8 Medical Internships for High School Students in NYC in 2024
If you are a high school student in New York City who plans on pursuing the pre-med track in college, these medical internships should definitely be on your radar! You will gain early exposure to the healthcare environment and develop a realistic glimpse into the daily operations and challenges of medical professionals. This will not only bolster your college applications but also help you make a more informed decision about committing to a career in medicine.
Engaging in these internships demonstrates your commitment and passion for medicine, traits that are highly valued by college admissions committees and will set you apart from your peers. By participating in medical internships, you also gain hands-on experience that can significantly enhance your understanding of medical terminology, patient care, and healthcare technology. NYC, with its large number of renowned hospitals and research facilities, is also a great place to find opportunities that are not readily available elsewhere.
Cost: No cost; stipend provided
Location: Columbia University Labs
Application Deadline: While the deadline for 2025 is not stated, applications open in Fall 2024.
Program Dates: 5 weeks during the summer.
Eligibility:
Must be sophomores or juniors in high school.
Applicants must reside in New York City, but preference is given to students in Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx.
The Zuckerman Institute's Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC) is a great opportunity for you if you are interested in the premed track to dive into neuroscience. This program matches you with a Columbia neuroscientist who serves as a mentor, guiding you through a specific research project. Over a seven-week period, which includes weekend training sessions in the winter and spring followed by a full-time summer internship, you will gain firsthand experience in laboratory research. This exposes you to the processes by which laboratory work can lead to significant scientific discoveries.
The application process commences each fall, distributed through these partner institutions. You benefit from a stipend during your internship and have opportunities to engage further through a paid Merit Fellowship for continued work in their mentor’s lab, positions as paid interns in future BRAINYAC cohorts, and access to an alumni network including special events and trips.
Cost: $1490 (Financial Aid Available)
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries from medicine, health tech, consulting, and more. You can explore all the options here on their application form. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. In the program, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company. Here is the application form.
Interns are offered one-on-one training in communication, time management and other such valuable skills and will also have the opportunity to attend group training sessions with other interns in their cohort. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
Cost: Free (Paid stipend of $1,200)
Application deadline: February 9, 2024
Program dates: June 27 - August 22
Eligibility: Students must meet the following criteria:
Completion of at least the 9th grade by June 2024
Must be 14 or older by June 27, 2024
A genuine interest in science and laboratory research
3.5 GPA in science subjects
At the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center's Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP), you will explore biomedical and computational research through an 8-week summer internship. This program not only focuses on laboratory or computational-based research projects but also includes postdoctoral-led journal clubs, student-led journal clubs, PI luncheons, laboratory tours, teambuilding, and social networking sessions.
Each participant is matched with a mentor, such as a postdoctoral fellow, graduate student, or research technician, who provides supervision and guidance throughout the program. This program ends with a presentation of your research project at a poster session. Beyond the scientific training, HOPP SSP allows you to participate in tours of MSKCC's state-of-the-art facilities, training sessions, and luncheons with principal investigators.
Cost: Free (Paid)
Application deadline:
Program dates: July 8-19, 2024
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
As a high school junior or senior with interests in areas such as healthcare, social justice, or public policy, the High School Bioethics Project's two-week paid internship is an amazing opportunity for you. This program will introduce you to a broad variety of bioethics topics, allowing you to engage remotely for four days a week, 1 to 2 hours daily from July 8–19, 2024. It's structured to foster an understanding of the ethical considerations inherent in the healthcare sector, ideal for those with no previous experience in bioethics.
During this internship, you'll have the opportunity to engage with professionals from diverse fields including public health, healthcare, biotech, patient advocacy, and law, which could lead to potential mentor relationships extending beyond the program. Your responsibilities will include committing 10-15 hours per week to read and discuss relevant articles, actively participate in talks, contribute to discussions, and write reflection papers. Additionally, you will provide feedback on the program and conclude your internship by submitting a short paper on a topic covered during your experience.
