15 Programs for Middle School Students in Georgia
If you are a middle school student looking to explore your academic or extracurricular interests beyond the classroom, structured programs are a solid option worth considering. These programs provide exposure to practical skills, industry experience, and connections with professionals and peers who share your interests. Depending on the program, you can explore subjects ranging from medicine, computer science, and engineering to creative writing, public speaking, debate, and the arts. Many of these opportunities are offered by well-regarded universities and organizations that bring real instructional resources and expertise to their programming, making them a meaningful addition to your academic development outside of school.
Why Should You Attend a Program in Georgia?
Georgia is home to reputable universities and organizations that run a range of programs specifically designed for middle school students. At these programs, you can work on projects across disciplines, including STEM, the arts, entrepreneurship, and civic education, and develop skills in coding, forensic science, creative writing, public speaking, and more. Whether you live in the state or are looking to explore Georgia's academic environment from elsewhere, there are options worth considering.
To make your search easier, we have put together a list of 15 programs for middle school students in Georgia.
If you are looking for online programs, check out our blog here.
1. Veritas AI Trailblazers
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by program
Program Dates: 25 hours delivered over two weeks on weekdays
Application Deadline: Rolling. You can apply to the program here.
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
AI Trailblazers covers artificial intelligence through a combination of structured instruction and coding exercises. The curriculum opens with Python programming fundamentals before moving into data analysis, regression, classification, and neural networks. Sessions are conducted in small groups, providing you with personalized feedback during live instruction. You’ll work with real datasets throughout, building a practical understanding of how machine learning models are trained and evaluated. Ethical considerations around AI use are also woven into the curriculum. The program concludes with a guided project that brings together the AI and data science concepts covered across the two weeks.
2. Georgia Tech CEISMC Summer PEAKS
Location: Georgia Tech Atlanta Campus, Atlanta, GA
Cost: $550 for 5-day programs | $440 for 4-day programs
Program Dates: Weekly sessions in June and July
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Rising 6th–8th grade students
Georgia Tech's CEISMC Summer PEAKS runs an immersive STEAM program on the Georgia Tech campus throughout the summer, with each week themed to cover distinct areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. You are grouped together, and all projects and activities are adjusted to be grade-level appropriate within that band. The program is designed around hands-on, experiential learning that builds problem-solving skills and confidence in applying STEAM concepts across different subject areas each week.
3. Lumiere Junior Explorer Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Application Deadline: Rolling cohort deadlines; check program website for current dates
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a research program pairing you one-on-one with a PhD mentor. The first part of the program covers multiple subject areas, helping you understand various academic disciplines and research methodologies before you narrow your focus. Weekly sessions with your mentor build skills in forming research questions, evaluating sources, and structuring findings. Once you select a focus area, which can be a topic within STEM, the humanities, or social sciences, you develop a research plan and work through it systematically with your mentor's guidance. The program concludes with a completed research paper, case study, or presentation documenting the full research process.
4. MSM S.T.E.A.M. Academy
Location: Morehouse School of Medicine Campus, Atlanta, GA
Cost: $850
Program Dates: June 1 – 26
Application Deadline: March 27
Eligibility: Students who have completed 4th grade through 8th grade and must demonstrate regular school attendance, aptitude, and interest in science, and meet or exceed grade-level requirements
The MSM S.T.E.A.M. Academy introduces you to STEAM with a specific emphasis on health careers. The curriculum is built around Georgia Standards of Excellence content for the rising grade level, alongside thematic programming spanning engineering, technology, health, and healthy bodies. Inquiry-based activities are integrated throughout to connect curriculum content to everyday life. New additions to the program include sports science, financial literacy, and coding alongside the program's established dissection-based science curriculum.
5. UGA Summer Academy’s Mini Medical School
Location: UGA Health Sciences Campus, Athens, GA
Cost: $530
Program Dates: June 1 – 5
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Ages 11–13
UGA's Mini Medical School Summer Academy is a week-long camp hosted at UGA's Health Sciences Campus and led by current medical students from the Augusta University/UGA Medical Partnership, who developed the curriculum in collaboration with faculty. The program covers multiple body systems through team-based learning, hands-on projects, games, and crafts. You’ll practice taking a patient's health history, develop lab skills through dissections, and work through simulated medical scenarios at UGA's simulation center. The curriculum is application-based, with labs, technology, and teaching resources specific to the health sciences campus environment rather than a general classroom setting.
