Best Summer Programs in Boston – 2026

February 10, 2026

Boston: home to die-hard Red Sox devotees, the USS Constitution, non-rhoticity, and the Freedom Trail. You can also throw a rock in any direction and hit a highly selective college, including Harvard, MIT, Tufts, and Boston University. Founded in 1630, Boston is steeped in history, featuring many prominent American Revolution-era sites such as the Old North Church and the Bunker Hill Monument. As such, if you’re lucky enough to earn a spot at a Boston summer program, there’s no chance you’ll run out of things to do. Just don’t wear Yankees apparel within a five-mile radius of Fenway on game day, ask anyone to say “park the car in Harvard yard,” or neglect to budget plenty of line-waiting time at Mike’s Pastry (yes, it’s worth it). Ready to pack your bags for the Bay State? Keep scrolling to view our best Boston summer programs for high school students.

Best Boston Summer Programs for High School Students

1) Boston University High School Summer Programs

Instructional Method: In-person (residential or commuter) and online
Program Length: Between 1 and 6 weeks
Cost: $3,730-$6,760, plus room & board (if residential)
Eligibility: Most programs are for rising juniors and/or seniors, but several cater to younger students.
Application Deadline: Rolling except High School Honors (May) and RISE (February)

BU offers a variety of highly respected summer options. Looking for a taste of the college social experience? Rising eighth, ninth, and tenth graders can participate in the week-long Summer Preview program (on hiatus in 2026). Hoping to experience college life alongside other high school students? During the Summer Challenge program, students spend two weeks partaking in two seminar courses. For example, these could include Abnormal Psychology, the Chemistry of Medicine, and Persuasive Writing. Want to earn college credit? The High School Honors program, a six-week intensive where students take classes alongside BU undergrads, might be up your alley.

In addition, BU offers Academic Immersion, which is a three-week deep dive into either psychology, medicine, creative writing, or business. And last but certainly not least is RISE, a renowned Boston summer program. RISE–Research in Science and Engineering–is a six-week program where students conduct laboratory research alongside BU faculty.

Although all Boston University high school summer programs have an application process, differing materials are required. For example, Summer Preview requires a personal statement and transcripts while RISE requires essays, recommendations, test scores, and transcripts.

2) Wentworth Institute of Technology Pre-College Programs

Instructional Method: In-person (residential or commuter)
Program Length: 1, 2, or 4 weeks
Cost: momentum ($699 – commuter / $1,699 – residential); ImpactLab ($3,995);
Eligibility: Varies depending on program
Application Deadline: Rolling, applications open in January

The Wentworth Pre-College Programs offer a diverse range of immersive summer experiences for high school students to explore STEM fields, design, engineering, and more. These programs combine hands-on learning with real-world applications to build critical skills and help students discover their passions.

For example, during ImpactLab, rising juniors and seniors have the opportunity to try out a STEM major before college, living on Wentworth’s campus while diving into science, engineering, and design. Freshman or sophomore? Check out Momentum, which provides an interdisciplinary approach to science, engineering, and design, allowing participants to explore various career pathways while developing future skills. Finally, SummerFAB—exclusively for Boston-area teens—is Wentworth’s four-week, fully grant-funded architecture program that focuses on the built environment. Here, high school students collaborate with Wentworth faculty and architecture students to design and construct community-driven solutions to local challenges.

Interested in Wentworth’s programs? Registration is first-come, first-served, so you’ll want to be on the early side with your application.

3) Northeastern Accelerate Pre-College Programs

Instructional Method: In-person (residential)
Program Length: 2 weeks
Cost: $7,095
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors
Application Deadline: Jan. 15 (priority) / Feb. 27 (regular) / March 15 (late deadline)

Northeastern offers immersive, experiential summer programs for high schoolers, taught by NU faculty. At this time, they offer 17 two-week programs in language, writing, bioengineering, cybersecurity, drug discovery, engineering, ethics, entrepreneurship, physics, gaming, and health professions. Programs feature a combination of learning and hands-on experience. For example, in Biotechnology & The Future of Medicine program, students learn about the life cycle of medications, gain experience in biomedical and clinical research, visit facilities, and participate in hands-on translational medicine. In general, students can expect to be in class for approximately six hours per day, with homework and group projects to be completed in the evenings.

