15 Best Tech Camps for High School Students
Tech camps are a strong option for high school students who want hands-on exposure to technology beyond what’s typically available during the school year. These camps often emphasize applied skills, giving you the chance to work directly with tools, software, or systems used in real technological fields. Many tech camps are designed around project-based learning, which can help you understand how concepts from computer science, engineering, or data analysis are applied in real scenarios. They can also introduce you to instructors, mentors, or peers who are already working or studying in technical disciplines, offering early insight into possible pathways after high school.
How are camps different from other programs in high school?
Unlike semester-long classes or ongoing clubs, tech camps are usually short, focused programs that concentrate on a specific subject or set of skills. You might spend a week or two building a machine learning model, programming a robot, designing an engineering prototype, or analyzing real datasets from start to finish. This structure allows for deeper immersion within a narrow topic without the long-term commitment required by other programs.
To help you find the right fit, here we have put together the 15 best tech camps for high school students.
If you’re looking for free online programs, check out our blog here.
1. USF High School Robotics Camp
Location: University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Cost: $999.99
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~30 students/year
Dates: June 22 – 26 | July 20 – 24
Application deadline: Not specified; registrations open on February 1
Eligibility: Rising 9th – 12th graders
The USF High School Robotics Program is a weeklong summer camp for students interested in robotics and engineering. You will design, create, and program your custom autonomous mobile robot using Linux, sensors, Raspberry Pi, Python, actuators, and 3D printing. The curriculum combines foundational robotics theory with hands-on engineering practice, allowing you to assemble custom robots and program them to interact with real-world environments. You will also gain exposure to industrial robotics through hands-on opportunities with ABB RobotStudio and visits to USF engineering labs.
2. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: 10 – 15-week cohorts run several times each year
Application deadline: Varies by cohort. You can apply here.
Eligibility: High school students; AI Fellowship with Publication and Showcase accepts previous AI Scholar participants or those with some experience working with AI or Python.
Veritas AI offers two tracks for high school students at different stages of experience with artificial intelligence and data science. In the AI Scholars program, you work in small teams to learn foundational concepts such as machine learning workflows, data analysis, and model evaluation through applied projects. The structure emphasizes building and testing models rather than focusing only on theory. If you have prior coding/AI experience, you can join the AI Fellowship with Publication and Showcase, which offers an individual, hands-on learning format, pairing you one-on-one with an AI mentor to develop a novel project. Across both tracks, the focus is on understanding how AI models are designed, trained, and refined for real-world use cases. You can check out past projects here and read about a student’s experience in the program here.
3. Stanford AI4ALL
Location: Virtual or Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost: Online: $4,120 | Residential: $9,800; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Small cohorts; official details not available, but it is estimated that about 4% applicants have been selected in the past.
Dates: Virtual: June 15 – 26 | Residential: June 19 – 31
Application deadline: February 6
Eligibility: Current 9th-grade students
Stanford AI4ALL is a camp-like tech program designed to introduce high school students to artificial intelligence through research-focused, small-group work. You will explore how AI systems are developed and evaluated, and examine their real-world applications in areas such as healthcare, disaster response, and social equity. The program centers on guided research projects in fields like computer vision, natural language processing, medical AI, or robotics, each led by graduate students or postdoctoral researchers. Alongside project work, you will attend lectures that explain core AI concepts and current research directions. The experience concludes with a formal presentation of your research findings.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program: Tech Track
Location: Virtual!
Cost: Varies; financial assistance offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple sessions, including summer, spring, fall, and winter cohorts, are scheduled each year
Application deadline: Varies by cohort. You can apply here.
Eligibility: High school students; accepted students typically have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4.0
At the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, you will work one-on-one with a Ph.D.-level mentor to design and complete a research project in a tech field such as computer science, data science, engineering, or mathematics. The program is structured around developing a research question, reviewing relevant literature, and producing a formal research paper. Regular mentor meetings guide you through methodology, analysis, and academic writing. By the end of the program, you will have completed a full-length research paper that reflects the standards of undergraduate-level research.
5. Texas A&M University Camp SOAR
Location: Texas A&M University College of Engineering, College Station, TX
Cost: Not specified, but financial aid is available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: July 12 – 17
Application deadline: February 27
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
Camp SOAR is a weeklong program that introduces high school students to aerospace engineering through an intensive, project-based tech camp experience. You will choose a specialization from aircraft design, rotorcraft systems, space mission design, or space robotics, and follow the engineering design process from concept to demonstration. The program combines technical lectures with hands-on building and testing within your chosen track. In addition to project work, you will tour active research facilities and observe how aerospace research is conducted in university laboratories.
6. USNA Summer STEM
Location: United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
Cost: $450; financial aid available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Rising 9th graders: June 1 – 6 | Rising 10th Graders: June 8 – 13 | Rising 11th Graders: June 15 – 19
Application deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Rising 9th to 11th graders with a strong academic background
USNA Summer STEM is a hands-on tech camp that introduces high school students to engineering, programming, and applied problem-solving through short technical modules. You will rotate through activities that focus on designing, building, testing, and refining solutions to engineering challenges. Modules typically include reverse engineering mechanical systems, experimenting with materials, testing structures under simulated environmental conditions, or writing and debugging code. Instruction, led by faculty and supported by midshipmen, focuses on teamwork and structured problem-solving.
7. USF CyberCamp
Location: University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Cost: $650
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 30 students/year
Dates: July 13 – 17
Application deadline: Not specified; applications open on February 1.
