15 Biology Camps for High School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 1 minute ago
- 10 min read
If you reach a point in high school where you want to explore biology beyond worksheets and classroom labs, a summer biology camp can give you that chance. Camps let you step into an environment where biology is something you interact with directly. You explore concepts through experiments, fieldwork, and guided activities that show you how biological ideas appear in everyday life.
What are biology camps for high school students? Why should I participate?
One of the reasons camps work well is their short schedule. Most biology camps last one or two weeks, which makes them easier to commit to than month-long programs. The time is used for hands-on work such as collecting organisms, measuring changes in the field, or carrying out simple research tasks. This approach fits into your summer, even if you have other responsibilities or plans.
Biology often makes more sense when you see it happening around you, and camp experiences help you build that connection. As you explore topics like marine systems, neuroscience, genetics, ecology, or biomedical research, you get to see how scientists gather evidence and test ideas. These activities also help you build a stronger resume and give you real examples to talk about in essays or interviews.
With that in mind, here are 15 biology camps for high school students! If you're looking for more prestigious camps, check out this set of blogs!
15 Biology Camps for High School Students
Location: Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, and Remote
Cost: $1200; scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided; however, each project option supports 1-15 students, with most clustered at the low end of the range
Dates: June 8-21
Application Deadline: Not specified. Check the site for updates
Eligibility: Rising 9th-12th-grade students
STEM Research Academy Camp at SIU gives high school students a hands-on introduction to university-level research. You choose preferred projects from the annual list of options and are matched with a faculty mentor based on your interests and skills. While many projects focus on biology, opportunities are available across STEM fields. The program begins with a remote training week, where you study your project topic in depth and complete a literature review. You then spend the next two weeks on campus at SIU, working in the lab with your mentor. During this time, you run experiments, collect data, analyze results, and join extracurricular activities and events with other students in the program.
Location: Remote , you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort.
Program Dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics across general biology and sub-fields such as biochemistry, neuroscience, medicine, and more. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Drexel University, Queen Lane, PA
Cost: $2,500
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 21 - August 1
Application Deadline: April 4
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors with a background in biology, chemistry, or research
Drexel’s Neuroscience Camp provides high school students with an opportunity to learn specialized biology skills in neuroscience. You’ll work under Drexel professors and graduate students to study topics including sensory processing, cellular neuroscience, electrophysiology, and neuropathology through a combination of lectures and workshops. You’ll complete daily lab activities learning biological neuroscience protocols in small groups, with additional activities including field trips to the Franklin Institute and Drexel’s Academy of Natural Sciences. You’ll work on a neuroscience research project throughout the camp focused on lab experimentation and data analysis, combining your new research skills with training in writing literature reviews and delivering academic presentations.
Location: Oxford, Cambridge, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, and Boston
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Application Deadline: Multiple summer cohorts with rolling admissions.
Program Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Eligibility: Students aged 13-18 currently enrolled in middle or high school
The Academic Insights Program provides school students with an opportunity to take undergraduate-level classes at universities around the world. You work with academics from universities like Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard in classes of 4-10 students. They attend university-style lectures and 1:1 weekly sessions with their tutor. The program includes practical experiences such as dissections in medicine, robotic arm building in engineering, or moot courts for law. You can choose from over 20 subjects, including architecture, artificial intelligence, business management, computer science, economics, medicine, philosophy, and more. By the end of the program, they complete a personal project and receive written feedback and a certificate of completion. You can find more details about the application here.
Location: Penn State University, University Park, PA
Cost: $335
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided
Dates: July 28–31
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Grades 9-12
Penn State’s Biotechnology Camp brings high schoolers to campus for a four-day camp covering the application of biology to diverse STEM fields. The camp provides multiple research activities, including wet-lab experiments, DNA cloning, and polymerase chain reaction protocols. As you participate in hands-on work, you’ll learn about DNA and biotechnology from the angles of biopharmaceuticals, agriculture, and environmental science. You’ll also gain career and academic development opportunities through attending guest lectures from industry professionals and researchers across biopharma, agricultural science, and environmental biotechnology.
