10 Cybersecurity Summer Programs For High School Students
If you’re an ambitious high school student who wants to establish a career in the cybersecurity domain, joining a summer program can be a great way to kickstart your journey.
These programs do not just equip you with the foundational skills and knowledge you need to advance in your career. Participation in a prestigious cybersecurity summer program also boosts your college applications and helps you stand out.
To help you with this, we’ve curated a list of the top 10 prestigious cybersecurity summer programs for high school students.
1. NYU Tandon’s Computer Science for Cybersecurity (CS4CS)
CS4CS is a three-week cybersecurity summer program exclusively designed for high school students with little to no knowledge in this field. Here, you will get to learn about a range of topics, like digital forensics, cryptography, steganography, and privacy, from the esteemed NYU faculty and graduates.
Additional coursework includes learning about software tools and techniques to detect and investigate cyber threats, the use of ciphers, coding skills, and more. The program will also touch base on understanding the behavioral science behind cyber attacks. Moreover, you will also participate in Irondale - a program that aims to develop communication and public speaking skills with the help of improv.
For a detailed review of the program, tap here.
Location: NYU Downtown Brooklyn Campus
Program dates: July 15 - August 9 (tentatively)
Cost: Free. The program will provide full scholarships to students.
Application deadline: April 14
Eligibility:
Students enrolled in 8th, 9th, 10th, or 11th grade
Residing in New York City or neighboring cities
2. IUPUI’s Cybersecurity Summer Camp
This cybersecurity summer camp runs for a week and, due to being highly selective and prestigious, only accepts 25 students in its on-campus edition. So, if you want to get accepted, make sure your application demonstrates an exceptional passion for exploring this domain.
If selected, you will get to learn about a range of topics from IT and computer science professionals at IU Indianapolis, which will give you the knowledge you need to “detect, diagnose, and fix” digital vulnerabilities. Coursework is expansive and includes fundamentals of Operating System principles, vulnerability detection, network security, and much more. Also, since the program is quite coveted, they also have virtual camps to accommodate students who couldn’t make it to their on-campus program.
Location: In-person and virtual
Program dates: June 3 - June 7 (tentatively)
Cost: Free
Application deadline: May 20
Eligibility: High school students
3. UMKC’s GenCyber Camps for High School Students
This is a one-week, non-residential cybersecurity summer camp for high school students. Being sponsored by the esteemed National Security Agency’s (NSA) GenCyber program, it ranks among the most prestigious pre-college programs for computer science enthusiasts.
This program is open to all high schoolers, irrespective of their proficiency in the field. The curriculum is versatile - including both theoretical and practical teaching methods. Moreover, the range of topics is also very comprehensive and deals directly with cybersecurity education, such as internet safety, ethics, cryptography, network scanning, deepfakes, and so on. So, if you want to gain foundational knowledge of cybersecurity and related subjects, you can consider enrolling in this program.
Location: UMKC Campus
Program dates: Camp 1: July 22 - July 26; Camp 2: July 29 - August 2 (tentatively)
Cost: Free
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: Rising ninth to 12th graders
If you’re on the fence about pursuing a career in cybersecurity, this five-day summer camp can help you make the decision. PNW’s GenCyberCamps focus on imbibing cyber security awareness and practices in high school students through an immersive, gamified learning experience.
As a participant, you will get the chance to be a part of lab research, game-play activities, and case studies to explore cyber defense and risk management in depth. This proves helpful in determining if this stream is apt for you. The range of topics is also vast and all-encompassing, including security practices in wireless networks, cryptography, ethical hacking, and more. After successful completion of the program, you will also receive a certificate that can help you bolster your college applications, especially if you’re aiming for a prestigious cybersecurity college.
Location: Purdue University Northwest’s Hammond Campus
Program dates: Session 1: June 10 - June 14; Session 2: June 17 - June 21 (tentatively)
Cost: Free
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: High school students
5. DCC’s Cybersecurity High School Summer Youth Apprenticeship Program
If you’re a high school student with a degree of acumen in cybersecurity, this apprenticeship program can make for a solid addition to your CV. This program spans eight to ten weeks over the summer breaks. It offers an opportunity for students, especially those from underrepresented communities, to both explore and gain hands-on skills in technology and cybersecurity.
If selected, you will participate in instructor-led lessons and on-the-job training to dive deep into the intricacies of cybersecurity. Moreover, you will also earn a CompTIA IT Fundamentals+ certificate to add to your college SOP. In addition to this, the program also facilitates the development of communication and cybersecurity policy to ensure the all-round progress of the participant.
Location: Campus and onsite
Program dates: NA
Cost: Free! Students will receive stipends.
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility:
Students must be incoming high school junior/senior
They must have completed at least one computer science or related class with a passing grade
They must be eligible for WIOA or a similar financial assistance program
They must provide a LOR from a high school counselor/representative
They must pass the Diversity Cyber Council’s digital literacy assessments
6. UNT’s GenCyber Cybersecurity Summer Camps
A program that’s fully funded by the NSA and the NSF, UNT’s GenCyber Cybersecurity Summer Camps are prestigious and designed for high school students ambitious about establishing a career in cybersecurity.
