12 Coding Summer Programs for High School Students
If you are a high school student looking for a way to pick up a new skill over the school break, a coding summer program can be a great first step!
Coding is a highly sought-after skill today. Coding programs can help you learn how to write code and build digital tools while offering opportunities to pick up skills like problem-solving and critical thinking. Here, you will also get to work on cool hands-on projects with peers.
These programs primarily combine instruction with individual and/or group activities to help you learn programming languages like Python, Java, or C++, and work on making apps, games, websites, or even robots! The programs can also teach you teamwork and how to pitch your ideas and fix problems when your code isn’t working. The skills you pick up here can help you in your future academic and professional pursuits!
In this blog, we’ve put together a list of 12 coding programs for high school students! We have focused on programs offered by credible organizations and universities that offer a structured, hands-on learning experience.
1. Columbia’s Pre-College Online Summer: Technology Courses
Cost: $2,815 (one-week session) | $3,965 (two-week session).
Location: Online
Application deadline: TBA; varies depending on the session
Program dates: Multiple one- and two-week online courses offered between July 1 and August 9
Eligibility: High school students
Columbia’s Pre-College Summer Program provides high school students with opportunities to take college-level courses in various subject areas, including online technology-focused options lasting one to two weeks. These courses cover the basics of computer science and programming languages like Python, Java, and C. If you are interested in artificial intelligence, you can explore its basics through the “Introduction to AI: Search Algorithms,” which also covers the history of AI and how to build working programs using Python and Java. Another option is the “Data Science and Machine Learning” series, through which you can get hands-on experience with Python and learn how to apply common machine learning algorithms. You can find the list of courses here.
2. Veritas AI Programs
Cost: AI Scholars: $2,290 | AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase: $5,400 | $6,900 for both. Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars.
Location: Virtual
Application deadline: Spring (January) | Summer (May) | Fall (September) | Winter (November)
Program dates: Multiple 10–15-week cohorts (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) scheduled throughout the year
Eligibility: High school students | AI Fellowship applicants should have either completed the AI Scholars program or demonstrated some experience with AI concepts or Python
Veritas AI, founded by Harvard graduate students, offers programs to high school students interested in exploring artificial intelligence. Its AI Scholars program is a 10-session boot camp designed for beginners, where you will explore the fundamentals of AI, machine learning, and data science while working on projects. For a more advanced learning experience, the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase is an opportunity to work with mentors from leading universities on a personalized research project. This program also offers support from an in-house publication team to help you publish your work in high school research journals. Both programs are designed to help you build a foundation in AI for future academic and career paths.
3. Beaver Works Summer Institute, MIT
Cost: $2,350 for families earning more than $150,000; free for all other accepted participants
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Application deadline: March 31
Program dates: July 7 – August 3
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9 – 11 attending school in the U.S.
The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute offers STEM courses in a workshop format. You can choose from online options in coding and AI, such as Remote Sensing for Disaster Response, Serious Games Development with Artificial Intelligence (SGAI), and Quantum Software. In the Remote Sensing course, you will get to use Python to process geospatial data and satellite imagery and apply GIS, remote sensing, image processing, and deep learning to support disaster response. In the SGAI course, you will explore game design, teamwork, and coding by working in a group to create a game modification that investigates a research question. In the Quantum Software course, you will learn quantum computation concepts through coding exercises and develop and test a quantum algorithm as a software program. This program is a great opportunity to build technical skills, apply them to practical challenges, and gain experience through hands-on, project-based learning.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program
Cost: Starts at $2,990 | Full financial aid is available.
Location: Remote
Application deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort. The upcoming summer cohort’s applications close on June 23.
Program dates: Varies by cohort—summer, fall, winter, or spring. Program lengths range from 12 weeks to 1 year, depending on the format you choose
Eligibility: High school students who demonstrate high levels of academic achievement
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research opportunity for high school students. Here, you get to work 1-on-1 with a PhD mentor to complete an independent research project and write a full research paper by the end of the program. You can choose topics in fields like psychology, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, physics, chemistry, and international relations. The program runs year-round and is fully virtual. During the program, you will also get to work with a writing coach to develop your research paper. You can find more details about the application here.
5. Girls Who Code Summer Programs
Cost: Free | For the Summer Immersion Program, a $300 need-based grant is offered to eligible students in the U.S.
Location: Virtual
Application deadline: Applications for the summer program usually close in March/April
Program dates: Virtual Summer Immersion Program: July 7 – 18, and July 28 – August 8 | Self-Paced Summer Program/Pathways: June 30 – August 8
Eligibility: Summer Immersion Program: girls and non-binary students in grades 9–11 | Self-Paced Summer Program: Students in grades 9 – 12 | Both programs do not require prior coding experience
Girls Who Code’s free virtual programs offer high school students access to professional networking, financial grants, technical support, and more. In the two-week Summer Immersion Program (SIP), you will join live virtual classes to learn about tech and game design, the design process, and the basics of UX design. You will also explore different tech careers, connect with industry professionals, and collaborate with other students. If you choose Pathways, the self-paced program, you will study topics like cybersecurity, web development, artificial intelligence, and data science while also learning coding languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python.
