11 Free Online Summer Programs for High School Students
If you are a high school student, a free online summer program can be a great opportunity for you to gain exposure to advanced skills in your field of interest, free of charge and from anywhere in the world. Some of these programs are hosted by prestigious universities and organizations, covering areas like computer science, artificial intelligence, data science, and interdisciplinary research. Through structured curricula, mentorship, and project-based work, you can learn technical skills, explore academic interests, and even collaborate with professionals in the field.
These programs are also highly competitive, ensuring that participants are surrounded by peers who are equally motivated and curious. Whether you’re interested in research, coding, or problem-solving, a free online summer program can help you test and refine your interests before committing to them in college.
To make your search easier, we’ve compiled a list of 12 free online computer science summer programs for high school students. Each of these is reputable, rigorous, and designed to provide meaningful learning experiences during the summer.
1. Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences (JHIBS)
Location: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, East Baltimore campus (in-person for Baltimore City students) + Virtual (nationwide)
Cost/Stipend: Free; in-person interns receive hourly wages and transportation funds
Program Dates: In-person: 8 weeks (summer); Virtual: 5 weeks (summer)
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors; in-person option restricted to Baltimore City public school students; virtual open to students nationwide
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Very selective, ~8 in-person interns; limited virtual cohort
JHIBS offers high school students an introduction to neurology and neurosurgery research through hands-on, mentored activities. In the in-person program, participants work on research projects in a Johns Hopkins lab, attend weekly seminars, and shadow neurologists in clinical settings. Virtual interns participate in educational lectures, learn lab techniques, attend professional development workshops, and receive structured mentorship. Both formats conclude with a final presentation, either oral or poster, and emphasize the fundamentals of neuroscience research and academic communication.
2. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free financial aid available (need-based)
Program Dates: Multiple 12–15 week cohorts – Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Application Deadline: Rolling (Spring: January, Summer: May, Fall: September, Winter: November)
Eligibility: High school students worldwide; Fellowship applicants should have prior AI experience or completion of AI Scholars
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective, small-group and 1:1 mentorship format
Veritas AI offers structured pathways for students to explore artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data science. In the AI Scholars program, you’ll complete a 10-session bootcamp where you learn Python-based AI fundamentals and work on applied projects such as image recognition or natural language processing. Advanced students can continue with the AI Fellowship, a 15-week 1:1 mentorship program that culminates in an independent research project, with opportunities to publish in student research journals. The curriculum emphasizes technical fluency, reproducible coding practices, and project design, making it one of the most rigorous AI opportunities for high school students.
3. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: Virtual or in-person at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Cost/Stipend: Free to participate; $25 application fee (waivers available); unpaid internship
Program Dates: June 18 – August 8
Application Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: High school students ages 15+ for computer-based research; ages 16+ for wet-lab research; open to undergraduates as well
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Competitive; selective placement with faculty mentors
ASSIP provides high school and undergraduate students with intensive exposure to STEM research across disciplines ranging from neuroscience, bioengineering, and molecular medicine to computer science, machine learning, and environmental science. You’ll work one-on-one with a faculty mentor, gain experience using advanced equipment, and develop scientific writing and presentation skills. The program culminates in a poster symposium, with the potential for your work to be published in research journals or presented at conferences. While unpaid, ASSIP emphasizes skill-building, collaboration, and mentorship, making it one of the more well-recognized university-based research training opportunities for high school students.
4. Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation
Location: Virtual
Cost: The program is fully funded.
Program Dates: Vary based on yearly cohort. Multiple 12-week cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
Application Deadline: Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September) and Winter (November).
Eligibility: You must be enrolled in high school or plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall and must demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
The Lumiere Breakthrough Scholar Program is the equivalent of the Individual Research Scholar Program at Lumiere Education. In the flagship program, talented high-school students are paired with world-class Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll develop an independent research paper. You can choose topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. This program is a solid option if you are interested in interdisciplinary research and want to create an individual research paper.
5. Girls Who Code Summer Programs
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free; U.S.-based students may qualify for a $300 needs-based grant
Program Dates: Summer Immersion Program (2 weeks, June – August); Pathways Program (6 weeks, self-paced)
Application Deadline: Typically in March
Eligibility: Current 9th–11th graders for SIP; current 9th–12th graders (including graduating seniors) for Pathways
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly selective, large national cohort
Girls Who Code provides two free online programs: the Summer Immersion Program (SIP), a two-week live course focused on game design, UX design, and coding basics, and the Pathways Program, a six-week self-directed study covering web development, cybersecurity, data science, and AI. Both programs prioritize project-based learning with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python, giving students chances to develop interactive apps, games, and visualizations. You will also attend career talks with engineers, join networking events hosted by tech companies, and gain access to a long-term alumni community.
