15 Free Robotics Summer Programs for High School Students
If you are a high school student interested in robotics, you don’t have to wait until college to start exploring it. You can attend robotics summer programs, offered by universities and research centers across the country, that provide you with intensive exposure to robotics. As a participant, you could build robots, work with and test sensors, write code, and work on team projects with guidance from mentors. You will also meet on-field researchers, college students, and industry professionals, and get insights into what working in robotics might be like. Many of these programs are free or offer complete financial support, making them accessible options you can explore this summer.
To help you with your search, here’s a list of 15 free robotics summer programs for high school students!
1. MITES Summer
Location: MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: February 1 (tentative, based on previous years)
Dates: Late June – early August
Eligibility: Students in 11th grade in any school setting (public, private, or homeschool); must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Cost/Stipend: None
MITES Summer is a fully funded residential program at MIT for rising high school seniors from underserved backgrounds. Over six weeks, you will take five courses in mathematics, physics, life sciences, humanities, along with an elective like genomics or machine learning; topics rarely covered in high school. Past elective courses have included engineering design and machine learning, among others. Beyond classes, you will attend STEM seminars and college fairs, tour MIT labs, and live in dorms to experience campus life. You will also engage in project work under the mentorship of MIT undergrads and present your findings at the final symposium. You will receive detailed instructor evaluations on your work, which you can include in your college applications.
2. Veritas AI Programs
Location: Virtual
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: May/June for summer cohorts
Dates: Multiple 12- to 15-week cohorts throughout the year, including in summer
Eligibility: High school students; certain programs may come with prerequisites
Cost: Varies according to program; need-based financial aid available
Veritas AI offers several learning opportunities to high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. If you are starting with AI, ML, robotics, and data science, you can consider the AI Scholars program—a 10-session boot camp covering key concepts of AI and data science through instruction and project work. Another option for a more advanced learning experience is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase program. Here, you will work closely with mentors from top universities on an AI-focused individual project. This program also offers the support of an in-house publication team to help you secure publications in high school research journals. Past Veritas AI projects have explored AI applications in fields of healthcare, finance, gaming, and social sciences.
3. University of Maryland: Maryland Robotics Center (MRC) Pathways Internship Program
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD, with research activities across MRC-affiliated labs
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: Two weeks before the start of each term
Dates: Multiple cohorts aligned with academic terms; check here
Eligibility: High school students
Cost/Stipend: Free; hourly wages paid
The Maryland Robotics Center (MRC) at the University of Maryland offers high school students an opportunity to engage in robotics research internships and work with MRC faculty. The Pathways program is supported in part by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) under the ArtIAMAS cooperative agreement. As an intern, you will spend up to 10 hours per week earning a stipend while contributing to active lab work. You will attend field trips to robotics facilities and view firsthand the research work in robotics conducted at the university.
4. Horizon Academic Research Program (HARP)
Location: Virtual
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Application deadline: Varies based on cohort
Dates: Summer cohorts run 10 weeks (June–September)
Eligibility: High school students with strong academic background (>3.67/4.0 GPA); accepted students are usually 10th/11th graders
Cost: Varies depending on program type; financial aid available
Horizon’s trimester-long research program is designed for high school students interested in exploring a discipline of choice. As a participant, you can choose to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research—an option that is not widely available in high school-level research programs. Once you select a subject track from options like data science or machine learning, Horizon pairs you with a professor or a Ph.D. scholar who will guide you throughout the program. Over 10 weeks, you will work on completing a 20-page research paper that you can submit to journals for publication as a high school student. The program also offers a letter of recommendation and detailed feedback that you can use to work on future projects.
5. Northeastern University’s Young Scholars Program
Location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~20–34 students
Application deadline: March 2
Dates: June 23 – July 30
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors from Massachusetts with at least a 3.5 unweighted GPA
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipend may be available
The Young Scholars Program at Northeastern University is a six-week summer research opportunity for rising high school seniors in Massachusetts. Hosted by Northeastern’s Center for STEM Education, the program allows you to engage in ongoing research alongside Northeastern faculty and students. You will join a research lab in a STEM department and work in areas like robotics or engineering. Past participants have worked on projects like accelerating language-processing systems in computer engineering. Outside the lab, you will attend seminars with university faculty, participate in site visits to companies like Biogen and Akamai, and engage in counseling sessions. You can find past YSP research projects here.
6. MIT Research Science Institute (RSI)
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective, 100 students worldwide
Application deadline: December 11 (tentative, based on previous years)
Dates: June 22 – August 2
Eligibility: High school juniors, including international students. Recommended test scores: PSAT Math 740+, EBRW 700+, ACT Math 33+, and ACT Verbal 34+; lower scores must be balanced by recommendations, high school grades, and science activities
Cost: Free
RSI is a competitive six-week summer STEM program at MIT for high school students. The program combines on-campus coursework in scientific theory with lab research. You will design your research plan from scratch and present your findings through a written paper and a talk at the end. You will begin with a week of advanced STEM seminars taught by MIT professors. Then, you spend five weeks working with a graduate student mentor on an individual research project. Past projects in robotics include Designing Zero-Knowledge Proofs for Agent Motion Planning at MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).
7. NYU’s Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE)
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY.
Acceptance rate: Selective
Application deadline: February 21
Dates: June 2 – August 8
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are NYC residents attending NYC schools
Stipend: $1,000
ARISE at NYU Tandon School of Engineering is a 10-week STEM summer research experience. During the first four weeks, you will undergo training to explore the basics of theoretical and practical work relevant to your research experience. You will also undergo training in lab safety, build research skills, and engage in college-level writing. In the next six weeks, you will work full-time in research labs to assist NYU Tandon faculty and researchers in conducting live projects in areas like computer science, engineering, and automation. You will also present your research project to the NYU Tandon community at the end-of-program poster symposium.
