13 AI Programs for High School Students in Ohio
Artificial intelligence is changing how industries work, and high school programs in the field give you a chance to engage with that change before college. These programs range from paid research internships at government labs to virtual bootcamps at universities like Stanford and MIT, and they vary in both format and intensity. Practical skills like Python, machine learning, and data analysis are central to most of them, though many also connect you with working professionals and researchers who can help you understand what a career in the field actually looks like.
Why should you attend an AI program in Ohio?
Ohio is home to institutions such as the Air Force Research Laboratory, the University of Cincinnati, the Cleveland Clinic, and The Ohio State University that offer AI programs for high school students. Through these programs, you may study machine learning, data science, computer vision, healthcare AI, or autonomous systems while working on research projects, programming assignments, and technical challenges under the guidance of faculty, researchers, and industry professionals. Whether you are an Ohio resident looking for programs close to home or an out-of-state student willing to travel, there are opportunities that cater to a range of interests and experience levels.
In this blog, we’ve compiled 15 AI programs for high school students in Ohio.
If you’re looking for research programs in Ohio, check out our blog here.
1. Wright Scholar Research Assistant Program - Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)
Location: Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH
Cost: Free; this is a paid internship
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: June 8 – July 31
Application Deadline: January 10
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors aged 16+ with at least a 3.5 GPA, who are U.S. citizens
In this program, you get to spend eight weeks working alongside Air Force Research Laboratory scientists on active research projects at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The work spans disciplines including autonomous systems, sensors, AI and autonomy, materials science, and cybersecurity, with your placement determined by a mentor match after selection. The projects you contribute to are real DoD research efforts, and your role is that of a research assistant, not a student observer. Your mentor is an AFRL scientist whose ongoing work becomes your daily focus throughout the program. The DoD connection and high selectivity make it one of the most prestigious programs on the list.
2. Veritas AI’s AI Fellowship
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Vary by cohort: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Application Deadline: Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November). You can apply to the program here.
Eligibility: High school students who have completed the AI Scholars program or have some experience with AI or Python
Veritas AI offers high school students passionate about AI a suitable environment to explore their interests. The programs combine collaborative learning, project development, and 1-on-1 mentorship. In the AI Fellowship program, you will learn about core AI concepts and pursue independent AI research projects focused on the use of AI. You will work on research projects over 15 weeks under the guidance of a mentor. A highlight of this program is the support of its in-house publication team to help you publish your work in high school research journals. You can find a few examples of previous projects here and read about a student’s experience in the program here.
3. University of Cincinnati ExLAI (Experiential Learning AI Training Program)
Location: UC Digital Futures, Cincinnati, OH
Cost: Free, students earn a $2,400 stipend
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: June 1 – July 24
Application Deadline: April 1
Eligibility: Currently enrolled high school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
This program takes you from foundational Python and data skills to applied deep learning over eight weeks, with each phase of the curriculum building on what came before. The early weeks cover supervised and unsupervised machine learning, and by mid-program, you are building neural networks using PyTorch and TensorFlow. The second half of the program shifts to a research focus, in which you join a small team led by AI experts and advance one of six Trustworthy AI domains: explainable AI, AI fairness, AI security, human-AI interaction, AI in autonomous systems, or AI in cybersecurity. Career workshops, cybersecurity challenge games, and professional networking forums run alongside the technical and research work. The program wraps with a research symposium where your group presents its findings.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; financial assistance offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Sessions run throughout the year, including in the summer
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
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas. The program pairs high-school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more.
5. Cleveland Clinic CYCE High School Summer Internship
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus, Cleveland, OH
Cost: Free, all interns are paid $15/hour
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: June 8 – July 28
Application Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: High schoolers residing and attending school in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, Stark, or Summit County. Must be aged 15+ by program start, with a 2.5 GPA or higher
One of CYCE’s three tracks is the Advanced Technology track, in which you will spend seven weeks working within the Cleveland Clinic's technology operations on projects that span AI, data science, database development, coding, clinical engineering, and IT. Alongside your technical role, the program runs parallel professional development covering digital literacy, academic writing, presentation skills, and professional communication. Your mentors are working caregivers and technology professionals at the institution, and the projects you contribute to are real operational work.
6. INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati Internship Program
Location: Various employer sites, Greater Cincinnati Area, OH
Cost: Free; these are paid internships at $13/hour
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: Early June – mid-August (10 weeks)
Application Deadline: February 22
Eligibility: High school students from the Greater Cincinnati area, completing grades 9–12
Over ten weeks, you’ll get to work at an actual company in the Greater Cincinnati area in a real IT role, doing work that contributes directly to the organization's operations. Placement areas include data analytics, software development, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies, and past interns have held roles such as data scientists at GE Aerospace. Partner companies include P&G, GE Aerospace, and Fifth Third Bank, among others. The key distinction from most student programs is that you are embedded in an existing professional team that is integral to an organization.
7. Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) STEM Institute
Location: Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Cost: $600
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: May 31 – June 12
Application Deadline: April 1
Eligibility: Ohio residents in grades 9–11
The central draw here is access to the Ohio Supercomputer Center's actual supercomputing infrastructure, which student teams use to complete project-based challenges over two weeks. Track options span machine learning, network forensics and cybersecurity, data visualization, computer game design, and analysis of how diseases like bird flu spread through populations. Technical workshops cover Python programming, parallel processing, Unix, and scientific visualization toolkits. Teams also visit research facilities, including the Byrd Polar Research Center and the Center for Automotive Research, grounding the computing work in active scientific contexts.
8. University of Cincinnati Medical Sciences Summer Institute (MSSI) - Medical Informatics Track
Location: UC College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH
Cost: $1,100
Acceptance rate: Competitive (limited to 100 participants total across all tracks)
Dates: One of 5 one-week sessions running from June 1 – 26
Application Deadline: March 25
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors, at least 16 by August 1
The Medical Informatics track introduces students to AI, data science, and healthcare analytics through a week of full-day, hands-on workshops at UC's College of Medicine. No prior research or coding experience is required, and the program is designed to give you a realistic sense of what working in an academic medical center involves. You connect with peers and professionals from healthcare and data science backgrounds, and the setting itself is an active medical research environment. The week ends with a research symposium where participants present their work.
9. Miami University Summer Scholars
Location: Miami University, Oxford, OH
Cost: $1,080
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: July 5 – 10 | July 12 – 17
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors or seniors with a 3.5 GPA or higher
Summer Scholars offers two AI-adjacent course modules: a robotics-focused engineering module and a data science module. The engineering module has you build a self-navigating robot by programming Python-controlled microcontrollers, following the engineering design process from problem identification through prototyping and testing, with autonomous navigation as the target outcome by the end of the week. The data science module takes a similarly hands-on approach to applied statistics and data-driven problem solving. Time outside the course includes seminars on the college admissions process and interactions with Miami faculty, allowing you to develop technical skills and gain a practical understanding of what college-level academic work entails.
10. Stanford AIMI Summer Research Internship
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,400
Acceptance Rate: Not specified
Dates: June 15 – 26 | July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: February 21
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12, aged 14+, who are U.S. residents attending a U.S. high school
Stanford AIMI is geared toward students who already have meaningful experience in math, computer science, or biology and want to direct it toward actual research in health AI. Working in small groups, you will develop an original project using real healthcare data under the mentorship of Stanford student researchers who are actively working in the field. Past project areas have included machine learning for medical imaging and AI-driven clinical prediction models. Career sessions feature guest speakers from academia, industry, and government to discuss what professional work in health AI looks like. The small cohort sizes make this program’s mentorship substantive, and your group's work feeds into a final student showcase at the end of the two weeks.
11. Girls Who Code Pathways
Location: Online
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate / Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: June 29 – August 14
Application Deadline: April 10
Eligibility: Girls and non-binary students in grades 9 through 12, including rising 9th graders and graduating seniors
Working at your own pace over six to seven weeks, GWC’s Pathways takes you through one of five curriculum tracks: game design, data science, AI, cybersecurity, or web development. The AI track addresses artificial intelligence concepts through the lens of societal impact and real-world applications, while the data science track applies quantitative methods to problems grounded in actual contexts. All participants join a Discord community alongside peers across the country, and optional summer events include career panels and skills workshops hosted by industry partners. There are no admissions barriers for eligible students, making this one of the more accessible entry points on this list for girls and non-binary students who want to explore technical fields without prior experience.
12. Stanford AIMI Summer Health AI Bootcamp
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,000
Acceptance rate: Not specified
Dates: June 15 – 26 | July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: February 20
Eligibility: High school students aged 14+ who are U.S. residents
Taught by Stanford AIMI researchers and clinicians, the two-week curriculum covers machine learning fundamentals in healthcare, Foundation Models, Generative AI in medicine, diagnostic algorithms, model evaluation, and responsible AI. Group discussions and breakout sessions are interspersed throughout the lecture content to ensure active participation. Career sessions feature guest speakers from academia, government, and industry to discuss what working in health AI looks like across sectors. You also receive a Stanford AIMI certificate upon completion.
13. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)
Location: MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA, or virtual
Cost: Free for families earning under $200,000/year
Acceptance Rate / Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: Four-week summer programs
Application Deadline: March 30
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors who live or attend high school in the U.S.
Before BWSI even starts, it tests you with an online prerequisite course covering foundational math and machine learning concepts, and finishing it is part of how students are evaluated for selection. The three virtual AI-focused tracks are CogWorks, Serious Games with AI, and Medlytics. In CogWorks, teams build end-to-end cognitive assistants using machine learning tools for audio processing, computer vision, and natural language processing, and compete against other teams with the systems they develop. Serious Games with AI applies ML to real-world problems, including disease-spread modeling and autonomous-vehicle simulation, all within a game design framework. Medlytics brings the same project-based approach to clinical and medical data analysis. Across all three tracks, you’ll learn to code in Python using tools like Git and VSCode, and every component must be built from scratch, providing a solid grounding in the coding foundation of AI.