UNT hosts multiple such camps across the nation - with each camp lasting for a period of five days. As the core curriculum of the camps is introductory, previous experience/knowledge in cybersecurity is mostly not compulsory (unless you’re applying for the Advanced Camps). The range of topics is also versatile, mainly including cryptography, network security, and digital forensics. The program aims to instill these cybersecurity skills in an interactive manner and, thus, leverages games, lab work, and simulations.
Location: UNT Campus
Program dates: Camp 1: June 5 - June 9; Camp 2: June 12 - June 16; Camp 3: June 19 - June 23; Camp 4: June 26 - June 30 (tentatively)
Cost: Free
Application deadline: NA
Eligibility: Students in 7th - 11th grades
7. QU’s Hacker High School: Introduction to Cybersecurity
If careers in the IT, computer science, or cybersecurity domains excite you, this program can earn you the skills and experience you need to materialize it. Developed in partnership with the prestigious Institute for Security and Open Methodologies (ISECOM), Hacker High School aims to equip students with cybersecurity fundamentals and skills that enable them to safeguard their online presence.
Each year, around 30 participants are selected to immerse in a two-week, hands-on cybersecurity course that revolves around topics like internet infrastructure, malware, attack analysis, and so on. Field trips and excursions are also a part of their curriculum. Upon successful completion, you will receive a certificate of completion as tangible proof of your knowledge. By the end of this program, you shall also be prepared to take the official certification exam for Certified Hacker Analyst by ISECOM.
Location: Quinnipiac University Campus
Program dates: Session 1: July 8 - July 19; Session 2: July 22 - August 2 (tentatively)
Cost: Option 1: $3,360 (2-week overnight program); Option 2: $2,400 (2-week on-campus commuter program) [Financial aid is available for students with financial need and academic merit]
Application deadline: June 2
Eligibility: High school students between the ages of 15-18
8. NSLC’s Cybersecurity High School Summer Program
NSLC’s nine-day cybersecurity summer program is aimed at high school students aspiring to become ethical hackers. This program leverages the power of simulation to give you a realistic experience in topics like digital forensics, cryptography, IoT, etc.
Apart from this, the curriculum also consists of engaging workshops on communication, resilience, empathy, and other vital soft skills - all led by experts in their respective fields. You also get a chance to go on enriching field trips to understand the cybersecurity framework of reputed global companies and organizations. Some previous examples include the FBI office and the Google DC. Moreover, as an NSLC participant, you can also earn AU college credits to boost your college applications.
For more details, check here.
Location: John Hopkins University Campus
Program dates: Session 1: July 10 - July 18; Session 2: July 22 - July 30 (tentatively)
Cost: $3,795. Scholarships are available for students demonstrating financial need, academic merit, and school/community involvement
Application deadline: Applications open till space is available
Eligibility: High school students between the ages of 14-18 who have completed at least one year of high school.
9. Northeastern University’s Cybersecurity & Privacy Program
This is a two-week program that revolves around imparting exhaustive cybersecurity education through lectures, hands-on experiments, projects, and competitive team activities. So, if your aim is to spend your summer building skills in this domain, this one makes for an ideal choice.
Here, you will spend your time under the tutelage of seasoned Northeastern faculty and graduates to gain substantial knowledge on various digital security topics. This includes system and network security, online privacy, foundations of trust, and ethics. Apart from this, NU’s Cybersecurity & Privacy Program also offers its participants to engage in lab-based learning opportunities to closely dissect every distinct aspect of these subjects. Moreover, you will also receive a Recognition of Completion after successfully completing the program, which makes for a solid addition to college SOPs.
Location: Northeastern University’s Boston Campus
Program dates: July 21 - August 2 (tentatively)
Cost: $6,695 (Scholarships are available!)
Application deadline: Priority deadline - January 15; Regular deadline - February 28; Late deadline - March 15
Eligibility:
Students should be rising high school juniors/seniors
They should be between the ages of 16-18 by the start of the program
They should possess basic coding knowledge
10. AFA CyberCamps
Affiliated with the esteemed CyberPatriot Program by AFA, CyberCamps are for students who wish to learn about the ins and outs of cybersecurity. These five-day camps are hosted from Monday to Friday by reputed schools, universities, CAP squadrons, companies, etc.
As a participant, you will get to explore the basic fundamentals of cybersecurity. Topics include security policies, file protection, networking, cyber ethics, and so on. Moreover, the program is designed in a way that toward the end of it, you will be prepared to participate in CyberPatriot's National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.
Location: Various locations across the USA
Program dates: Multiple dates
Cost: Standard Camps $1,200; Advanced Camps $1,500
Application deadline: Depends on the specific camp you’re applying for
Eligibility:
High school students with proficiency in English reading
To attend Advanced Camps, students must possess prior knowledge of cybersecurity
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