Stanford University Research Internship Programs: A Comprehensive Guide

Stanford University offers a multitude of research internship programs spanning various disciplines, providing invaluable opportunities for students from high school to undergraduate levels. These programs allow participants to engage in cutting-edge research, collaborate with renowned faculty and researchers, and gain hands-on experience in their fields of interest. This article delves into a variety of such programs, highlighting their focus areas, eligibility criteria, and application details.

Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI) Summer Research Internship

The Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI) is at the forefront of AI research and its application in healthcare. The AIMI Summer Research Internship offers a rigorous introduction to AI in health and medicine for high school students. This program brings together clinicians, scientists, engineers, and industry partners to shape the future of health and medicine.

Program Details:

Focus: Artificial intelligence research and translation in healthcare.
Eligibility: High school students entering 9th to 12th grade in the fall (must be over 14 years old by the program start).
Location: Initially offered at no cost and later at a subsidized rate. The program fee reflects the cost of sustaining and growing a highly structured, research-focused experience led by Stanford students and researchers.
Application Fee: \$45
Program Fee: \$2,400 (Program fees are due upon acceptance and support the delivery of AIMI’s high school programs, including instruction, research mentorship, curriculum development, and program operations.)
Financial Aid: A limited number of need-based financial aid awards are available.
Application Deadlines:
- Financial Aid: February 13, 2026, at 11:59 pm PST
- Standard: February 20, 2026, at 11:59 pm PST (extended to February 21, 2026, at 11:59 pm PST)
Application Requirements: The standard application includes questions about your background, short essay responses, and submission of your unofficial transcript.

Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Internship Program

The STS Program encourages its majors to pursue internship opportunities in public service, research, and professional development. While the Program does not run an in-house internship program, STS Majors may receive credit for an internship once during their career at Stanford, subject to approval by the STS Director or Associate Director and typically for no more than 1 unit of credit. The Program's peer advisors and STS alumni can help students identify or evaluate internship opportunities.

Key Resources:

Haas Center for Public Service
BEAM: Bridging Education, Ambition & Meaningful Work

Academic Credit:

Internships must have a clear and direct relationship to the content and goals of the STS major.
Students must be proactive in finding a professor in an academic department related to their internship field.
A 1-2 page statement of how the specific duties of your internship will enrich and support your STS curriculum.
Internship offer letter describing specific duties.

Arts Internships

Stanford offers various programs that support internships in the arts, open to current Stanford students in any major. The Arts Job and Internship Toolkit is a valuable resource for exploring these opportunities.

Bill Lane Center Student Programs

The Bill Lane Center for the American West provides research assistantships and internships for students from all years and disciplines.

Read also: Stanford Admission GPA Guide

Programs Offered:

Research assistantships (part-time during the academic year and full-time in the summer)
Schultz Fellowships and West internships (summer)
Environmental Journalism internships (for credit)

Focus Areas: Natural history, conservation, ecology, land use, museum curation, resource management, water, energy, literature, policy, and politics.

Stanford Career Education

Stanford Career Education offers customized support through a network of career communities, helping students explore opportunities and make meaningful connections. They assist in discovering career interests, interacting with mentors, employers, and alumni, and finding opportunities, research, and on-campus jobs.

SDSS Sustainability Summer Internship Program

The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Summer Internship Program offers paid internship opportunities for students to explore the growing field of sustainability, gaining new skills, and expanding your professional network. These off-campus internships are available locally, nationally, and internationally and are open to students of all levels and disciplines across the university.

FSI Student Programs - Summer Internships

The Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI) offers Global Policy internships and Field Research internships each summer. FSI provides placement, mentorship, and a stipend to students engaging in off-campus internships at international policy and international affairs organizations. The internships are open to students at all levels and from all departments, with a preference for undergraduates entering their junior and senior years.

Public Service Fellowships and Internships

An online searchable database containing approximately 500 fellowships, internships, and other established service programs collected from Internet and print resources.

Read also: Explore Stanford

Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship Program (SULI)

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory offers research opportunities in physics, chemistry, materials and environmental sciences, scientific computing, and many engineering fields.

Summer Internships for College Students

Canary CREST Program

The Canary Center at Stanford is dedicated to early cancer detection research. The Canary CREST Program offers paid and unpaid 10-week summer internships for undergraduate students.

Developmental Biology Community College Outreach Program (CCOP)

The Community College Outreach Program (CCOP) aims to advance diversity in STEM by providing hands-on research opportunities and career mentoring to students at community colleges. The research track places students into Stanford Biosciences labs with experienced mentors for a paid ten-week research program. The mentorship track pairs students with graduate students or postdocs for career planning, along with an eight-week bootcamp.

Stanford Data Science Mentoring

The Data Science Mentoring program pairs undergraduate students of varied backgrounds with Stanford graduate students for online, one-on-one mentorship in data science. Participants receive coaching in planning their course of studies, advice on navigating internship opportunities, and preparing applications, as well as tutoring in some aspects of data science.

Science, Technology, and Reconstructive Surgery (STaRS) Summer Internship Program

The Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery hosts talented high school and undergraduate students in their research laboratories. STARS interns spend 7 weeks mastering basic lab techniques, participating in research projects, and presenting their work under the mentorship of experienced researchers.

Read also: Navigating Stanford Scholarships

Stanford Cancer Research and Careers Undergraduate Program

The Stanford Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society (ACS) partner to provide a cancer research internship program. This internship offers a holistic curriculum designed to provide undergraduate students from San Francisco Bay Area schools with the tools and experiences necessary to pursue careers in cancer research.

