High School and Undergraduate Programs

YES in THE HEIGHTS (formerly CURE)

The HICCC Youth Enjoy Science Training in Health Equity, Highlighting Environmental Inequities, & Growing neighborHood Teachers and Students (YES in THE HEIGHTS) program, formerly known as the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experience (CURE), at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center is a summer internship for high school and undergraduate students that aims to increase the pool of under-represented and under-resourced youth entering STEM fields. 

Cancer Research Intern Pool

Are you a high school or undergraduate student? Are you interested in an internship or research experience with the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, but missed the program application deadlines? Then fill out our short interest survey to join our pool* of potential cancer research interns. We'll update you on upcoming program deadlines and share your information with any interested mentors that reach out to us.

*As this is not a specific program, needs and availability will fluctuate depending on mentor needs. 

Undergraduate Only

SURF

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) is a summer research training program for undergraduates enrolled at Columbia College, Barnard College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, or the School of General Studies. Prospective trainees apply after identifying a Columbia University faculty member who has agreed to mentor them in a biology-related research project. Non-Columbia students admitted through the Amgen Scholars Program, the Genentech Fellowship or the Simons Fellowship with a Columbia University faculty mentor are admitted to SURF at Columbia. The program is administered by the Department of Biological Sciences at Columbia University with institutional support provided by Columbia College, Barnard College, the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Columbia University, CUIMC, and the Columbia School of General Studies. Financial support is also provided by the Amgen Foundation, the Genentech Foundation, and the Simons Foundation.

PrIMER

Program to Inspire Minority Undergraduates in Environmental Health Science Research (PrIMER) is run by the Environmental Health Sciences Department of the Mailman School of Public Health and is funded by NIEHS R25ES025505. The Program provides a research experience in environmental health science with a stipend to undergraduates from underrepresented populations in the U.S. biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences research enterprise beginning June before their junior year through December of their senior year.

Barnard College Science Summer Research Institute (SRI)

The Barnard College Science Summer Research Institute provides 10 weeks of financial support for faculty-mentored research. Research must take place in New York City, but can be at Barnard, Columbia, or other research institutes and universities (Icahn School of Medicine, NYU, the New York Botanical Garden, etc.). Selected participants also have access to subsidized on-campus housing at Barnard, and have the ability to take part in supportive workshops and social events throughout the summer. Barnard first-year students, sophomores, and juniors majoring in biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science, neuroscience & behavior, physics, and psychology are eligible. Students work to identify a mentor and submit applications to the program by the Friday before spring break. All students in SRI present their work at the Lida Orzeck '68 Poster Session during the final week of the program. 

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

This web portal is a place where Columbia undergraduates can find research opportunities and mentors from across the entire university and Columbia faculty can post projects seeking undergraduate researchers.