's statewide invention competition.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut Restaurant & Hospitality Association / CT Hospitality Educational Foundation
Connecticut ProStart Invitational
Connecticut's statewide culinary and restaurant-management competition for ProStart high school students, who prepare a three-course meal in 60 minutes on two butane burners (Culinary track) or pitch a restaurant concept to industry judges (Management track), competing for college scholarships.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut State Chess Association
Connecticut Scholastic Chess Championships
The state's annual scholastic chess championship includes a dedicated high school (grades 9-12) division playing a 4-round Swiss tournament, with the Connecticut champion and runner-up earning nominee/alternate status for the USCF National Invitationals.
📅 December🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Connecticut STEM Foundation
Connecticut STEM Fair
Students submit completed scientific research or research proposals in health, physical, environmental and behavioral-science categories and defend their work live before judges.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Conservation Discovery Corps
Year-long teen volunteer program combining field-conservation research, zoological career exploration and public conservation education.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation
Coolidge Connecticut Open
High-school students compete in four rounds of structured debate, with undefeated varsity competitors earning invitations to the national Coolidge Cup.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
Quinnipiac University
Data Sciences Lab
Students explore how data are collected, analyzed and interpreted through hands-on data-science activities and university-level applications.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
The Maritime Aquarium
ECHO Teen Volunteer Program
Teens participate in conservation education, touch-tank interpretation, mobile exhibitions, community science and career shadowing through a tiered school-year volunteer program.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Quinnipiac University
Entrepreneurship Academy: From Classroom to Corner Office
Students develop a business concept, learn startup planning and product development, and work toward pitching an entrepreneurial idea.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Yale Peabody Museum
EVOLUTIONS After School Program
Multi-year science and museum program featuring weekly classes, scientific exploration, exhibit creation, field trips, college preparation and pathways to paid Yale employment/internships.
🎓 Grades 9–10
Selective
Quinnipiac University
Forensic Sciences: Crime Scene Investigation
Students use forensic-science methods to investigate simulated crime scenes and explore connections among biology, chemistry, evidence analysis and criminal justice.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Quinnipiac University
Game Design Lab
Students learn the game-development process and create interactive game projects using design, technology and storytelling principles.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Quinnipiac University
Healthcare Career Exploration Academy
Students explore multiple healthcare professions through practical experiences, simulations, laboratories and field activities on Quinnipiac's campus.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
UConn Health
High School Student Research Apprentice Program
Five-week program where students conduct research in a basic-science or clinical laboratory at UConn Health or CCSU and finish with a research presentation.
🎓 Grade 11
Selective
Yale Peabody Museum
John and Dorothy Allen Summer Internship
Students in Yale's EVOLUTIONS pipeline can obtain paid summer positions working in Peabody collections and Yale science laboratories on authentic projects.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Quinnipiac University
Modern Storytelling: Movie-Making
Students develop filmmaking and visual-storytelling skills while creating media projects using university facilities and faculty guidance.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
Memorial Sloan Kettering
MSK HOPP Summer Student Program
Paid cancer research at MSK for students from groups underrepresented in medicine.
⏱ 8 weeks (summer)📅 Early February🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
Mystic Aquarium
Mystic Aquarium Blue Crew Teen Volunteer Program
A summer volunteer program for teens ages 15-18 to work as camp assistants, gardening assistants, or docents at Mystic Aquarium, gaining public-facing experience in environmental education and conservation.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Yale University
Pathways to Arts & Humanities Summer Scholars
Free two-week program where local students study archives, art, photography, architecture, comics, playwriting, history and other humanities fields using Yale's collections and faculty.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut Center for the Book / CT Department of Economic and Community Development (Arts)
Poetry Out Loud Connecticut
A free statewide poetry recitation competition where classroom winners advance through school, regional, and state finals, with the Connecticut champion competing at the National Finals in Washington, D.C. for scholarship money.
📅 December🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Fairfield University
Pre-College Nursing Program
One-week primarily online program exploring nursing careers and the profession, with an optional campus visit and nursing-simulation laboratory experience.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
University of Hartford, Hartford Art School
Pre-Collegiate Visual Arts Portfolio Workshop
Serious high-school artists spend four weeks developing studio skills, visual communication and original portfolio work for college art/design applications.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Quinnipiac University
Pre-Med Preparation: Medical Microbiology
Students investigate microorganisms, infectious disease and laboratory microbiology while exploring preparation for health and pre-medical study.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Connecticut Bar Foundation
Quintin Johnstone Statewide High School Essay Contest
Connecticut students research a contemporary constitutional/legal issue and write an analytical legal memorandum for statewide judging.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut Office of Higher Education
Roberta B. Willis Need-Merit Scholarship
Connecticut seniors with strong academic performance and demonstrated financial need can receive state aid for attendance at eligible Connecticut colleges.
🎓 Grade 12
Selective
Rockefeller University
Rockefeller Summer Science Research
NYC-area students do paid biomedical research at Rockefeller.
⏱ 7 weeks (summer)📅 January🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
Sacred Heart University, Dr. Susan L. Davis College of Nursing
SHU Nursing Immersion Program
A week-long summer immersion at Sacred Heart's Center for Healthcare Education, in partnership with Nuvance Health, where area high schoolers earn CPR certification, work in simulation labs with the Anatomage Table, and visit a hospital's clinical acute care unit.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
SkillsUSA / CTECS
SkillsUSA (Connecticut Technical Education and Career System)
Students from Connecticut's 17 technical high schools compete each spring at the SkillsUSA State Conference across dozens of occupational skill categories, with top finishers advancing to the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
University of Connecticut