6. Level Up Summer Enrichment
Location: Morehouse College, John H. Hopps Jr. Technology Tower, Atlanta, GA
Cost: $200
Program Dates: June through August
Application Deadline: Check website for latest updates
Eligibility: Young men in grades 6–12 in the Atlanta area
Level Up is a Saturday technology enrichment program at Morehouse College for young men in grades 6–12. The program covers artificial intelligence, robotics, game development, web development, and life skills through hands-on sessions led by experienced mentors. The curriculum is designed to build both technical skills and personal development in parallel, framing technology as a tool for understanding and shaping the world.
7. Atlanta Urban Debate League
Location: Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Cost: Not specified
Program Dates: Session 1: July 6 – 10 | Session 2: July 13 – 17
Application Deadline: Early bird discount deadline April 1
Eligibility: Rising 6th–8th grade students; all experience levels welcome, from complete beginners to returning debaters
The Atlanta Urban Debate League has been running summer debate education workshops for students, in partnership with Emory University's Center for Civic and Community Engagement. You’ll develop argumentation, research, critical thinking, and public speaking skills through structured debate instruction, working with coaches and peers across a week-long format.
8. UGA Summer Academy
Location: University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Cost: Varies by camp
Application Deadline: Varies by camp
Eligibility: Students ages 8 and up through high school; middle school students are eligible across the majority of the 60+ camp offerings
UGA Summer Academy runs more than 60 hands-on STEAM and career exploration camps across seven pathways on the University of Georgia's Athens campus, taught by UGA faculty and mentors. Camp tracks span medicine, engineering, animation, the arts, science, and more, giving you the option to explore a single subject in depth or sample different fields across multiple sessions. A separate Roadshow series brings select UGA Summer Academy camps to the UGA Tifton campus, covering robotics, precision engineering, mini medical school, and natural resources leadership for students outside the Athens area.
9. Atlanta International School Summer Camps
Location: AIS Buckhead Campus and AIS Sandy Springs Campus, Atlanta, GA
Cost: Varies by camp
Program Dates: June 2 – July 25
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Rising grades 4K–Grade 10; middle school students (grades 6–8) eligible across the majority of offerings
Atlanta International School runs a broad range of summer camps across its Buckhead and Sandy Springs campuses, with options for middle school students in athletics, design, robotics, filmmaking, chess, and language. Language offerings include French, Spanish, German, Chinese, and English, each designed to build cross-cultural communication skills alongside language proficiency. The range of subjects available across the two campuses means you can pursue a specific interest or combine different camp types across the summer.
10. Atlanta Public Schools Xanadu Summer Enrichment Program
Location: Metro Atlanta area
Cost: $450 for APS students | $675 for non-APS students
Program Dates: June 1 – 26
Application Deadline: March 8
Eligibility: Rising 1st–8th grade gifted-identified, talented, and/or high-achieving students in the metro Atlanta area who meet program criteria; open to both APS and non-APS students
Xanadu is a summer enrichment program offered by Atlanta Public Schools' Office of Gifted and Talented Education. The program covers academics, fine arts, and athletics through courses designed to go beyond standard school-year content. Course offerings range from science-based experiential courses like "Xtreme Xperiments," where you explore the science behind phenomena like lava lamps, to civic engagement courses like "IMPACT," where you work on community projects and develop an understanding of civic contribution. The program concludes with "The Big Show," a culminating activity in which your work is presented to parents and the community.
