10 Summer Research Opportunities for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 5 hours ago
- 8 min read
Summer research programs can be a great way for you to explore college-level academics long before you reach high school, giving you hands-on exposure to real scientific thinking, problem-solving, and experimentation. These experiences help you build practical skills like working with lab equipment, analyzing data, or writing research summaries that you rarely get in a standard middle-school classroom. You also get a first look at how scientists, engineers, and scholars collaborate in professional settings, which can help you understand what future career paths might feel like day-to-day. Many programs also introduce you to mentors, graduate students, and peers who share your interests, allowing you to form early connections that may support you for years.
If you're serious about exploring research, this is also the stage where you might start looking into programs that offer scholarships or financial support, especially for students who show strong academic potential. To help you navigate the many options, we’ve narrowed down a list of summer research programs that stand out for their rigor, selective admissions, strong mentorship, and opportunities to engage with experts in the field. These programs were chosen because they provide meaningful academic challenge, access to professional networks, and in some cases, funded opportunities that make participation more accessible. Whether you're interested in biology, engineering, computer science, or interdisciplinary research, this list will give you a solid starting point for your summer planning.
Location: Online (Founded by Harvard and Oxford researchers)
Cost: Varies; need-based financial aid available
Program Dates: 8 weeks (rolling cohorts throughout the year)
Application Deadline: Varies across different cohorts
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8; open to motivated students globally interested in exploring academic research or writing.
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program pairs middle school students with Ph.D. mentors from universities such as Harvard, Oxford, MIT, and Princeton to explore academic subjects and develop a written project. Across eight weeks, you’ll learn to read and interpret academic literature, build research questions, and create outputs such as a high school-level research paper or case study. You’ll receive individualized feedback through eight mentor sessions and two writing-coach sessions, ensuring you master both analytical and writing fundamentals. Research topics range from gene editing to behavioral economics. The program’s rigorous selection process and personalized mentorship make it one of the most competitive and enriching academic writing experiences available for middle school students. Lumiere also offers a Junior Research and Publication Program for students who wish to publish their research in academic journals.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified (structured small-group research format)
Location: University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $1,550 tuition (day program); optional residential add-on $1,350; need-based financial aid is available.
Program Dates: June 22–26; July 6–10
Application Deadline: Registration opens December 10; financial aid applications due April 12; registration typically closes the Sunday before each session
Eligibility: Students entering grades 7–9
In this week-long program, you study animal behavior as a research field that blends biology and psychology, learning how scientists observe, describe, and interpret animal actions. You practice research skills such as designing an observation study, setting up experimental conditions, collecting behavioral data, and reflecting on possible explanations for what you see. Daily activities include wildlife observations, birds-of-prey explorations, a field trip to The Lawrence Hall of Science, and a tour of an active research lab. You also participate in “Pathways” sessions that introduce you to current college students and STEM professionals, giving context for how animal behavior connects to real academic and career paths. On the final afternoon, parents are invited to watch you present your investigation and findings, so you gain experience communicating your work to a live audience.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; need-based financial aid available
Application deadline: Rolling deadlines. You can apply to the program here.
Program dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks (on weekends) during the spring cohort and 25 hours over 2 weeks (on weekdays) during the summer cohort.
Eligibility: Students in grades 6-8
The AI Trailblazers program by Veritas AI is a virtual program that teaches middle school students the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Over 25 hours, you will learn the basics of Python as well as topics like data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. Students learn through lectures and group sessions with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio. Previous student projects have included building a machine-learning model to classify music genres and creating a machine-learning algorithm to provide a custom list of educational resources based on selected specifications.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; selective with essays and academic criteria
Location: New York University, New York, NY
Cost: Fully funded; students attend on a full scholarship
Program Dates: July 8–August 4 (orientation on June 28 via Zoom)
Application Deadline: April 14 (program site also lists April 29 as final deadline)
Eligibility: NYC residents ages 12–14; strong academic record and demonstrated interest in science
SONYC introduces you to the scientific study of sound and noise pollution, using New York City as a real-world research environment. You learn how scientists measure and interpret sound waves, explore public health impacts, and investigate how noise spreads through urban spaces. As part of the research curriculum, you collect audio samples, work with microcontrollers and sensors, build simple monitoring devices, and analyze how environmental sound affects communities. You also develop engineering and coding skills through hands-on work with circuitry, hardware, and real noise-mapping technologies. The program culminates in a final expo where you present smart-city prototypes based on your research. Additionally, the mandatory Irondale improv component strengthens your communication and public-speaking skills, which support your ability to present scientific work effectively.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; selective with academic criteria and essays
Location: New York University, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: Fully funded; all admitted students receive a full scholarship
Program Dates: July 8–August 2 (orientation June 28 via Zoom)
Application Deadline: April 29
Eligibility: NYC residents ages 12–14; strong academic record; demonstrated interest in STEM; must commit to full program duration