Location: The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ
Cost: $1,900
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided
Dates: July 20-25
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions beginning February 3
Eligibility: High schoolers ranking in the top 30% of their class with an interest in engineering and/or medicine | 1 year of high school-level math and science required
TCNJ hosts high school students interested in biology, medicine, and engineering for a camp focused on career planning and interactive scientific work. You’ll work on short research projects each day in both laboratories and biomedical engineering facilities, learning about how pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and neuroengineering technology are developed. Projects range from building an ECG monitor to designing a neuro-prosthetic device to using biomedical engineering technology to analyze blood flow. You’ll spend your evenings speaking with professional biomedical engineers about careers in biomedical technology, adding a networking element to the camp. You’ll finish the camp with a presentation on your design projects throughout the week.
Location: Roger Williams University, Providence, RI
Cost: $1,995
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not selective
Dates: Multiple week-long sessions from early July to early August
Application Deadline: Rolling, beginning in December
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors; sophomores considered if space remains
At Roger Williams University’s Marine Biology Camp for high school students, you’ll take advantage of the university’s facilities and proximity to the ocean to learn about marine and natural biology through hands-on work. You’ll participate in research activities at RWU’s wet lab, which brings flowing ocean water into the facility, to conduct experiments like measuring nutrients and sampling plankton. You’ll also go on ocean research field trips, taking university research vessels to explore diverse bay ecosystems, learn oceanographic sampling protocols, and study seaweed biology. The camp hosts a series of guest seminars by professional marine biologists, where you’ll learn and discuss specialized topics such as invasive species, toxic plankton blooms, and aquaculture.
Location: OSU, Columbus, OH
Cost: $325
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Three weeks over the summer
Application Deadline: Applications open in late winter; check the site for
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors interested in pursuing careers in healthcare and/or biomedical research | Minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and STEM GPA of 3.3 | Students must be Ohio residents
OSU’s MD Camp hosts Ohio residents for a three-week program exploring biology and medicine research with a focus on career development. You’ll shadow doctors and researchers at OSU’s Wexner Medical Hospital across specialties, including pediatrics and internal medicine, and learn medical skills of your own, including phlebotomy, suturing, and intubation. You’ll additionally learn clinical assessment skills, studying how to assess patients’ symptoms to reach a diagnosis. To build biology and medical research skills, you’ll work with OSU medical students to practice experimental design, choose methodologies best-suited to a given research topic, conduct data analysis, and close-read research papers.
Location: University of Illinois, Rockford, IL
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided
Dates: One week over the summer
Application Deadline: Check the site for updates
Eligibility: High school students aged 16+ | Only students from local high schools are eligible; check program page for complete list
The University of Illinois’ College of Medicine hosts a week-long medicine and biology camp for local high school students, focused on research and career preparation. You’ll learn about the field of medical research and bioengineering, discussing developments in disease treatments through medications and medical technology. You’ll discuss career paths in biomedical sciences with medical school staff, focusing on professional research in academia and industry to plan for your time in college and beyond. You’ll also attend classroom lessons, complete hands-on activities at the University of Illinois research facilities, and observe demonstrations of advanced biotechnology equipment used in medical research and practice.
Location: UIUC, Urbana, IL
Cost: $1,000 (Residential) or $600 (Commuter)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 25-40%
Dates: July 13-19
Application Deadline: Late March; rolling admissions afterwards if space remains
Eligibility: Grades 10-12 | Students from underrepresented groups are prioritized
UIUC’s Grainger College of Engineering’s Bioengineering Camp merges biological sciences and technology in a one-week program designed to make specialized academic training accessible to students from underserved communities. You’ll attend lectures from UIUC professors on human biological systems and how biomedical engineering can develop medical devices and therapeutics to treat diseases. Each day includes hands-on experimental work, with activities including microscopy for biology research, lab study of planaria flatworms, and building human-to-human interface prosthetic devices. Other topic focus areas include neurons, motion tracking, biomechanics, and stroke rehabilitation. In the evenings, you’ll participate in group activities from karaoke to billiards.
