Health & Medical Programs for High School Students
EC Finder currently lists 80 health & medical programs for high school students. Of these, 50 are free to participate in and 3 offer virtual participation. Examples include American Red Cross Bay Area/North Bay Red Cross Clubs, American Red Cross Leadership Development Center (LDC) Summer Camp, and Asian Liver Center – High School/Youth Volunteering (Stanford).
- 80
- listed
- 50
- free
- 3
- virtual
- 68
- with a listed deadline
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are health & medical programs for high school students?
- Health & Medical Programs for High School Students are curated extracurricular listings for high school students interested in health & medical. Each listing includes eligibility, cost, and deadline details where known, so you can compare options and find the right fit for your college application profile.
- When are the application deadlines?
- 68 of the 80 programs listed here have a specific deadline month noted. Deadlines vary by program, so check each listing for exact dates.
- Are any of these programs free?
- Yes — 50 of the 80 programs listed here are free to participate in.
- Can I participate virtually?
- Yes — 3 of the 80 programs listed here offer virtual or online participation.
- Are health & medical programs good for a college application?
- Yes — health & medical programs are a common way for high schoolers to show sustained interest and initiative in health & medical on college applications.
80 activities found·Browse by category
American Red Cross Bay Area/North Bay Red Cross Clubs
Student-led Red Cross Clubs at Northern California Coastal Region high schools, where teens ages 13-18 organize service projects, blood drives, and disaster-preparedness education for their campus and community, building leadership skills with minimal adult oversight.
American Red Cross Leadership Development Center (LDC) Summer Camp
A four-day overnight summer leadership camp at a Bay Area location where more than 130 teen delegates train in team-building, CPR and first aid, disaster and emergency response, and leadership roles alongside Red Cross staff.
Asian Liver Center – High School/Youth Volunteering (Stanford)
The Asian Liver Center offers youth volunteer roles in community outreach/events (health fairs, cultural festivals), social media, and advocacy projects around hepatitis B and liver cancer; hours can count toward service awards and you can help with future Youth Leadership Conferences.
Asian Liver Center at Stanford – Youth Leadership Conference on API Health
The Youth Leadership Conference on Asian Pacific Islander Health, hosted by the Asian Liver Center at Stanford, is a four-day conference for about 100 high-achieving high-school students focused on hepatitis B, liver cancer, and health disparities in API communities. Students attend lectures, build leadership and social-impact skills, and compete in a team leadership challenge where they present projects to a panel of judges and an audience.
Baylor College of Medicine Premedical Summer Institute
A four-week on-campus program at Baylor College of Medicine blending classroom instruction, clinical exposure, and laboratory work to give students a realistic introduction to the pre-med path.
Baylor College of Medicine SMS Summer Research Program
An eight-week Houston-based lab internship for students who completed Baylor's Saturday Morning Science program, giving them full-time mentored research experience in an active BCM laboratory plus weekly professional-development sessions.
Boston University RISE Internship/Practicum
A six-week residential BU summer program where rising seniors either intern full-time in a university research lab or take an intensive practicum in a field such as computational neurobiology, culminating in hands-on research experience and possible science-fair-quality projects.
Broad Summer Scholars Program
A highly selective, tuition-free six-week Broad Institute program pairing Boston-area rising seniors with genomics scientists to conduct original research in areas like cancer biology, computational biology, and infectious disease.
BSA Learning for Life Health Care Career Exploring
A career-exploration club, open through age 20, where teens meet biweekly at a local Exploring post to practice basic clinical skills like taking vitals and reviewing X-rays and to shadow healthcare professionals.
CAL FIRE Camp Cinder
CAL FIRE's free four-day, three-night residential camp for girls ages 15-17 exploring firefighting careers. Led by women firefighters, campers train in hose work, vehicle extrication, water rescue, wildland line-cutting, and leadership, at camps in Redding and San Luis Obispo.
Cal Poly Summer Springboard: Nutrition & Food Science
A two-week Cal Poly SLO pre-college course led by a registered dietitian where students examine food labels, macronutrient science, and the cultural and business factors shaping diet and wellness choices.
