Free Research Resources
High School Research Competitions and Summer Programs: Deadlines
24 well-known research competitions, summer research programs and student journals for high school students, with who can apply, what it costs and when applications are due. Every entry is checked against the program’s official website.
Programs and deadlines
Last checked Sep 26, 2026. Dates come from each program’s official website. When a program has not posted this cycle’s exact date, we show the month it usually falls in. Always confirm on the official site before you apply.
Showing all 24 programs, soonest deadline first.
| Deadline | Program | Who can apply | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2026Application, 11:59 p.m. ET | MIT PRIMES and PRIMES-USAMIT Department of Mathematics. Research program. Usually due in early November. Decisions come in early January. A year-long math research program starting in January, not a summer program. Recommendation letters are due a few days after the application. |
Grades 10 and 11High school sophomores and juniors living in the U.S. MIT PRIMES is for the Boston area. PRIMES-USA is remote, for students elsewhere. | Free. |
| Nov 5, 2026Application and recommendations, 8 p.m. ET | Regeneron Science Talent SearchSociety for Science. Competition. Opens June 1. Applications and recommendations are usually due in early November. Scholars are announced January 7, 2027 and finalists January 21, 2027. |
Grade 12Seniors in their final year of high school who have not entered before, with an individual project. Students of any citizenship who live full time in the U.S. or its territories can enter, as can U.S. citizens at some schools abroad. | No entry fee listed. The top 300 scholars get $2,000 each, finalists at least $25,000, and first place $250,000.About 2,600 students enter each year. 300 scholars and 40 finalists are named. |
| Nov 30, 2026Application | Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)U.S. Navy, Naval STEM internships. Research program. Opens September 15 and closes November 30. An eight-week summer internship in a Navy lab. |
Grades 10 to 12High school students who have finished 9th grade and are 16 by the start date, including graduating seniors. U.S. citizens, with some exceptions set by each lab. | Paid: $4,000 for new interns and $4,500 for returning interns.About 300 placements across 38 Navy labs. |
| Usually DecemberNext date not posted yet | Research Science Institute (RSI)Center for Excellence in Education, held at MIT. Research program. Usually due in early to mid-December. Late applications are not accepted. |
Grade 11High school juniors, 16 by July 1 of the program year. U.S. citizens and permanent residents, plus students from participating countries. | Free, including housing and meals. $75 application fee, waived for financial need.About 100 students a summer. Fewer than 2.5% of applicants are accepted. |
| Usually DecemberSet by each school division | Virginia Summer Residential Governor’s SchoolsVirginia Department of Education, through your school division. Research program. Applications are posted in the fall. In Fairfax County, the interest form is usually due in early November and the application in mid-December. In the mentorship programs, including engineering and marine science, students work alongside research scientists. Loudoun and other divisions set their own dates. |
Grades 10 and 11Virginia students identified as gifted, in 10th or 11th grade when they apply. Students are nominated by their school or division. | Fairfax County Public Schools pays tuition for its students. Families pay program fees, travel and incidentals. |
| Usually JanuaryNext date not posted yet | MIT THINK Scholars ProgramMIT THINK, run by MIT undergraduates. Competition. Usually opens November 1. Research proposals are due January 1. You submit a research plan, not finished results. |
Grades 9 to 12Full-time high school students who live in the U.S. during the school year. U.S. citizenship is not required. Individuals or pairs. | No fee listed. Finalists get mentoring and up to $1,000 in project funding. |
| Jan 26, 2027Application, noon ET | NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP), high school seniorsNational Institutes of Health. Research program. Usually opens in mid-October and closes in late January. Juniors can no longer apply. There is no central selection: applicants contact NIH scientists, who choose their own interns. The 2027 application opens October 13. |
Grade 12Graduating high school seniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and 18 by September 30, 2027. Seniors who are 17 on June 1 must live within 40 miles of an NIH campus. | Paid stipend, set by education level. No housing is provided. |
| Feb 3, 2027Application and recommendations, 11:59 p.m. ET | Boston University RISE Internship and PracticumBoston University Summer Term. Research program. Usually opens in mid-December and is due in early February. Six weeks in Boston. Students join a university lab as interns or take the practicum course. |
Grade 11High school juniors at U.S. high schools who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. | Tuition in 2026 was $10,735 residential or $6,415 commuter. Limited need-based aid. $75 application fee. |
| Usually FebruaryNext date not posted yet | Anson L. Clark Scholars ProgramTexas Tech University Honors College. Research program. Usually opens in the fall. Due in mid-February. Seven weeks of research in Lubbock, Texas. Summer 2027 details are not posted yet. |
Grades 11 and 12At least 17 by the start date, and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The 2026 program took students graduating in 2026 or 2027. | No program fee. Room and meals are provided, with a $750 stipend after the research report. $25 application fee.Twelve scholars are selected each year. |
| Usually FebruaryNext date not posted yet | Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)George Mason University College of Science. Research program. Usually opens in early December. Due in mid-February. Eight weeks with Mason researchers, in person, remote or hybrid. Close to home for Northern Virginia families. |
Grades 9 to 12Based on age, not grade: 15 by the first day for remote or non-lab projects, 16 for wet-lab work. No minimum GPA. | $25 application fee, which can be waived for need. Accepted interns pay $1,299 tuition for 3 college credits. |
