Health & Medical Research Programs for High School Students
EC Finder currently lists 30 health & medical research programs for high school students. Of these, 21 are free to participate in and 1 offers virtual participation. Examples include American Red Cross Bay Area/North Bay Red Cross Clubs, Asian Liver Center – High School/Youth Volunteering (Stanford), and BSA Learning for Life Health Care Career Exploring.
- 30
- listed
- 21
- free
- 1
- virtual
- 28
- with a listed deadline
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are health & medical research programs for high school students?
- Health & Medical Research 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?
- 28 of the 30 research programs listed here have a specific deadline month noted. Deadlines vary by program, so check each listing for exact dates.
- Are any of these research programs free?
- Yes — 21 of the 30 research programs listed here are free to participate in.
- Can I participate virtually?
- Yes — 1 of the 30 research programs listed here offer virtual or online participation.
- Are health & medical research programs good for a college application?
- Yes — health & medical research programs are a common way for high schoolers to show sustained interest and initiative in health & medical on college applications.
Related Categories
30 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.