Summer programs

Paid six-week health research at the U of A through Alberta Innovates' High School Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS). Applications close mid-March.

Paid research in biomedical and health sciences at UCalgary through Alberta Innovates' High School Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS). Closes mid-March.

Paid six-week health research at ULethbridge through Alberta Innovates' High School Youth Researcher Summer (HYRS). Applications close late March.

Student applications open in early March and close in early April for the July-August placement. Paid summer research at the U of A for students underrepresented in STEM, ending with a celebration event in August.

Applications are accepted through the DiscoverE form, with separate intern streams in Edmonton and Ottawa. ELITE is a paid summer program for Black youth in innovation, technology and entrepreneurship.

Applications for SHAD 2027 open in mid-September and close in early January. Month-long STEAM program on a Canadian university campus: solve real-world problems in teams, live in residence, and build a cross-country network.

The high-school stream is InSRA, a six-week paid Indigenous Summer Research Academy ($3,000 award, plus a $500 travel bursary) for students who have completed Grade 11, running alongside HYRS at ULethbridge. There is also a 3-week paid summer intern role for Gr 9+. Dates for the next cycle are not yet posted.

A paid Government of Alberta summer job for 16-18 year olds: seven weeks of forestry, wildfire and conservation work. Intake opens over the winter.

Two fully funded weeks at Perimeter Institute for Grade 11-12 students serious about theoretical physics. Travel, room and meals covered.

Applications typically close in mid-May for the August session. Week-long dive into quantum information science and cryptography at IQC, University of Waterloo (formerly QCSYS), with lectures, labs and direct researcher access.

Applications open in late November and close in mid-April for the following summer. A free U of T engineering program: a July intensive on the St. George campus, followed by biweekly events from October through February.

Postponed: U of T states Med YSP is pushed to Summer 2027. The program runs hands-on medical modules (human physiology, microbiology) with labs, lectures and discussions for high school students, open to Canadian and international applicants.

Online academic program where students work directly with university tutors to research and draft a university-level paper. Research tracks available in medicine, computer science, engineering, and more. Builds academic writing and independent research skills.

Fully funded scholarships for high school students to join scientific expeditions to the Arctic or Antarctic. Students conduct hands-on environmental and climate field research alongside polar scientists, Indigenous knowledge holders, and global youth peers.

Specialized summer math camps, research workshops, and advanced problem-solving seminars hosted in partnership with UAlberta and UCalgary. Exposes students to university-level mathematical research and connects them with professional mathematicians.

Rigorous virtual research institute for high school students. Accepted students work one-on-one with university professors across disciplines, from neuroscience to computer science, to produce a peer-reviewed research paper over 8 weeks.

Two weeks of university engineering at U of T's St. George campus for Grades 10-12. A paid academy; applications open early March, early-bird round first.

Rigorous global entrepreneurship program where high schoolers form teams to conduct deep market research, prototype a digital or physical tech product, and pitch a fully functioning startup to a panel of investors. MIT-affiliated curriculum.

Specialized enrichment bootcamps run by UAlberta's Computing Science department focusing on applying machine learning algorithms to game design and logic. Students explore AI concepts through hands-on programming projects.

These are childrens camps. Rattlers Athletics and the Child Development Centre run them for ages 6-17, with much of the programming aimed at elementary ages rather than senior high school research.

Registration is closed. UCalgary states the camp form "is no longer available" while the service is being updated. Active Living runs multi-sport and recreation summer camps on campus; sign up for their notification list for the next intake.

Open only to graduating secondary students in British Columbia entering first-year post-secondary. Alberta students are not eligible. Now called the YES Fellowship: a six-week paid summer research term at TRIUMF with an award of about $4,500 plus travel and housing.

The camp runs the last week of July, with registration closing in mid-July. A five-day MacEwan design camp covering graphic design, app design, illustration, photography and videography.

For students aged 16+: Pre-College is a four-week summer immersive covering both Fine Art and Design at university level, and Arts-Bridge is a shorter two-week introduction for students who cannot commit to the full month.

Runs as a full-time summer course from late July to late August. The UCalgary Bioengineering Summer Institute gives high school students lab exposure to biomedical engineering ahead of a Schulich application.

Register through the Community Futures office in your area. YETI is a summer business-training program for senior high school students in the Capital Region: you launch a real business over the summer with startup funding and mentorship, and may earn high school credit.

Application portals open September 14, 2026 for the 2027 sessions. Explore is a federally funded bursary covering tuition, accommodation and meals for a spring or summer French immersion session in another province, for students aged 16 and up.