11 STEM Programs for High School Students in Memphis, TN
- Stephen Turban
- 2 hours ago
- 8 min read
If you are a high school student interested in STEM, participating in a structured program can help you explore advanced topics beyond your school curriculum. Through these opportunities, you’ll gain early exposure to college-level academics, projects, and professional environments, while also building practical skills that go far beyond a typical classroom experience. You also gain early insight into how STEM is studied and applied in academic and professional settings.
What STEM programs are available for high schoolers in Memphis, Tennessee?
In Memphis, you can access STEM programs ranging from summer research experiences to specialized academies in fields like medicine, engineering, and computer science. Many are hosted by universities, hospitals, and established organizations, offering mentorship and academically rigorous environments. Together, these opportunities help you build technical skills, explore potential career paths, and better understand what pursuing STEM in college might look like.
To help narrow your options, we’ve identified 11 STEM programs for high school students in Memphis, Tennessee.
If you’re looking for online summer research programs, check out our blog here.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Small, selective cohort | Students are placed in pairs per research mentor
Location: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Cost/Stipend: No cost to participate | Students receive a $4,800 stipend
Dates: June 1 – July 25
Application Deadline: Applications are due by January 31
Eligibility: Current high school juniors (rising seniors) in the Memphis–Shelby County area or nearby counties, at least 16 years old, with a minimum 3.0 GPA.
In this eight-week, full-time summer research program, you will work directly with a St. Jude research mentor on a mentored project in areas such as laboratory science, psychology, epidemiology, clinical research, or data science. You’ll collaborate closely with your mentor to design experiments, analyze data, and interpret results, gaining exposure to how research operates in a large biomedical research hospital. Alongside lab work, you will participate in structured sessions with a science educator focused on scientific identity, ethics, and communication. The program culminates in a community research exhibition, where you will present your work through a formal scientific poster.
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies depending on program type | Full financial aid available
Dates: Varies by cohort | Summer, fall, winter, or spring | Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Eligibility: 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. 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.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly listed
Location: University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Cost: Not publicly listed
Dates: June 30 – July 2
Application Deadline: Registrations open in March | Rolling until full
Eligibility: Open to high school students.
In this short, intensive cybersecurity camp, you’ll work through core security concepts by building and testing autonomous R/C car projects designed to simulate real attack scenarios. The curriculum emphasizes fundamentals such as password security, buffer overflow exploits, and man-in-the-middle attacks, grounding each topic in ethical decision-making and responsible computing. You will spend your days applying concepts in hands-on labs, which helps translate abstract security ideas into concrete system behavior. The program is hosted by faculty and staff from the University of Memphis’s computer science ecosystem, giving you exposure to how cybersecurity is studied at the university level. By the end of the camp, you’ll leave with a practical understanding of how common vulnerabilities are exploited and how defensive thinking is applied in real systems.
4. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available
Application deadline: Rolling. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November). You can apply to the program here
Program dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter
Eligibility: High school students. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students looking to get started in AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and have the opportunity to work on real-world projects. Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students have the opportunity to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that students have access to the in-house publication team to help them secure publications in high school research journals. You can also check out some examples of past projects here and read about a student’s experience in the program here.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly listed
Location: University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Cost: $120 registration fee
Dates: June 23 – 27
Application Deadline: June 2
Eligibility: Open to all high school students.
In this week-long, in-person camp, you’ll explore core ideas in physics and materials science through hands-on experiments, lab tours, and short topical seminars. The curriculum connects abstract concepts to real systems, covering areas such as semiconductor technology, black holes and galaxy formation, and polymer materials used in medical and space applications. You will spend part of each day in university research spaces, which provide exposure to how physics is studied and applied beyond the high school classroom. Sessions are structured to emphasize observation, measurement, and scientific reasoning rather than rote problem sets. By the end of the week, you’ll leave with a clearer sense of how physics and materials science intersect with engineering, technology, and applied research pathways.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~50 students at the Memphis academy
Location: Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Memphis, TN
Cost: $175 program fee | Fee waivers available
Dates: June 8 – June 12
Application Deadline: Registration opens February 1 | May close early if capacity is reached
Eligibility: High school students ages 13–18.