6. Kode With Klossy
Cost: Free
Location: Online and In-person camps will be held in Chicago, Dallas, Washington, D.C., London, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and St. Louis
Application deadline: March 31
Program 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
Kode with Klossy offers two-week coding camps for students from underrepresented genders in STEM. Every course is led by two licensed instructors. You will learn about coding through activities, classroom instruction, as well as seminars and speaker sessions. Based on your experience and availability, you will be placed in one of four tracks: web development, mobile app development, machine learning, or data science. In any track, you will get to work with programming languages and tools such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, artificial intelligence, data structures, and data visualization. The experience can help you learn how to create digital tools.
7. University of Washington Changemakers in Computing (CIC)
Cost: Free. A $1,500 stipend is offered | Students who qualify for financial need also get a $250 gift card
Location: University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Application deadline: April 3
Program dates: July 8 – August 4
Eligibility: High school students can apply
The University of Washington’s CIC program is a four-week program designed for high school students, especially those from underrepresented communities. Taught by the university’s undergraduate and graduate students, the program covers key areas such as coding, problem-solving, and ethics in technology. By introducing you to core concepts in computer science and engineering, the CIC program helps you strengthen your technical skills, develop analytical thinking, and gain a deeper understanding of the social impact of technology.
8. Code Next by Google
Cost: Free
Location: Google Code Next Labs in Oakland, CA; Inglewood, CA; Chelsea, NY; Detroit, MI
Application deadline: June 30
Program dates: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 13 years old and live in or near any of the cities where a Code Next Lab is located
Google’s Code Next is a coding program meant for high schoolers interested in building careers in computer science or tech. Here, you may get to primarily explore topics like game design, robotics, or hardware development. If you are accepted into the program, you will join one of the Code Next labs in your community and collaborate with Googlers on coding projects. The curriculum is split into two parts: exposure-based learning, which includes clubs, workshops, and college prep sessions, and immersion-based learning, which focuses on skill-building through deeper, project-based work. At the end of the program, you will engage in Demo Days and showcase your final projects to the wider Google community.
9. The UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute
Cost: $4779 (residential); $2,695 (virtual) | Need- and merit-based scholarships are available for California residents
Location: Virtual or in-person at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Application deadline: June 1
Program dates: Session A: July 8 – 19 (Virtual) | Session B: July 21 – August 3 (In-person) | Session C: August 4 – 17 (In-person)
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 15 years old and have a GPA of 3.2 or above
The UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute is a two-week program that introduces high school students to game design. Taught by alumni of the UCLA Game Lab, the program includes four courses that guide you through the core areas of game development. During the program, you’ll explore topics such as game design principles, character creation, world-building, and programming. In each class, you will produce either a complete game or individual game assets, building a portfolio of work that can strengthen your college applications. In the process, you will also earn four units of UC credit, adding academic value to your creative experience.
10. UT Computer Science Academy for All
Cost: Free
Location: University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Application deadline: January 7
Program dates: Standard Academy Edition: July 6 – 12 | Machine Learning Edition: July 27 – August 2
Eligibility: Students entering grades 11 and 12
The Academy for All with UT Computer Science is a one-week residential program that introduces high school students to the basics of computer science. Led by UT faculty, the program includes sessions on career paths in technology, meetings with industry professionals, and guidance on the college application process. It is offered in two cohorts. The Standard Edition focuses on coding in C++ and working with Arduino microcontrollers to build an LED light display, while the Machine Learning Edition focuses on Python programming and involves developing and training a machine learning model. The program can offer you valuable experience with coding tools and technologies. The program also helps you build a strong foundation in computer science that can support future academic and career goals.
11. University of the Pacific’s Coding Camp
Cost: $3,650 | A discount of $500 is available for eligible applicants. Check the details here.
Location: University of the Pacific's Stockton Campus, Stockton, CA
Application deadline: Session 1: May 11 | Session 2: May 25
Program Dates: Session 1: June 2 – 12 | Session 2: June 17 – 27
Eligibility: High school students
Coding Camp is a two-week in-person program part of the University of the Pacific’s High School Summer Institute—a pre-college experience. Here, you will get an introduction to coding and Python and learn about concepts like flow control structures, algorithmic and computational thinking, arrays, variables, as well as functions and parameter passing. Then you will use what you learned during the program to code a solution to a given problem. You will also participate in coding competitions at this camp. As the program follows the structure of a summer camp, it also offers social activities like movie nights, karaoke, and sports.
12. University of Minnesota’s Summer Computing Academy
Cost: Two-week camp: $125; One-week camp: $75 | Scholarships available upon request
Location: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Program dates: Two-week program: June 9 – 20; One-week program: June 23 – 27
Application deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 12
The Summer Computing Academy is a residential program for students interested in learning how to code using Python. It offers a one-week format for beginners and a two-week session for those who have some experience with coding. At the camp, you will engage in lectures covering the basics of Python and programming and practice coding in a computer lab. Career planning sessions are also part of the program. You will also work on projects like powering small robots, building apps, and processing images. At the end of the program, you will present your projects.
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