10 Most Competitive AI Research Programs for High School Students
If you're curious about artificial intelligence, luckily, there are already AI research programs that you can apply for. Taking part in these programs may set you apart from other students because you have demonstrated your passion early in your career. Even if you are not curious about AI yet, you should try to build some basic skills if you want to do advanced research in other STEM areas, because AI works pretty well in combination with other subjects.
If you’re wondering whether these programs are the right fit for you and what programs there are, keep reading this article for more information.
How have we calculated the prestige of the programs in this blog?
We have focused on purely research programs in this list, and excluded anything that’s a crash course in AI and doesn’t offer any research opportunities.
You’ll also find that the programs are all moderately to highly selective, so fair warning, you can expect some serious competition for these programs.
Since there’s limited program information available, we’ve tried our best to estimate the degree of competitiveness by looking at a combination of the following:
1. Comparing the eligibility criteria of over 50 AI programs and seeing which ones have more open vs. restrictive eligibility criteria related to:
- Prior subject knowledge
- GPA
- PSA/SAT/ACT scores
- Essays and recommendation letters
2. Any acceptance rate stats are based on the number of applications received and the cohort size.
3. The challenge factor - how advanced the research projects are.
4. Searching the internet for reviews and what past students have to say about the program.
Should you apply for AI Research programs?
AI research programs offer many benefits to interested high school students. You get a chance to meet experienced faculty, work with like-minded peers, and learn how to deliver an AI research project. A great AI experience can open many paths for you!
However, an important thing to remember is that these programs are primarily tailored for students who possess an interest in research. If you feel that research isn’t for you or you’d like to take a more general approach to AI instead, then looking elsewhere for opportunities will be a better option for you.
To help with your search, here are the 10 most competitive AI research programs for high school students.
If you’re looking for free AI programs, check out our blog here.
Key Takeaways
Best cost-effective picks: CMU AI Scholars, MIT Beaver Works, and Princeton AI4ALL are free, while NYU’s ARISE offers a $2,000 stipend upon completion.
Best for beginners: Veritas AI, UMD AI Summer Program, Stanford AI4ALL, and CMU AI Scholars are the best starting points for students still building confidence in AI.
Best virtual options: Veritas AI, Horizon, and Lumiere offer the most flexibility for students seeking research experience online.
Next step: Begin preparing materials 3 months in advance so you are not rushing essays, recommendations, or prerequisite checks.
1. Pre-College AI Scholars at Carnegie Mellon University
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Cost: None
Application Deadline: February 1
Program Dates: June 20 to July 18
Program selectivity: High
Eligibility: Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents. They must be high school juniors and at least 16 years old. Students should demonstrate a strong interest in AI, although no coding experience is required.
Application Requirements: Students need to complete an online application and submit their high school transcript (unofficial), standardized test scores, essay prompts, a school counselor recommendation, and a teacher recommendation (written by a teacher in a STEM field).
Carnegie Mellon’s pre-college AI Scholars program, a CS Pathways initiative, is a four-week residential program where participants engage in lectures and project-based learning. They will have the opportunity to learn about ongoing research projects led by CMU faculty and engage with industry leaders to explore the exciting opportunities in AI. Students work on a group project throughout the course that will be presented to the cohort and instructors at the end of the program to showcase skills developed in the classroom.
CMU offers a course focused solely on AI that allows you to go deep into the field and its real-world applications. You should consider this course if you’re looking for a combination of classroom learning and research projects under the guidance of faculty in the field. Additionally, the program is residential, making the overall experience comprehensive for a budding AI enthusiast.
2. Veritas AI - AI Fellowship
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available
Application deadline: Rolling. You can apply here.
Program dates: Various, according to the cohort
Program selectivity: Moderately selective
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit past experience with AI concepts or Python.
Application Requirements: Online application form, answers to a few questions pertaining to the student’s background & coding experience, math courses, and areas of interest.
Veritas AI focuses on providing high school students passionate about AI with a supportive environment to explore their interests. The programs include collaborative learning, project development, and 1-on-1 mentorship. Students are expected to have a basic understanding of Python or are recommended to complete the AI Scholars program before pursuing the fellowship. The AI Fellowship program will allow students to pursue independent AI research projects. Students work on their research projects over 15 weeks and can opt to combine AI with any other field of interest. You can find examples of previous projects here and read about a student’s experience in the program here.
