15 Research Programs for High School Students in Maryland
- Stephen Turban
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
If you are planning for college, you will need more than just strong grades. You need to show how you think and how you work through ideas. Research is one of the most practical and easy ways to build that, and high school programs give you a clear place to start.
In these programs, you work on focused questions, read closely, and build your own understanding step by step. You might analyze data, review sources, or develop a small project with guidance. The process helps you see how academic work actually happens.
Why should I do a research program in high school?
By joining a research program, you build skills like analysis, structured thinking, and clear communication. You also learn how to handle open-ended work and explain your ideas. These programs give you early exposure to real academic environments and help you understand what studying a subject in college might involve.
If you are based in Maryland, you have access to universities and research institutions that offer structured programs for high school students. Choosing a program in Maryland can be more practical since you avoid travel and housing costs. This experience strengthens your college applications and gives you solid points to discuss in interviews.
To help you explore your options, here are 15 research programs for high school students in Maryland!
15 Research Programs for High School Students in Maryland
Location: University of Maryland, Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology, Rockville, MD
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 22 – August 7
Application Deadline: February 13
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who are at least 16 years old are eligible to apply.
The Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) internship places you in a working biotech lab, where you spend your time learning directly from scientists handling real research problems. You choose between a summer-only track or a longer version that continues into the school year, which changes how deeply you get involved. Most of your work depends on your lab, but it often includes assisting with experiments, handling biological materials, and understanding how research questions are approached in practice. You are expected to follow the process closely and understand what each step is trying to achieve.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Eligibility: High school students are eligible to apply
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 from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here, and check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
Location: The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Stipend: $3000
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 22 – August 13
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school students from households with collective incomes that do not exceed 200% of the federal poverty limit are eligible to apply. Applicants must also meet an additional eligibility criterion, such as being first-generation college or going to, or would have gone to, based on their home address, a high school where the majority are also low income.
The Summer Academic Research Experience (SARE) places you inside a biomedical research environment at Johns Hopkins, where you spend eight weeks working through both lab work and coursework. You are involved in experiments under the guidance of mentors, while also taking classes in areas like data analysis, scientific writing, and bioethics. The program moves between practical and academic work, so you are constantly switching between doing and understanding. Some students even reach the point where their work contributes to publications, which gives you a sense of how far these projects can go.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Multiple year-round cohorts
Application Deadline: Varies depending on cohort
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) are eligible to apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a few tracks require formal prerequisites; more details of which can be found here.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, and more! Horizon is one of the few research programs for high school students that offers you the choice to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research. Once you select a particular subject track, Horizon pairs you with a professor/PhD scholar who acts as a mentor throughout your research journey. As a participant, you will be expected to develop a 20-page research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student and detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects. Apply here!
Location: Johns Hopkins University, Homewood Campus, Baltimore, MD
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: July 7 – August 7
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Rising 10th, 11th, and 12th-grade students interested in careers in science, medicine, and public health are eligible to apply.
BRBT places you in a teaching lab at Johns Hopkins, where you spend several weeks working through experiments in areas like DNA engineering, microbiology, and protein systems. You will be handling lab equipment, running procedures, and seeing how biological systems behave at a detailed level. Alongside this, some sessions explain the science behind what you are doing, which helps connect the steps to actual concepts. The program includes interaction with students and researchers at different levels, which gives you a clearer picture of how people move through this field.
Location: University of Maryland, A. James Clark School of Engineering, College Park, MD
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: July 7 – 31
Application Deadline: March 29
Eligibility: Rising 12th graders who have a minimum of a 3.2 GPA with no C's in math and science courses are eligible to apply. Applicants must have a serious interest in attending the University of Maryland, College Park, and majoring in engineering, and have completed Trigonometry, Chemistry, and Pre-Calc with a B or better.
ESTEEM/SER-Quest is built around engineering research, where you work on projects that require both technical understanding and planning. You spend time reviewing literature, designing your approach, and then working through the project step by step. The program also includes sessions on college applications and career pathways, but most of your focus stays on the research itself. You interact with undergraduate and graduate students, which gives you insight into how engineering is studied beyond high school. The work gradually shifts from guided to more independent as you move forward.
Location: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: 7%
Dates: June 23 – August 21
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors who are at least 15 years of age by June 1 and have a minimum 2.8 GPA are eligible to apply. Applicants must be permanent residents in one of the following Maryland counties: Anne Arundel, Baltimore (County or City), Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s; one of the following Virginia counties/cities: Alexandria, Arlington, or Fairfax; or the District of Columbia.
ASPIRE places you inside the Applied Physics Laboratory, where you work on projects that range from AI to aerospace and cybersecurity. You are matched with a mentor and spend around 30 to 40 hours each week working on tasks tied to real projects. The environment feels closer to a workplace than a classroom, with expectations around time, communication, and output. You are exposed to different areas depending on your placement, which makes the experience less predictable but more real. Over time, you begin to understand how these fields connect beyond textbooks.
