Research programs in New York.
36 local programs run in New York, 21 of them free or paid, and 10 explicitly prioritize under-resourced or first-generation students. Plus 197 nationwide programs open to anyone in the US.
Local to New York
- SelectiveColumbia UniversityAcademic Year Programs
Make the most of the school year with on-campus or online courses, including weekend options.
📅 Fall 2026 applications now open🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveArt of Problem Solving InitiativeBridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM)
Free intensive math programs for underserved middle schoolers in NYC and LA.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 6–8 - SelectiveCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall NYO-USA
Free national youth orchestra summer training and tour for ages 16-19.
⏱ 1 month📅 Winter🎓 Grades 10–12 - SelectiveCivic SpiritCivic Spirit Civics Day
National civics competition for middle and high school students from diverse religious schools.
⏱ 1 day📅 Spring🎓 Grades 7–12 - SelectiveColumbia UniversityColumbia Science Honors Program
Free Saturday science program for NYC-area HS students, taught by Columbia faculty.
⏱ Year-long📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12 - Highly SelectiveColumbia UniversityColumbia Summer Immersion
Three-week pre-college sessions in NYC across 80+ subjects.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveCooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design MuseumCooper Hewitt Summer Design Institute
Free design programs and workshops for NYC HS students.
⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12 - ModerateCornell UniversityCornell School of Continuing Education Pre-College
Three or six-week pre-college programs in hundreds of subjects on campus or online.
⏱ 3-6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 10–12 - ModerateCornell UniversityCornell Summer College Business
Three-week pre-college program in hotel admin, business, marketing.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 May🎓 Grades 10–12 - SelectiveCoro Northern CaliforniaCoro Youth Fellows
Civic leadership fellowships for young people exploring careers in public affairs.
⏱ Varies📅 Spring🎓 Grades 11–12 - Highly SelectiveStony Brook UniversityGarcia Research Scholars Program
Seven-week polymer research program for highly motivated high school students.
⏱ 7 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 11–12 - SelectiveBrookhaven National Laboratory (DOE)High School Research Program (HSRP) at Brookhaven
Paid summer research program for local students to gain hands-on experience in physics and engineering at a major particle physics lab.
⏱ 8 weeks📅 January 15🎓 Grades 11–12 - ModerateThe Juilliard SchoolJuilliard Pre-College
Saturday conservatory training for talented young musicians.
⏱ Academic year📅 December🎓 Grades 5–12 - ModerateManhattan School of MusicManhattan School of Music Pre-College
Saturday conservatory program for serious young musicians.
⏱ Academic year📅 December🎓 Grades 3–12 - SelectiveMuseum of Modern ArtMoMA Teen Apprentice
Paid teen apprenticeship in arts curation, design, and education at MoMA.
⏱ Summer + school year📅 April🎓 Grades 10–12 - SelectiveMuseum of Modern ArtMoMA Teen Programs
Free teen programs at the Museum of Modern Art.
⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveMemorial Sloan KetteringMSK HOPP Summer Student Program
Paid cancer research at MSK for students from groups underrepresented in medicine.
⏱ 8 weeks (summer)📅 Early February🎓 Grades 11–12 - ModerateIMUNANational High School Model United Nations
World's largest model UN conference held at UN headquarters in New York.
⏱ 4 days📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12 - ModerateNew York Film AcademyNew York Film Academy High School Programs
Summer and gap-year programs in filmmaking, acting, photography, and game design.
⏱ 1-12 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12 - ModerateNYT/School of the New York TimesNew York Times Summer Academy
Pre-college summer programs in journalism, business, media, and storytelling.
⏱ 1-2 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveColumbia University Pre-College ProgramsNYC Commuter Summer
Engage in a rich and demanding academic experience on Columbia's tranquil campus, in the heart of New York City.
🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveNYC DYCDNYC Ladders for Leaders
Free paid summer internship program for NYC high schoolers. Stipend included; competitive admission.
⏱ 6 weeks📅 January🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveColumbia University Pre-College ProgramsNYC Residential Summer
Engage in a rich and demanding academic experience on Columbia's tranquil campus, in the heart of New York City.
🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveNYT / NABJ / NAHJNYT Student Journalism Institute
Paid summer journalism program at The New York Times for diverse students.