California FCCLA STAR Events (Culinary Arts & Nutrition)
Competitive events run through school FCCLA chapters where CA students prepare timed culinary dishes, plan sports-nutrition strategies, or tackle nutrition and wellness challenges, advancing from regional to state to national competition.
Cedars-Sinai High School Student Volunteer Program
A structured hospital volunteer program in Los Angeles where teens ages 14-18 complete a minimum of 100 service hours assisting clinical and clerical staff across departments like nursing, admissions, and surgical units.
Children's Hospital Colorado Junior Volunteer Program
Year-round and summer volunteer opportunities for teens 13-18 at Children's Hospital Colorado, with a six-month minimum commitment of three hours per week. Volunteers support hospital departments and family events; outstanding volunteers are recognized with two $2,500 Junior Volunteer Recognition Scholarships annually.
Cleveland Clinic Career Exploration & Shadowing Program
Lets high schoolers age 15 and up shadow Cleveland Clinic healthcare professionals for up to 20 observational hours a year, giving them a firsthand look at different medical career paths without hands-on patient contact.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Partners for the Future
A prestigious Long Island program that pairs students, nominated during junior year, with CSHL scientist mentors for original biomedical research from September through March, sometimes leading to co-authorship on published papers.
Coriell Institute Summer Experience for High School Students
A paid four-week internship in Camden, NJ where high schoolers rotate through Coriell Institute's biobanking, stem cell, and molecular biology labs, learning techniques like karyotyping and DNA extraction before presenting their work.
CU Anschutz Department of Pediatrics Summer Research
Summer research opportunity for high school seniors (must be 18+ at start of program) at Children's Hospital Colorado and the CU Anschutz Medical Campus, working in faculty labs on developmental biology and pediatric medicine projects. Application typically due February 1.
CU Pre-Health Scholars Program (CUPS) – High School Track
Free pathway program at the CU Anschutz Medical Campus that exposes 9th-12th grade scholars to research, STEAM, and health-care careers through workshops, mentoring, and campus visits.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock/WRI – High School Summer Internship Program
Eight-week paid summer internship at Dartmouth Health and the Warner Research Institute where selected high-school students shadow clinicians and work on clinical or research projects in departments like cardiology, oncology, or pediatrics.
Duke Clinical Research Institute STAR Program
A summer program at the Duke Clinical Research Institute that exposes high school and college students to clinical research methods and the operations behind large-scale medical studies.
Duke University Neuroscience Experience (DUNE)
A full-time paid summer neuroscience research internship at Duke University for Durham-area sophomores and juniors, pairing students with faculty mentors in active Duke neuroscience labs plus professional-development workshops.
Emory Pre-College Pre-Med Institute
A three-week residential summer program at Emory University taught by School of Medicine faculty, giving students hands-on exposure to clinical, research, and industry sides of medicine alongside allied health professionals.
Enloe Health Junior Volunteer Program
A Chico hospital volunteer program for high school juniors and seniors that provides patient- and visitor-support experience across Enloe Health facilities as an entry point into healthcare and nursing careers.
Envision NYLF Advanced Medicine & Health Care
An advanced-track follow-on to Envision's NYLF Medicine program offering deeper clinical simulations, hospital site visits, and healthcare career exploration for students who want to go further into pre-med topics.
Envision NYLF Medicine & Health Care
An eight-day pre-college program held at university campuses like Yale, UCLA, and Emory where students practice clinical simulations such as suturing and triage and hear from doctors and medical students about health care careers.
Fred Hutch Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
A paid eight-week Seattle-based cancer research internship for 11th-12th graders with little to no prior research experience, opening with two weeks of lab-technique training before mentored work in a Fred Hutch research group.
Girls Inc. of Metro Denver – Summer Internship Program
Career exploration and workforce development program for Denver-area high school girls, placing them with employers across healthcare, business, technology, nonprofit, and government sectors, plus professional development workshops, mentorship, and resume/interview prep. Runs early June through late July.
Health Profession Recruitment/Exposure Program (HPREP)
A ten-week Friday-afternoon program, now run nationally through Student National Medical Association chapters at medical schools including Weill Cornell, that pairs 10th-11th graders with medical students for workshops on research papers, personal statements, and healthcare careers.