Summer LEAD Program
Connecticut rising seniors live on the Storrs campus, attend sample classes and workshops and learn about admissions, financial aid, leadership and the transition to college.
🎓 Grade 12
Selective
Sacred Heart University
Taste of College (Sacred Heart University)
Sacred Heart's early-college program lets academically accomplished high school juniors and seniors enroll in real, on-campus college courses for credit at a reduced per-credit rate, up to 12 credits total before graduation.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 11–12
Highly Selective
University of Hartford
Transportation & Civil Engineering Summer Camp
Students complete hands-on work in transportation, structural, geotechnical, construction, environmental and water-resources engineering while meeting faculty and professionals.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Trinity College
Trinity College Dream Camp
Long-running Hartford youth program combining summer enrichment with year-round academic mentoring; high-school programming emphasizes college awareness, SAT preparation, admissions and financial aid.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
University of Connecticut, Department of Journalism
UConn Journalism Multimedia Summer Camp
A one-week residential camp at UConn Storrs where high schoolers ages 15-18 get a crash course in news reporting, interviewing, photography, video storytelling, and podcasting, taught by working journalists and faculty, with need-based scholarships available.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
University of Connecticut
UConn Pre-College Summer
High-school students take immersive university-level courses in engineering, medicine, law, chemistry, marine biology, psychology/neuroscience, journalism, art, business and other fields while experiencing college academics and campus life.
🎓 Grades 9–11
Highly Selective
Connecticut Democracy Center
We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution (Connecticut)
Connecticut's affiliate of the national civics program has student teams research six units of constitutional curriculum, then present testimony before a simulated congressional committee at a statewide hearing competition held at Yale, with winners advancing to nationals in Washington, D.C.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Yale School of Medicine
Yale Discovery to Cure High School Internship
A competitive program where students engage in biomedical research with world-class investigators at Yale.
⏱ 7 weeks📅 February 28🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
Yale International Relations Association
Yale Model United Nations (YMUN)
One of the largest Model UN conferences held on an Ivy League campus, YMUN is a four-day international relations simulation drawing over 1,800 high school delegates from dozens of countries to debate global issues as UN ambassadors and diplomats.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Yale School of Medicine
Yale Neuroscience Summer Scholars
Eight-week program providing New Haven public-high-school students with neuroscience coursework, laboratory-technique training and a supervised research project.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Yale University
Yale Pathways Research Internships
Seven-week, full-time laboratory research program matching New Haven-area public high-school students with Yale labs in neuroscience, astronomy, genetics, materials science, physics, biomedical engineering and other fields.
🎓 Grades 10–11
Selective
Yale University
Yale Pathways to Science Summer Scholars
Local Pathways Scholars spend two weeks completing intensive Yale workshops in areas such as physics, biology, robotics, neuroscience and engineering.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Yale University Department of Physics
Yale Physics Olympics
Teams of four complete five original physics challenges involving experimental measurement, engineering, optimization and estimation plus a Fermi-problem quiz.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Film at Yale / Yale Student Film Festival
Yale Student Film Festival — Connecticut High School Category
A dedicated Connecticut high school competition category within the Yale Student Film Festival, open free of charge to filmmakers 18 or under currently enrolled in a CT high school, for films under 10 minutes, with winners recognized alongside college entries.
📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Yale University
Yale Young Global Scholars
Two-week interdisciplinary academic enrichment program.
⏱ 2 weeks📅 January🎓 Grades 10–11
Moderate
Yale University
Yale Young Global Scholars Politics, Law & Economics
Two-week residential interdisciplinary program in politics, law, and economics.
⏱ 2 weeks📅 Fall🎓 Grades 10–11
Moderate
Yale Center for Clinical Investigation
YCCI Exposures Program
Four-week virtual internship introducing high-school students to healthcare, medicine, clinical research and data science through Yale faculty and research staff.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Yale Center for Analytical Sciences
Young Scholars Summer Program in Biostatistics and Clinical Research
Intensive program teaching biostatistics, clinical research design, R programming and analysis of real health-science datasets; teams complete a research project and presentation.
🎓 Grades 11–12
Moderate
Youth Entrepreneurs CT
Youth Entrepreneurs CT Programs
A Hamden-based nonprofit offering in-school and after-school entrepreneurship programming for Connecticut students in grades 7-12, including single workshops, semester-long Entrepreneurship Labs, a year-long College & Career Pathways cohort, and the Money Moves personal-finance module.
📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Yale Peabody Museum
Youth Gallery Educator
EVOLUTIONS participants can earn paid museum work teaching visitors through interactive science carts and gallery activities while developing communication and workforce skills.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo
Zoo Career Explorers
Year-long career program where teens rotate through animal care, veterinary medicine, education, administration, horticulture, marketing, maintenance and visitor services and complete job shadows and a final project.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate

Nationwide programs open to Connecticut students

University of Pennsylvania
Academic English & University Readiness Academy
Two-week residential academy at Penn for non-native English speakers. Students do university-style work: reading, lectures, discussions, research and group projects, ending in a final presentation. Current 9th-11th graders; non-credit.
⏱ 2 weeks (July 26 - August 8, 2026)🎓 Grades 9–11
Highly Selective
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
University of Pennsylvania
American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Online Seminar
Two-week online seminar (daily Zoom sessions) teaching basic ASL conversation and narrative skills in an immersion setting, plus Deaf community perspectives through vlogs, lectures and a panel of Deaf professionals. Current 9th-11th graders; non-credit.
⏱ 2 weeks (July 13 - 24, 2026)🎓 Grades 9–11
Highly Selective
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
University of Pennsylvania
Astronomical Techniques Research Academy
Two-week residential academy at Penn. Students learn observational astronomy and data analysis, build simple cameras and spectrometers, observe the Sun and stars, and analyze data with Python. Current 9th-11th graders; non-credit.
⏱ 2 weeks (July 11 - 25, 2026)🎓 Grades 9–11
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

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