12 Tech Programs for High School Students in Georgia
Technology programs can help high school students move beyond classroom learning by providing opportunities to develop technical skills, explore emerging fields, and work on meaningful projects. Whether you're interested in coding, artificial intelligence, engineering, cybersecurity, or data science, these programs can introduce you to the tools, concepts, and problem-solving approaches used across the tech industry. Many also include mentorship, research opportunities, and collaborative projects that can help you better understand potential academic and career paths.
Why Should You Attend a Program in Georgia?
Georgia is home to leading institutions and organizations, including Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, and the CDC, all of which offer students opportunities to explore technology and innovation. Through these programs, you may work on research projects, build software applications, analyze datasets, design engineering solutions, or explore fields such as AI, robotics, and public health technology. These opportunities can be valuable for both Georgia residents and out-of-state students seeking experience, technical skills, and connections with professionals in the field.
To help you get started, we have 12 tech programs for high school students in Georgia.
If you’re looking for programs in Georgia, check out our blog here.
1. Georgia Tech’s Project ENGAGES
Location: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Cost/Stipend: Free + stipend available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 35 students
Dates: Year-long program starting from June 1 and running till May next year
Application Deadline: February 27
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors, ages 16 and up, from partner Atlanta high schools
Project ENGAGES is a year-long research program at Georgia Tech that places students from eight Atlanta public high schools in active faculty-led research labs for a minimum of 35 hours per week during the summer and 15 hours per week during the school year. Students work directly alongside Georgia Tech scientists and graduate student mentors on hands-on research projects spanning engineering, science, and technology. The program also includes enrichment activities and industry visits to companies such as Axion Biosystems and Dendreon, giving students direct exposure to how research translates into real-world applications. A parallel teacher training initiative runs alongside the student program, connecting partner school science teachers with ongoing Georgia Tech research.
2. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: 10 – 15-week cohorts
Application Deadline: Rolling. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November). You can apply to the program here.
Eligibility: High school students
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students who are looking to get started with 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 get a chance to work on real-world projects. Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students get a chance 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. Microsoft Discovery Program
Location: Microsoft’s offices in Atlanta, GA
Cost/Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 7 – August 1
Application Deadline: Applications typically open in early February/March
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors who meet district requirements
Structured like a real internship, the Microsoft Discovery Program places you in a small team called a "pod" where you work through product development from user needs to early-stage design. You will develop foundational coding skills in Python and JavaScript while learning how they are applied in real products, alongside UX design principles and product management thinking. Mentors from Microsoft guide your progress throughout, and the program concludes with a formal presentation of your work.
4. Lumiere Research Scholar Program – Tech Track
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies; financial assistance offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts
Application Deadline: Varies
Eligibility: High school students
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program tailored for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students across a broad range of subject areas. The program pairs high school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from subjects such as tech, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here, and check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.
5. CDC Museum Disease Detective Camp
Location: CDC headquarters, Atlanta, GA
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 27 participants/session from 650 – 750 applications
Dates: June 22 – 26 | July 20 – 24
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors
Led by CDC professionals, this program puts you in the role of a public health investigator, analyzing datasets, identifying patterns in disease transmission, and simulating outbreak investigations. Sessions cover global health systems, surveillance methods, and data interpretation, with findings presented in formats like press briefings. While not traditional coding, the data work here is a core technical skill with real-world stakes.
6. Georgia Tech STEP Program
Location: Georgia Institute of Technology
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Atlanta: July 6–17; Augusta: June 8–17
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Georgia residents, age 16+
STEP places you in a team working on a challenge problem drawn directly from active Georgia Tech research, with no pre-designed solution to follow. Over two weeks, you design, prototype, and test your approach under the guidance of a Georgia Tech faculty mentor, iterating based on feedback as you go. The process mirrors real engineering workflows, where you manage constraints, debug ideas, and make decisions without a roadmap. The program concludes with a poster session where teams present their results to a panel of faculty, industry representatives, parents, and teachers.
7. Georgia Cancer Center Summer Research Experience
Location: Augusta University
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: 6 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school students
Combining wet-lab techniques with computational analysis, this program places you in a biomedical research environment where you handle datasets in genomics or cancer biology and interpret findings in a broader scientific context. Mentorship is central to the experience, helping you navigate both the lab and data sides of the work. The program also includes career discussions focused on research and healthcare technology.
8. Georgia Tech Summer Engineering Institute (SEI)
Location: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 7–15
Application Deadline: Typically spring
Eligibility: Rising 11th and 12th graders
SEI is a free, nine-day residential program at Georgia Tech's College of Engineering, funded by the Georgia Space Grant Consortium, IEEE Technical Activities, and industry partners. Students work through hands-on design challenges across multiple engineering disciplines, with interactive field trips and mentorship from engineering professionals woven throughout the week. The residential format means you also experience campus life firsthand, with community-building activities running alongside the technical programming. The program concludes with presentations of student work to faculty and industry representatives.
9. Georgia Tech Summer Institute
Location: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 93 students
Dates: June 22 – 26
Application Deadline: March 27
Eligibility: Rising juniors from rural districts
The Georgia Tech Summer Institute is a state-wide residential program designed to prepare talented rising juniors from rural and under-resourced Georgia communities for the transition to college. Over five days on campus, students participate in hands-on STEM learning sessions, learn about financial aid and scholarships, and connect directly with Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff. The program is nomination-based, with each rural school district able to nominate up to 2 students per year. It is hosted by Georgia Tech's CEISMC and supported by Georgia Tech's Office of Strategic Student Access.
10. UGA Advanced Manufacturing and Robotics Camp
Location: University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Cost/Stipend: $530
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited seats
Dates: July 12–16
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Ages 15–17
Run in partnership with UGA's College of Engineering, this one-week camp puts students in control of real industrial robotic arms, programming them to perform precise manufacturing tasks while incorporating vision and sensor technology into automated systems. Teams also use digital twin modeling, building virtual simulations of real factory environments that enable experimentation beyond the physical lab. Data analysis runs throughout the week alongside the robotics work, connecting programming and engineering concepts to real-world industrial applications.
11. UGA Code and Cognition: The AI Lab
Location: University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Cost/Stipend: $530
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited seats
Dates: July 12–16
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Ages 13–17
Guided by university instructors, students work through Python and machine learning fundamentals at a pace that quickly moves from theory to application. The curriculum covers how AI systems process information and make decisions, with students building a functioning AI tool from scratch over the course of the week. Critical thinking on AI's societal impact and ethical implications is woven into the programming alongside the technical work.
12. Girls Who Code Summer Pathways Programs
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 29 – August 14
Application Deadline: February 25; April 10
Eligibility: High school girls and non-binary students
This program introduces you to programming through structured lessons and guided projects. You will work with languages like Python or JavaScript while building applications step by step. The curriculum includes topics like cybersecurity and basic AI concepts. You will also participate in collaborative projects, which help reinforce what you learn. Industry exposure sessions give you insight into how coding skills are used professionally. The program focuses on building confidence along with technical skills. It works well as an entry-level option among tech programs for high school students in Georgia.