15 Biomedical Engineering Summer Internships for Undergraduates
- Stephen Turban
- Sep 17
- 10 min read
Updated: Oct 13
If you are pursuing a biomedical engineering or related degree, then an internship in the field can help you prepare for graduate school and your career.
Biomedical engineering internships designed for undergrads typically offer opportunities for developing professional skills, gaining industry exposure, and building valuable connections. These internships are also great ways to build your resume in a competitive job market and graduate school admissions landscape. Many internships come with stipends. Some even offer virtual participation, making them accessible options to explore.
With the large number of internships available, it can be challenging to shortlist the best options. To help you get started, we’ve narrowed down 15 biomedical engineering summer internships for undergraduates.
If you are looking for more prestigious internships, check out this set of blogs!
Location: Online
Cost: Varies by program; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~10%; cohort size varies by year
Program dates: 8 weeks, varying by program
Application deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: College students and young professionals
If you are looking for flexible opportunities in an industry setting, Ladder Internships offers two-month personalized opportunities to work with startups. While opportunities are available across sectors, you can find biomedical engineering internships offered by growing healthtech companies and get to contribute to technical research for engineering medical devices. You will work with a company coach to design a core internship focus, complete a series of deliverables, and finish a final project that you will present to the startup board at the end of the internship. Ladder’s entirely virtual format allows you to work with global startups while balancing coursework. Apply now!
Location: UC San Diego, San Diego, CA
Stipend: $600/week + on-campus housing and travel expenses covered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Program dates: June – August; 8–10 weeks
Application deadline: Typically February; exact dates TBA
Eligibility: Current undergraduate students
UCSD offers undergraduates summer research experiences in bioengineering, biomaterials, and biomedicine. You will work on one of eight potential projects under the guidance of a UCSD faculty mentor. You will contribute to your mentor’s research in areas like developing imaging technology for disease diagnosis, studying the impact of developmental genes on potential cancer development, or developing machine learning techniques for biomaterial research. Outside the lab, you will attend weekly workshops on professional development and research skills, go on field trips with your cohort, and participate in social events with faculty and other students. You will also design a research poster and get to work on your communication and presentation skills while delivering a presentation at the UC San Diego Research Symposium. You will attend the annual Biomedical Engineering Society Conference with full funding from UCSD.
Location: University of Virginia (UVA), Charlottesville, VA
Stipend: $7,000 + travel, housing, and dining covered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Program dates: May 26 – August 1
Application deadline: April 30
Eligibility: Full-time undergraduate students; rising seniors given priority
This UVA program provides undergraduates with a 10-week mentored research experience in systems bioengineering. You will begin with a boot camp that covers core bioengineering modeling methods and research ethics. Then, you will dive into research work paired with a mentor in your area of interest, with tracks available in medical device design, healthcare technology, structural bioinformatics, and biomechanical computational modeling. You will have access to professional development opportunities, including career counseling, training in communication and networking skills, and guidance on preparing for graduate studies in biotechnology. You will also submit a professional research paper and present it at a public symposium. You may also get to present your work at the Biomedical Engineering Society Conference in the fall.
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Cost/Stipend: Monthly stipend + free housing and additional funding for meals
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~4%; 10–15 students
Program dates: June 2 – August 1
Application deadline: January 15
Eligibility: Rising undergraduate sophomores, juniors, and seniors; typically engineering, physics, chemistry, or biology majors
Princeton’s Center for Complex Materials provides a nine-week opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary biomedical engineering research alongside Princeton professors. You will contribute to an ongoing project that directly advances the lab’s current research priorities, which include biomaterials and biotechnology research. You will also participate in weekly research seminars, field trips to industry labs at Princeton and other research sites, and educational workshops on engineering and materials research. You will also present your work at a poster session at the end of the program. You can check out last year’s research projects here.
Location: Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR
Stipend: $6,000
Cohort size: 4 spots
Program dates: 10 weeks; flexible start dates in June or July
Application deadline: February 14
Eligibility: Undergraduates (rising juniors and seniors) and recent graduates from U.S. colleges/universities with backgrounds in health sciences, math, physics, or engineering
ORION (Oregon Research and InnovatiON) Undergraduate Internship Program is a 10-week opportunity to engage in biomedical engineering research at OHSU. Here, you will undergo training in and engage in experimental design, data and quantitative analysis, and oral and written presentation while working in cardiovascular research laboratories. You can choose from four areas, blood cell biology and drug development, biomaterials and medical devices, computational fluid dynamics and imaging, and regenerative medicine. All tracks offer opportunities to find safe, effective treatment options for cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.
