15 AI Summer Programs for High School Students in California
If you are a high school student who is curious about AI, you don’t have to wait until college to start exploring it. Summer programs are an excellent way to develop coding skills, become familiar with the fundamentals of machine learning, and learn about the practical application of AI.
California is home to some of the world's leading universities, research institutes, and tech companies, and many of them offer programs specifically designed for high school students. Some offer you opportunities to work on projects in research labs at Stanford or Berkeley, while others provide coding workshops, professional mentorship, or industry exposure.
To help you with your search, here’s a list of 15 AI summer programs for high school students in California!
1. Meta Summer Academy
Location: Menlo Park, CA.
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipend available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Application deadline: February 14
Dates: June 16 – July 25
Eligibility: High school sophomores who are full-year residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, or Redwood City, and have a minimum 2.0 Cumulative GPA
Meta Summer Academy is a six-week opportunity for high school students interested in exploring tech, coding, and AI alongside professionals from a leading tech and social media company. You will be mentored by Meta professionals while engaging in coding projects involving machine learning and deep learning. For 30 hours per week, you work on multiple projects and build a foundation in tech, financial literacy, and art and media. You will network with Meta employees, gain insights into AI’s role in shaping platforms and applications, and build soft and technical skills necessary for pursuing a tech career.
2. Veritas AI Programs
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies according to program; need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple 12- to 15-week cohorts throughout the year, including in summer
Application deadline: May/June for summer cohorts
Eligibility: High school students; certain programs may come with prerequisites
Veritas AI offers several learning opportunities to high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. If you are starting with AI, ML, 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. San Diego State University’s Robotics Camp
Location: San Diego State University, San Diego, CA
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: July 14 – 21
Application deadline: Typically in May
Eligibility: High school students
The Robotics Camp at San Diego State University is a free, one-week program for high school students. Here, you will learn how to code using Scratch and Python, explore cybersecurity and AI, and program MBot Mega robots and drones. You will also tour the SDSU campus and visit STEM labs. During the week, you will attend guest lectures and build practical skills in robotics. Team-building activities and 3D printing exercises are also part of the experience.
4. Horizon Academic Research Program (HARP)
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Summer cohorts run 10 weeks (June–September)
Application deadline: Varies based on cohort
Eligibility: High school students with strong academic background (>3.67/4.0 GPA); accepted students are usually 10th/11th graders
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 particular subject track from options like data science or machine learning, Horizon pairs you with a professor or a Ph.D. scholar who will serve as a mentor 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. Berkeley’s Artificial Intelligence for Real-Life Problem Solving
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Cost: $1,465 for the standard one-week (non-residential) program; optional residential add-on (includes on-campus housing, breakfast, and dinner) costs an additional $1,255
Acceptance rate / Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Session 1: June 23–27; Optional Sessions: July 7–11 and July 21–25.
Application deadline: April 30
Eligibility: Open to students entering grades 10–12
Students in this program learn about artificial intelligence by combining coding with practical problem-solving. Workshops teach the basics of AI, machine learning, and Python, and showcase how these tools can be used in both technical and social contexts. Participants hear from Berkeley researchers, explore robotics and AI labs, and work on a project that they will present at the end of the week. Participants are also encouraged to interact with graduate students and peers during informal sessions. The program is designed to build coding skills, teamwork, and an early understanding of AI.
6. Stanford CARE AI Summer Program for High School Students
Location: Stanford School of Medicine, CA
Cost/Stipend: TBA
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 16 – 27
Application deadline: March 10
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are at least 14 years old
The AI Summer Program at the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE) is a two-week in-person experience designed for high school students interested in exploring applications of AI for improving health in the Asian communities. You will use AI tools like ChatGPT and build statistical data analysis techniques to explore the problem areas affecting health in Asian populations. The program also offers exposure to critical health challenges affecting Asian communities. Throughout the program, you will also find opportunities to develop essential leadership and teamwork skills.
7. California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science
Location: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, or UC Santa Cruz, CA.
Cost: $5,256 + $44 application fee; need-based financial aid is available.
Cohort size: 160–200 participants per campus
Dates: July 6 – August 1
Application deadline: February 7
Eligibility: California high school students entering grades 9–12
This four-week residential pre-college summer program is designed for high schoolers interested in pursuing careers in STEM. Each campus offers its own STEM cluster, based on its faculty and research strengths, allowing students to find a campus and cluster that aligns with their needs. Clusters offered in AI and ML include “Brain-Inspired Computing” at UCLA, “Machine Learning: Can We Teach a Computer to Think?” at UCSD, and “Decoding the Universe: Physics, Big Data, and Computation” at UC Irvine. You will enroll in two advanced STEM courses along with a science communication course. You will be mentored by UC faculty, researchers, and scientists during lab work, field-based research, and classroom learning.
8. SPARK Summer Mentorship Program
Location: Virtual opportunities available for CA students
Cost/Stipend: No cost; stipends may be available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies by opportunity
Dates: Varies based on assigned project
Application deadline: April; dates vary
Eligibility: High school students
The SPARK Summer Mentorship Program connects high school students with industry experts, professors, and community leaders, providing them with practical exposure to professional environments. Through these mentorship opportunities, you will learn to apply concepts in machine learning, artificial intelligence, or data visualization to real-world scenarios. You can apply to up to three projects that align with your interests. The program also provides resources for college applications. Check mentorship projects here.
