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.

   🎓 Grades 9–12

   Highly Selective
2. Babson College

   Babson Summer Study

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

   ⏱ 3 weeks📅 March🎓 Grades 11–12

   Moderate
3. Berklee

   Berklee Aspire

   One-week introductory program for younger students.

   ⏱ 1 week📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 8–10

   Moderate
4. Berklee College of Music

   Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance

   Five-week immersive music performance program.

   ⏱ 5 weeks📅 January🎓 Grades 9–12

   Highly Selective
5. Berklee College of Music

   Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program

   Intensive five-week contemporary music performance program for ages 15+.

   ⏱ 5 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 10–12

   Moderate
6. 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
7. MIT

   Blueprint by HackMIT

   Annual learnathon and hackathon for HS students at MIT.

   ⏱ 2 days📅 Winter🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
8. City of Boston

   Boston SuccessLink

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

   ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
9. Boston University

   Boston University PROMYS

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

   ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12

   Highly Selective
10. 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
11. Broad Institute (MIT & Harvard)

    Broad Summer Scholars Program

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

    ⏱ 6 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grade 11

    Selective
12. Harvard GSD

    Career Discovery in Architecture

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

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 11–12

    Moderate
13. Girls' Angle

    Girls' Angle Math Club

    Math program in Cambridge MA mentoring girls in mathematics.

    ⏱ Year-long📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 5–12

    Selective
14. City of Boston

    Greenovate Boston Youth Leaders

    Students work on local environmental justice and climate resilience projects in the Boston area.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 February 1🎓 Grades 10–12

    Moderate
15. Harvard

    HackHarvard

    Harvard's flagship hackathon; high schoolers can apply.

    ⏱ 2 days📅 Fall🎓 Grades 11–12

    Selective
16. MIT

    HackMIT

    Annual 24-hour student hackathon at MIT; many HS students attend HackMIT High School Hackathon (Blueprint).

    ⏱ 2 days📅 Fall🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
17. MIT

    HackMIT / Blueprint

    HackMIT's flagship HS hackathon weekend at MIT.

    ⏱ 1 weekend📅 Fall🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
18. Hampshire College

    Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics (HCSSiM)

    Intensive six-week math program for talented high schoolers.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
19. Harvard Debate Council

    Harvard Debate Tournament

    Premier college-run high school debate tournament held annually.

    ⏱ 3 days📅 Winter🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
20. Harvard University

    Harvard Model Congress

    Premier high school simulation of the US federal government, run by Harvard students.

    ⏱ 4 days📅 Winter🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
21. Harvard University

    Harvard Model UN

    High school Model UN conference with delegates from around the world.

    ⏱ 4 days📅 Fall🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
22. Harvard University

    Harvard Pre-College Program

    Two-week residential program in 50+ disciplines.

    ⏱ 2 weeks📅 January🎓 Grades 10–12

    Moderate
23. Hampshire College

    HCSSiM

    Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics; intense 6 weeks.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 April🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
24. UMass Amherst

    Juniper Institute for Young Writers

    Residential creative writing program for high schoolers run by UMass MFA faculty.

    ⏱ 10 days📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
25. MIT

    MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute

    Four-week residential STEM program at MIT in autonomous systems, AI, cybersecurity, and more.

    ⏱ 4 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 11–12

    Selective
26. MIT Lincoln Lab

    MIT BeaverWorks BWSI Hackathon

    Free open hackathons run by MIT BeaverWorks alongside BWSI summer program.

    ⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 10–12

    Selective
27. MIT Launch

    MIT Launch Summer

    MIT-affiliated four-week entrepreneurship intensive.

    ⏱ 4 weeks📅 March🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
28. MIT Sloan

    MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Student Programs

    Premier sports analytics conference with student research competition and case competition.

    ⏱ 2 days📅 Winter🎓 Grades 11–12

    Moderate
29. MIT

    MITES (Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science) Summer

    Free six-week residential STEM program at MIT for under-represented rising HS seniors.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grade 12

    Highly Selective
30. MIT

    MITES Saturdays

    Free academic enrichment for 10th graders in Greater Boston from under-represented backgrounds.

    ⏱ Year-long📅 Fall🎓 Grade 10

    Highly Selective
31. Posse

    Posse Foundation

    Full-tuition leadership scholarships nominated by partner cities. High schoolers from cities like New York, Chicago, LA, Atlanta nominate by August of senior year.

    ⏱ Senior year📅 August🎓 Grade 12

    Selective
32. Boston University

    PROMYS

    Selective six-week residential program in mathematics.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 March🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
33. Boston University

    PROMYS Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists

    Six-week intensive number theory program at Boston University.

    ⏱ 6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12

    Highly Selective
34. Boston University

    RISE Internship/ Practicum

    Conduct university-level STEM research in a laboratory setting.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Highly Selective
35. Harvard University

    Secondary School Program (4-week)

    Experience what it’s like to be a college student for 4 transformative weeks. This residential program allows students to choose one accelerated 4-credit course, with limited enrollment for increased interaction with faculty and peers, and earn college credit.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Moderate
36. Boston University

    Summer Challenge

    Expand your academic horizons over two weeks, choosing 2 seminars.

    🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
37. Boston University

    Tanglewood Institute

    Premier summer music program for high school instrumentalists, vocalists, and composers.

    ⏱ 2-6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 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.

   ⏱ 3 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📅 April 15🎓 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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