9 Summer Biology Programs for Middle School Students in New York
- Stephen Turban
- 25 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Biology is a popular subject among many students. If you are looking to explore the subject and learn more about the field, you can opt for a summer program. Students in New York can enhance their knowledge and develop field-specific skills by participating in such programs.
These programs tend to be rigorous and led by experienced faculty. Interacting with industry professionals and like-minded peers allows you to build a network. So, here are some summer biology programs for you to choose from.
9 Summer Biology Programs for Middle School Students in New York
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies | Financial aid available
Dates: 8 weeks | Varies by cohort
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
Students looking to pursue hands-on research can opt for Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program. You are paired with PhD mentors from prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Oxford, MIT, and Princeton, who are experts from various fields, including biology. During the program, you conduct original biology research and gain specialized knowledge. You learn how to read and interpret academic literature, build research questions, and create outputs such as a high school-level research paper or case study, which enables you to build crucial skills. Through feedback and writing coaching sessions, you polish your scientific communication skills. You can opt for the Junior Research and Publication Program, where you can publish your research in academic journals.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: New York University, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: July 6 – 31
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: NYC students in 7th or 8th grade during the application period
NYU’s College and Career Lab invites you to step into the shoes of various careers and professions. You participate in college-style lectures and intensive workshops in various subjects, including biology. In addition to classes, you benefit from mentoring and advising. Students interested in biology can opt for the Anthropology and medicine-related tracks. In the Anthropology track, you learn about different components of biological anthropology, including morphology, comparative anatomy, and DNA extraction. You also meet and interact with industry professionals.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies | Financial aid available
Dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks (spring, weekends) | 25 hours over 2 weeks (summer, weekdays)
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers program is an interdisciplinary program for ambitious middle schoolers. You develop a foundational understanding of AI and machine learning. The program covers diverse topics like Python, data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. Upon completing this theoretical component, you develop a practical project. This project must create a technological solution for a real-world issue in the field of biology. 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.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: $1,300 | Scholarships available
Dates: July 6 – 10 | July 13 – 17
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
The Science Alliance Program provides the opportunity to delve into various science topics. You can learn about anthropology, astrophysics, conservation science, Earth science, and evolutionary biology. You can select the Evolution: Discovering Life’s Story track. Here you analyze fossil evidence, build cladograms, model natural selection, and understand deep time. Thus, you also develop practical skills related to biology. This program enables you to think like a scientist alongside your peers.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $1,895 | Scholarships available
Dates: Various sessions with different lengths
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and older
This program by Georgetown University teaches you about the human body and its functioning. You discover the various systems of the body, such as the musculoskeletal, nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, and gastrointestinal systems. You also learn about the interconnection among them. These topics introduce you to potential career pathways in medicine, research, forensic science, and more. For the capstone project, you design an informational pamphlet drawing from the knowledge you gained throughout the program.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Virtual or in-person
Cost/Stipend: $490 – $1,070 | Scholarships available
Dates: Various summer sessions
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High-achieving middle and high school students ages 12–18
The Rosetta Institute offers a range of workshops in molecular medicine for middle and high schoolers. Middle schoolers can opt for a track from among FutureMD: Oncology, Introduction to Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Medicinal Chemistry, and Medical Bioinformatics. These courses are led by PhD-level instructors and build your academic skills and college portfolio. You explore careers in biomedical research, drug development, pharmacy or nursing. By the end of the program, you complete original research on a gene or molecular process of your choice.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $1,795
Dates: Multi-length courses available throughout the year
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and older
This course on physiology by Rice University teaches you about the functioning of the human body. You learn about the different systems of the body and what happens when things go wrong. The program covers the nervous, muscular, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems and their interconnection. You also consider different career options through interactions with practicing physicians. The capstone project requires you to make models that showcase the physiological properties of the body’s healthy and pathological organs and systems.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $575 | Scholarships available
Dates: June 24 – August 5
Application Deadline: One week before the start date
Eligibility: Students entering grades 6–8 who meet Emerald-tier eligibility criteria
Northwestern’s CTD offers several biology programs for talented middle schoolers. In this track, you learn about the animals and insects around you. From the perspective of an ecology, you explore the interaction between humans and animals. Through this program, you learn to track and map populations, explore the networks of animals in your neighborhood, and use tools employed by professional scientists. As part of the final project, you study the interconnection between species as well as how human interaction increases or decreases population. You make and share a plan to help shape the animal or insect populations near you.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: $1,365
Dates: June 17 – July 22 (Summer A) | July 14 – August 18 (Summer B)
Application Deadline: May 11 (Summer A) | June 8 (Summer B)
Eligibility: Students in grades 5–6 with CTY-level verbal or quantitative scores
If you’re curious about genes and genetics, this program by Johns Hopkins CTY may be a suitable option for you. The program teaches you about Mendelian genetics to determine how traits are passed from parents to offspring. The program also covers classic and complex crosses as well as the cell division process, including the roles of DNA and chromosomes. At a larger scale, you examine how the genetic composition of a population can determine survival over time. By the end of the program, you get an overview of the theoretical and experimental probabilities in genetics.
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.
Image Source - New York University logo