About the role
Rising Star Program - Surgery
Designed to introduce high school students to a career in healthcare.
Contact: Kristina McDonald Email: opsinternship@houstonmethodist.org
Program Overview
The Houston Methodist Academic Institute offers unparalleled 10-week summer internship programs, providing selected interns with a unique opportunity to collaborate with renowned researchers.
Important Dates
2027 Program Dates: June 1, 2027 – August 6, 2027
Application Dates: Dec. 4, 2026 - Jan. 29, 2027
Program Duration and Schedule
The internship programs will begin on May 26, 2026, and end on July 31, 2026. Due to the 2025-26 schedule, high schoolers may begin on June 8, 2026. A full-time commitment for all 10 weeks is required. Student workdays are 8 hours, approximately 8:30am-5:00pm, except for the July 4th holiday.
Location
The internship is held at the main Houston Methodist Hospital campus in the Texas Medical Center, located at 6565 Fannin St. Houston, TX 77030.
Application Requirements
- Applications must be completed in full by 12:00pm (CT), January 30, 2026.
- High school juniors and seniors may apply to the High School Emerging Researchers Internship only.
- The link to the summer internship application portal will be visible on the program webpages starting Dec. 2, 2024.
- The following items must be completed in the application portal:
- Demographic information of student
- Short essay questions
- Upload of current resume
- Upload of current transcript (official or unofficial)
- On the application, you will enter the email addresses of your two recommenders, and we will send them the Letter of Recommendation form to complete.
- Once you have completed your application and we receive your letters of recommendation, you will receive an email confirming that all required materials have been received for your application to proceed to the next steps in the selection process.
- We will notify you in March regarding your selection for the 2025 Summer Research Internship Program.
Documents should be less than 4 MB each and in Adobe PDF format only.
Eligibility
Applicants must be completing their junior or senior year and be 16 years of age by the start of the program (May 26, 2026) to be eligible. High school students are not eligible to receive a stipend for participation in the Summer Research Internship Program.
Currently, only US citizens, Legal Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals who already hold a legal visa status (F-1, J-1, EADs) are eligible to apply to any of the internship programs.
Housing and Transportation
Participants will be responsible for securing their own housing arrangements. However, after admittance into the program, participants will be provided information on housing options available to them. For commuting, interns may choose to receive either a Smithlands parking pass or a paid QCard for using the Houston Metro service.