3. Beaver Works Summer Institute at MIT
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, & Virtual options available
Cost: Family Income <$200,000 – Free | Family Income >$200,001 $2,400
Application deadline: Application opens March 1 and is due March 31st
Program dates: Mid July to mid August
Program selectivity: Selective
Eligibility: Current high school students who have demonstrated technical ability and demonstrated commitment to extracurricular learning
Application Requirements: Applicants must submit test scores, three short essays, a recommendation letter, and mention of any awards received.
The Beaver Works Summer Institute provides a variety of courses, some of which are connected to AI. For example, during Summer 2023, some interesting courses offered included “Autonomous RACECAR Grand Prix,” “Autonomous Cognitive Assistance (CogWorks),” and “Serious Games Development with Artificial Intelligence.” These courses cover a diverse range of AI concepts, including neural networks, AI ethics, and computer vision, making the BWSI an excellent opportunity for everyone interested in AI and computer science, regardless of their particular sub-area. Whether these courses are offered online or in person, they will ensure hands-on learning and a project-based curriculum for students.
You can take a look at some past sessions at Beaver Works here.
4. Lumiere Education AI Research
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Application deadline: varies by cohort.
Program dates: Varies by cohort: summer, fall, winter, or spring. Options range from 12 weeks to 1 year.
Program selectivity: Moderately selective
Eligibility: Grades 9 - 12
Application Requirements: Online application form, submission of GPA, standardized test scores (if available), and answering short questions related to relevant experiences and areas of interest.
Lumiere was founded by researchers at Harvard and Oxford, and the program is dedicated to mentoring ambitious high school students as they pursue a research project of their choice. A unique aspect of this program is that each student will be paired with a top PhD in their field, and throughout their 1-1 mentorship meetings, they will produce a high-quality university-level research project.
The programs are virtual and vary in duration based on your end goal. The research opportunities range from computer science to specific areas such as AI/ML and data science. This program does not offer any introductory courses and is a good fit if you are looking to conduct research in a particular topic within AI that you may already be familiar with.
5. UC Santa Barbara’s Research Mentorship Program
Location: University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Fee: $5,675 (commuter option), $13,274 (housing option)
Application Deadline: March 9
Program selectivity: 4-6%
Program Dates: June 15 – July 31
Eligibility: High school students in the 10th or 11th grade who have a minimum GPA of 3.8 and have completed a minimum of 12 academic semester courses (or the equivalent in UC a–g requirements)
Application Requirements: High school transcript that shows academic history, a personal statement (500), writing sample, short responses to questions, submission of a recommendation form, and AP scores (if you have taken AP exams).
UC Santa Barbara’s Research Mentorship Program is a competitive summer program for high school students to engage in interdisciplinary, hands-on, university-level research. Students work closely with mentors to work on a research project of their choice (you can pick AI!) while learning about research techniques and gaining insight into professional research-based opportunities. This program is an excellent opportunity for students interested in exploring AI and ML at the intersection of other disciplines.
Interdisciplinary research in AI is a good option for you to consider if you are interested in pursuing a university degree that isn’t strictly computer science or STEM. This program is quite competitive and offers a solid foundation for you to get started on independent research, all within a few weeks. Apart from conducting research as a program participant, you can spend the rest of the summer after the program refining your research, presenting your learnings, and discussing the impact of your research.
6. Horizon
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Financial aid available.
Application deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year for the Spring, Summer, and Fall cohorts.
Program dates: The spring and fall cohorts run 15 weeks, while the summer cohort runs 10 weeks (June-September).
Program selectivity: 26% acceptance rate
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th- or 11th-graders. Apply here.
Application Requirements: Online application form, submission of GPA, standardized test scores (if available), and answering short questions related to relevant experiences and areas of interest.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, and more! Horizon is one of the few research programs for high school students that offers you the choice to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research. Once you select a particular subject track, Horizon pairs you with a professor/PhD scholar who acts as a mentor throughout your research journey. As a participant, you will be expected to develop a 20-page research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student and detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects.
7. AI Summer Program at the University of Maryland
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost: $600. Need-based scholarships are available to eligible students living in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland
Application deadline: March 27
Program dates: July 20 - August 7
Program selectivity: Not very selective
Eligibility: Rising 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. CompSciConnect alums who recently completed Terp AND are rising 9th graders will also be considered.
Application Requirements: Applicants must submit family and student information, academic transcripts, and email addresses for teacher recommendations.
Accepted students will need to complete ~25 hours of asynchronous content before the start date.