HOSA – Future Health Professionals
International career and technical student organization for future health professionals; if your school or region has a chapter, you can compete in medical events, attend leadership conferences, and build a strong pre-health resume; many California chapters are active through at least 2025-26.
IMG Academy Performance Camp
A nationally known multi-week residential athletic performance camp combining strength and speed training with sports-science topics like nutrition, injury prevention, and performance-technology data analysis.
Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Science (JHIBS)
An eight-week Johns Hopkins summer internship placing high schoolers in neuroscience labs to work on projects related to brain imaging and neurological disease under faculty and postdoc mentorship.
Johns Hopkins Summer Academic Research Experience (SARE)
An eight-week paid biomedical research internship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine designed for high schoolers from low-income and under-resourced backgrounds, combining lab research with coursework in scientific writing, data analysis, and bioethics.
Kaiser Permanente – Black Men in White Coats Youth Summit (Las Positas College)
Kaiser Permanente Northern California partners with Black Men in White Coats to host a one-day Youth Summit at Las Positas College, giving middle-school through college students exposure to medical careers through speakers, physician panels, CPR and simulation activities, and grade-level breakout workshops. The 2026 summit runs from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on April 11 in Livermore, CA.
Kaiser Permanente Northern California – Teen Volunteer Programs
Kaiser Permanente Northern California runs teen volunteer programs (often 16-17+) at medical centers including Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Redwood City, San Mateo, and others; students help with greeting, escorting patients, clerical tasks, and non-clinical support while gaining exposure to healthcare careers.
Marshall Medical Center Junior Volunteers
A Placerville hospital volunteer program for high schoolers ages 16-18 offering roughly 6 hours per month of patient- and staff-support experience, with training, background clearance, and a recommendation letter required.
Mayo Clinic Career Immersion Program (Minnesota)
A multi-day, hands-on Mayo Clinic program for Minnesota high school juniors and seniors to explore in-demand healthcare careers directly alongside Mayo experts and near-peer mentors.
Mayo Clinic CARES Program (Arizona)
A competitive summer pathway program at Mayo Clinic's Phoenix campus that exposes Arizona high schoolers to a broad range of healthcare careers through mentorship and professional exposure with Mayo staff.
Mayo Clinic HERO (Healthcare Experience and Research in Oncology)
A two-week virtual Mayo Clinic program where Midwest high school students collaborate with peers on a genetics-based cancer research project and a patient case study to explore oncology and clinical care.
MISA Health – MISA Summer Program
Virtual or hybrid program where students learn about healthcare innovation, health systems, and medical careers through case studies and projects.
MSK HOPP Summer Student Program
A highly selective eight-week paid lab internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for NYC-area high school juniors, where students conduct an independent, mentor-supported cancer research project in a translational oncology lab.
NextGen High School Internship Program (Emory Human Genetics)
A paid summer internship in Emory University's Department of Human Genetics for rising high school juniors and seniors age 16+, combining foundational lectures with lab and clinical rotations to expose students from diverse backgrounds to genetics and biomedical careers.
NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP)
A paid summer research internship placing graduating high school seniors and older students directly in NIH labs across the country, working alongside NIH scientists on biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research projects.
NSLC – Summer Medical Programs
National Student Leadership Conference runs pre-college medical programs (Medicine & Health Care, Emergency Medicine, Psychology & Neuroscience, etc.) on university campuses, combining lectures, simulations, and leadership workshops.
NSLC High School Nursing Program
A nine-day residential pre-college program where students practice clinical nursing skills such as vitals, venipuncture simulation, pediatric care, and CPR while exploring the nursing profession with working nurses.
NYU Langone High School Bioethics Project Internship
An NYU Langone Medical Ethics internship where high schoolers work with faculty on real bioethics issues like genetic testing, transplant ethics, and clinical consent, producing case studies and lesson materials.
Outset Medical – Student Opportunities (Shadowing/Intern-Style)
Outset Medical is a dialysis-technology company; HS/early-college students sometimes engage through mentored projects, job-shadowing, or outreach tied to employees. Not a standardized open program, but a potential mentorship/research connection if you network with the team.
