Best Summer Programs for Computer Science
Computer Science is a highly-competitive major and gaining admission into a CS program at an elite university can be an epic task. One way teen programming whizzes can distinguish themselves is by spending their high school summers in a productive way that shows an admissions committee their passion and hunger to advance their CS-related knowledge and skills.
Our list of the Best Summer Programs for Computer Science is comprised of 34 stellar programs that range in duration, cost, and eligibility criteria but all share one key trait—quality. Each of the aforementioned data points are provided for each school along with the location of the program, whether they offer a residential experience, and when the application window opens and closes. Also highlighted for our readers are the dates that applications become available, the deadlines, whether residential housing is offered, and the geographic location where the program takes place. Regardless of which program on this list you ultimately apply to, you will be in for a fruitful experience that will also simultaneously bolster your college admissions prospects.
| Program | Location | Residential | Focus | Length | Costs | App. Opens | Deadline | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Leadership Institute | Boston Metro, MA | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 1 or 3 weeks | $600-$4000 | Available | Rolling, May 15 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Boston University High School Honors | Boston, MA | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 5 weeks | $6560+ | Dec 15 | May 27 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Boston University RISE | Boston, MA | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 5 weeks | $5420+ | Dec 15 | Feb 14 | Rising 12th |
| Carnegie Mellon National High School Game Academy | Pittsburgh, PA | Yes | Computer Science | 6 weeks | $7900-$11,000 | November | Feb 9 (Early), May 16 (Regular) | 16 years old by start of program for residential |
| Champlain College Pre-College Summer Programs | Burlington, VT | Yes | Computer Science | 2 weeks | $4,500 | January | Rolling | All high school students |
| Columbia Summer Programs | New York, NY | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 3 weeks | $11,566-12,354 | December | Feb 3 Early, Mar 3 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Cooper Union Summer STEM Program | New York, NY | No | Engineering/Computer Science | 3, 4, 6 weeks | $1850-3850 | Jan 26 | Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Cornell University Summer College | Ithaca, NY | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 3-6 weeks | ~$6,750-$13,500 | Late January | Rolling | Rising 11th and 12th |
| Engineering Summer Academy at Penn | Philadelphia, PA | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 3 weeks | $7,785 | January | 3/4 Priority, 4/1 Final | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Frontiers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA & Online | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 2, 4, 5 weeks | $2845-5695 | Jan 17 | Rolling | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Gator Computing Program | Gainsville, FL | No Summer Program for 2022 | Computer Science | |||||
| George Washington University Summer Pre-College | Washington, D.C. | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 1-6 weeks | ~$2,000-$11,629 | December | 15-May | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program | Online 2021 | No | Computer Science | 2 weeks | Free/Stipend | Available | 2/15 (Early), 3/15 | Rising 11th, 12th (Female Only) |
| Harvard Secondary School Program | Cambridge, MA & Online | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 2 or 7 weeks | $4000-$13,300 | Dec 1 | Jan 26 (Early), Mar 2 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th (15 by 12/2/21) |
| Johns Hopkins University Summer Programs | Baltimore, MD & Online | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 2 weeks | $5512-6063 | Dec 15 | Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Marist Summer Pre-College | Poughkeepsie, NY | No | Multiple (including CS) | 3 weeks | ~$1500 | January | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th | |
| Miami University Summer Scholars | Oxford, OH | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 1 week | $1,080 | Late Winter | Rolling | Rising 11th, 12th |
| MIT Women's Technology Program | Cambridge, MA | Yes | Engineering/Computer Science | 4 weeks | Free | December | Jan 15 | Rising 12th (Women only) |
| Naval Academy Summer STEM Program | Annapolis, MD | Yes | Engineering/Computer Science | 1 week | $900 | Jan 4 | Mar 31 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th |
| Northeastern Accelerate Pre-College Programs | Boston, MA | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 2 weeks | $6,195 | Available | Feb 15 Priority, Mar 15 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Notre Dame Summer Scholars Online | Online | No | Multiple (including CS) | 3 Weeks | $1,900 | Oct 18 | Feb 21 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Notre Dame Summer Scholars | Notre Dame, IN | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 2 weeks | $4250-$4375 | Oct 18 | Feb 21 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Purdue University Courses ONLINE for High School Students | Online | No | Multiple (including CS) | 4, 8, 12 Weeks | $350-$7200 | Dec 1 | May 1 | Age 16 and above |
| Purdue University Courses for High School Students | West Lafayette, IN | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 1, 4, 8 weeks | $1800-$8700 | Dec 1 | May 1 | Age 16 and above |
| Robotics Summer Camp (The College of New Jersey) | Ewing, NJ | Yes | Robotics/Computer Science | 1 week | $1,850 | December | Apr 15 (Priority), May 31 Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Luddy Pre-College Summer Program - Indiana University | Bloomington, IN | Yes | Computer Science | 1 week | $300-750 | January | Rolling | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Stanford Pre-College Summer Institutes | Online 2022 | No | Computer Science | 2 weeks | $2,700 | December | Mar 15 | Rising 9th, 10th |
| Stevens Institute of Technology Pre-College Programs | Hoboken, NJ | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 1, 2 weeks | $1000-2000 | December | Rising 11th, 12th | |
| Summer at Georgetown | Washington, DC & Online | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 1 weeks | $2,000 | Available | Jan 31 (Early), May 15 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| SLAI Pre-College at Carleton College | Northfield, MN | Yes | Computer Science | 3 weeks | $4,300 | Dec 15 | Jan 31 Early, Mar 7 Regular | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Summer at Brown Online | Online | No | Multiple (including CS) | 2-6 weeks | $2947-$5720 | Jan 6 | Jan 14 (priority), May 6 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Summer at Brown | Providence, RI | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 2-3 weeks | $2506-$9120 | Jan 6 | Jan 14 (Priority), May 6 | Rising 10th, 11th, and 12th |
| Tandon (NYU) Summer Programs: Automation, Robotics, and Coding | New York, NY | Yes | STEM/Computer Science | 2 weeks | $2,100 | Available | Rolling, 5/15 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Terp Young Scholars | College Park, MD | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 3 weeks | $1475-$4400 | Jan 10 | May 1 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th or Graduate |
| The Clark Scholars Program (Texas Tech University) | Lubbock, TX | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 7 weeks | Free/Stipend | Jan 3 | Feb 16 | Rising 12th + Graduates |
| The Engineering Place (North Carolina State University) | Raleigh, NC | Yes | Engineering/Computer Science | 1 week | $925 | 13-Jan | 3-Apr | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Tufts University Courses for High School Students | Medford, MA | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 2 weeks | $4000-5500 | Dec 1 | May 1 | Rising 11th, 12th + Graduates |
| UC San Diego Extension - Academic Connections | San Diego, CA or Online | No | Multiple (including CS) | 3 weeks | $1500-3000 | December | May 27 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| University of Chicago Summer College | Chicago, IL | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 3 weeks | $7775-13,200 | Dec 15 | Jan 19 Priority, Mar 9 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
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