Best Summer Programs for STEM
Competitive summer programs in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) can give high school students an opportunity to immerse themselves in an area of concentration that aligns with their passions. Further, your summer experiences and achievements can help separate you from a pack of similarly-qualified applicants when you begin the college admissions process.
Our list of Best Summer Programs in STEM is comprised of 60+ stellar programs that range in duration, cost, and eligibility criteria but all possess the common denominator of quality. All 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. We also highlight the dates that applications become available, the deadlines, whether residential housing is offered, and the geographic location where the program takes place. Picking the right program today can give you an edge in your journey toward joining the next generation of engineers and scientists.
| Program | Location | Residential | Focus | Length | Costs | App. Opens | Deadline | Eligibility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Leadership Institute | Boston, MA | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1, 3 weeks | $600-$4000 | Available | Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Boston Leadership Institute | Boston Metro, MA | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1, 3 weeks | $600-$4000 | Available | May 15 Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Boston University High School Honors | Boston, MA | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 5 weeks | $6,560 | Dec 15 | May 27 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Boston University High School Summer Term | Boston, MA | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1, 2, 3 Weeks | $1600-6675 | Dec 15 | Rolling | Rising 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Boston University PROMYS | Boston, MA | Yes | Math | 6 weeks | $5,500 | January | Mar 15 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Boston University RISE | Boston, MA | Yes | STEM | 6 weeks | $5420+ | Dec 15 | Feb 14 | Rising 12th |
| Canada/USA Mathcamp | Golden, CO & Online | Yes | Math | 5 weeks | $1500-$4500 | Jan 12 | Mar 10 | Ages 13-18 |
| CDC Museum Disease Detective Camp | Atlanta, GA | No | Public Health | 1 week | Free | Dec 15 | Apr 1 | Rising 11th, 12th (at least 16 years old) |
| Columbia Summer Programs | New York, NY | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1 or 3 week | $2810-12,354 | December | Feb 3 Early, Mar 3 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Cooper Union Summer STEM Program | New York, NY | NO | Engineering/Computer Science | 3, 6 weeks | $1850-3850 | Jan 26 | Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Cornell University Summer College | Ithaca, NY | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 3, 6 weeks | $7275-17,790 | Late January | Apr 1 Priority, May 6 Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| COSMOS – University of California | Multiple (CA) | Yes | STEM | 4 weeks | $4350-6300 | Jan 12 | Feb 11 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Engineering Innovation at Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | Yes | Engineering | 4 weeks | $3550+ | Dec 10 | May 20 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Engineering Summer Academy at Penn | Philadelphia, PA | Yes | STEM | 3 weeks | ~$7,700 | January | 3/1 (Priority) | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Frontiers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA & Online | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 2, 4, 5 weeks | $2845-5695 | Jan 17 | Rolling | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Garcia Scholars at Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY | Yes | Research/Polymer Materials | 7 weeks | ~$4,500-$10,500 | Available | 22-Feb | 16 years old |
| George Washington University Summer Pre-College | Washington, D.C. | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1-6 weeks | ~$2,000-$11,629 | December | 15-May | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program | Online for 2021 | No | Computer Science | 2 weeks | Free/Stipend | TBD | 2/15 (Early) | Rising 11th, 12th (Female Only) |
| Hampshire College Summer Studies in Mathematics | Amherst, MA | Yes | Math | 6 weeks | $4,913 | January | Rolling (April) | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Harvard Secondary School Program | Cambridge, MA & Online | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 2, 7 weeks | $4000-$13,300 | Dec 1 | Jan 2 Early, Mar 2 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th (Must be 15 by 12/2/21) |
| High School Honors Science, Math and Engineering – Michigan State | East Lansing, MI | Yes | STEM | 1 week | $899-979 | January | Jun 27 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Jackson Lab Summer Student Program | Bar Harbor, ME | Yes | Genetics | 10 weeks | Free/Stipend | Available | Feb 2 | 18 years old, graduate from high school |
| Johns Hopkins University Summer Programs | Baltimore, MD | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 2 weeks | $5512-6063 | Dec 15 | Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Luddy Pre-College Summer Program - Indiana University | Bloomington, IN | Yes | Research/STEM | 1 week | $300-750 | January | Rolling | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Math and Science Scholars – University of Michigan | Ann Arbor, MI | Yes | STEM | 2 weeks | $2,300 | Early January | Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| MathILy – Bryn Mawr College | Bryn Mawr, PA | Yes | Math | 5 weeks | $4,950 | Available | Rolling Apr 26 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| MDI Biological Laboratory Summer Research Fellowship | Bar Harbor, ME | Yes | Research (Science) | 7 weeks | Free/Stipend | Available | Jan 10 Nominations, Feb 7 Application | 16 years old commuter, 18 years old for residential |
| Miami University Summer Scholars | Oxford, OH | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1 week | $1,080 | Late Winter | Rolling | Rising 11th, 12th |
| MIT Women's Technology Program | Cambridge, MA | Yes | Engineering | 4 weeks | Free | December | Jan 15 | Rising 12th (Women only) |
| NIH Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research | Multiple | No | Biomedical Sciences | 8 weeks | Free/Stipend | mid-November | 1-Mar | Age 17 or older |