In this week-long summer academy, you will work through a structured aerospace curriculum that emphasizes how aviation systems actually function. You’ll study aerodynamics, air traffic control workflows, and aerospace technologies while mapping real career pathways in aviation and engineering. The instruction blends classroom modules with applied activities designed to model professional aerospace environments rather than hobbyist projects. The program is endorsed by the Federal Aviation Administration, which anchors the content in industry standards and safety frameworks. You will also gain exposure to aerospace professionals and airline partners, helping you understand how technical roles connect across the aviation ecosystem.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly stated | Programs often fill quickly
Location: Memphis, TN (various locations)
Cost: Not publicly listed
Dates: Workshops: Every 4th Saturday, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM | STEM Camp: Summer sessions (dates vary)
Application Deadline: Rolling registration | Camps fill on a first-come basis
Eligibility: Middle and high school girls (exact ages vary by program).
100 Girls of Code provides community-based STEM programming that engages girls in technology, gaming, and applied science through hands-on learning. You can attend monthly workshops led by women professionals in STEM fields, take part in interactive STEM camps focused on science, technology, engineering, and math projects, and engage in competitive esports activities that emphasize teamwork, strategy, and digital literacy. The programs are designed to build confidence, technical curiosity, and early exposure to STEM pathways in an informal, supportive environment.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly listed
Location: Virtual | Hosted by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Cost: Free
Dates: Mid-January – Mid-March
Application Deadline: Rolling | Teachers coordinate scheduling with St. Jude
Eligibility: High school students enrolled in advanced-level biology or chemistry classes; participation is requested by teachers or schools.
In this short-format academic program, you will engage directly with professional scientists to discuss peer-reviewed research papers in biology and chemistry. Across three monthly sessions, you’ll analyze experimental design, data interpretation, and scientific claims, practicing how researchers read and critique the literature. Discussions are led by St. Jude scientists or affiliated researchers, giving you exposure to current questions in biomedical research and how evidence is evaluated in real labs. The program is best suited if you want structured exposure to primary literature and Q&A with scientists without committing to a full summer internship.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~45–50 students nationwide
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Dates: Year-long | January – December
Application Deadline: December 1
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors residing in the U.S.
PRIMES-USA is an intensive, year-long online mathematics research program that places high school students into mentored projects on unsolved problems in pure and applied mathematics. You will work closely with MIT-affiliated graduate students and faculty through weekly virtual meetings, progressing from advanced reading to original research, formal write-ups, and conference-style presentations. Applied projects may include theoretical computer science and computational biology, making the program highly relevant for students interested in mathematically rigorous STEM fields. The program demands sustained independent work - typically 10+ hours per week during research phases, and culminates in a research paper that may be submitted to national competitions or professional journals. Admission to the program is highly selective and based on demonstrated mathematical ability, research readiness, and self-motivation.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~50 students
Location: Remote/Online
Cost: $2,400 | Partial or full financial aid available
Dates: Session A: June 15 – 26 | Session B: July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: February 20 | Financial aid deadline: February 13
Eligibility: U.S.-based high school students entering grades 9–12 (age 14+) with strong interest in math, computer science, or healthcare preferred.
This two-week virtual research internship introduces you to the technical and clinical foundations of artificial intelligence in healthcare. You will engage in structured research projects focused on AI applications in medicine and imaging, supported by Stanford-affiliated researchers and student leads. The program blends technical lectures, collaborative project work, and mentoring with exposure to experts from academia, industry, and public-sector organizations. While projects are exploratory, the experience emphasizes applied problem-solving, interdisciplinary thinking, and ethical considerations in health AI. If you complete the program, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion and gain early exposure to research workflows in a professional AI-in-medicine environment.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~30–50 Computing for the Good interns
Location: Remote/Online
Cost: $200 | Scholarships available
Dates: 6-week summer program
Application Deadline: Applications open in February | Decisions released mid-April
Eligibility: High school students; no prior computer science experience required.
In this six-week summer internship, you will collaborate in small teams on computing projects designed around real-world social impact. You’ll work alongside other high school interns under the guidance of a Colorado School of Mines undergraduate mentor, developing foundational skills in computer science through applied, problem-driven work. The program emphasizes accessibility as prior CS experience isn’t required, but curiosity and commitment are. With both remote and in-person options, this internship is especially well-suited if you’re looking for an authentic introduction to computing research while contributing to projects framed around the public good.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics. 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.
Image Source - Lumiere Education logo