Eligibility: Students entering grades 9 – 12
USF CyberCamp is a conference-style, five-day summer program designed to introduce high schoolers to cybersecurity through hands-on experiences. The program emphasises choice-based learning, allowing you to choose from daily breakout sessions focused on lockpicking, hardware hacking, or critical infrastructure labs. You will learn from cybersecurity professionals across sectors while building technical skills and professional connections. The program also offers insights into diverse cyber domains, including web exploitation, physical security, networking, AI, and social engineering.
8. CS@SC Coding Camps
Location: Virtual or University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Cost: Virtual: $200 | In-person: $600; limited scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 5 – 8 students (virtual); 6 – 8 students (in-person)
Dates: Two weeks (virtual) | One week (in-person); dates vary by camp
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students
CS@SC Coding Camps focus on helping high school students build practical programming skills across a range of computer science topics. You will learn how to write and structure programs using core concepts such as variables, control flow, and data structures before applying them to specific domains. Camp tracks include areas like web development, mobile apps, cybersecurity, robotics, game design, and Python or Java programming. Instruction is paired with hands-on exercises that focus on helping you develop an understanding of how code functions.
9. Stanford University’s AIMI Summer Health AI Bootcamp
Location: Virtual
Cost: Application Fee: $45 + Program Participation Fee: $2,000; need-based financial aidavailable
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; 50 students/session
Dates: Session A: June 15 – 26 | Session B: July 6 – 17
Application deadline: February 20; applications open on December 15.
Eligibility: High school students over the age of 14
This two-week bootcamp introduces high schoolers to the role of machine learning in healthcare through a hands-on curriculum. You will learn about core machine learning concepts, evaluation methods, practical challenges, and emerging areas such as foundation models and generative AI in healthcare. You will learn through online learning modules, guided discussions, group breakout sessions, hands-on activities, and expert-led sessions featuring professionals from diverse sectors. At the end, you will receive a Certificate of Completion for successfully completing the program.
10. St. Mary’s University Summer Tech Camps
Location: St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX
Cost: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Up to 18 students/camp
Dates: Weeklong camps in the summer
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students who are 14+
St. Mary’s University Tech Camps introduce high school students to computer science and engineering topics through focused, week-long experiences. Each camp centers on a specific tech area, such as robotics, game development, Python data analytics, cybersecurity, or machine learning for online safety. You will learn about relevant tools and programming languages as you work toward a defined project outcome. Instruction is led by university faculty and supplemented by exposure to on-campus technology labs. The experience ends with a completed project that demonstrates your understanding of the concepts covered at camp.
11. Georgia Tech CEISMC Summer PEAKS
Location: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Cost: ~$450/camp (scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 20 – 25 students/session
Dates: Weeklong sessions in the summer
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: 2nd to 12th grade students
Georgia Tech CEISMC Summer PEAKS runs themed tech camps that emphasize experiential learning across STEM and STEAM subjects for high school students. You will participate in daily, hands-on activities that may include coding, engineering design, maker projects, or game development. Rather than focusing on a single tool or language, the program introduces multiple ways technology is used to solve problems. Activities are designed to be exploratory, encouraging you to test ideas and refine solutions through practice. Each program also includes components intended to support your continued learning beyond the camp.
12. UT Computer Science Summer Academy for All
Location: University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Cost: Free + travel scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Standard Edition: June 7 – 13 | Machine Learning Edition: June 14 – 19
Application deadline: Typically, December
Eligibility: Students entering grades 11 and 12; coding experience is required for the Machine Learning Edition.
The Academy for All offers high schoolers a one-week introduction to computer science on the UT Austin campus. You can choose from two tracks: Standard and Machine Learning, with the former focused on C++ programming with Arduino microcontrollers and the latter on Python-based machine learning experiences. Under the guidance of university faculty, you will follow a project-based, learning coding fundamentals, data modeling, teamwork, and ethical practices in tech. Additionally, you will experience campus life while staying in residence halls, attending workshops, and connecting with current undergraduates and industry representatives.
13. NC State Summer Engineering Residential Camps
Location: NC State University, Raleigh, NC
Cost: $1,550; limited financial aid available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Weeklong camps between June 14 and July 17
Application deadline: February 27
Eligibility: Rising 11th and 12th graders
NC State’s Summer Engineering Residential Camps allow high school students to explore a specific engineering discipline through a focused, week-long workshop. You will select one track and spend the program working on hands-on activities tied to that field, such as data analytics, biomedical systems, materials science, or robotics. Daily sessions combine guided instruction with applied problem-solving and design tasks. The program concludes with a project showcase that highlights the technical work completed during the week.
14. UIUC Quantum Discovery Summer Camp
Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Cost: Residential: $1,500 | Commuter: $750; scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; exact size varies by year
Dates: July 5 – 11
Application deadline: April end or early May
Eligibility: 10th to 12th graders
The UIUC Quantum Discovery Summer Camp introduces high school students to the foundations of quantum science through a multidisciplinary lens. You will engage with topics such as quantum computing, magnetism, superconductivity, and wave dynamics using hands-on projects and lab demonstrations. Instruction draws on physics, computer science, materials science, and engineering to show how these fields intersect in quantum research. The camp also examines the broader implications of quantum technologies and their potential societal impact.
15. UIUC Roboscape Cybersecurity Camp
Location: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Cost: Residential: $1,500 | Commuter: $750; scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 21 – 26
Application deadline: April end or early May
Eligibility: 10th and 11th graders
UIUC Roboscape combines robotics and cybersecurity to offer high school students a practical introduction to securing networked systems. You will use visual programming tools to control robots while applying programming concepts such as variables, functions, and control structures. The camp will simulate real cybersecurity challenges by having robots interact and attempt to disrupt each other over a shared network. The curriculum also covers concepts like authentication, encryption, and ethical hacking, along with hands-on defense and testing activities.
Image source - Uni of Illinois Urbana-Champaign