| Usually FebruaryNext date not posted yet | Davidson Fellows ScholarshipDavidson Institute. Competition. Opens in the fall. The deadline is usually in mid-February. Rewards a significant finished piece of work in science, technology, engineering, math, literature, music, philosophy or an open category. |
Grades 9 to 12Based on age, not grade: 18 or younger on the deadline. U.S. citizens or permanent residents living in the U.S. Teams of two are allowed. | No application fee listed. Scholarships of $100,000, $50,000 or $25,000. |
| Usually FebruaryNext date not posted yet | Research in the Biological Sciences (RIBS)University of Chicago Summer Session. Research program. Usually opens in the late fall. Due by the practicum deadline in mid-February. A four-week lab course where students learn research methods, not a placement in a faculty lab. |
Grades 10 and 1110th and 11th graders who have taken high school biology. | Tuition in 2026 was $15,200, residential. Need-based aid is available if you ask for it when you apply. $75 application fee. |
| Usually FebruaryNext date not posted yet | Simons Summer Research ProgramStony Brook University. Research program. Usually posted in late November. School nominations are due in late January and student applications in early February. Six weeks in a Stony Brook faculty lab, ending with a research abstract and poster. |
Grade 11High school juniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, 16 by the start of the program. Your high school must nominate you, and each school can nominate two students. | No tuition or fees. Students pay for travel and meals, or housing if living on campus. A stipend is awarded at the end. |
| Usually FebruaryNext date not posted yet | Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)Stanford School of Medicine. Research program. Opens in mid-December. Due in late February. Eight weeks in a Stanford lab with a mentor. The 2027 application opens December 18, 2026. Students must live with family or a guardian nearby. |
Grades 11 and 12Juniors or seniors, 16 by the June start. U.S. citizens or permanent residents living in and attending high school in the U.S. | Free if selected. $50 application fee, waived for family income under $80,000. No housing is provided. |
| Usually FebruaryNext date not posted yet | Summer Science Program (SSP)Summer Science Program, a nonprofit, at partner universities. Research program. Usually opens around the end of December. Domestic applications are due in mid to late February. Five weeks of team research in astrophysics, bacterial genomics, biochemistry or cell biology. International applications are due about three weeks earlier. |
Grade 11High school juniors, at least 15 and under 19 during the program, with the coursework for their research track. International students can apply. | The 2026 fee was $11,800. Free to apply. SSP covers 100% of demonstrated need for admitted students. |
| Through your school2027 fair: March 12 to 14 | Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering FairFairfax County Public Schools. Competition. School fairs in the winter choose the entrants. The regional fair is held in mid-March. An ISEF-affiliated fair. Winners can advance to the Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair and to ISEF. Independent schools outside FCPS must confirm they are taking part by December 1. |
Grades 9 to 12Students at public or private high schools in Fairfax County who earn entry through their own school’s science fair. | No fee is published. Ask your school’s science fair coordinator. |
| Usually AprilNext date not posted yet | U.S. Stockholm Junior Water PrizeWater Environment Federation. Competition. Enter through your state competition, usually by mid-April. State winners compete nationally in May and June. The national winner represents the U.S. in Stockholm in August. |
Grades 9 to 12Students in grades 9 to 12 with a water-related science project, at least 15 by August of the competition year. Residents of the 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Solo or teams of two. | No entry fee listed. The national winner gets $10,000. |
| By nominationState fair is in early April | Virginia State Science and Engineering Fair (VSSEF)Piedmont Virginia Community College. Competition. Held in early April, after the regional fairs. Grand winners go on to ISEF in May. The host site has not posted 2027 details yet. |
Grades 9 to 12By nomination only. Students must be sent by one of Virginia’s official ISEF-affiliated regional fairs. | No fee is published. |
| Not postedCheck the official site | Garcia Summer Research ProgramGarcia Center for Polymers at Engineered Interfaces, Stony Brook University. Research program. The official site does not publish a usual application window. Seven weeks of polymer and materials research with Garcia Center faculty. |
Grades 9 to 12High school students who are at least 16 by July 4 of the program summer, with an unweighted GPA of 3.8 or higher. International students need their own documents to be in the U.S. | Paid. In 2026: a $4,000 lab fee plus registration and health fees, with optional housing and meals. |
| Regional deadline2026-27 dates to be posted this fall | Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)National Science Teaching Association. Competition. Enter through a regional symposium by sending a written research report by the regional deadline. The national symposium is in April. Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria students are in the Greater Washington, D.C. region. The rest of Virginia is in the Virginia region. |
Grades 9 to 12Students in grades 9 to 12 at public, private or home schools who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Individual entries only, in the region where your school is. | Regional symposia are free. |
| Through a fairISEF 2027 is in May, in Los Angeles | Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)Society for Science. Competition. Students qualify through affiliated local, regional and state fairs from winter to early spring. ISEF is held in May. Fairfax County students qualify through the Fairfax County Regional Science and Engineering Fair. |
Grades 9 to 12Students in grades 9 to 12. There is no direct application: students win a spot at a Society-affiliated science fair. | No direct application. More than $9 million in awards are given at ISEF.More than 1,600 students from more than 60 countries, regions and territories each year. |
