Important
IMPORTANT: The application process for high school students who live locally is closed. Please do not send any additional information or references, the application process is CLOSED. We received a large number of applications, you will ONLY be notified by April 30 if you are selected for a research opportunity.
Thank you,
The LLP Team
As a reminder:
- All applications will be reviewed at the end of the application period, and not on a rolling basis.
- Summer 2025 acceptances will be communicated on a rolling basis by April 30, 2025 once decisions have been made for a particular research opportunity.
- Please do not email or inquire about specific research opportunities (or contact faculty).
- Projects will be marked as closed on this site, once the accepted students are notified by email. Students who are NOT selected will NOT be contacted individually by email. Please DO NOT CONTACT Science Outreach or the LLP Program to check on the status of an application.
Due to the volume of emails, please do not email or call for the status of your application.
Summer Internships for High School Students
The Laboratory Learning Program is a full-time, free research experience in the sciences or engineering for high school students who live locally. This is a program for minors and transportation and housing are not provided by the university (no exceptions). Students are included in ongoing research programs where they are closely supervised by Princeton faculty and research staff. The participation dates are customized according to the schedules of the research personnel and the specifics of the project. Internships typically span 5-6 weeks during regular "office hours" over the summer (no evening or weekend activities). Each research opportunity has its own schedule and will determine the number of weeks. There are no virtual or remote projects. Note: Please do not call or email to inquire about housing or transportation. Local housing will be verified during the application process. No exceptions.
The Laboratory Learning Program is not a summer camp. The Laboratory Learning Program is a program for high school students who live locally. This is a program for minors and transportation and housing are not provided (no exceptions). In additions to not providing housing or transportation, there are no social activities or entertainment. LLP students are not eligible to lease or sublease Princeton University housing.
NOTE: All research experiences are in-person. There are no virtual or remote experiences.
Participants
- Sixteen years old or more by June 15, 2025. No exceptions.
- Enrolled in a US high school (No exceptions). Graduates who have not yet turned 18 by June 15, 2025 may apply.
- LLP participants must be US citizens or legal permanent residents currently in the United States attending a US high school. No exceptions. Accepted students must provide their transportation to campus each day. This is not a residential program.
- Parents will be asked to provide proof of housing and transportation during the application process. No exceptions.
- Once accepted, parental consent forms, evidence of health insurance, and a high school teacher nomination form (references) are required before attending the program, not during the application process.
- A transcript is not required for the application.
- All participants must strictly adhere to Princeton University COVID-19 policies, which may include vaccination, face coverings, and testing or other requirements. No exceptions.
- Safety training is required prior to beginning laboratory work.
- Two-page research summary report is required from all students and due at the conclusion of the program.
- NOTE: This is not a residential program. Accepted students must provide proof of housing and transportation during the application process.
- Note: Due to the large volume of emails, please do not call or email to inquire about housing or transportation. Local housing will be verified during the application process. No exceptions.
- If you are selected (not all students who apply will be selected) for an internship, you will contacted by the approving department. They will discuss with you dates for the program, hours, and any additional questions you may have. This is a 5 to 6 week summer experience. Each department (not LLP) determines their summer timeline and will discuss that with you, if you are selected.
Student applications open from February 15, 2025 to March 15, 2025 11:59 pm EST.
Applications - read all instructions carefully
- The application period is open from February 15 to March 15, 2025.
- Application Deadline: online applications: March 15, 2025 at 11:59 pm U.S. eastern standard time (no exceptions). No mail in applications will be accepted.
- You will not receive an additional email upon submitting your application. If you do not receive an error message, your application was received.
- One application accepted per student; no supplemental or recommendations materials will be accepted.
- All applications will be reviewed at the end of the application period, and not on a rolling basis.
- Acceptances will be communicated on a rolling basis by April 30, 2025 once decisions have been made for a particular research opportunity.
- Projects will be marked as closed on this site, once the accepted students are notified by email. Students who are not selected will not be contacted individually by email. Please DO NOT CONTACT Science Outreach or the LLP Program to check on the status of an application.
- Due to the volume of interest in this program, we are unable to respond to individual inquiries by email or phone. No exceptions.
- Do NOT contact faculty to request placement into the program.
- Do NOT attach transcripts or teacher recommendations at the time of application. If you are accepted into the program, you will be asked to provide additional documents.
