About

The University of Arizona BIO5 Institute's KEYS (Keep Engaging Youth in Science) Research Internship is Arizona's premier high school research program — a free, seven-week summer experience placing Arizona high school students directly in active University of Arizona research labs. Now in its 20th year, KEYS runs June 1–July 17, 2026, and has served over 600 Arizona students since its founding in 2007. The 2025 cohort of 65 students was selected from more than 400 applications submitted in a two-week window, reflecting the program's genuine competitiveness within the state.

The structure is rigorous: the first week is an intensive training week covering core biotechnology techniques — pipetting, gel electrophoresis, PCR, bioinformatics, and data science methods — before interns transition into full-time research with assigned UArizona faculty mentors for the remaining six weeks. Research projects span bioscience, biomedical science, biostatistics, engineering, computational biology, and environmental health, all tied to real, ongoing BIO5 Institute and UArizona lab work. Students meet weekly for Science Seminar, building scientific communication and presentation skills, and conclude the program with a public research showcase. The program is available in three formats: in-person on the Tucson campus, in-person at the Phoenix Biomedical Campus (an expansion inaugurated in 2025), and virtual for students who cannot access either campus. For in-person participants outside Tucson, limited campus housing is available.

KEYS is free of charge, and financial aid is available for associated costs including meals and transportation. Eligibility requires Arizona residency of at least one year and age 16 by June 1, 2026; the program skews toward juniors and seniors with strong science coursework. Admitted students receive 3 transferable UArizona college credits, a pathway to an enhanced GPA for UArizona applicants, and — for students who go on to attend UA — assured admission to the W.A. Franke Honors College. The 2026 application window ran November 3–December 18, 2025. For an Arizona high school student with serious interest in bioscience or STEM research, KEYS is the most substantive in-state research opportunity available — authentic faculty mentorship, a genuine research output, and a 20-year institutional track record, at no cost.