8. University of Wisconsin-Madison Engineering Summer Program
Location: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Typically, May
Dates: July 12 – August 1
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores or juniors who have completed at least one year of algebra, geometry, and chemistry, and maintain a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
Cost: No cost
The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Engineering Summer Program is a fully funded, three-week residential program for rising high school juniors and seniors interested in engineering. Taught by UW-Madison faculty, the program covers four content areas—math, chemistry, physics, and introductory engineering design through regular classes. Beyond coursework, you will participate in faculty-led discussions, team-building activities, and professional development workshops. You will also interact with professionals at companies like Alliant Energy, Rockwell Automation, and Spectrum Brands during planned industrial site visits to get a glimpse of realistic engineering applications.
9. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: July 7 – August 3
Application deadline: March 31 (tentative, based on previous years)
Eligibility: U.S. high school students (freshmen, sophomores, and juniors) residing in the U.S. during the program
Cost: Free for families with an income under $150,000; otherwise, $2,350
The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) is a rigorous four-week summer program designed for rising high school seniors looking to explore advanced STEM work. You will enroll in a project-based course in AI, radars, or satellites to develop advanced STEM skills by working in teams within a workshop-style setting. For instance, in the Autonomous Air Vehicle Racing course, you will gain experience in building and debugging code using robotics software and simulation. Here, you will also participate in racing challenges to test your Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
10. George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program
Location: Remote or in-person at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Application deadline: February 2
Dates: June 18 – August 8
Eligibility: Students who are at least 15 (or 16 for wet lab internships)
Cost: Free except for a $25 application fee, which can be waived for eligible students
The Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program is an eight-week research experience for high school students interested in conducting advanced research in STEM. You will work one-on-one with faculty researchers at George Mason University within disciplines like computational, mathematical, computer, and data sciences. You will develop scientific writing and communication skills and explore STEM careers through discussions. Internships may be in-person, remote, or hybrid, depending on your mentor. Past ASSIP work includes a project on Learning Agent-Based Modeling Through Virtual Reality-Based Simulations at the College of Science: Department of Computational and Data Sciences.
11. Carnegie Mellon AI Scholars
Location: Carnegie Mellon campus in Pittsburgh, PA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Application deadline: March 1
Dates: June 21 – July 19
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and at least 16 years of age with a strong interest in AI
Cost: None
The Carnegie Mellon AI Scholars Program, part of CMU’s CS Pathways initiative, is a four-week residential summer program focused on artificial intelligence. You will attend lectures led by CMU faculty, learn about active research projects, and hear directly from industry professionals about how AI is being applied today. Throughout the program, you’ll collaborate with peers on a group project that you’ll present to faculty and fellow students at the end of the session. The emphasis is on both classroom learning and problem solving, so you will engage in a mix of theory and application-based sessions. You will also live on campus and get to experience college life.
12. San Diego State University’s Robotics Camp
Location: San Diego State University, San Diego, CA.
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Application deadline: Typically, May
Dates: July 14 – 21
Eligibility: High school students
Cost: Free
San Diego State University’s Robotics Camp is a free, week-long program for high school students. The camp is hosted by SDSU’s SysteMs & InteLligEnce (SMILE) Lab in collaboration with SDSU’s Talent Search (funded by the U.S. Department of Education). At camp, you will learn about AI, cybersecurity, and coding through Scratch and Python, assemble and program MBot Mega robots, and learn how to run drones. You will tour the SDSU campus, including the STEM labs. Throughout the camp, you will attend guest lectures and build practical skills that look strong on future college and job applications.
13. Kode With Klossy Summer Camp
Location: Virtual and in-person in Washington D.C.; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; London; New York City, NY; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; St. Louis, MO
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: Not specified
Dates: June 2 – 13 | July 7 – 18 | July 21 – August 1 | August 4 – 15
Eligibility: Women and gender expansive teens who are 13 to 18 years old
Cost: Free
Kode With Klossy offers various free programs, including its Summer Camp, which is a two-week introduction to software development, machine learning, and programming, which are crucial for exploring robotics. You will explore one of four tracks. In the web development track, you will learn how to work with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to develop an online site. The machine learning track covers AI/ML concepts such as algorithms, natural language processing, and datasets. In the data science track, you will explore concepts like data visualisation. The mobile app track will help you learn how to code in Swift (Apple’s programming language) and develop an iOS mobile application.
14. MIT Lincoln Laboratory Radar Introduction for Student Engineers (LLRISE)
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: March 12
Dates: July 13 – 26
Eligibility: High school students completing their junior year of high school and who are U.S. citizens
Cost: None
Hosted by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, LLRISE is a two-week summer program for rising seniors interested in engineering. The program focuses on practical learning and team collaboration, offering an introduction to real-world engineering challenges in a fully funded setting. Here, you will design and build functional radar systems while learning about signal processing, electromagnetics, and hardware design. Throughout the program, you will have access to the guidance of scientists and engineers.
15. FSU Young Scholars Program
Location: Florida State University campus, Tallahassee, FL
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application Deadline: February 15; applications open on January 1
Dates: June 8 – July 19
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors living in Florida who have finished Pre-Calculus, have a minimum unweighted 3.0 GPA, and have a score in the top 90th percentile in standardized math/science exams
Cost: No cost
Florida State University's Young Scholars Program is a six-week, fully funded residential summer college program for high school students passionate about STEM. Here, you will engage in specialized coursework and mentored research. You will take three courses in the fields of mathematics, science, and computer programming. Options range from quantum computing to game theory. You will also work two days a week with FSU faculty on a research project. The courses are designed to challenge and prepare you for higher-level academic work. This program also offers access to extracurriculars, including field trips and social events.
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