Perry Initiative Outreach Program
A free, one-day hands-on workshop held at sites nationwide where high school students perform mock orthopedic surgeries and biomechanical engineering activities while networking with surgeon and engineer mentors, aimed at increasing diversity in orthopedics and engineering.
Precision Sport Science High School Program
A Silicon Valley sports-training program offering high school athletes individualized training plans built on biomechanics, injury-history, and athletic-fitness assessments aimed at improving performance and reducing injury risk.
Project UNITY – California Chapter
National youth-led nonprofit at the intersection of public health, medicine, and digital health; California high-schoolers can join the network, work on advocacy and community health projects, and later apply for internal programs like Catalyst Academy and the Youth Public Health Innovation Coalition.
Project Unity Catalyst Academy
Flagship 8-week summer research and leadership academy where high-school students nationwide work in mentored teams on real public-health, medicine, and digital-health problems and present at the UNITY Research Conference; 2026 applications are currently open.
Rockefeller University Summer Science Research Program (SSRP)
An ultra-selective, tuition-free seven-week research program where NY/NJ/CT high school juniors and seniors join lab teams at Rockefeller University, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Weill Cornell for hands-on biomedical research under scientist mentors.
Sacramento Firefighter Youth Academy (SFYA)
A mentorship and youth-development program run with the Sacramento Fire Department and community partner SFARY at McClellan Park, pairing Sacramento teens with firefighter mentors for academic support, community service, and self-discipline coaching toward high school completion and beyond.
Sacred Heart Schools Atherton Gator Sports Medicine Camp
A full-day Atherton camp introducing high schoolers to sports medicine and allied healthcare professions through hands-on sessions on taping/bracing, concussion protocols, recovery modalities, and CPR certification.
San Diego Health Scholars – Summer Medical Academy
Two-week Summer Medical Academy in San Diego offering lectures, hands-on activities, simulations, and shadowing to expose high-school students to many healthcare careers.
Scripps Research Translational Institute – Student Research Internship
The Scripps Research Translational Institute (SRTI) Student Research Internship is a voluntary 10-week summer research program for highly motivated high-school (16+), college, and professional-school students. Interns work with a multidisciplinary team on translational science in genomics, computational biology, and mobile/digital health, design an independent project with a mentor, and present their findings at institute research meetings.
South San Francisco CERT Team Teen CERT Program
A disaster-preparedness and emergency-response training program sponsored by the South San Francisco Fire Department, open to teenagers alongside adult volunteers. Trainees learn to extinguish small fires, conduct light search and rescue, set up medical treatment areas, and assist emergency responders.
St. Jude High School Research Immersion Program
A paid eight-week summer research program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for Memphis-area rising seniors, who pair with a mentor on a lab, epidemiology, clinical, or data-science project related to childhood cancer.
Stanford AIMI High School Programs (Health AI Bootcamp & Summer Research Internship)
Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging runs virtual high-school programs: a Summer Health AI Bootcamp (lecture-based intro) and a Summer Research Internship (mentored projects in health AI). Both include career panels and are competitive.
Stanford Clinical Anatomy Summer Program (CASP)
A non-residential, week-long Stanford Medicine program where high schoolers attend faculty-led anatomy lectures, hands-on dissection and suturing labs, and surgical-demonstration observation to explore nursing, medicine, and other health careers.
Stanford GeneCamp
Three-week summer program where high-school students learn molecular biology and genetics techniques at Stanford and conduct a hands-on research project.
Stanford Neurodiversity Project – SNP-REACH Camp
SNP-REACH is a two-week virtual immersive camp from the Stanford Neurodiversity Project where high-schoolers learn neuroscience and neurodiversity concepts, complete research or advocacy projects, and interact with clinicians and scientists.
Stanford Psychiatry – Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience (CNIX)
Two-week summer program from Stanford Psychiatry introducing high-school and early-undergraduate students to clinical neuroscience, brain imaging, and psychiatric research through lectures, case discussions, and team projects.