| RollingNo fixed deadline | Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI)Journal of Emerging Investigators, a nonprofit. Student journal. Rolling: submit any time. Papers are peer reviewed by graduate students and researchers. One manuscript under review at a time. |
Grades 9 to 12Middle and high school students aged 13 or older, before starting college. An adult mentor submits the paper and is listed as the last author. | $49 submission fee, with waivers available. No separate publication fee. |
| RollingNo fixed deadline | National High School Journal of Science (NHSJS)National High School Journal of Science. Student journal. Rolling: submit any time. Standard peer review takes about eight weeks, and up to twelve from July to December. |
Grades 9 to 12High school students, for original research in any scientific field. | No standard fee is stated. An optional two-week expedited review costs $280. |
| RollingNo fixed deadline | The Concord ReviewThe Concord Review, a nonprofit. Student journal. Rolling. Issue cutoffs are August 1, November 1, February 1 and May 1, and a paper stays eligible for three issues. History only. Published papers average more than 8,000 words. |
Grades 9 to 12Any secondary school student, for a history research paper written before finishing high school. Sole author only. | $70 submission fee, which includes a one-year eBook subscription.Publishes about 5% of the papers it receives. |
No programs match those filters. Try another grade or type.
How to tell a real research opportunity from a pay-to-play one
Research opportunities range from free national programs to paid mentorships, and good options exist at every price. These are the warning signs to look for, whatever the program is called.
- A guaranteed publication
- No honest program or journal can promise that a paper will be accepted. Peer review means an editor and reviewers decide, and some papers are turned down. Be wary of any offer that guarantees publication or acceptance.
- Who does the work
- The student should choose the question, do the analysis and write the paper, with a mentor giving feedback. If a mentor or company writes the paper or runs the project for the student, the student cannot stand behind it, and it can hurt more than help.
- Journals that accept anything
- A credible journal explains its peer review, says plainly what it charges and rejects papers that are not ready. A fee on its own is not a warning sign. A journal that publishes everything that pays is.
- Honors colleges cannot check
- Admissions readers know the established competitions and programs. A result they can look up, such as a fair award or a published paper, counts. A title or award that exists only on the seller’s website does not.
- Mentors without a name
- You should know who the mentor is, where they study or work, and what research they have done. Be careful with promises of “top university mentors” that never name a person or an institution.
- How colleges read selectivity
- A selective program turns most applicants away, so its name carries weight on its own. A mentorship program works differently: its value comes from the work the student can show and explain, such as the paper, the method and the results.
A simple research timeline by grade
Research builds over years. This is a steady path, not a race, and students who start later can still do strong work.
- 9th grade
- Take the hardest science and math classes you can handle and notice which questions keep pulling you back. Enter your school or county science fair, even with a simple project. The point is to learn how a project is planned and judged.
- 10th grade
- Pick one field and read in it. Try a stronger fair project. A few programs take sophomores, including the Virginia Governor’s Schools and some university programs. Most summer deadlines fall between December and February, so start looking in the fall.
- 11th grade
- This is the main year for selective summer research programs, most of which want juniors. Build a project you can carry into the summer, ask teachers early for recommendations, and plan the fair season from January to spring.
- 12th grade
- Senior competitions come early: the largest national one closes in November. Write up the work, submit to a student journal if the paper is ready, and describe the research in your college applications in your own words.
How Research Scholars works
Research Scholars is our 12-week guided research program. Your student pitches their own topic ideas and leaves the first session with a locked-in research question. They do the literature review, the analysis and the writing, with weekly feedback from named mentors, including a Stanford PhD candidate. If your student completes every milestone, we guarantee submission to a peer-reviewed journal, not acceptance. If the first journal does not accept the paper, we cover a full revision and resubmission.
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Common Questions
How current are these deadlines?
We checked every program on its official website on Sep 26, 2026. When a program has posted its exact deadline for the current cycle, we show that date. When it has not, we show the month it usually falls in. Programs change dates, so confirm on the official site before you apply.
Why do some programs say “Usually” instead of a date?
Most summer programs post the next deadline in the late fall or winter. Until they do, we show the month the deadline usually falls in and do not guess a date. When a deadline passes, the program moves to its next cycle with the same wording.
Which grade filter should I use?
Use the grade the student is in when they apply. For example, most selective summer programs take applications from juniors in the winter for the summer after junior year.
Do I need a research project before I apply to a summer program?
Most summer research programs do not require one. They look for strong coursework, recommendations and real curiosity in the essays. Competitions and journals are different: they judge a finished project.
Why are some well-known programs missing?
We list programs where students do research or submit research, and only when the official site confirms the program is running. Math and humanities seminars, academic camps and programs we could not verify are left out.