10 STEM Research Summer Programs for Middle School Students

Middle schoolers interested in STEM can consider pursuing summer research programs. These programs allow you to delve into a range of STEM subjects to enhance your knowledge. You also develop research and critical thinking skills.

Through these programs, you interact with STEM professionals and like-minded peers, who become part of your network. Whichever STEM field you may be interested in, research programs are available. Here is a list to help you get started.

10 STEM Research Summer Programs for Middle School Students

1. Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program

Location: Virtual

Cost: Varies. Financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective

Dates: 8 weeks. Varies by cohort

Application Deadline: Varies by cohort

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8

Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program is designed to help you conduct research in a field of your choice. Paired with PhD mentors from prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Oxford, MIT, and Princeton, you receive guidance from them as you conduct STEM research. You learn to read and interpret academic literature, build research questions, and create outputs such as a high school-level research paper or case study, thereby building crucial research skills. Feedback and writing coaching sessions enable you to develop your scientific communication skills. You can publish your research in academic journals by opting for the Junior Research and Publication Program.

2. Rice University’s Rice Bio Academies

Location: Rice University, Houston, TX

Cost: $599. Limited scholarships available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: July 13 to July 17

Application Deadline: April 18

Eligibility: Students in grades 7 to 11 who have taken or are enrolled in a biology class

This week-long program for middle and high schoolers introduces you to science and engineering. Middle schoolers enroll in the BioEng track where you learn about engineering design, anatomy, and prosthetic development. You participate in hands-on activities as well as project-based design challenges. You engage in lab sessions that teach you research tools and techniques. The other activities in the program include engineering design challenges, anatomy exploration, prosthetic prototyping, DNA extraction and analysis, micropipetting, bacterial transformation, and PTC gene testing. You connect with professionals who mentor and guide you, thereby becoming part of your network.

3. Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers

Location: Virtual

Cost: Varies. Financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks on weekends during the spring cohort. 25 hours over 2 weeks on weekdays during the summer cohort

Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8

Students interested in technology can consider Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers program. By participating in this program, you develop a foundational understanding of AI and machine learning. Through this program, you can learn about Python, data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. This theoretical aspect is followed by the practical one where you complete a project. This project must solve a real-world problem in a field of your choice using technology. In the past, students have built a machine-learning model to classify music genres and a machine-learning algorithm to provide a custom list of educational resources based on selected specifications.

4. NYU’s Sounds of New York City

Location: New York City, NY

Cost/Stipend: None

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: July 6 to July 31

Application Deadline: May 15

Eligibility: Rising students in grades 7 and 8 who are residents of NYC

SONYC by NYU introduces you to noise pollution as an urban challenge in the context of NYC. You study sound waves and noise pollution and how they affect human health. The program teaches you electronics and coding, skills you use to develop a sound monitoring device. You sample sounds and research the impact of pollution on human well-being. By the end of the program, you develop and present a sound technology that addresses a real-world noise pollution challenge.

5. Stony Brook University’s Science Exploration Program

Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

Cost: $700

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 24 students per grade level

Dates: June 29 to July 9

Application Deadline: First come, first served

Eligibility: Students in grades 7 and 8

The Science Exploration Program invites you to conduct research and develop your critical thinking. This program complements your school science curriculum. 7th graders learn about physics, chemistry, microbiology and ecology. They also gain lab skills. Similarly, 8th graders biology, chemistry, biotechnology, and environmental chemistry in the context of case studies and interactive demonstrations. Everyday programming requires you to be involved with reading, computer searching, writing and group work. Thus, you not only enhance your science knowledge but also build research skills.

6. Berkeley Coding Academy’s Data Science - The AI Journey

Location: Virtual

Cost: From $2,599

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 6 students per cohort

Dates: July 6 to July 31

Application Deadline: Not specified

Eligibility: Students aged 11 to 18

Middle schoolers consider a future in data science and AI can opt for the Berkeley Coding Academy. The course teaches you how to create visualizations, build machine learning models, and apply AI in the real world. During the lecture, you learn to code and maintain a coding notebook. In the cohorts, you work on projects in groups. Here, you also conduct original research to solidify your learnings. Thus, you complete the program with a portfolio of work and a certificate of completion.

7. Animal Behavior and Investigations @ The Lawrence

Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Cost: $1,550. Financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: June 22 to June 26 for session 2. July 6 to July 10 for session 3

Application Deadline: Varies by session

Eligibility: Students entering grades 7 to 9

The Lawrence Hall of Science offers a range of programs for middle schoolers to explore STEM subjects. In Animal Behavior and Investigations, you can study why animals behave the way they do. Combining biology with psychology, you learn how researchers observe, describe, and figure out animal actions in the natural habitat as well as in controlled environments. You design and conduct your own animal observation study. In addition to research, you tour the lab facilities, interact with peers, and network with STEM professionals. You present your project at the end of the program.

8. Georgetown University’s Medical Research: Clinical Trials Resulting in Medical Discoveries

Location: Online

Cost: $1,895. Scholarships available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: Various sessions with different lengths available

Application Deadline: Varies by session

Eligibility: Students aged 13 years and older

This program delves into the research that goes behind medicine and treatment development. You learn how researchers formulate, conduct, and evaluate the evidence they gather. The ethical dimension of research is also considered. Over the course of the program, you will design, plan, and execute your own study using the professional methods you learn. You also gain knowledge of basic biostatistics, epidemiology, and their role in medical research. By the end of the program, you discover various STEM career pathways.

9. Wake Forest University’s Middle and High School Summer Research Exposure Programs

Location: Virtual

Cost: $50 for materials

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: July 13 to July 17

Application Deadline: March 15

Eligibility: Middle and high school students aged 14 to 18

Students interested in regenerative medicine science can opt for this program by Wake Forest University. Designed for middle and high schoolers, you receive exposure to contemporary research in the field. You also discover the technology associated with the field over the week. The program provides insights into career pathways in regenerative medicine. You can participate in the half-day in-person programming. Here, you participate in workshops and network with faculty and industry professionals. 

10. MST@MSU: Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Michigan State University

Location: Gilman School, Baltimore, MD

Cost: $1,045 for commuter (includes lunches), $2,100 for residential

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 16 to 18 students

Dates: June 22 to June 26 or July 6 to July 10

Application Deadline: May 8

Eligibility: Students in grades 7 or 8 who meet the ACT, SAT, or CogAT score requirements

This is a rigorous program for academically talented middle schoolers. Over one week, you take three STEM classes that go beyond your school curriculum. The program emphasizes mathematics, science, and technology and their real-world applications. You also engage with these subjects from the perspective of interdisciplinary research. Through active learning, you develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. You can discover a range of STEM career paths through the program.

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 where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

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