- Parental consent forms, evidence of health insurance, and a high school nomination form are not required at the time of application but will be requested once the student has been offered a place in the program. These forms will only be accepted via email.
- Do NOT contact faculty or departments directly.
- For a description of research opportunities, please scroll down to Research Opportunities, expand the list, and click the research opportunity for a full description.
FAQs
-
FAQs
-
What is the application process?
- Applications are accepted online only. No mail in applications will be accepted.
- Each student may submit only one application in which up to two opportunities of interest are indicated.
- Do NOT contact faculty to request placement into the program.
- Accepted students will be notified by email using the email address provided in the application.
- Projects will be marked as closed once students have been selected.
- Students who are offered an opportunity will be required to submit additional forms and information in order to enter the program, including a parental consent form and a high school nomination form.
- Approvals will be communicated to the mentoring faculty member and the participating student by email.
What are the application deadlines and program dates?
- Application – Applications are accepted between February 15 to March 15, 2025.
- Application Deadline – March 15, 2025. Online applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm U.S. eastern time; no mail in applications will be accepted. No exceptions.
- Admission Decisions – Accepted participants will be contacted on a rolling basis as the selections are made for each opportunity. Projects will be marked as closed once students have been selected.
- Program Dates – Research activities take place during normal business hours daily. Most opportunities require a commitment of at least 5 weeks during the summer. Review individual opportunities for details.
What fields of study will be offered?
Natural sciences and engineering.
Is there a fee for the program?
There are no fees for participation in the program.
Who is eligible?
- Students must be 16 years of age or older by June 15. No exceptions.
- Students must be enrolled in high school. Students who have graduated from high school but have not yet turned 18 by June 15 may apply. No exceptions.
- Students must be US citizens, Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) currently in the United States attending a U.S. high school.
- Specific research opportunities may have additional eligibility criteria.
At Princeton University, we believe that the highest levels of research, scholarship, and teaching are obtained only through the combined participation of people with a diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences. For this reason, the University welcomes under-represented and socio-economically disadvantaged students and provides an environment that embraces all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and physical abilities.
Are there exceptions to the eligibility criteria?
No.
How many applications do you receive each year?
During each of the past three years when the program was active, over 1,500 applications were received.
Was my application received?
When you submit your application, the message you will see is "Your submission has been received". If required fields are left blank or incorrectly filled out at the time of attempted submission, the application will not progress to the completion screen.
You will not receive an additional email message. Acceptances will be communicated on a rolling basis by April 30 once decisions have been made for a particular research opportunity. If you are selected, you will receive a follow-up email at that time. Due to the high volume of applications, we are not able to look up and confirm the status of individual submissions. Please do not call or email to confirm the status of your application.
After my application is submitted, can I change my selections or other information?
No. Due to the high volume of applications, we are unable to change the selections listed in your application or any other information. No exceptions.
Can I submit supplemental materials, such as letters of recommendation and transcripts?
No. Do not send in any supplemental materials, they will not be accepted. Transcripts are not required at the time of application.
Does the program provide housing or transportation?
The Laboratory Learning Program for high school students who live locally. The Laboratory Learning Program is not a summer camp-style program. Students must have their own housing and reliable transportation to and from Princeton University; students are not eligible to lease or sublease University housing. The majority of program participants come from the surrounding communities. Housing arrangements will be verified. LLP students are not eligible to lease or sublease Princeton University housing. Please do not email about housing arrangements.
Is academic credit offered to participants in the Laboratory Learning Program?
The Laboratory Learning Program is an educational program for the benefit of the student. Students do not receive academic credit or other Princeton University credentials following participation in this program. Participation in the Laboratory Learning Program will not increase a student's chances of acceptance into Princeton University as an undergraduate.
When is the final report due?
All LLP students must submit a 2-page research summary of their summer project to [email protected] by August 20 of the academic year in which the research is completed. The research report should summarize the research question, methods, data, and conclusion of the study. The summary is due even if you did not complete your project. No projects will be extended during the university academic year (no exceptions). This includes high school mentoring requests.
What are the COVID-19 health and safety requirements?
All participants will be required to strictly adhere to Princeton University COVID-19 policies, which may include vaccination, face coverings, and testing - see our Visitor Policy.
