Program Description: Summer programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide an opportunity to spend a summer working at the NIH side-by-side with some of the leading scientists in the world, in an environment devoted exclusively to biomedical research (At the NIH "biomedical research" includes everything from behavioral and social sciences, through biology and chemistry, to physics, mathematical modeling, computational biology, and biostatistics). The NIH consists of the 240-bed Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center and more than 1150 laboratories/research groups located on the main campus in Bethesda, MD, and the surrounding area as well as in Baltimore and Frederick, MD; Research Triangle Park, NC; Hamilton, MT; Framingham, MA; Phoenix, AZ; and Detroit, MI. NOTE: the number of positions in Hamilton, Framingham, Phoenix, and Detroit is limited.
Internships generally cover a minimum of eight weeks, with students arriving at the NIH in June. For 2021, shorter internships will be considered. The NIH Institutes/Centers and the Office of Intramural Training & Education (OITE) sponsor a wide range of summer activities including an orientation to help interns get off to a good start, lectures featuring distinguished NIH investigators, career/professional development workshops, and Summer Poster Day.
To increase your chances of being offered a position, please do four things:
- Watch the Applying Successfully to the NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP) Video.
- Read the SIP FAQs carefully.
- Read our suggestions for creating a successful SIP application.
- After submitting your application, if you applied to the General SIP Program, contact NIH investigators with whom you would like to work and explain why you would be a good addition to their groups. (IMPORTANT NOTE: applicants to SIP subprograms should NOT contact investigators.) You can identify NIH investigators with projects that interest you by searching the NIH Intramural Annual Reports. Use the text search feature to find project descriptions that contain the key words you enter. You can also visit the NIH Intramural Research Program website for a list of investigators organized by scientific focus area. You can then find contact information for the investigators in the NIH Enterprise Directory.
Eligibility: The 2021 Summer Internship Program is for students who
- are 17 years of age or older on June 15, 2021,
- are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, AND
- are enrolled at least half-time in and accredited college (including community college) or university as an undergraduate, graduate, or professional student at the time of application*, OR
- have been accepted into accredited college or university program for the fall semester.
*Individuals who are U.S. permanent residents must be attending or have been accepted into institutions in the U.S.