11. Georgia MATHCOUNTS Competition Program
Location: Chapter competitions at various Georgia venues; Atlanta Metro Competition at Christ the King Lutheran Church, Peachtree Corners, GA; State Competition location TBD
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Atlanta Metro Chapter Competition: February 7 | West Georgia Chapter Competition: February 13 | Northwest Georgia Chapter Competition: February 20 | Georgia State Competition: March 9
Application Deadline: Not specified; students compete through their local chapter to qualify for the state
Eligibility: Middle school students in grades 6–8; students must first compete at the local chapter level to qualify for the state competition
MATHCOUNTS is a national math enrichment, coaching, and competition program. The program operates as a tiered competition: you first compete in your local chapter competition, and the top teams and individuals from each chapter advance to the Georgia State MATHCOUNTS Competition. Advancing to the state competition then creates the opportunity to advance to the national MATHCOUNTS competition. The program features advanced math topics that surpass the typical middle school curriculum, emphasizing the development of problem-solving skills and familiarity with competitive academic environments.
12. Georgia FBLA-Middle School State Leadership Conference
Location: Columbus Trade and Convention Center, Columbus, GA
Cost: $70 registration fee
Program Dates: February 23
Application Deadline: January 20
Eligibility: Middle school students who are active FBLA-Middle School members
The Georgia FBLA-Middle School State Leadership Conference is the statewide competitive events program for middle school FBLA members, held annually in Columbus. You’ll compete in nationally recognized FBLA competitive events as well as state-only middle school events across business, leadership, and related disciplines. The top four finishers in each competitive event earn eligibility to advance to the National Leadership Conference. The conference structure provides you with experience in competitive academic events, professional presentations, and the broader FBLA network at the state level.
13. Young Georgia Authors Writing Competition
Location: Statewide; tiered competition from school to RESA district to state level
Cost: Free
Program Dates: Year-round
Application Deadline: Varies by school and RESA district; check with your school's language arts department for local deadlines
Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in Georgia public schools, grades K–12; middle school students are eligible
Young Georgia Authors is a statewide writing competition sponsored by the Georgia Language Arts Supervisors and the Georgia RESA Network. The competition is structured as a four-tier progression: you first submit at the school level, and winning entries advance to the district level, then the RESA district level, and finally the state competition. Each school system submits one winning entry per grade level to the RESA-level competition. The program is designed to develop writing skills, build enthusiasm for writing as a discipline, and recognize your achievement in writing across Georgia's public school system.
14. Junior Achievement of Georgia
Location: Delivered through schools and school systems across Georgia
Cost: Not specified
Program Dates: Year-round; delivered through schools on an ongoing basis
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Middle school and high school students in Georgia
Junior Achievement of Georgia runs high-impact programs for middle school students focused on three areas: financial literacy, career readiness, and entrepreneurship. The curriculum is designed in a blended-learning format and aligns with Georgia Performance Standards and Common Core Standards, making it deliverable across different school systems and settings. All curriculum is developed and reviewed by education and business experts and goes through alpha and beta testing before launch. The program connects academic content to real-world business concepts, giving you exposure to how financial systems, career paths, and entrepreneurial thinking work in practice rather than in theory. Business community volunteers are integrated into the delivery model, bringing professional perspectives directly into the learning environment.
15. Sea Scholars
Location: Your school classroom; Georgia Aquarium educators travel to you
Cost: Not specified
Program Dates: Year-round
Application Deadline: Book directly through Georgia Aquarium
Eligibility: Grades 6–12 for secondary-level programs; all programs aligned to Georgia Standards of Excellence
Sea Scholars is a classroom outreach program operated by Georgia Aquarium educators, offering marine science lessons, live animal interactions, and hands-on activities right at your school. Secondary program tracks available for grades 6–12 include: Deep Sea "Aliens, which covers deep-sea animal adaptations to extreme pressure, temperature, and light conditions. The Great Squid Race examines Newton's laws of motion through the jet-propulsion mechanics of cephalopods, connecting biology and physics. Overboard for Oceanography introduces oceanographic methods like chemical, physical, geological, and biological, and the tools scientists use to study the ocean. Evolving Oceans traces the evolutionary history of ocean life from the earliest organisms to present-day species. ABC (Animal Behavior and Care) explores behavioral training and animal husbandry techniques used at Georgia Aquarium to support animal health and many more. Each session is structured for the appropriate grade level and aligned with specific Georgia Standards of Excellence across the science disciplines.
Image source - Emory Logo