SLAC Community College Internship (CCI) Program

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory offers summer internship opportunities for community college students seeking to enter technical careers. The CCI Program is sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science's Office of Workplace Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS). Students selected for internships receive a weekly stipend and housing allowance.

Stanford Storytelling & Medicine Summer Scholar Program

The Stanford Storytelling & Medicine Summer Scholar Program is an intensive training experience for students preparing for careers in medicine, medical humanities, and the health professions. Scholars participate in workshops and seminars in science communication, narrative medicine, and public-facing storytelling.

Stanford Summer Community College Premedical Program (SSCCPP)

SSCCPP is a six-week residential experience for current community college students considered low-income and/or underrepresented in medicine. The program provides exposure to medicine through topics in health disparities, leadership challenges in health provision and administration, science courses, professional development, clinical exposure, the medical school application process, and postsecondary and graduate/professional school financing. There is no fee to participate.

STEM Core Community College Internship Program (Developed by Growth Sector)

Growth Sector has developed the STEM Core Curriculum in partnership with federally funded labs, community colleges, and other national workforce intermediaries and nonprofits to focus on expanding the pipeline of students for engineering and computer science careers. During the internship, each student works with an engineer or scientist on a project related to the Laboratory’s mission.

Summer Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering (SURGE)

SURGE is a fully funded, eight-week, summer residential program that combines a rigorous research assignment with comprehensive training and mentoring. SURGE targets rising undergraduate juniors and seniors.

Unpaid Internships for Non-Stanford Undergraduates

It’s possible to find a Stanford lab willing to host an undergraduate from another institution on an informal basis, usually in an unpaid internship.

Other Research Programs for High School Students

Clinical Neuroscience Immersion Experience (CNI-X)
- Cost: Virtual (CNI-X Virtual): \$1,495; In-person (CNI-X Session 1): \$2,795
- Program Dates: CNI-X Virtual: June - July; CNI-X Session 1 (In-person): July
- Location: Virtual or Stanford University, Stanford, CA
- Eligibility: Open to high school students following their sophomore, junior, or senior year, including international students
- Application Deadline: March 1
- CNI-X is a two-week summer program designed to introduce high school students to cutting-edge topics in neuroscience, psychiatry, and psychology.
Genomics Research Internship Program (GRIPS)
- Cost: Free
- Application Deadline: February 28
- Program Dates: June 16 - August 7
- Format: Hybrid (virtual and in-person sessions at Stanford University, Stanford, CA)
- Eligibility: Open to Bay Area high school students who:
  - Will be 16 or older by the start of the program
  - Reside in Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, or Santa Cruz counties
  - Have prior knowledge of biology, chemistry, or computer programming
  - Have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.0
- GRIPS offers a unique experience in computational genetics and genomics.
RAMP UP / STaRS Summer Internship
- The RAMP UP / STaRS Summer Internship is a seven-week experience designed to provide an introduction to healthcare and biomedical research.
Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR)
- SIMR allows students to work on medical projects in Stanford’s labs. Students can select one of eight research institutes, including areas such as cancer biology, neuroscience, bioengineering, and more.
Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP)
- The program covers fundamental topics and research areas such as Immunology, Neuroscience, Regenerative and Stem Cell Medicine, Cancer Biology, Bioengineering, and Bioinformatics.
Pediatrics Internship Program at Stanford (PIPS)
- Cost: Not specified; \$3,000 stipend available for students with demonstrated financial need
- Program Dates: June - July
- Application Deadline: TBA
- Format: In-person at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, with the option for some remote work
- Eligibility: Open to rising juniors and seniors in high school who reside in Northern California
- During the 6-week program, you will work on a research project with Stanford faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and researchers.
Stanford AI4ALL
- Cost: \$4,000
- Location: Online
- Application Deadline: March 25
- Program Dates: TBA
- Eligibility: High school students from underrepresented groups; no prior experience required
- Stanford AI4ALL is a three-week summer program aimed at increasing diversity in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
Introduction to Forensic Science Summer (IFSS)
- Eligibility: Open to rising high school juniors and seniors who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Preference is given to students attending local high schools.
- Application Deadline: May 1
- IFSS offers rising high school juniors and seniors the chance to explore chemical research.

Biosciences: Stanford Summer Research Program in Biomedical Sciences (SSRP)

The Stanford Summer Research Program in Biomedical Sciences is a fully funded, eight-week, residential internship program. It offers undergraduates who want to prepare for and enter PhD programs in the biomedical sciences a unique opportunity for advanced research experience.

Application deadline: February 1.

Amgen Scholars Program

The Amgen Scholars Program provides undergraduate students interested in a PhD or MD/PhD with an opportunity to engage in a fully-funded, hands-on research experience for eight to twelve weeks during the summer.

Humanities and Social Sciences

The School of Humanities and Sciences coordinates three summer programs:

Stanford-CUNY Summer Research Institute for the Humanities
Cal-Bridge Summer Program for physics and astronomy

Natural Sciences and Engineering

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) in Engineering

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship is a fully funded, eight-week summer residential program that provides undergraduate students with an immersive research experience at Stanford Engineering. SURF provides students with a stipend, robust curricula for graduate school preparation including a GRE study course, excursions around the Bay Area, community-building activities, participation in a research poster symposium, and a strong mentorship component.