Moreover, all students live in residence halls on Northeastern’s campus, eat at Northeastern’s dining facilities, and have plenty of opportunities to explore campus. There is also plenty of social programming and activities, both on campus and within Boston’s many vibrant neighborhoods. To apply to these Boston summer programs, students must fill out an application, submit a transcript, and craft a short personal statement. They can also submit an optional teacher recommendation.

If you’re looking for an online, asynchronous summer program, Northeastern also runs the Pre-CollEDGE program, in which students can access academic content on a wide variety of subjects. Recent offerings include marketing, healthcare, coding, and storytelling.

4) Tufts University Pre-College Programs

Instructional Method: In-person (residential or commuter)
Program Length: 1, 2, 3, or 6 weeks
Cost: Appox. $4,000 -$7,000
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors (some programs vary)
Application Deadline: May 1 (some close earlier due to high application volume)

Tufts offers a variety of Boston summer programs that feature intensive exploration, small group work, capstone projects, and portfolio creation. Interested students can choose from such courses as Business Essentials, Engineering Design Lab, Studio Art, Climate Resilience Institute, and Mini Med School. During Mini Med School, a very popular option, students learn about careers in medicine from faculty and students at the Tufts University School of Medicine, develop hands-on skills like suturing, and create a capstone project that explores a health topic of choice.

Most programs are 1-2 weeks, and require an application that includes teacher recommendations and transcripts. However, some request additional materials. For example, Mini Med School applicants must be 16+ and have a year of high school biology under their belts. Likewise, prospective Studio Art participants need to submit artwork samples.

5) Berklee Summer Programs

Instructional Method: In-person (residential or commuter) or online
Program Length: Three days to five weeks
Cost: Varies from $777 (3-day, commuter) $9,630 (5-week, residential)
Eligibility: Ages 15+ (most students are between 15-20)
Application Deadline: Varies

At world-renowned Berklee, students can choose from quite a few in-person and online Boston summer programs. Moreover, many courses are led by Grammy or Tony Award-winning artists. Most are between three days and two weeks long and do not require an audition, though many have prerequisites. For example, Piano/Keyboard Workshop students must have six months of playing experience while Musical Theater Dance Intensive students must possess significant dance training. A sampling of the 30+ current options includes Bass Workshop, Commercial Dance Intensive, Gospel Performance, and Music Business.

In addition, Berklee’s five-week Aspire option is considered to be one of the crown jewels of music summer programs. All students select one instrument (voice included) and develop their skills through a mix of private instruction, theory, and performance training. This program culminates with a final concert.

6) Research Science Institute at MIT

Instructional Method: In-person (residential)
Program Length: 6 weeks
Cost: None
Eligibility: Rising seniors
Application Deadline: Mid-December

RSI–the Research Science Institute–is a six-week summer program for students about to enter their senior year of high school. As one of the most competitive Boston summer programs, RSI only accepts 100 students. However, it is completely cost-free.

Students take one week of STEM coursework with MIT professors. Then, for the remaining five weeks, students “experience the entire research cycle start to finish.” Consequently, they participate in an intensive, mentored individual project experience that culminates in a written and oral presentation.

The program states that they look for students who are exceptionally academically talented. As such, the application process is quite intensive. PSAT Math scores should be over 740 and ACT Math scores must be over 33. In addition, students must write several essays, submit teacher recommendations, and provide transcripts.

Final Thoughts – Boston Summer Programs

Whether you’re interested in a hands-on experience at one of Wentworth’s summer programs, an exciting foray into creative writing at the Boston University high school summer programs, or an intensive musical theater experience at Berklee, Boston has something for you.

Looking for more summer program resources? Be sure to check out the following:

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Dave Bergman

Dave has over a decade of professional experience that includes work as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, and independent educational consultant. He is a co-author of the books The Enlightened College Applicant (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016) and Colleges Worth Your Money (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020).