| Northeastern Accelerate Pre-College Programs | Boston, MA | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 2 weeks | $6,195 | Available | Feb 15 Priority, Mar 15 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Notre Dame Leadership Seminars | Notre Dame, IN | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 2 weeks | $210 | Oct 18 | Jan 24 | Rising 12th |
| Notre Dame Summer Scholars Online | Online | No | Multiple (including STEM) | 2 Weeks | $1,900 | Oct 18 | Feb 21 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Oregon State University SESEY | Corvallis, OR | Yes | STEM | 1 week | $250 | 1-May | May 25 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Princeton University Summer Internships for High School Programs | Princeton, NJ | No | Research Engineering | 5-6 Weeks | Free | Feb 15 | Mar 15 | At least 16 years old by 6/15, high school student |
| Notre Dame Summer Scholars | Notre Dame, IN | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 2 weeks | $4,250 | Oct 18 | Feb 21 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Penn M&T Summer Institute (M&TSI) | Philadelphia, PA | Yes | Management & Technology | 3 weeks | $9,000 | Nov 8 | Feb 1 Priority, Apr 1 Regular | Rising 12th (some 11th) |
| Prove It! Math Academy | Fort Collins, CO | No program for 2022 | Math | |||||
| Purdue University Courses ONLINE for High School Students | West Lafayette, IN | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 4, 8, 12 Weeks | $350-$7200 | Dec 1 | May 1 | Age 16 and above |
| Purdue University Online Courses for High School Students | Online | No | Multiple (including STEM) | 1, 4, 8 Weeks | $1800-$8700 | Dec 1 | May 1 | Age 16 and above |
| Research Science Institute (MIT) | Cambridge, MA | Yes | STEM/Research | 6 weeks | Free | November | Jan 14 | Rising 12th |
| Rice Summer Sessions - Online Summer Courses | Houston, TX | No | Multiple (including STEM) | 1, 2 weeks | $3595-5495 | Available | May 4 | Rising 11th, 12th (Houston Area) |
| Robotics Summer Camp – The College of New Jersey | Ewing, NJ | Yes | Robotics | 1 week | $1,850 | December | Apr 15 Priority, May 31 Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Ross Mathematics Program – Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | Yes | Math | 6 weeks | $1,500 | January | Apr 1 | Ages 15-18 |
| Santa Clara University Summer Engineering Seminar | Santa Clara, CA | Yes | Engineering | 1 week | Free | Dec 15 | Mar 18 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Secondary Student Training Program – University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA or Onlinw | Yes | Research/STEM | 6 weeks | $4500-$7500 | Dec 1 | Feb 18 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Luddy Pre-College Summer Program - Indiana University | Bloomington, IN | Yes | Research/STEM | 1 week | $700 | January | TBD | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Simons Summer Research Program – Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY | Yes | Research/STEM | 5 weeks | Free/Stipend | Feb 1 | Mid Jan nominations, Feb 18 for materials | Rising 12th |
| Smith College Summer Science and Engineering Program | Northampton, MA | Yes | STEM | 4 weeks | $7,298 | Jan 10 | Mar 1 Early, Apr 15 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th (Women only) |
| Stanford Math Camp (SUMaC) | Stanford, CA | Online for 2022 | Math | 3 weeks | $3,250 | December | Mar 11 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| Stevens Institute of Technology Pre-College Programs | Hoboken, NJ | Yes | Multiple (including CS) | 1 or 2 weeks | $1000-2000 | December | Rising 11th, 12th | |
| Stony Brook University Biotechnology Summer Scholars Program | Stony Brook, NY | Yes | Biotechnology | 4 weeks | $2,400 | December | 1-Apr | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Student Science Training Program | Gainesville, FL | Yes | Research/STEM | 6 weeks | $4,850 | February | Rolling admissions starting Mar 1 | Rising 12th, 16 years old |
| 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 Mathematics Research Training Camp (Texas A&M SMaRT) | College Station, TX | No Summer Programs for 2022 | Math | |||||
| Summer at Brown | Providence, RI | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1-4 weeks | $2506-$9120 | Jan 6 | Jan 14 Priority, May 6 Regular | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Summer at Brown Online | Online | No | Multiple (including STEM) | 2-6 weeks | $2947-$5720 | Jan 6 | Jan 14 Priority, May 6 Regular | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th |
| Terp Young Scholars | College Park, MD | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 3 weeks | $1475-$4400 | Jan 10 | May 1 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th + Graduates |
| The Clark Scholars Program – Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX | Yes | Research/STEM | 7 weeks | Free/Stipend | Jan 3 | Feb 16 | Rising 12th + Graduates |
| The Engineering Place – North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | Yes | Engineering | 1 week | $925 | 13-Jan | 3-Apr | Rising 11th, 12th |
| The Summer Science Program | Multiple | Yes | Research (Science) | 6 weeks | $7,450 | Dec 15 | Feb 25 | Rising 12th |
| Tufts University Online Courses for High School Students | Medford, MA | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 2 weeks | $4000-5500 | Dec 1 | May 1 | Rising 11th, 12th + Graduates |
| UC Santa Barbara Research Mentorship Program | Santa Barbara, CA | Yes | Research/STEM | 4 or 6 weeks | $2375-11,740 | Dec 15 | Rolling | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| UCLA Summer Institutes | Los Angeles, CA | Yes | Multiple (including STEM) | 1, 2, 3, 6 weeks | $825-2100 | Available | Apr 1 | Rising 10th, 11th, 12th |
| University of Rochester Intensive Studies | Rochester, NY | No | Engineering | 3 weeks | $8,250 | December | Feb 7 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| University of Washington Youth & Teen Programs | Seattle, WA | No | Multiple (including STEM) | 5 weeks | ~$1,180-$3,700 | Spring | Rolling | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th |
| University of Wisconsin Engineering Summer Program | Madison, WI | Yes | STEM | 6 weeks | Free | Early Spring | Jun 1 | Rising 11th, 12th |
| USNA Summer STEM | Annapolis, MD | Yes | STEM | 1 week | $900 | 4-Jan | Mar 31 | Rising 9th, 10th, 11th |
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