Location: Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA
Stipend: $6,000 + free housing and travel; potential post-internship conference travel covered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; 10–14 students
Program dates: May 27 – August 1
Application deadline: Rolling admissions starting February 1; early application encouraged
Eligibility: Rising college freshmen, sophomores, and juniors
WPI’s Biomedical Engineering summer internships offer undergraduate students two research options, one in bioengineering (REU) and another in biomedical technologies (KEEN eREU). In the bioengineering track, you will explore topics such as tissue engineering, disease modeling, and low-cost medical devices while primarily focusing on research. The KEEN eREU has a translational focus, allowing you to contribute to biomedical technology projects that can be applied directly to medical practice. In both tracks, you will work with professional mentors in interdisciplinary research groups, attend workshops on biomedicine and research skills, and learn about careers in the relevant fields. You will also present a research poster at the end of the program and develop a "Stories in Bioengineering” video to motivate younger students with interests in bioengineering.
Location: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Stipend: $7,000 + $800 travel funding
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~10–20 students
Program dates: 9 weeks over the summer
Application deadline: February 14
Eligibility: Undergraduate students majoring in relevant fields (engineering, chemistry, biology)
BioMaP provides research-focussed biomedical engineering summer internships for undergraduates at Iowa State University’s Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. You will work with a faculty mentor on a research project in topics like cell engineering, experimental genetic engineering, therapeutic molecule development, and cancer cell patterning. Outside research, you will network with faculty, post-docs, industry professionals, and current Iowa State graduate students to gain academic and careers insights. You will also gain academic exposure to advanced biomedical research through educational seminars, lab meetings, and cohort-wide workshops. You will present your work at a poster symposium at the end of the internship.
Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Stipend: $6,000 + housing and travel covered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies
Program dates: June 16 – August 15
Application deadline: October 31
Eligibility: Undergraduate students majoring in science or engineering with a minimum GPA of 3.5; rising juniors and seniors typically accepted
As an intern at Northwestern’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, you will work alongside researchers in a small-group setting over the course of nine weeks. You may contribute to materials research in areas like developing biocompatible materials for medical applications and engineering materials to mimic neurons for biological research. You may also engage in field trips to industrial labs, social events, and educational seminars with Northwestern graduate students and professors. You will write a technical research paper after completing your project, deliver a presentation on your research at a public symposium, and attend panel discussions on graduate school programs and applications.
Location: Over 20 possible sites, including Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, Vanderbilt University, Merck Discovery Biologics, and international placements in Leipzig, Germany, and Ljubljana, Slovenia
Stipend: $6,000 + housing, travel, and meal allowance covered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies by site
Program dates: June 2 – August 8
Application deadline: February 3
Eligibility: Undergraduate students studying computer science, engineering, math, chemistry, biology, or biophysics; sophomores and juniors with prior research and coding experience preferred
Rosetta Commons’ Summer Internship program provides students the opportunity to take on advanced research at one of 20+ labs in the U.S., Germany, and Slovenia. You will begin the internship with two weeks of training in the PyRosetta code. The next eight weeks of the program are dedicated to biomedical research in areas like molecular modeling, protein design, biomolecule development, deep learning, antibody engineering, and designing programmable genetic technology. At the end of the program, you will attend the Rosetta Conference and present your research to an international group of Rosetta staff and researchers.
Location: Gibbs Lab at Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
Stipend: Unpaid; potential invitation for a paid internship next summer
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 6–8 students per cohort
Program dates: Flexible start and end dates; minimum 10-week commitment
Application deadline: March 15
Eligibility: High school and undergraduate students
This internship is designed for students interested in exploring biomedical engineering in a lab environment. At the Gibbs Lab at OHSU, you will gain experience in developing novel contrast agents to boost imaging technologies. You will also gain insight into the lab’s work, which focuses on improving macroscopic and microscopic cancer imaging applications. In the process, you will explore techniques like immunostaining, microscopy, spectroscopy, organic synthesis, cell culture, and bioconjugation. You will also gain experience in fluorescence imaging, image analysis, and analytical characterization.