In this multi-week program, you explore how engineers and computer scientists design technologies that make cities safer, more efficient, and more sustainable. You work with circuitry, sensors, microcontrollers, and coding tools to understand how real urban systems collect and use data. As you learn how scientists apply engineering principles to real-world constraints, you design and prototype a solution to an urban challenge such as transportation, energy use, or environmental monitoring. The program dedicates significant time to hands-on building, testing, and troubleshooting, giving you practical exposure to engineering workflows. The experience concludes with a final presentation where you showcase your engineered solution and explain how it addresses a real smart-city need.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; selective enrichment program with application and essays
Location: Online (Georgetown University, Washington, DC)
Cost: $1,895; need-based scholarships are available
Program Dates: Multiple 1-, 2-, and 4-week sessions; summer sessions included
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary by session; typically 1–2 weeks before start date
Eligibility: Students ages 13 and up
In this online research program, you study how clinical trials generate evidence for new medical treatments and learn the core steps of evidence-based medicine. You explore research design by understanding how clinical questions are formed, how studies are structured, and how scientists evaluate data in fields such as oncology and public health. The course introduces foundational tools used in biomedical research, such as biostatistics, epidemiology concepts, clinical ethics, and methods for navigating scientific literature. As part of the capstone requirement, you analyze peer-reviewed articles and create a video presentation demonstrating how scientific method principles apply to a research question of your choosing. By the end, you gain early experience in reading scientific studies, framing research questions, and communicating findings in a structured academic format.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; limited enrollment with selective scholarship availability
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost: $499 per week + $3 registration fee; includes daily lunch (M–F); limited scholarships are available
Program Dates: June 23–27
Application Deadline: Scholarship applications due April 18; general registration open until seats are filled
Eligibility: Students in grades 7–10
This week-long program introduces you to forensic science through hands-on investigation and evidence analysis. You learn how forensic scientists collect, classify, and examine materials such as fingerprints, blood samples, DNA traces, and other physical evidence found at crime scenes. Instruction emphasizes scientific reasoning, laboratory techniques, and the use of analytical tools to determine how evidence supports or contradicts hypotheses. You also collaborate with peers to interpret mock crime scenarios, gaining experience in structured inquiry and problem-solving. Throughout the program, you work under the guidance of Rice STEM educators who demonstrate real methods used in forensic laboratories.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; space is limited and filled on a first-come, completion-of-requirements basis
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost: $499 per week + $3 registration fee; includes take-home materials and daily lunch; limited scholarships available
Program Dates: July 14–18
Application Deadline: Scholarship applications due April 18; general registration accepted until capacity is reached
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
This week-long academy introduces you to core engineering design tools, including Computer-Aided Design (CAD), rapid prototyping, and microelectronics. You work with 3D printers, robotics platforms, and microcontrollers to build functional prototypes that demonstrate specific design principles. Instruction emphasizes problem-solving and iterative design, giving you a structured environment to test ideas, model components, and refine your creations. You also gain exposure to manufacturing workflows as you move from digital designs to physical outputs. Collaborative projects help you understand how engineering teams divide work, troubleshoot systems, and integrate hardware and software. By the end of the program, you leave with both the prototypes you built and a clearer understanding of how engineers translate concepts into real-world solutions.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Maximum 24 students per grade level
Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Cost: $675
Program Dates: June 30 – July 10
Application Deadline: First-come, first-served until filled
Eligibility: Students entering grades 7, 8, or 9
This laboratory-based program exposes you to structured scientific exploration across physics, chemistry, biology, microbiology, biotechnology, and ecology, depending on grade level. Seventh-grade students focus on core laboratory skills through guided experiments, while eighth-grade students work through case studies in genetics, bioremediation, and environmental chemistry to learn how scientific concepts connect to real-world problems. Ninth-grade students engage more deeply with research methods, forming hypotheses, conducting independent investigations, and presenting their findings. Each track incorporates reading scientific material, performing computer-based searches, and completing group investigations. You also gain experience working with lab equipment, analyzing experimental outcomes, and refining your research questions. By the end of the program, you will have developed stronger scientific reasoning skills and a clearer understanding of how scientists think and work.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: The program is selective. Information on the size of the application pool and exact cohort size is not available.
Location: Women’s Alliance in STEM and Humanities (Virtual)
Cost: Free for all selected participants.
Program Dates: Weekly workshops from June–early August, culminating in a virtual research showcase.
Application Deadline: Applications typically open in spring; specific deadlines vary each cycle.
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–12 with an interest in STEM research or interdisciplinary STEM–humanities topics.
The WASH Summer Research Institute offers a structured six-week research training experience in specialized disciplines such as finance and computer science, quantum technology, and microbiology. You’ll work closely with WASH mentors to build discipline-specific foundations before progressing into independent or small-group research. In the finance and CS track, participants design a functional fintech application, while the quantum cohort studies real-world applications of quantum technologies. Those in the microbiology track develop skills in scientific reading and professional literature review methods. The program culminates in a capstone research project, giving you experience with research design, analysis, and presentation. By the end, you will gain practical exposure to the research process while building writing, problem-solving, and conceptual reasoning skills applicable across STEM and humanities domains.
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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