Location: University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Stipend: Paid through YouthWorks for the summer portions, in addition to being paid up to $500 for participating in the research rotations
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: The program runs for two academic years
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Baltimore City 11th and 12th-grade high school students who are at least 16 years old by the start of the program are eligible to apply.
RAMP runs over two years, which gives it a very different pace compared to shorter programs. In the first year, you spend time building basic lab and clinical skills while also completing certifications and working on group projects. There are also sessions during the school year that keep you engaged with topics like neuroscience and public health. In the second year, you move into a lab placement where you work on a more focused research project. By that point, you are expected to handle your work more independently and present your findings clearly.
Location: Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 29 – July 24
Application Deadline: Priority Deadline: February 28 | General Deadline: April 30
Eligibility: Rising 11th or 12th grader or graduating high school seniors and incoming freshmen at Morgan State University are eligible to apply. Applicants must be interested in pursuing a Mathematics, Actuarial Science, or Computer Science degree, preferably at Morgan State University.
Morgan State’s program focuses on mathematics and actuarial science through structured coursework and applied work. You take classes that introduce you to these fields, while also working through case studies and problem-solving sessions. The program includes seminars and field trips, which give you a sense of how these subjects are used outside the classroom. You are also expected to manage assignments and keep up with the pace, which reflects how these disciplines are taught at higher levels.
Location: University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Year-long program
Application Deadline: September 22
Eligibility: West Baltimore students entering 8th-10th grade in the fall are eligible to apply.
The UMB CURE Scholars Program is a year-round initiative dedicated to empowering high school students from West Baltimore by preparing them for competitive careers in research, healthcare, and STEM fields. You will gain hands-on laboratory and research experience while developing a deepening understanding of STEM concepts and the wide range of career opportunities available within science and healthcare. You will attend regular after-school and Saturday sessions and benefit from direct engagement with UMB graduate students and faculty, who offer firsthand insight into academic and professional pathways in STEM and healthcare.
Location: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: 10.6%
Dates: June 22 – August 7
Application Deadline: January 26
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors at the time of application with a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 are eligible to apply. Applicants must have a permanent residence within a 50-mile radius of their host campus and demonstrate a strong interest in participating in scientific research.
NIST’s Summer High School Internship places you inside one of its research labs, where you work alongside scientists and engineers on ongoing projects. You are assigned to a specific lab, which determines the type of work you do, whether it involves materials, data systems, or physical measurements. The work is detailed, and you are expected to follow procedures carefully while understanding what they are meant to achieve. Being inside a federal research institution changes how you see the scale and precision involved in scientific work.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; 10 students
Dates: Middle/end of July
Application Deadline: February 13
Eligibility: High school students interested in Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, and/or Quantum (Information) Science are eligible to apply.
MathQuantum is a short but focused program where you explore the intersection of mathematics and quantum computing. You attend lectures and seminars, but you also work through activities that help you understand how these concepts are applied. The program includes a mini-project, which pushes you to organize what you’ve learned into something structured. The topics can feel abstract at first, but they become clearer as you move through the sessions.
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 21 – July 25
Application Deadline: December 3
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors who are at least 15 years old at the start of the program are eligible to apply.
The Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS) is a free, academically rigorous summer program for high school students, built around the principles of critical thinking, democratic community, and civic leadership. The program offers two distinct areas of study: TASS-CBS, which explores the intellectual, cultural, historical, and artistic contributions of people of African descent; and TASS-AOS, which examines how power structures shape society through the lens of literature, history, art, and related disciplines. You will engage in three hours of college-level instruction each weekday, encompassing research, structured discussions, small-group work, faculty lectures, and guest speaker presentations, while also completing assigned readings, film viewings, and written essays with ongoing feedback from the instructor team.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $25. Need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: July 27 – 31
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: Rising 9th - 12th-grade students are eligible to apply.
WIE RISE! introduces you to different branches of engineering through a mix of virtual labs and guided activities. Each day focuses on a different field, so you move across topics like aerospace, bioengineering, and materials science. You also spend time understanding how research papers are structured, which adds another dimension to the program. The sessions include interaction with engineering students, which helps connect what you’re learning to actual study paths.
Location: Virtual or in-person at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Cost: Application Fee: $75 | Program Deposit: $275. Campus tuition: $1,791 | Online tuition: $1,420. Need-based financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate: Highly selective.
Dates: July 13 – 31.
Application Deadline: June 1.
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, seniors, or graduating seniors are eligible to apply.
Terp Young Scholars allows you to take an actual university course, which means your work follows the same structure as undergraduate classes. You attend lectures, complete assignments, and prepare for exams, all within three weeks. The course you choose determines the kind of work you do, but the expectations remain consistent. You are responsible for keeping up with the material and managing your time. By the end, you have a clearer sense of what college-level academics actually demand.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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