15 Tech Pre-College Programs for High School Students
If you’re a high school student looking to expand your knowledge in technology and explore fields such as programming, artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data analysis, a tech pre-college program can be a strong next step. These programs allow you to move beyond introductory coursework, engage with more advanced concepts, and gain exposure to college-level expectations in a structured setting. Through guided projects and collaboration with peers, instructors, and researchers, you can deepen your understanding of specific areas within tech while building technical and analytical skills.
What are the benefits of a tech program?
A tech pre-college program can be a meaningful investment of your time because it introduces you to technical work through university labs, structured research activities, and mentorship. Many universities offer rigorous programs where you might develop research proposals, build technical solutions, or contribute to ongoing projects. These experiences help you strengthen your skills while gaining a clearer understanding of how technology is studied and applied in academic settings.
To help you get started, we’ve put together 15 tech pre-college programs for high school students.
If you’re looking for online STEM programs, check out our blog here.
1. Research Science Institute (RSI)
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Cost/Stipend: Non-refundable application fee of $75 | cost-free for all participants | all educational, housing, and dining expenses are covered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Approx. 100 students globally | highly selective
Dates: June 28 - August 8 (based on previous years)
Application Deadline: December 10 (tentative)
Eligibility: Students in their junior year of high school (11th grade)
The Research Science Institute (RSI) is a highly selective, six-week pre-college program for high school students interested in advanced STEM research. You begin with an intensive week of seminars led by MIT faculty. Following the seminar week, you then spend five weeks developing an original research project under the guidance of a graduate student mentor. The program allows you to read academic papers, formulate a research question, and build a project from proposal through execution. You conclude the program by writing a formal research paper and presenting your findings at a closing symposium.
2. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies depending on program type | full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Multiple 12 to 15-week cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter
Application Deadline: On a rolling basis – spring (January), summer (May), fall (September), and winter (November) | apply to the program here.
Eligibility: High school students | AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students looking to get started in AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and have the opportunity to work on real-world projects. Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students have the opportunity to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that students have access to the in-house publication team to help them secure publications in high school research journals. You can also check out some examples of past projects here and read about a student’s experience in the program here.
3. Northeastern University’s Young Scholars Program
Location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Cost/Stipend: No cost | stipend may be available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Fairly selective
Dates: June 22 - July 30
Application Deadline: March 2
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors from Massachusetts with at least an unweighted GPA of 3.5
The Young Scholars Program is a six-week pre-college research experience hosted by Northeastern University for high school seniors in Massachusetts. You will join ongoing university research projects and work in active labs across robotics, computer engineering, and applied engineering systems. Previous projects have included improving language-processing systems through computational methods. The program also includes a seminar series led by faculty and graduate students that introduces students to a range of engineering disciplines. In addition to laboratory work, you'll participate in education and career counseling sessions, and visit corporate and government research sites to see how academic research translates into real-world engineering applications.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program Tech Track
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: Varies depending on program type | full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Varies depending on the cohort – summer, fall, winter, or spring | options range from 12 weeks to 1 year
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school and demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program designed specifically for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a wide range of academic areas. You can choose research topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. The program pairs high school students with PhD mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper. You can find more details about the application here.
5. NYU Tandon School of Engineering ARISE
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
Cost/Stipend: No cost | $1,000 as a stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Application Deadline: February 20
Dates: June 1 - August 14
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are residents of NYC attending NYC schools
The Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering program is a ten-week pre-college research experience hosted by NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering. You will begin with orientation sessions that cover the foundations of university-level research. You then join an active research lab and work alongside NYU faculty and researchers on projects in fields such as computer science, engineering systems, and automation. The experience concludes with formal research presentations, including a poster symposium where you present your work to the NYU community and a broader academic audience. You can check available partner labs here.
6. FSU Young Scholars Program
Location: Florida State University campus, Tallahassee, FL
Cost/Stipend: No cost
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: June 7 - July 18
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors living in Florida who have finished pre-calculus, have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0, and have a score in the top 90th percentile in standardized math/science exams
Florida State University’s Young Scholars Program is a six-week residential, pre-college experience for high school students interested in advanced STEM study. You will take university-level courses in mathematics, science, and computer programming, with past offerings including game theory, modeling, linear algebra, and quantum computing. You will work on an independent research project in an FSU lab under direct faculty supervision. The program concludes with a formal research paper and poster presentation, allowing you to document your work.
7. UCSD Supercomputer Center’s Research Experience for High School Students
Location: University of California, San Diego, CA
Cost/Stipend: $2000 | full and partial scholarships available based on need and funding availability
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 8 - July 31
Application Deadline: March 15
Eligibility: High school students in grade 10, 11, or 12 at a public or private high school or in a home school setting within Southern California, who are at least 16 years of age on or before June 15 of the application year | must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and be college-bound
The Research Experience for High School Students is an eight-week pre-college program run by the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego. You will join an existing research group and contribute to an active computational project. You will learn how to frame hypotheses, conduct computational experiments, and interpret results using real research workflows. You'll attend regular lab meetings and participate in group discussions alongside researchers and peers. By the end of the program, you will create a scientific poster that documents your work, reflecting on your research process and academic interests. Scheduling is flexible and can be arranged collaboratively with your mentor, allowing for part-time participation.
8. Berkeley Summer Computer Science Academy
Location: University of Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
Cost/Stipend: Application fee of $25 plus program fee of $5,197
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Fairly selective
Dates: June 21 - July 3
Application Deadline: March 9
Eligibility: Applicants must be high school students who are 16 -17 years old by June and have good academic standing | For detailed eligibility criteria, please visit here.