Stanford STaRS – Surgical Translational Applied Research Summer Program
Intensive summer research experience in Stanford Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery where high-school, undergrad, and med students work on plastic-surgery and regenerative-medicine projects with faculty mentors.
STEMpathize Internship / Volunteer Roles
Student-run nonprofit that gives high-schoolers virtual roles (internships/volunteering) to design STEM curricula and projects, often centered on health, community challenges, and equity; roles include curriculum design, operations, outreach, etc.
Summer Discovery UCLA: Sports Psychology
A three-week pre-college course at UCLA where students study mental conditioning, motivation, team dynamics, and performance anxiety in athletics alongside the business side of the sports industry.
Sur La Table Teen Cooking Classes
Hands-on cooking classes and multi-day summer series covering knife skills, baking, and global cuisines for ages 12 and up, offered at Sur La Table stores including Berkeley, Palo Alto, Roseville, and Santa Rosa.
Taste Buds Kitchen Advanced Teen Culinary Camp (Palo Alto)
A Palo Alto teen cooking camp for ages 13-17 teaching advanced cooking and baking techniques, knife skills, food styling, and recipe development in a small hands-on kitchen setting.
Teen Community Emergency Response Team (Teen CERT)
A FEMA-backed, nationwide emergency-preparedness training that certifies teens in disaster-response skills like triage, fire safety, and shelter support so they can assist their school and community during emergencies and drills.
UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center – OPTIMUS Program
OPTIMUS (Oncology Patient and Translational Research Internship) provides mentored lab and clinical oncology research exposure at UCSD Moores Cancer Center for advanced HS and college students.
UCLA BrainSPORT – Youth Concussion/Neuroscience Internship
UCLA Health's BrainSPORT program offers an internship where students assist with concussion and brain-health research, data entry, outreach, and sometimes clinical observation.
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco – Summer High School Volunteer (Summer Student Program)
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco's Summer Student Program is a volunteer opportunity where Bay Area high-school students (ages 16-18) support patients, families, and staff in a pediatric hospital setting while gaining job skills and exposure to healthcare careers. Volunteers commit to one three-hour shift per week for eight consecutive weeks, with mandatory orientations in June.
University of Michigan BioMed Focus
An eight-week paid biomedical research internship at Michigan Medicine for Michigan high school juniors and seniors, combining full-time lab research with science-communication training and college-prep support.
USC Pre-College: The Science of Food, Nutrition and the Biological World
A four-week residential USC pre-college program exploring the science of nutrition, molecular biology, and food systems, including the biology of taste and smell and the impact of agriculture on nutrition and the environment.
Vacaville Fire Explorers Program
A hands-on Explorer post for Vacaville-area youth ages 15-18 interested in fire service careers, offering training alongside Vacaville Fire Department personnel in equipment, procedures, physical conditioning, and emergency response fundamentals.
Vanderbilt Aspirnaut Summer Research Internship
A six-week residential biomedical research internship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for high schoolers nationwide, who work full-time in a lab on projects ranging from kidney disease to cancer alongside paid room, board, and stipend.
Vanderbilt Research Experience for High School Students (REHSS)
A six-week immersive research internship that embeds rising seniors full-time in a Vanderbilt University or Vanderbilt University Medical Center research lab under a faculty mentor.
Veritas AI – Deep Dive: AI + Medicine
10-week online program (about 25 hours total) where grades 8-12 study how AI is used in medicine, learn ML concepts like CNNs and image segmentation, and complete a mentored group project on medical data.
West Coast Sports Medicine Foundation Summer Mentoring Camp
A free two-day mentoring camp in Manhattan Beach for CA high schoolers interested in sports medicine and athletic training, covering injury recognition and treatment, CPR/AED/First Aid certification, and career exposure with medical professionals.
Yale YCAS Young Scholars Program in Biostatistics and Clinical Research
An intensive two-week Yale School of Public Health summer program where Connecticut high schoolers strong in math learn biostatistics and R programming by analyzing real health science data in teams.
ECFinder provides links to outside extracurricular opportunities for informational purposes only. Students and families should research each program before applying. ECFinder does not operate or control the listed organizations and is not responsible for their actions or policies.