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Education Programs

Accelerated and Advanced

CSHL education programs introduce students to the newest ideas, discoveries and technologies in biology and life sciences, and allow them to work alongside some of the most innovative scientists in the world in an open, collaborative environment. The Laboratory offered its first course, in biology, more than a century ago, in 1890. Since that time our role as an educational institution has been continuous and filled with growth and expansion. Today we offer programs for children, teachers, college, high school and graduate students, as well as established scientists.

The DNA Learning Center (DNALC) is the largest provider of biotechnology instruction at the precollege level in the United States, operating seven teaching laboratories in Cold Spring Harbor, Lake Success, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. Each year 30,000 precollege students conduct hands-on experiments at a DNALC or receive intensive lab instruction from DNALC staff at their schools. More than 21,000 middle and high school students have attended our week-long summer camps. Learn more »

Established in 1990, Partners for the Future provides an opportunity for talented Long Island high school students to have hands-on experience in biological research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Learn more »

The Science, Technology, and Research Scholars (STARS) program aims to cultivate and diversify the next generation of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) leaders. Learn more »

The Undergraduate Research Program (URP) provides an opportunity for undergraduate scientists from around the world to conduct first-rate research. Students learn the scientific process, technical methods and theoretical principles, and communicate their discoveries to other scientists. Approximately 20 students come to CSHL each summer for the program, living and working in the exciting Laboratory environment. Learn more »

The School of Biological Sciences offers an accredited graduate training program, which leads to the Ph.D. degree, to a select group of self-motivated students of outstanding ability and intellect. The curriculum takes advantage of the unique and flexible environment of CSHL and includes the following innovative features: approximately four to five years from matriculation to Ph.D. degree; a broad representation of the biological sciences; a first year with course work and laboratory rotations in separate phases; emphasis on the principles of scientific reasoning and logic; continued advanced course instruction throughout the graduate curriculum; and two-tier mentoring. Learn more »

The Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) provides research experience in cancer, neuroscience, genomics, quantitative biology and plant biology, together with extensive mentoring, coursework, and professional and skills development workshops for students interested in pursuing Ph.D. degrees in the biosciences. Learn more »

The Center for Humanities & History of Modern Biology was created in 2018 to establish a permanent home for the humanities at CSHL, one of the world’s premier private, nonprofit scientific research institutions. The Center is located in CSHL’s historic Carnegie Building alongside the library and archives, which preserve an internationally significant collection of primary material on the life sciences and medical research since 1890. In addition to institutional records from CSHL and a variety of precursor institutions and philanthropic organizations, the archives hold personal collections of nearly three dozen notable scientists from around the world. Learn more »