⏱ Summer📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 11–12 - ModerateNYUNYU PreCollege
Earn college credit across a number of artistic disciplines, including casting and auditioning, dramatic writing, producing for film and television, and more. NYU Precollege is open to all current high school sophomores and juniors.
🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveNYU TandonNYU Tandon ARISE
Free seven-week research program for NYC HS sophomores and juniors in engineering and science.
⏱ 7 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 10–11 - Highly SelectivePaideia InstitutePaideia Institute Living Latin in NYC
Two-week intensive Latin program in New York City for high schoolers, with site visits and immersive translation.
⏱ 2 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12 - ModerateParsons / The New SchoolParsons Pre-College Academy
Online and in-person pre-college art and design courses.
⏱ 4 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 10–12 - SelectivePossePosse 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 - ModeratePratt InstitutePratt Pre-College
Four-week summer college experience in art, design, and architecture.
⏱ 4 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 10–12 - SelectiveRockefeller UniversityRockefeller Summer Science Research
NYC-area students do paid biomedical research at Rockefeller.
⏱ 7 weeks (summer)📅 January🎓 Grades 11–12 - Highly SelectiveStony Brook UniversitySimons Summer Research Program
Seven-week stipended research program for HS juniors in STEM at Stony Brook labs.
⏱ 7 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grade 11 - SelectiveNYU TischSpring Future Artists Program
The Spring Future Artists Program is free of charge and offered to students in the Tri-state area. It is designed for students who may not have access to other programs in their schools and/or communities and who would qualify for financial aid at NYU. This program requires a 14-week commitment on Saturdays 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from early February through mid-May, and is taught by faculty from the undergraduate departments.
🎓 Grades 9–12 - ModerateNYU TischTisch Summer High School Four-Week Residential Program
This residential program is a commitment of four weeks on campus that encompasses a highly structured class schedule, which include projects, professional training, and collaboration. Tracks include: Animation, Dance, Drama, Production & Design, Dramatic Writing, Filmmaking, Game Design, Photography and Imaging, and Recorded Music. The program is tuition-based and culminates in four to six college credits (units).
🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveWhitney MuseumWhitney Museum Youth Insights
Paid teen programs and internships at the Whitney.
⏱ Academic year📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12 - ModeratePratt InstituteWorkshops
Spend an afternoon exploring Pratt’s Brooklyn campus through a 3-hour hands-on workshop led by Pratt faculty.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Nationwide programs open to New York students
- SelectiveArmy 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 - SelectiveAmerican 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 - SelectiveCarnegie Mellon UniversityAI Scholars at CMU
Free AI-focused summer program for rising seniors underrepresented in computing.
⏱ 3 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grade 11 - SelectiveAI4ALLAI4ALL Open Learning
Girls in grades 6-12 learn AI and Python through interactive virtual classes.
⏱ 2 weeks📅 March 1🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveMathematical Association of AmericaAIME
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 - SelectiveFreedom ForumAl 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 - SelectiveAmazonAmazon Future Engineer Scholarship
Scholarship for high school seniors planning to study computer science in college.
⏱ 4 years scholarship📅 December 1🎓 Grade 12 - ModerateMathematical Association of AmericaAMC 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 - ModerateACSLAmerican Computer Science League (ACSL)
A multi-division computer science competition covering both theory and programming.
⏱ School year📅 November 30🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveAmgen FoundationAmgen Scholars Future Track
Free online biotech simulations and pipeline programs preparing high schoolers for biomedical research.
⏱ Self-paced📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveApple 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 - ModerateBerklee College of MusicAspire: 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 - SelectiveNCWITAward 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 - ModerateBard College at Simon's RockBard 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 - SelectiveMIT Lincoln LabBeaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)
Free MIT-led project-based courses in AI, robotics, cybersecurity.
⏱ 4 weeks (summer)📅 Early February🎓 Grade 11 - SelectiveELASH / Bebras USBebras 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 - SelectiveBennington CollegeBennington Young Writers Awards
A prestigious creative writing competition for students to win cash prizes and publication.
📅 January 12🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveBlack Girls CODEBlack Girls CODE Workshops
Program that provides coding workshops and tech exposure to young girls of color.
⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12 - SelectiveBlue Ocean Strategy / variousBlue 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 - SelectiveBreakthroughBreakthrough 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
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