Eligibility Requirements

Interns

Applicants must be:

• At least 16 years old at the time the internship begins.
• Enrolled in or have recently graduated from a school that meets at least one of the following descriptions:
  • Vocational technical high school as determined by Chapter 74 of the General Laws of Massachusetts or a comprehensive public high school with a life sciences Chapter 74 program.
  • Public high school (including charter) located in one of the following “Gateway Cities” as determined by Section 3A of Chapter 23A of the General Laws of Massachusetts: Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, and Westfield, and Worcester.
  • Public high school (including charter) with a student population of at least 25 percent classified as “low income” by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
  • Tuition-free private school primarily serving low income/ underrepresented students.
  • Homeschooled residents of a “Gateway City” (as defined above) or a city/town where the public high school(s) has a student population of at least 25 percent classified as “low income” by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

           OR

• Enrolled in the METCO Program, a grant program funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts intended to expand educational opportunities, increase diversity, and reduce racial isolation, by permitting students residing in certain cities to attend public schools in other communities that have agreed to participate.

Note: recent graduates must have received their high school diploma no earlier than the past two calendar years and must not be currently attending college. Graduates can intern the summer before their freshman year of college.

Application Instructions

1. Go to: https://mlsc.smartsimple.com
2. If you are a returning user, log in using your email address and password.
3. If you are a new user, click on the “Intern Registration” button.
   • Fill out the registration form by entering your school name followed by your name and email address. You will then receive an email with a temporary password. If your school name is not listed, you will need to add it.
   • Return to the log-in page and enter your email address and the temporary password. You will then be prompted to create your own password. Once entered, you will be taken to your Home page.
4. Click on the “My Profile” tab in the upper right-hand corner and complete or update your profile.
5. Return to the Home page and find the “2024-25 High School Apprenticeship Challenge” listed under the “Internship Applications” section.
6. Click on the [+] button to the right (you may need to scroll to see it) to begin the application. Note that there are 5 sections to the application (see tabs at the top).
7. As part of the application, you will be required to upload your Cover Letter and Resume (both documents must be in PDF format).
8. Once completed, click the “Submit” button on the lower right-hand corner of the page.
9. Potential employers will contact you directly if they are interested in considering you for an internship position. At that time, they will tell you about their organization and describe the position.

Please note that while there is no application deadline since the placements will be rolling throughout the year, the application period may close due to full allocation of available funding.

Lab Training Program

The after-school/summer lab training program provides rigorous pre-internship biotechnology/biomedical and professional skills development for underrepresented and/or low income students. The program has previously been offered in Brockton, New Bedford, Worcester, and Cambridge (serving Greater Boston students). For 2024, students at Brockton High School and New Bedford High School should ask their Biology teachers about application information. For students enrolled in the Greater Boston (Cambridge, Everett, Revere, Chelsea, etc.), please visit the LEAH Knox Scholars Program website or the BioBuilder website to learn more and apply.