The Berkeley Summer Computer Science Academy is a two-week, pre-college program hosted by UC Berkeley for high school students interested in computer science and artificial intelligence. The program is based on Berkeley’s undergraduate Beauty and Joy of Computing, offering advanced, college-level coursework. Participants complete daily coding challenges using Snap!, a visual programming language, and progress towards building an individual programming project. The curriculum also covers foundational concepts such as algorithms, abstraction, and an introduction to machine learning and AI ethics. You'll be taught by UC Berkeley faculty, with additional support from undergraduate mentors. Outside the classroom, there are structured activities that reflect campus life at a large research university.
9. Harvard University: Pre-College Program
Location: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Cost/Stipend: $6,100 plus $75 application fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrolment
Dates: Two-week sessions from late June to late July
Application Deadline: February 11
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors aged 16 - 18 years, including international students
The Harvard Pre-College Program is a residential academic program for high school students interested in university-level coursework, including technology and quantitative fields. You will enroll in a single non-credit course in subjects such as computer science, mathematics, physics, or statistics, taught by Harvard faculty and instructors. Classes follow the pace and academic expectations of Harvard’s undergraduate curriculum, with an emphasis on independent academic work. Living on campus allows you to experience daily academic routines and student life at a global research university.
10. George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program
Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA (remote or in-person)
Cost/Stipend: $1,299 plus $25 application fee (three college course credits provided)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 18 - August 12
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: Students who are at least 15 years old (or 16 years old for wet lab internships)
The Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program at George Mason University is an eight-week, pre-college research experience for high school students interested in computational and data science. You work one-on-one with a faculty researcher on an active project aligned with your academic interests. Past student work has included projects such as developing agent-based models using virtual reality simulations. The program also includes group discussions focused on research pathways and STEM careers. Throughout the internship, you develop scientific writing and communication skills by documenting your work and presenting your findings.
11. California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science
Location: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, or UC Santa Cruz, CA
Cost/Stipend: $5,518 plus $46 application fee | need-based financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive
Dates: July 5 - 31 (UCI, UCSD) and August 1 (UCD, UCLA, UCM, UCSC)
Application Deadline: February 6
Eligibility: California high school students entering grades 9 - 12
The California State Summer School for Mathematics and Science is a four-week residential, pre-college program hosted across University of California campuses. You apply to a specific UC campus and join a STEM cluster based on that campus’s research focus. UC faculty and researchers lead lab-based work, field investigations, and project-centered coursework aligned with the cluster theme. Technology-focused clusters have included brain-inspired computing at UCLA, machine learning at UC San Diego, and physics and big data at UC Irvine. You live on campus and spend your time working with peers in laboratories, classrooms, and research spaces.
12. University of Florida’s Student Science Training Program (UF SSTP)
Location: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Cost/Stipend: $5,500 program fee plus $50 application fee | need-based scholarships available for Florida high school students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 90 students
Dates: June 7 – July 25
Application Deadline: Florida high school students: April 15 | international students: April 1
Eligibility: High school students entering grade 12 who are at least 16 years old by the program start date
The University of Florida Student Science Training Program is a seven-week residential, pre-college research experience for high school students interested in science, engineering, and computing. You join an active UF research group and spend the majority of each week working alongside a faculty mentor on an ongoing project. The program also includes a daily science lecture series and a UF Honors seminar focused on reading and discussing scientific literature. Residential and academic counselors support your work through regular check-ins and feedback on research and coursework.
13. Stanford AI4ALL
Location: Virtual and residential options available at Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost/Stipend: Online: $4,120 | residential: $9,800 | financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 15 - 26 (online) | July 19 - 31 (residential)
Application Deadline: February 6
Eligibility: 9th graders who are over 14 years of age when the program begins | open to international students
Stanford AI4ALL is a two-week, pre-college program hosted by the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies. You work in small teams on an applied artificial intelligence project under the guidance of Stanford graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty. Project areas have included computer vision, medical AI, natural language processing, and robotics. The program also includes technical lectures and live demonstrations. You conclude the experience with a final presentation of your group’s research.
14. The Coding School’s National High School Research Program
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Cost and stipend vary based on your track | Some have no-cost options available | check details here
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple sessions between June and July, based on your track, check here.
Application Deadline: Priority Deadline: February 1 | 2nd Priority Deadline: March 15
Eligibility: Incoming 9th - 12th graders and rising college freshmen
The National High School Research Program is a four- to five-week, pre-college research experience run by The Coding School in collaboration with Columbia University’s Data Science Research Institute. You focus on an emerging technology area such as data science, quantum computing, or artificial intelligence. The program begins with an intensive technical training that prepares you to work at a college research level. You then develop an independent research project using real-world datasets under the guidance of mentors from academia, industry, or government. The experience concludes with a formal research presentation at The Coding School’s National Research Symposium, where you present your findings.
15. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (virtual and in-person)
Cost/Stipend: Free for families with an income under $200,000; otherwise, $2,400 | housing is not included for in-person programs
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive
Dates: July 6 - August 2
Application Deadline: March 30
Eligibility: U.S. high school students (freshmen, sophomores, and juniors) residing in the U.S. during the program
The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute is a four-week STEM program for high school seniors that focuses on intensive, project-based technical work. You join a focused course, delivered either virtually or in person, and spend the program building and testing systems. Course options span areas such as autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity, radar systems, AI-driven games, quantum software, and hardware development. In each track, you work in teams on a defined technical challenge that mirrors how engineers approach real-world problems.