10 Summer Research Programs for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- 5 hours ago
- 6 min read
Summer is an ideal time to expand your knowledge and gain practical skills. Middle school students can take this time to conduct research. Many organizations offer research programs for you to delve into a subject of your choice. These programs are typically mentored, so you can learn from professionals and build your network.
Held in the summer, these programs do not affect your school schedule. At the same time, you can interact with peers from different backgrounds. Here is a list of 10 such programs for you to consider.
10 Summer Research Programs for Middle School Students
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
If you’re looking for an online guided program, Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program may meet your needs. You will be paired with PhD mentors from prestigious universities, such as Harvard, Oxford, MIT, and Princeton, who are experts in their fields. You can study a subject of your choice, including medicine, engineering, business, economics, history, and so on. The program helps 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. You can expect to develop critical thinking and scientific communication skills through feedback sessions. Lumiere also offers a Junior Research and Publication Program for students who wish to publish their research in academic journals in 16 weeks.
Location: New York City, NY
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 6 to 31
Application Deadline: May 15
Eligibility: Rising 7th and 8th graders who are NYC residents
SoSC is a hands-on program for you to learn coding and electronics. You will receive instruction in programming as well as circuitry. The program also covers engineering and environmental and urban science alongside microcontrollers, sensors, and hardware. For the practical aspect, you will work in groups to develop a technological solution for a real-world challenge. Your research will be regarding sustainability and urban design, so you can create a meaningful device. The completed project will be presented at the concluding session.
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 may find Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers program suitable. This program teaches you the basics of AI and machine learning. The virtual classes cover diverse topics such as Python, data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. Because the program blends theory with practice, you will use these learnings to solve a real-world issue in a field of your choice. 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.
Location: Rice University, Houston, TX
Cost: $499 per week, scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 23 to 27, tentative
Application Deadline: April 18, tentative
Eligibility: Students in grades 7 to 10
Forensics Investigators Program is an immersive experience where you will engage with crime scene investigation and scientific exploration. You will learn to conduct scientific inquiry in the context of detective work. The program teaches forensic techniques that help you develop critical thinking. During the program, you will learn skills from evidence collection to identifying, classifying, and analyzing different types of evidence, including fingerprints, DNA, blood, and many others. Through this program, you can chart a career as a forensic scientist.
Location: Online
Cost: $1,895, scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Various sessions with different lengths
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: Students aged 13 and older
Research is a crucial component of developing medicines and treatments for a range of diseases. The course helps you understand how medical researchers formulate, conduct, and evaluate the evidence they gather. You will develop your own research study as you consider further education and a career in STEM, medical research, pharmaceuticals, or a related field. Ethics are also an important dimension of research. As you learn the intricacies of evidence-based research, you will transform your research study into a scientific article.
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $1,550, financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 22 to 26, session 2; July 6 to 10, session 3; July 20 to 24, session 5; July 27 to 31, session 6
Application Deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: Rising 7th to 9th graders
Engineering is about producing creative solutions for real-world problems. This program teaches you how engineers come up with such solutions and the engineering process from design to execution. As a practical program, you will complete engineering challenges and design structures. You will build solar and wind-powered farming solutions, a solar suitcase to charge devices, and hydraulic lift systems. You also hear from STEM professionals regarding their career journey. The program concludes with project presentations.
Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Cost: $675
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 24 students per grade level
Dates: June 30 to July 10, tentative
Application Deadline: First come, first served
Eligibility: Students entering grades 7 to 9
The Science Exploration Program for rising 7th – 9th graders encourages you to research and experiment. This is a lab-based program. However, you will also read scientific research, write results, and work in groups. Although the program specifics vary according to the grade level, you can expect to conduct science research in different fields. You will develop and test hypotheses to be presented to the group. Thus, the program enables you to develop research proficiency.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $50 for materials
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 13 to 17
Application Deadline: March 15
Eligibility: Middle and high school students aged 14 to 18
This research program introduces you to regenerative medicine. Designed for middle and high school students, it lasts for 1 week. You will encounter contemporary research and technologies in the field. You also hear from researchers and professionals to discover career options. You can participate in the optional half-day in-person programming. It involves practical workshops and activities.
Location: American University, Washington, DC or University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $3,095 residential or $2,695 commuter
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates:American University: June 16 to 21, June 26 to July 1, or July 5 to 10University of California, Berkeley: July 13 to 18 or July 22 to 27
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Students at least 11 years old and enrolled in grades 6 to 8
The Medicine & Health Care Program invites you to explore how science and skill influence patient care. The program involves practical lab work and workshops that cover anatomy, patient care, and diagnosis and treatment. You will complete dissections, learn to take patient vitals, practice suturing and delivering injections, and learn bedside manners. All these diverse components prepare you for a career in medicine. You also tour campuses and historic landmarks.
Location: Online
Cost: From $2,699
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohorts of 6 students
Dates: July 14 to August 1
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Students aged 12 to 18 with basic knowledge of Python
This program equips you with the knowledge and skills to pursue a career in data science and AI. During the program, you will create data visualizations, build machine learning models, and develop relevant AI applications. Lectures teach you core academic concepts, wherein you are required to maintain a coding notebook. In the cohort time, you will work in small groups to conduct original research, apply new concepts, and develop a project. You receive personalized feedback to ensure optimum learning.
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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