Summer High School Internship Program

Before you begin your application, set aside additional time to learn about Fred Hutch. We encourage all applicants to review the information on our research areas and scientific divisions. You may also browse the Hutch’s faculty page to learn more about the investigators who work at the Hutch and the types of research they conduct. This will allow you to submit a more well-informed application.

Our program requires recommenders to use our online recommendation form; we do not accept free-form letters. Let your recommender know they will receive a link to the online form after you submit your portion of the application.

An informative recommendation should come from someone who can highlight the strengths you have that are relevant to the program, your quality as a student compared to other students, the accomplishments your achieved and how this program will further your academic and/or career goals.

When requesting a recommendation:

• Choose your references wisely. Recommendations from individuals familiar with your interests, history of commitment and abilities may be viewed more favorably than one from a someone who doesn't know you as well. Additionally, a recommendation from a science teacher or similar can address your interest in and commitment to science. Your recommendations should come from teachers, school staff, or a supervisor at a volunteer or paid position. Do not ask people who haven't been in a position to evaluate your work and contributions within an academic or professional environment, such as sports coaches or family friends. 
• Give your references at least two weeks to submit a recommendation on your behalf. We do NOT accept late application materials or recommendations. If you ask your recommender just a few days before the deadline they may not have time to submit it, and your application will be incomplete.
• Make your request for a recommendation in writing or email, as well as in person. This helps ensure that it won't fall off their "radar."

Give your references a copy of your resume and/or the following information:

1.  The name of the program and a brief description of what it entails (a link to the website can be helpful)
2.  The name of the sponsoring institution
3.  A brief description of how the program fits in with your goals
4.  A brief description of what you will contribute to the program and how you will benefit from participating
5.  The due date for the recommendation and how it should be submitted. 

How the recommendation should be submitted:

We require a specific, easy-to-complete online recommendation form. We do not accept free-form letters. In addition to contact information, our form asks your references to:

• Rate the applicant on their Academic Qualities (Intellectual Ability, Enthusiasm for Learning, Commitment to Learning, Written Expression and Verbal Expression) and Character Traits (Respect for Others, Initiative, Self-discipline, Integrity and Independence)
• Describe anything about the applicant that sets them apart from others (200-word limit)

After you submit your portion of the application, your references will receive an email with a link to the recommendation form.

• Consider sending your recommenders a copy of your short essay responses. This may help them give the strongest recommendation possible.
• Send your reference a friendly reminder, preferably one week prior to the application deadline. Confirm they submitted the recommendation.
• Finish up by sending your reference(s) a handwritten note of thanks.
   

Start early. The short essay responses provide an opportunity to share experiences and perspectives that don't show up in a resume or transcript. It's also the primary place where you can elaborate on the other parts of your application (i.e., resume and transcript). The essays should be written with full sentences and well-composed paragraphs.

Ask friends, teachers and advisors to review your short essay responses for content, clarity and grammar. 

The short essays each have 200-word limits, but we do not expect you to use all the space. The 2023 essay prompts are: 

Question 1:  Why do you want to participate in the Summer High School Internship Program? What do you hope to gain?

Question 2: Describe how you will contribute to the activities with fellow interns.

Question 3: Detail a challenge you faced and the steps you took to overcome it or how you're dealing with it. 

Question 4: Please share something about yourself that is important for us to know.

We ask interns to commit up to 40 hours a week, Monday–Friday. The days typically start between 8–9 a.m. and end between 4–5 p.m., with time for lunch and breaks in between.

No. Accepted interns must be available for the entire duration of the program with rare exceptions (e.g. unforeseen medical needs or family emergencies, short-duration national academic events, school-related athletic or academic competitions, etc.). Any foreseeable absences should be brought to the program director's attention at the time of an interview.

No. You just need to have interest and enthusiasm for learning about science and biomedical research and recommendations suggesting that you are a responsible, committed person.

Weeks 1-2:

During the first two weeks, the entire intern cohort participates in safety, laboratory and other training. The laboratory training covers fundamental lab skills like using a pipet, making solutions and dilutions, sterile technique and tissue culture (non-primate), blood separation (non-primate), DNA isolation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and gel electrophoresis. Other training during the first week includes lectures and discussions about the central dogma (DNA makes RNA makes protein) and hematopoiesis, as well as discussions with experienced students on how to maximize your internship.

Weeks 3-8:

Interns are placed in pairs and join a host mentor/lab at the beginning of the third week of the program. The daily routine of interns varies greatly from lab to lab, based on the ongoing work. Interns arrange daily schedules and hours with their host mentor and are on campus within normal business hours (see above). The daily routine is determined by the host mentor and may include data entry, attending regular laboratory meetings, making solutions or dilutions, creating culture plates, and other tasks. Interns under 18 (most interns) are not allowed to handle hazardous materials, so may observe ongoing work in the host lab.

The entire intern cohort participates in weekly interactive presentations on ethics, "meet the scientist" sessions, health disparities research, "Big Data" visualization, making a good presentation, and biostatistics. These cohort-based activities typically take place over lunch on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and all day on Fridays. There are also sessions on college-essay writing, laboratory techniques and casual lunch-time conversations. 

The internship concludes with a reflection presentation that summarizes what interns did and learned, as well as future directions for their academic and career development. The presentation is open to the Fred Hutch community, teachers and interns' families.

Yes, interns are provided a stipend. More details will be provided to applicants invited for an interview. We also provide a free ORCA card to interns for commuting in the greater Seattle area. 

Yes. Many high school students and undergraduates are surprised to find there is a place in biology and medicine for people with strong interest or skills in computer science or math. However, interest or skills in computer science or math is absolutely NOT a requirement to be competitive for admissions to the program.

No, we are not able to help arrange housing for SHIP interns.

We use an online system for references to complete a recommendation form. Recommendation forms are due by the application deadline, March 31. Once you submit your application, an email will notify your recommenders how to access the online form. They must use this form. We do not accept free-form letters.

All applicants will be notified of their status by mid-May.

No. SHIP is specifically designed for rising high school seniors. If you are too young for SHIP, check out the Pathways Explorers program. If you are currently a high school senior, check out the Pathways Undergraduate Researchers program. 

On the Fred Hutch campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle, Washington.

Workplace casual attire. Interns must be dressed for laboratory safety (sturdy, closed-toe shoes; long pants; and hair, scarves, or necklaces pulled back or otherwise secured). Jeans and t-shirts are fine.

Interns must have completed the equivalent of 11th grade, but have not yet graduated high school. Participation in Running Start will not necessarily affect this criterion. The SHIP is designed for students who will enter their final year of high school (i.e. earn their high school diploma) in the academic year that immediately follows their participation in the summer program. For the vast majority of students, this refers to the summer between 11th and 12th grades.

If you take classes through Running Start, you likely have transcripts from both your high school and the college at which you take Running Start classes. Please submit both transcripts as a single PDF in the "transcripts" section of the application. To get the two transcripts into a single file, you can either scan them at once OR use PDF merge software, such as PDF Mergy, which is available in Google Drive.