Research Opportunities
-
Engineering Research Opportunities
-
Research Opportunity* Title of Project Application Deadline ACEE-01
Understanding Historical Trends of Global Climate Policy Adoption 3/15/25 CBE-01
Discovery of Peptide Natural Products 3/15/25 CBE-02
Oxygen Permeability of Ethylene Copolymers 3/15/25 CBE-03
Investigating the Responses of Bacteria to Stress When Starved 3/15/25 CBE-04
Nanoparticle Formation and Polymer Degradation 3/15/25 CBE-05
Microbial Bioengineering for Energy and the Environment 3/15/25 CBE-06
Multiscale Simulation and Machine Learning of Materials 3/15/25 CBE-07
Exploring and Engineering Plant-Microbe Interactions for Resilient Crops 3/15/25 CEE-01 Effects of PFAS on Freshwater Ecosystems: Microbial Adaptations and Alterations of the Nitrogen Cycle 3/15/25 CS-01
Exploratory Computer Vision Project 3/15/25 ECE-01
Mid-Infrared Photonics Research 3/15/25 ECE-02
Exploring ECGs Using Machine Learning 3/15/25 ECE-03
Imaging Airflow 3/15/25 ECE-04
Conductivity of Metal Halide Perovskite Films 3/15/25 ECE-05
Light Sheet Microscopy Imaging Processing with Deep Learning 3/15/25 MAE-01 Re-Creation of Joseph Henry's Devices for Scientific Research and Teaching 3/15/25 MAE-02 Joseph Henry Apparatus Project 3/15/25 MAE-03
A Novel Thermal Chemical Energy Storage System for Low Emission Hydrogen Combustion 3/15/25 MAE-04
Machine Learning and Molecular Dynamic Simulations of High-Pressure Combustion for Green Power Generation and Propulsion Using H2/NH3 3/15/25 MAE-05 Plasma Propulsion for Spacecraft 3/15/25 MAE-06
Electrified Non-Equilibrium Ammonia Synthesis (Electrical Heating or Plasma) 3/15/25 MAE-07
Spatial Audio and Hearing Aid Research 3/15/25 PHY-01
Biophysics: Experiment and Computational Modeling 3/15/25 *Click on the code for more information for each research opportunity.
-
Natural Sciences Research Opportunities
-
Research Opportunity* Title of Project Application Deadline CHE-01
Investigating the Chiral Protein Microenvironment of Reactive Tryptophan Residues 3/15/25 CHE-02
Computational Modeling and Validation of Copper-Binding Proteins and Protein Complexes 3/15/25 CHE-03
Photoredox-Catalyzed Cross Coupling of Benzylic Chlorides and Alkyl Alcohols via Nickel Catalysis 3/15/25 CHE-04
NMR-based Metabolomics with Special Software Tools 3/15/25 CHE-05
Optimizing Fiber Optic Fusion Splicing for Next-Generation Lasers 3/15/25 CHE-06 Toward Convergent Syntheses of the Taccalonolides and Related Compounds 3/15/25 GEO-01
Evaluating the Structure and Chemistry of Exoplanets Using Machine Learning 3/15/25 GEO-02
Influence of Waves and Bubbles On Air-Sea Gas Exchange for Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement Applications 3/15/25 GEO-03
Exploring the Effects of Soil Salinity on Potassium Transport in Arabidopsis Thaliana 3/15/25 LSI-01
Training the Auxodrome for Automated Segmentation of Drosophila Larvae 3/15/25 LSI-02
Modeling Disease Dysregulation Using Large Genomic Datasets 3/15/25 LSI-03
Decoding Human Genetic Variation in Human Health and Disease 3/15/25 PSY-01 Exploring Motor Skill Learning from Another Angle: How Different Cognitive Strategies are Leveraged for Improving Motor Performance 3/15/25 *Click on the code for more information for each research opportunity.
Contact
Laboratory Learning Program
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544
[email protected]
Due to the volume of interest in this program, we are unable to respond to individual inquiries. Projects will be marked as closed on this site once accepted students have been notified by email.
No mail in applications will be accepted.
Laboratory Learning Program: [email protected]
*Please do not call or send emails to Science Outreach.
Application Instructions
The online application period is from February 15, 2025 to March 15, 2025. NO EXCEPTIONS IF YOU MISS THE APPLICATION DEADLINE.
Projects will be marked as closed on this site, once the accepted students are notified by email. Students who are not selected will NOT be contacted individually by email. Please DO NOT CONTACT Science Outreach or the LLP Program to check on the status of an application.