Summer Opportunities!
These summer opportunities are tailored towards high school women in STEM, and provide ample resources and experiences to explore your passion in STEM.
MITES Summer
MITES Summer is a 6 week long intensive camp at MIT, geared towards those from under-represented backgrounds. During MITES, participants will take 5 difficult STEM classes, participate in social gatherings and lab work, and receive guidance on college admissions. MITES Summer is also free to attend, and a prestigious summer program. Applications normally open in the fall, so make sure to apply as a Junior!
Requirements: Rising Senior, US citizen
Girls Who Code Summer Programs
Requirements: Summer Immersion - current 9-11 grader, Pathways - Current 9-12 grader
Girls Who Code is an organization striving to increase girls’ exposure to various types of coding. They have 2 summer opportunities for high schoolers: The Summer Immersion Program, a 2 week long course centered around game design and technology, and Pathways. Pathways is a 6 week long self paced opportunity to learn coding languages, data science, web development, and more. Both programs are virtual, with no in-person requirement.
Yale Young Global Scholars - IST
Requirements: High school student
Yale Young Global Scholars is a prestigious 2-week residential camp at Yale. In this opportunity, the Innovations in Science and Technology, also known as IST, offers a wide variety of innovative seminars and lectures concerning STEM and its application of STEM into the real world. Although YYGS does cost money, there is a lot of financial aid options to attend, and many attendees go to YYGS for free.
Research Science Institute - MIT
Requirements: High school junior
Research Science Institute, better known as RSI, is a highly selective and competitive summer opportunity revolving around conducting research. Around 100 people total get admitted, so it is very highly regarded. Students in this program go through the entire research process, while also receiving various STEM lectures. Also, RSI is completely free, and participants also can get a stipend!
Lumiere Individual Research Program
Requirements: High school student
Lumiere Individual Research Program is a 12 week summer program resulting in a college-level research paper. This program is based to increase your interest in a desired field, and you have the ability to pick said field. This program was founded by Harvard and Oxford phd students, and provides well established mentors to aid in your research. Need based scholarship funding is also available for this competitive program!
S-PREP Summer at Columbia
Requirements: 7th-12 grader, 80% or higher grade average in science and math, resides in NYC
Columbia’s State Prep-college Enrichment Program, better known as SPREP, is a completely free high school program focusing on the introduction of medical and other STEM fields. The month long summer program consists of a variety of fascinating courses relating to stem, as well as PSAT and SAT prep, and other college prep resources. Furthermore, getting admitted to SPREP allows you to apply to other summer research programs held by Columbia, such as the BRAINYAC program and the YES in the Heights program, both of which are described more in the internship page of this website.
ISPEED at Johns Hopkins
Requirements: rising junior or senior (in 10th/11th when applying), US citizen or permanent resident, between 15 and 18 at start of program.
Johns Hopkins’ ISPEED program is a 4 week free summer program concentrated on biomedical engineering. This experience provides 3 college credits, while also exposing students to lab spaces, lectures, and real world STEM applications. This prestigious and hands-on college-like opportunity is a must to apply to during your sophomore or junior year of high school.
NASA Programs - Virginia Space Grant Consortium
Requirements: BLAST - 8-9th grade, VSCS - 10th grade, VASTS - 11-12th grade
NASA, in partnership with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium and the common wealth of Virginia, has created 3 school year/summer programs for high schoolers. BLAST is aimed at 8 and 9th graders to increase passion and interest in STEM, with no prior experience needed. Virginia Space Coast Scholars, or VSCS, is aimed at 10th graders interested in learning the application of STEM in missions at the Wallops Flight Facility. 11-12th graders have the VASTS program, designed to further elaborate on NASA systems and the importance of STEM. These 3 free opportunities consist of online modules during the school year, with the highest performing students attending a 7 day residential camp in the summer. Applications open in the fall, so keep an eye out in the link below!