6. Stanford Program for Inspiring the Next Generation of Women in Physics (SPINWIP)
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Program Dates: July 7 – July 25
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: High school students in Grades 9–11; preference for rising seniors and under-resourced/first-generation students; open to international applicants; all genders welcome
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: No information available
SPINWIP is a three-week virtual program introducing high schoolers to modern physics research and coding applications in science. You’ll attend lectures on quantum physics, astrophysics, cosmology, and quantum computing, and learn to code in Python for physics-based projects. Small-group mentoring by Stanford undergraduates provides guidance on technical skills and college/career planning. The program promotes diversity in physics by encouraging students from underrepresented backgrounds in STEM to participate
7. Virtual NSLI-Y
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Program Dates: 10 weeks, various schedules available June–August
Application Deadline: Typically in June (for Fall) and rolling cycles throughout the year
Eligibility: U.S. citizens, ages 15–18, enrolled in U.S. high school; must be a true beginner in the chosen language
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective; ~10 students per class, multiple cohorts nationwide
Virtual NSLI-Y offers U.S. high school students beginner-level instruction in Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, and Russian, combined with cultural learning and global competence training. Over 10 weeks, you’ll complete 30+ hours of live instruction, homework, and artistic projects like roleplays, skits, virtual tours, and guest lectures from experts and alumni. The program emphasizes intercultural exchange, with opportunities to interact with peers and professionals from target-language regions. Many alumni go on to apply for NSLI-Y summer or academic year abroad programs, making this a strong first step into global language and cultural immersion.
8. EDIT AI High School Summer Internship Program
Location: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, NH + virtual options through Levy Lab collaborations
Cost/Stipend: Free; unpaid internship
Program Dates: June 15 – August
Application Deadline: April 15
Eligibility: High school students with strong computer science backgrounds (equivalent to Dartmouth’s QBS101) and familiarity with deep learning or bioinformatics pipelines (QBS108/GENE111 level). Interest in applying AI to healthcare and enthusiasm for computational research required.
The EDIT AI Summer Internship provides high school students with exposure to artificial intelligence in medicine and pathology. You will work with mentors at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (and in the Levy Lab for dermatology projects) to analyze multi-omics datasets, whole slide pathology images, natural language text, and clinical data. Projects span areas such as digital spatial profiling for colon cancer, NLP for pathology reports, Bayesian disease prognostication, virtual staining, and molecular genomics quality control. Students will gain skills in Python, R, high-performance computing, and scientific writing, with the opportunity to contribute to publications or conference abstracts. You will also participate in seminars, guided projects, and IRB-supported research.
9. Bruin Ascent Summer Experience (BASE)
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Program Dates: June 23 – August 1
Application Deadline: April 15
Eligibility: California high school students currently in Grades 10–11; minimum 3.5 GPA; income eligibility required
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective, scholarship-based program
BASE is a six-week online scholarship program designed for high-achieving students from under-resourced communities. You will earn college credit by enrolling in a UCLA online summer course, while also participating in co-curricular workshops on financial wellness, college admissions, and study skills. You will be paired with a UCLA student mentor for ongoing guidance, with additional opportunities to join panels and webinars about college life. The program emphasizes academic preparation, social-emotional support, and financial literacy, providing a structured foundation for navigating higher education.
10. GeneLab for High Schools (GL4HS)
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Program Dates: June 2 – August 29
Application Deadline: April 9
Eligibility: U.S. citizens or permanent residents attending U.S. high schools; rising 11th–12th graders (and college freshmen); minimum 3.0 GPA; at least one HS biology course; reliable computer + internet
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: First year of expanded format; ~800 students expected
GL4HS is a 12‑week, asynchronous bioinformatics and space biology training program run by NASA. You will work through recorded lectures and JupyterLab notebooks to learn omics analysis, computational biology workflows, and NASA space biology applications, earning a digital completion certificate by finishing all modules. An optional Capstone Project groups students into teams of four to analyze datasets from NASA’s Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) and develop research proposals. These teams present their work at a late‑summer symposium, with the best proposals moving to a runoff. The top three teams are awarded an all‑expenses-paid trip to present at the ASGSR conference.
11. Princeton Summer Journalism Program (PSJP)
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Cost/Stipend: Free
Program Dates: July 24 – August 3 (online workshops + 10-day residential)
Application Deadline: February 24
Eligibility: High school juniors from limited-income backgrounds; minimum GPA 3.5; must live and attend school in the U.S.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly selective, ~40 students annually
PSJP is a year-long initiative that combines a summer journalism intensive with ongoing college advising. In July, you will participate in online workshops with professional journalists before traveling to Princeton for a 10-day residential program. Activities include touring news organizations like The New York Times and Bloomberg, covering live events, producing investigative stories, and publishing the Princeton Summer Journal. Beyond journalism, you’ll receive individualized college counseling throughout your senior year. The program emphasizes reporting, writing, editing, and multimedia production, with a strong focus on critical analysis of social and political issues.
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