9. MIT FutureMakers
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 1 – August 9
Application deadline: April 15
Eligibility: High school students in the U.S. and Puerto Rico
MIT FutureMakers, a program run by MIT RAISE in partnership with SureStart, is a free six-week summer opportunity to learn how to design using AI and digital technologies. The program begins with four weeks of cohort-based training, followed by a two-week Create-a-thon, during which you and your team design AI solutions for real-world problems. You will choose one of four tracks: conversational AI app development, applied deep learning, data activism, or mobile app development (meant for younger students). Each track allows you to build skills through design jams, workshops, and mentoring. College student mentors and guest speakers from industry will help you build technical skills as well as leadership, teamwork, and responsible AI design abilities. The program ends with a pitch competition judged by experts; top teams win prizes and present their projects at the ASU-GSV Summit in San Diego.
10. Kode With Klossy Summer Camp
Location: Virtual and in-person in San Francisco, CA; site can vary each year
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Multiple two-week sessions during the summer
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Women and gender expansive teens who are 13 to 18 years old
Kode With Klossy offers various free programs, including its Summer Camp, which is a two-week introduction to software development, machine learning, and programming. You will learn about these concepts through one of four tracks. In the camp’s web development track, you will get some experience in using HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to develop an online site. The machine learning track covers AI/ML concepts, including algorithms, natural language processing, and datasets, which will help you train a chatbot using Python. In the data science track, you will explore concepts like data visualisation. The mobile app track can help you learn how to code in Swift (Apple’s programming language) and develop an iOS mobile application.
11. Girls Who Code Summer Programs
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free, $300 needs-based grant for eligible students in the U.S.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Summer Immersion Program (SIP): July 7 – 18 (U.S. students only) or July 28 – August 8 (U.S. and international students) | Pathways: June 30 – August 8
Application deadline: April 16
Eligibility: Summer Immersion Program: Students in grades 9–11 |
Pathways: Students in grades 9–12 and graduating seniors
Girls Who Code offers two free, virtual programs for high school students during the summer. SIP is a two-week program offering live virtual classes to help you learn how to design computer games, explore UX design, and gain college and career advice from technology experts. In the Pathways Program, you will attend courses in web development, data science, AI, and cybersecurity using Python, JavaScript, and HTML/CSS. Courses are self-paced, typically lasting six weeks. During both programs, you will have access to support from a dedicated teaching team.
12. Stanford Pre-College Summer Institutes: Artificial Intelligence Course
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,080; financial assistance available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 16 students/class; cohort size information unavailable
Dates: Session One: June 16 – 27 | Session Two: July 7 – 18
Application deadline: TBA
Eligibility: High school students in grades 10/11 who have beginner-level proficiency with the programming language Python
The Artificial Intelligence course at Stanford, a part of the Stanford Pre-College Summer Institutes, is an opportunity to explore AI basics. Here, you will learn how to train intelligent systems to perform specific tasks. You will explore concepts like supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning algorithms. You will learn how to detect bias in algorithms and explore strategies to mitigate this bias. Using mathematical concepts involving linear algebra, statistics, calculus, and optimization, you will develop proficiency in Python using pedagogical and real data. The course offers a mix of theory and practical sessions to equip you with the knowledge and skills required to build ethical AI solutions to real problems.
13. Berkeley Coding Academy Data Science: The AI Journey
Location: Virtual
Cost: Starts from $2,499; need-based financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 14 – August 1
Application deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: High school students, ages 15–18
Berkeley Coding Academy’s Data Science: The AI Journey offers an introduction to Python, Machine Learning, and AI applications. During the program, you will join a small cohort and collaborate with peers to explore how to code AI applications using Python. You will attend virtual lectures and receive individualized instruction throughout the program. The program culminates in a capstone project, which focuses on the practical applications of AI using data visualizations and machine learning concepts. You will receive a Data Science Scholar Certificate upon program completion.
14. Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging Summer Research Internship
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: $850 + $40 application fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~25 students/year
Dates: June 16 – 27
Application deadline: February 28
Eligibility: U.S.-based high school students aged 14+; undergraduate students with computer science experience can apply as student leads
The Summer Research Internship at Stanford’s AIMI is a two-week virtual program for high school students interested in learning about the applications of AI in healthcare. You will attend lectures covering the fundamentals of AI in healthcare and collaborate with peers on research projects. You will also have access to the mentorship of Stanford Student Leads and researchers. The program also offers “Career Lunch & Learns” with speakers from academia, healthcare, and tech. At the end, you will present your research findings to peers and mentors.
15. Stanford AI4ALL
Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,000; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 18 – July 2
Application deadline: January 24
Eligibility: 9th graders or rising 10th graders who are over 14 when the program begins
Stanford AI4ALL, a two-week online program by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI, is designed to increase the participation of high school students in AI. The program offers an introduction to the applications of AI through lectures, hands-on research projects, and mentoring activities. You will work with peers to explore topics like natural language processing, robotics, computer vision, and medical AI. You will also have access to mentorship sessions with Stanford AI Lab professionals, allowing you to participate in ongoing research initiatives at Stanford. Beyond this, you will attend career development workshops and gain insights into AI’s future impact.
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