10 Data Science Programs for High School Students in Florida
If you’re a high school student, participating in data science programs is a great way to gain hands-on experience and mentorship in the field. Most data science programs for high school students in Florida will introduce foundational knowledge to learners while instilling analytical thinking and innovativeness. Many are offered by famous institutions, lending credibility to the experience and potentially opening doors to similar opportunities in the future.
The following is a list of 10 of the best data science programs for high school students in Florida. Each has been selected on the factors of quality, affordability, and relevance to the ever-evolving field of data science. Let’s get into it!
Location: Virtual
Cost: $850 + $40 application fee ( financial aid available)
Application Deadline: February 28
Program Dates: June 16 – 27
Eligibility: High school students aged 14+; U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Preference is given to applicants with strong math or computer programming skills or experience with a healthcare project.
The Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging offers a virtual two-week summer internship that gives you the chance to study the technical and clinical aspects of AI in healthcare. As a participant, you will learn through interactive foundational lectures, group research projects, one-on-one mentoring, and social activities. Longer-term, self-directed research projects are also available upon request.
During this program, you will work with top researchers and postdoctoral fellows at Stanford to obtain practical knowledge about the implementation of AI in clinical use. You’ll also get to participate in virtual career lunch talks, which will include guest speakers from academia, industry, government, and nonprofits. This provides a wide perspective on AI applications in healthcare.
The program also offers a "Student Lead" role, where you will be able to take up leadership roles and manage projects together with an AIMI mentor. This role will enhance your teamwork and project management skills and is highly enriching to those who want to develop leadership qualities.
2. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,290 for the 10-week AI Scholars program | $5,400 for the 15-week AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase | $6,900 for both. Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars. You can apply here.
Application Deadline: On a rolling basis. February 23 for the spring cohort.
Program Dates: Multiple 12-15-week cohorts throughout the year. The spring cohort starts in March
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or have experience with AI concepts or Python.
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. If you’re interested in exploring AI, ML, and data science, you would benefit from the AI Scholars program. It’s a 10-session boot camp that introduces you to the fundamentals of AI and data science while also giving you a chance to work on real-world projects.
If you’re a more advanced student, another option is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, you will get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that it gives you access to the in-house publication team to help you secure publications in high school research journals. You can also check out some examples of past projects here.
3. Gator Artificial Intelligence Camp
Location: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Cost: $2,400 + $20 application fee (financial aid available)
Application Deadline: January 15 – March 3
Program Dates: July 13 – 25
Eligibility: Rising 10th and 11th graders; Florida residents only
The Gator Artificial Intelligence Camp is one of those data science programs for high school students in Florida that offers a residential, one-week camp that gives rising 10th and 11th graders a look into how AI is radically changing research, society, and the global economy. As a participant, you will interact with University of Florida faculty from a wide array of social and physical sciences and experts in leading-edge technologies. You will, in hands-on ways, explore AI application areas and their pervasive impact on our world.
Central events include visits to state-of-the-art UF research labs and the UF Data Center—home of HiPerGator, one of the nation's most powerful supercomputers dedicated to AI applications. In this program, you will get an insider's view of what's happening at a top research institution.
Location: Remote
Cost: Starting at $2,490 (financial aid available)
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. February 9 for the spring cohort.
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year. The spring cohort starts on March 3
Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, and gap year students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks!
Ladder Internships is a selective, virtual start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! For eight weeks, you’ll get to work with one of many high-growth start-ups that offer internships across a variety of industries, from tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. You can explore all the options here on their application form. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. In the program, you’ll work closely with your managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present your work to the company. Here is the application form.
5. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Institute: Introduction to Data Science
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,080 + $60 application fee (financial aid and fee waivers available)
Application Deadline: March 20
Program Dates: June 16 – June 27 or July 7 – 18
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9-11
The Stanford Pre-Collegiate Institutes offers several virtual data science programs for high school students in Florida and other states. One of these courses is a specialized course in data science and engineering called “Introduction to Data Science.” Using a project-based approach, you will engage with topics like machine learning, big data, and data visualization.
The greatest emphasis of the program is on hands-on experience; this means you’ll be able to engage with tools like RStudio and Hadoop for the analysis and interpretation of complex data sets. This program will you the coding skills needed to investigate any dataset with a scientific approach.
