Stanford Young Investigators

High school internships: Be a young investigator

At the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, high school scholars spend the summer working in research groups and laboratories on the main Stanford campus. Since 2004, over 300 high school students have worked in our research labs and learned about the process of science first hand. We offer several different options, with different areas of focus and time commitments.

• Students are supervised directly by graduate scholars, post docs and lab managers. This program enables graduate scholars to serve as supervisors, prepares high school scholars for college and helps strengthen the connections between Stanford and local high schools. 

• Once a week we have talks, lab tours, and field trips as a group. This is a time that interns get to learn about the broad field of sustainability, Earth, and environmental sciences and get to know one another. These activities take place on the same day each week.

•  Young Investigators is not a camp and organized social activities are limited.

Watch the slide show of interns in action - lab work, group fun and presentations!

• Oceans, Environment, & Earth Systems - Work one-on-one with a scientist to investigate human causes and natural and environmental changes, understand, and advance knowledge of our blue planet while tackling the most pressing challenges in climate and sustainability. 
• Earth & Planetary Sciences - Work one-on-one with a scientist to explore the Earth and other planetary history, structure, and geological processes. 
• Energy - Work one-on-one with a scientist or engineer in one of the energy resources groups
• Social Sciences- Work one-on-one to better understand how the behaviors and choices made by individuals and organizations affect the world’s ability to achieve sustainability goals.
• Agriculture Group Internship: Engage in hands-on sustainability research at the O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm, a 6-acre living lab exploring symbiosis, nutrient cycling, and the connections between food production, ecology, economics, and health.
• History of Life and Biodiversity Group Internship- Work  four days a week with 10+ interns exploring mass extinctions and their connections to modern environmental change.

The 2025 Young Investigators Summer Internship Program is now closed. Applications will reopen on February 1, 2026. 

This internship is for scholars who have completed at least one year of high school. Also, applicants must live and attend school in the San Francisco Bay Area, No exceptions and not be further than 25 driving miles from campus.

Please read through the website to learn more before you begin your application.  Read the Frequently Asked Questions
Deadline is March 15, 2025.