This page covers research opportunities, science competitions, HOSA® chapters, and health-related extracurricular activities for Rhode Island high school students.
Summer Research Programs
Rhode Island’s research opportunities for high school students are centered on Brown University and the University of Rhode Island, supplemented by accessible programs in neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Brown University: Brown’s research enterprise spans the biomedical sciences, public health, neuroscience, engineering, and computational biology. While Brown does not operate a formal high school summer research program comparable to Rockefeller’s in New York, individual faculty members occasionally accept motivated high school students into their labs, particularly through personal connections, teacher recommendations, or outreach programs. Brown’s Pre-College Program offers summer courses for high school students in science and health topics, which can serve as an entry point for research relationships. Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School faculty may also accept high school students for research observation or assistance. Contact faculty directly with a professional email describing your interests. Visit brown.edu and precollege.brown.edu.
University of Rhode Island: URI faculty across biology, chemistry, pharmacy, nursing, and ocean sciences accept undergraduate and occasionally high school research assistants. URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography (Narragansett) conducts marine and environmental research with connections to human health (microplastics, water quality, environmental toxicology). Contact individual faculty members or URI’s Office of Research to inquire about opportunities for high school students. Visit uri.edu.
Cross-border research programs: Rhode Island students should strongly consider applying to summer research programs in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which are easily accessible by car or public transit. Programs at MIT, Harvard, Boston University, Tufts, UMass, Yale, UConn Health, and other institutions in neighboring states accept students from any state. The commute from Providence to Boston is approximately one hour by car or Amtrak, making Boston-area summer programs practical for RI residents. See our Massachusetts and Connecticut state pages for specific program listings.
Independent Research: If formal research programs are not accessible, design your own research project under the guidance of a science teacher or mentor. Literature reviews, public health data analysis using freely available datasets (CDC WONDER, RI Department of Health data), environmental monitoring projects, and small-scale experimental studies can all produce meaningful research for science fair submission. Independent research demonstrates initiative and intellectual curiosity regardless of institutional affiliation.
Science Competitions
Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair (RISEF): The state science fair for high school students, serving as a qualifying event for the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Health science, biomedical, and behavioral science projects are common among entries. RISEF is organized through the Rhode Island Department of Education and participating schools. Talk to your school science department about entry procedures and regional fair dates. Students whose projects qualify advance to ISEF, one of the most prestigious pre-college science competitions in the world.
Science Olympiad: Rhode Island participates in Science Olympiad with active high school teams. Health-related events include Anatomy and Physiology, Disease Detectives (epidemiology), and Forensics. If your school has a team, join it. If not, talk to a science teacher about starting one. Visit scioly.org. Biology Olympiad (USABO) and Chemistry Olympiad (USNCO): National competitions that build deep content knowledge. Rhode Island students can register through their schools.
Regeneron Science Talent Search: The most prestigious pre-college science competition in the United States, based on original independent research. While extremely competitive, the process of conducting original research and writing it up is valuable regardless of whether you advance. See societyforscience.org/regeneron-sts.
HOSA® and Health Science Clubs
HOSA® (Future Health Professionals) has chapters at Rhode Island high schools. HOSA® provides competitive events in medical terminology, health career exploration, biomedical debate, CPR/first aid, epidemiology, and other health topics. Rhode Island HOSA® sends qualifying students to the international competition. If your school has a chapter, join it as early as possible. If not, talk to a health science or science teacher about chartering one. See our CTE and HOSA® page.
Beyond HOSA®, consider starting or joining a pre-med or health careers club at your school. Activities can include guest speaker events (invite local physicians, nurses, PAs, or other professionals), group shadowing trips, CPR certification sessions, documentary screenings about healthcare topics, community health projects, and application preparation workshops. Red Cross Clubs, Key Club, and other service organizations with health-focused projects also provide relevant extracurricular experience.
Making the Most of Limited Options
Rhode Island is small, and its research and extracurricular options for high school students are more limited than those in New York City or the Boston area. This is not a disadvantage if you approach it strategically. When resources are concentrated, the relationships you build are deeper and more personal. A student who works in a Brown lab for two years will have a closer mentorship relationship than a student who rotates through multiple large labs at a massive research university. A student who is one of a few pre-health students at a smaller Rhode Island high school may find it easier to stand out and take on leadership roles than a student competing with hundreds of pre-med peers at a specialized NYC science high school.
Use Rhode Island’s proximity to Massachusetts and Connecticut to expand your options when local resources are insufficient. Apply to Boston-area summer research programs, attend science competitions hosted by neighboring states, and explore volunteer opportunities at hospitals across the border. The combination of deep Rhode Island-based engagement and strategic cross-border supplementation produces a strong, diversified pre-health profile. See our Extracurriculars for Medicine page.
Building Research Skills Without a Formal Program
Not every Rhode Island high school student will secure a position in a formal university research lab, and that is perfectly fine. You can build research skills and demonstrate scientific initiative through several alternative approaches. Conducting an independent research project for the Rhode Island Science and Engineering Fair teaches you to formulate a hypothesis, design methodology, collect and analyze data, and present findings, all of which are core research skills regardless of whether the project involves a university laboratory. Analyzing publicly available data sets (the Rhode Island Department of Health publishes health statistics, disease incidence data, and community health assessments that you can use for epidemiological analysis projects) demonstrates quantitative skills and public health awareness. Writing a comprehensive literature review on a biomedical topic under the guidance of a science teacher produces a scholarly product that demonstrates your ability to read, synthesize, and critically evaluate scientific literature.
The key message for Rhode Island students is that resourcefulness and initiative matter more than institutional affiliation. A student who designed and executed an original public health data analysis project, presented it at the state science fair, and can articulate what they learned about research methodology will impress admissions committees regardless of whether the work was conducted in a university laboratory or at a kitchen table with a laptop. Rhode Island’s smaller scale may mean fewer formal programs, but the creativity and self-direction required to overcome that limitation is itself a valuable skill that admissions committees recognize and respect.
Extracurricular Planning
Quality matters more than quantity at every stage. Choose 3 to 5 activities that you pursue consistently throughout high school, including at least one clinical experience (hospital volunteering, EMT when eligible), one research or academic competition (science fair, HOSA®, Science Olympiad), and one community service commitment. Seek leadership roles within these activities as you gain experience. Document everything carefully with dates, hours, responsibilities, and reflections. Rhode Island’s small community means your commitment and growth are more visible to the people who matter (teachers, mentors, program leaders), which produces stronger letters of recommendation and more personal advocacy on your behalf than anonymous participation in large programs at bigger institutions.
References
Brown University. “Research.” Brown, 2025. https://www.brown.edu/. Accessed March 2026.
Science Olympiad. “About.” Science Olympiad, 2025. https://scioly.org/. Accessed March 2026.
HOSA-Future Health Professionals. “About HOSA.” HOSA, 2025. https://hosa.org/. Accessed March 2026.