Cost: Free (Paid)
Application deadline: March 3, 2024
Program dates: July 1- August 9, 2024
Eligibility:
Demonstrated interest in biomedical sciences
Must attend NYC public school or charter school
Must be an under-represented minority and/or economically disadvantaged
If you're a high school student interested in the pre-med track in college, the Mount Sinai Center for Excellence in Youth Education Medical and Scientific Exploration Program is designed to expose you to a cross-section of health and medical careers while enhancing your basic science knowledge, specifically in cellular and molecular biology. Through weekly rotations, you will engage with various laboratories and clinical departments within the Mount Sinai Health System. Each department showcases the real-world applications of scientific concepts, with activities conducted in a virtual setting, including virtual lab tours, case studies, and discussions.
This program employs an interactive online format using platforms like Zoom and Google Classroom, facilitating direct interactions with a diverse range of professionals including ISMMS faculty, healthcare staff, and medical students. You will participate in live video sessions that include a series of introductions to health disparities, leadership development activities, and college readiness training. Additionally, you will play educational and engaging virtual games like Kahoot and Jeopardy as well as gain access to the Levy Library network.
Cost: Free (Paid)
Application deadline: March 3, 2024
Program dates: July 1- August 9, 2024
Eligibility:
Must be a rising high school senior (current 11th grader at time of application)
Minimum GPA of 85 (strongly preferred)
Must be an under-represented minority and/or economically disadvantaged (see Application Instructions for details)
The CEYE Hospital Placement Internship is a great way for you to explore careers in healthcare while advancing your basic science knowledge, research abilities, and communication skills. You will be immersed in the daily operations of Mount Sinai Hospital. Your placement involves all-day internships where you will interact directly with healthcare professionals, learning about their roles and assisting with various tasks.
Throughout the internship, you'll engage in library research and attend weekly seminars that include discussions on health disparities. You will learn how to effectively use a medical library, a crucial skill for any budding medical professional. The program requires full in-person attendance, regular updates through oral and written progress reports, and culminates in the presentation of a final written and oral research report.
Cost: Free
Application deadline: January 5, 2024
Program dates: June 24 - August 8, 2024
Eligibility: Current high school juniors or seniors
At the Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program (SSRP), you will engage in medical scientific research. Each team is composed of approximately eight SSRP scholars and is led by an experienced trainee who serves as the team leader. You will be assigned your own workspace in the RockEDU lab, where you'll focus on a research project that not only aligns with your team leader’s expertise but also caters to your scientific interests in medicine.
During the first week of the program, you will become acquainted with your team’s research topic, learning essential research techniques and familiarizing yourself with laboratory norms. As the program progresses into the second week, you will have the opportunity to select a specific research question related to your team’s topic to investigate further. Over the subsequent weeks, under the close guidance of your team leader and other scientist-mentors, you will use the research techniques you have learned to collect and analyze data.
Cost: Free
Application deadline: May 15
Program dates: July 1 - July 31, 2024
Eligibility: 7-12th graders who maintain at least an 80% grade average particularly in math and science
The State Pre-College Enrichment Program (S-PREP) is an initiative offered by the Office of Student Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Columbia University. This program is tailored for 7th through 12th graders who aspire to careers in medicine or related STEM fields. S-PREP aims to increase the representation and enhance the educational pathways of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students into the realms of mathematics, science, technology, health-related fields, and licensed professions.
During the summer session, classes run from Monday to Friday throughout July, focusing on a broad spectrum of subjects from anatomy to statistics, including preparatory courses for the PSAT. The program includes college preparation and career development workshops, personalized college and academic counseling services, as well as enrichment opportunities such as field trips and college tours.
AI + Medicine: Veritas AI is an AI program for ambitious high school students, founded and run by Harvard graduate students. In the AI + Medicine program, students learn how AI is used in the healthcare and medical industry. Students get a chance to work on real-world projects using AI & ML models to diagnose diseases, sharpen medical scans, and explain their outcomes to aid doctors and patients. Here is the program brochure and the application form.
If you’re interested in pursuing research in fields like medicine or related fields, you could also consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Jessica attends Harvard University where she studies Neuroscience and Computer Science as a Coca-Cola, Elks, and Albert Shankar Scholar. She is passionate about educational equity and hopes to one day combine this with her academic interests via social entrepreneurship. Outside of academics, she enjoys taking walks, listening to music, and running her jewelry business!