Location: Seacoast Science Center, Rye, NH
Cost: $500 ($450 for Science Center members)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 12 students
Dates: July 14-18 or July 28 - August 1
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Grades 9-12
The Marine Biology Camp for high schoolers at Seacoast Science Center provides a week of experimental and experiential learning for students on Maine’s coast. You’ll research the local marine flora and fauna through activities like testing water quality, surveying tide pools, and collecting data on ocean fish. You’ll take a field trip to the University of New Hampshire’s Marine Lab and visit the Gulf of Maine on a boat trip, exploring professional research facilities and vessels. Your work will also include study of specialized topics, including crustaceans and echinoderms, ocean plastics and pollution, and more. Beyond academics, you’ll take advantage of your shoreline setting by going kayaking and snorkeling in the ocean.
Location: Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY
Cost: $735
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not selective
Dates: August 10-14
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9-12
The MedPathways Camp gives high school students interested in medical careers the chance to learn about biological and medical courses of study in college through discussions with Hofstra professors and hands-on work. You’ll learn about college-level study of physical therapy, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy, receiving training in suturing, hearing testing, and gaining CPR certification. You’ll also simulate caring for patients through working with a teaching mannequin and practicing patient intake and care meetings. You’ll spend the other half of your day preparing for college and career plans, working with a Dean of University Advising on SAT preparation, college applications for health-related professions, identifying strong extracurriculars in biomedicine, and identifying a career path.
Location: British Virgin Islands and Leeward Islands
Cost: $7,695 for 21-day camps; additional fees for optional courses
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; small cohorts for each boat
Dates: June 22 – July (Session 1) | July 14 – August (Session 2)
Application deadline: Rolling applications
Eligibility: Students who are 12–18 years old
Sail Caribbean’s Marine Biology Camp trains high school students in the biology of ocean plants and animals of the Caribbean through immersive learning. You’ll live on (and learn to sail) a catamaran boat, while learning marine biology skills through activities like examining sea turtles, dissecting squids, and contributing to ocean conservation through community service projects on land. Other activities include watersports, scuba diving, and hiking on Caribbean islands. You’ll have the ability to gain course credit in Marine Science by passing a written exam on the topics studied throughout the camp, as well as eligibility for certification in Open Water Scuba Diving, Sailing, and recreational diving.
Location: Penn State Mont Alto, Mont Alto, PA
Cost: $495
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided
Dates: June 23-27
Application Deadline: April 18
Eligibility: Rising high school freshmen and sophomores
Penn State’s Mont Alto MedCamp provides underclassmen high school students with a week of career and academic exploration in the field of healthcare and biomedicine. You’ll hear from professors and students from Penn State about careers in oncology, cardiology, surgery, and other medical areas, discussing how your work in high school and college can create a path into the field. The camp emphasizes hands-on work, so you’ll learn and practice practical medical skills such as suturing, phlebotomy, and (simulated) surgery. To see healthcare professionals in action, you’ll go on field trips to the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital, as well as other medical campuses at Wilson College and Shenandoah University.
Location: Penn State University, University Park, PA
Cost: $425 (Commuter) or $875 (Residential)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not provided
Dates: July 14-18 (Residential students move in on July 13)
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Grades 9-12
The Ecology Expeditions Camp is a specialized opportunity for training in environmental science and biology for high school students. You’ll explore natural areas around Penn State’s campus while learning about threats to the environment and scientific efforts to mitigate climate change and protect plant and animal life. The camp is largely outdoors, so you’ll get to merge your learning with hikes and canoe trips. Other topics focus on the local area, so you’ll learn about environmental science and natural biology in the Pennsylvania area, including changes to the local environment over time.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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