6. Columbia University Pre-College Programs
Location: Virtual
Cost: $3,960
Application Deadline: April 2
Program Dates: July 7 – 18; July 21 – August 1
Eligibility: High school students in grades 11 and 12
Columbia's Pre-College Programs for high school students offer more than 70 courses across a wide variety of fields, including courses in data science, machine learning, and more. This allows you to experience these transformative technologies and understand their real-life applications through hands-on activities.
As a participant, you will get to learn the principles of programming in Python, dive into some popular algorithms in machine learning, and problem solve using data. Focusing on the skills in AI and ML, the program enhances critical thinking abilities, developing and assessing effective solutions by the participants. Classes are conducted by researchers, educators, and experts from the field, guaranteeing a quality learning environment.
7. John Hopkins University Pre-College: Data Analytics Workshop
Location: Virtual + in-person
Cost: $1,950 (financial aid available) + $85 application fee
Application Deadline: No specific deadline is listed, but applications typically have closed in March
Program Dates:
Session One: June 23 – July 4
Session Two: July 7 – 18
Session Three: July 21 – August 1
Eligibility: High school students who have completed Pre-Calculus
John Hopkins University's Pre-College program offers high school students the chance to experience hands-on learning across a wide variety of courses, including data science. The Data Analytics Workshop, in particular, is a two-week, online program that introduces high school students to data science.
In this course, you will learn concepts like data collection, cleaning, exploratory analyses, statistical methods, and visualization techniques. While you’ll mainly be using Microsoft Excel, you’ll also be exposed to programs like Octave (Matlab) and Octoparse. The program ends with a data analytics project in which you will apply learned skills to analyze data and communicate insights meaningfully and impactfully.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Application Deadline:
Early: February 26
General: April 11
Program Dates: 2-6 weeks
Eligibility: 9th – 12th graders who identify as female or nonbinary
Girls Who Code offers two types of programs if you’re interested in learning about computer science: the Summer Immersion Program (SIP) and the Pathways program. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced coder, you’ll be able to develop valuable skills, find community, and build your professional network.
SIP is a two-week program that teaches UX design in live virtual classrooms while Pathways is a six-week program that explores some of the biggest topics in tech. During the Pathways program, you’ll be able to learn at your pace, learning more about web development, cybersecurity, data science, and artificial intelligence. You’ll also pick up on coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python.
9. NextGen Bootcamp’s Python Data Science and Machine Learning Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,199 ($1,999 with early bird discount)
Application Deadline: N/A
Program Dates: Various dates throughout the summer (45 hours). The first session begins on June 30
Eligibility: Students with basic computer knowledge
NextGen Bootcamp’s Python Data Science and Machine Learning Program is a beginner course that teaches the fundamentals of Python programming in machine learning and data science. Topics that will be covered include the basics of Python, constructing machine learning algorithms, data visualization, and interpretation of results.
With heavy practical training, this course is led by professionals with ample experience in the field. As a participant, you will go through a variety of real-world projects and exercises to impart applicable skills. Previous projects included the creation of vector maps for heat sensitivity analysis, generating several graphs at one time, and more. A digital certificate is provided upon completion.
10. Noble Desktop’s Python for Data Science Bootcamp
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,495
Application Deadline: N/A
Program Dates: Various dates throughout the year, starting from January 27
Eligibility: Students with a little coding experience
Noble Desktop’s Python for Data Science Bootcamp deals with developing and enhancing Python programming skills by first covering the basics and then going further into the more advanced data analytical aspects. Under the guidance of industry experts, you will engage in hands-on, project-based learning while participating in live sessions. You can also benefit from additional personalized, 1-on-1 mentoring. Examples of previous projects include building 3D statistical models, histograms, and time series graphs. You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program.
Are you looking to start a project or research paper in the field of AI and ML? Consider applying to Veritas AI!
Veritas AI is an AI program designed for high schoolers. It’s founded and run by Harvard graduate students. The program aims to give students the opportunity to create unique projects in the field of AI. Participants will get to learn more about AI from researchers and experts and work 1-on-1 with mentors from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and more. In just the past year, we’ve had over a thousand students learn with us! You too can apply!
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