The 2-week AI Summer Program at the University of Maryland will provide students with important insights into how AI can improve people’s lives and the kinds of careers they can pursue. Over the course of the program, students will discuss and work with faculty, guest lecturers, and University of Maryland students on personal growth, education, and hands-on experiences. Previous projects have covered AI concepts such as image classification models, neural networks, reinforcement learning, and natural language processing(NLP) models.
A typical camp day will involve morning classroom instruction and lunch, followed by an afternoon classroom instruction. These times may involve field trips and guest speakers, along with small-group research projects focused on societal good led by faculty and graduate students.
8. Stanford AI4ALL
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA, and Virtual options available
Cost: Virtual - $4,120 | Residential - $9,800. Need-based financial aid available.
Application deadline: February 6
Program dates: Online dates: June 15 – June 26 | Residential Dates: July 19 – July 31
Program selectivity: 5–8%
Eligibility: Current 9th-grade students / rising 10th-grade students in the summer who are eager to explore the exciting field of AI and increase diversity in the field.
Application Requirements: Online application form with a submitted letter of recommendation
The program offers hands-on learning and a supportive peer community, mentorship from AI practitioners, and an initiative to improve the world. Students will attend 2-hour guest lectures from Stanford researchers every day of the camp. These lectures will discuss AI applications in various fields. They’ll also have a Q&A session after the lecture.
Throughout the program, students will work with the Stanford AI Lab while developing their real, significant research projects. Overall, the curriculum will include online lectures from Stanford faculty, small-group mentoring sessions with AI faculty and researchers, and small-group research projects led by graduate students and postdocs in CS and AI. Previous iterations of these projects have covered natural-language processing to aid disaster relief and the use of computer vision to map poverty-affected areas.
This is a great option for you if you want to understand AI and its applications, especially in the intersection with other subjects (like biology, chemistry, etc.) and areas of global importance like poverty and hunger. This is great because the coding can be picked up over time if you understand what AI can do and are interested in it!
Note: Here is a review from a past attendee!
9. Princeton AI4ALL
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Cost: None
Application deadline: April 9
Program dates: July 9 through July 30 (tentatively, as per previous years)
Program selectivity: Highly selective
Eligibility: Rising 11th-grade students who live in the United States and Puerto Rico and who qualify as low-income.
Application Requirements: Online application form with a submitted letter of recommendation
Unlike StanfordAI4ALL, PrincetonAI4ALL is a 3-week residential program. This program will introduce students to AI while also covering some cutting-edge AI research in depth. Therefore, the program content will focus on the societal impact of AI and how students can leverage this technology, and speakers will include not only AI practitioners but also policymakers. As such, students will work on a research project within small groups and investigate the effects of AI in multiple intersections. Students in the past have worked on projects such as algorithms that guide self-driving cars and algorithms that process human language to flag false news. In addition, students will be encouraged to explore personal growth and career development through small group sessions with faculty members and AI researchers.
10. ARISE at NYU Tandon
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
Cost: None | $2,000 stipend available
Application deadline: February 27
Program dates: June 1 – August 14
Program selectivity: High, with 76 to 80 spots available
Eligibility: New York City high school students currently enrolled in the 10th or 11th grade with strong academic records and demonstrated interest in STEM subjects.
Application Requirements: Applicants will be required to submit student information, academic transcripts, preferred area of STEM research, a support letter from an adult (not a family member), and essays. If you’re invited to the next round, you will also be selected for Lab Tours and Group Interviews. There is an additional round of one-on-one interviews.
If you’re looking for a longer, heavier commitment to college-level research, then NYU’s ARISE program may just be the right fit for you. During the seven weeks of this program, you'll be provided mentorship by some of NYU’s research faculty while developing a research project of your choice. As such, you’ll be taught skills like expository writing, scientific methods, professional development, and ethics, and at the end of the program, you’ll deliver a professional poster presentation and colloquium.
While the program has many research topics covering areas like Chemical engineering and Robotics, it also offers tracks in Computer Science, AI, and Machine Learning. For example, if you’re accepted and choose to participate in the Privacy and Security Automation Lab (PSAL), you’ll learn more about the intersection of the privacy and security domains with machine learning, like detecting the author of given samples of source code or binary files. There’s also the Machine Learning for Good Laboratory, where you’ll work on coming up with new ML methods for social good (imagine developing methods to detect emerging disease outbreaks early and more accurately)!
If you’d like to learn more about the research opportunities available in this program, consider checking out this link. If any of them interest you, then you might want to apply.