Location: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Stipend: $5,500 + free housing
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Program dates: 10 weeks; June – August
Application deadline: February 23
Eligibility: Rising undergraduate sophomores, juniors, and seniors, as well as community college students, with at least one year of engineering coursework completed
As a CS&MR intern, you will study biomedical applications of robotics and computational sensors over the course of 10 weeks. Working in a small group under the guidance of a faculty researcher and a graduate student mentor, you will contribute to their ongoing research in areas like biomechanical surgical systems, biomedical imaging diagnostic technology, and intelligent medical robotic systems. You will also get the opportunity to attend a surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital’s Minimally Invasive Surgical Training Center. Professional development workshops, tours of industry and government engineering laboratories, and technical writing workshops are also part of the experience. You will also submit a final research paper and deliver a presentation at an internship symposium.
Location: OHSU campus, Portland or Beaverton, OR
Stipend: $4,500 + housing and meals covered
Cohort size: 25–30
Program dates: June 23 – August 15
Application deadline: January 22
Eligibility: Students with at least one undergraduate year completed and one basic science or math/statistics course; must be U.S. citizens and belong to underrepresented minority groups, be first-generation college students, have experienced hardships, or have disabilities
OHSU’s Equity Research Program is designed for undergraduate college students interested in biomedical research. Here, you can choose from tracks like biomedical studies/engineering, dentistry, medicine, and public health, and engage in research within your chosen field under mentorship. You will spend eight weeks working on your projects alongside faculty, scientists, and graduate students. You will also attend educational seminars led by professors and researchers. The program ends with a scientific poster session where you share your research.
Location: University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Stipend: $6,000 + travel, housing, and meals covered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Program dates: May 27 – August 1
Application deadline: February 21
Eligibility: Undergraduate students majoring in engineering or related fields (chemistry, biology, physics) with a minimum GPA of 2.8
KU’s IDEA Incubator is a research-focused internship for undergraduates focusing on the use of art for scientific communication. Here, you will engage in research in areas like pharmaceutical manufacturing, biomass conversion and reaction engineering, synthesis of biomimetic materials, and nanomedicine under the mentorship of faculty. You will also engage in team-building activities, scientific seminars, and professional development workshops on graduate schools and career planning. Additionally, you will develop your storytelling and communication skills while presenting biomedical concepts in print and digital media, with the goal of increasing public engagement with the sciences. At the end of the internship, you will present your work at a research symposium.
Location: Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH
Stipend: $6,000 + free housing, $500 travel funding, and at least $500 for conference attendance
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Program dates: May 19 – July 15
Application deadline: February 25
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
The REU site at CSU offers biomedical summer internships to undergraduates, allowing them to complete original research under the guidance of a faculty mentor over the course of 10 weeks. You will contribute to research in areas like microgel and hydrogel nanoparticles, anisotropic soft matter, and soft matter fluid while focusing on medical applications. You will attend social networking events to connect with peers and CSU faculty members. You will also get access to travel funds to attend conferences and continue expanding your network. Each week, you will attend educational seminars on soft matter and a student-led session where you’ll give short presentations on your research progress. You will deliver a final poster presentation at the Northeast Ohio NSF-REU Undergraduate Research Conference.
Location: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Stipend: $6,000 + free housing and funded travel
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~35 students
Program dates: May 25 – July 31
Application deadline: February 1
Eligibility: Current undergraduate students; typically rising juniors and seniors apply
UVA’s SRP places you within a medical school setting, where you will spend 10 weeks on a research project with direct applications in modern medicine. You will design and execute a biomedical research project under the guidance of a mentor from UVA School of Medicine’s BME department. The focus of your project can be biomechanics, biomedical data science, tissue regeneration, biomanufacturing, or drug discovery. Outside research, you will attend a professional development series exploring careers in biomedical sciences, faculty and graduate student panels on graduate school applications, and a lecture series led by professional researchers and physician scientists.
One other option—Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you want to pursue independent research under the guidance of a mentor, consider applying to Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, which are selective programs founded in partnership with Harvard and Oxford researchers. In the past, 4,000+ students applied for just 500 spots in the research program. You can learn about the application and available programs on the application form here.
Also, you can check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented low-income students. Last year, it offered 150 students full need-based financial assistance.
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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