8 Online AI Programs for High School Students
If you’re a high school student interested in exploring AI, chances are you’d be looking for a summer program to delve deeper into your interested field, attend higher-level courses and experience the life of a university student! However, a considerable setback is that attending a residential program (or even a commuter program) is both time-intensive and expensive. To help you gain the same experience and exposure, with reduced costs and time commitment, we have compiled a list of 7 virtual AI programs open to high school students!
Cost: $4,000. Need-based financial aid is available.
Application Deadline: March (tentatively, based on previous years). You can check for updates here.
Program Dates: June 26 - July 14 (tentatively, based on previous years
Eligibility: Current 9th graders (rising 10th graders during the summer of the program) with a keen interest in AI.
Stanford’s three-week online program, in partnership with AI4ALL, is a highly-regarded program that gives participants the opportunity to dive into the world of AI through a combination of lectures, hands-on research projects, and mentoring activities. Students will interact with AI experts and gain insights into the latest advancements while exploring applications of AI in areas such as medicine, disaster response, and combating poverty.
You can expect to participate in small-group research projects led by graduate students and postdocs in computer science and AI. The research projects focus on how AI can improve pressing problems in society. Note that this program is a solid choice for students interested in hands-on, application-based learning in the field of AI and looking for an opportunity to work on real-world problems while still in high school.
Curious about what life in this virtual program will look like? Check out the daily schedule here.
Location: Remote - you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Cost: $1790 for AI Scholars & $4900 for AI Fellowship
Application Deadline: Upcoming cohorts -
Spring 2024: February 25, 2022
Summer 2024:
Early admission: March 24, 2024
Regular admission 1: April 21, 2024
Regular admission 2: May 9, 2024
Summer II: June 23, 2024
You can apply here!
Eligibility: You must be currently enrolled in high school or plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall of 2023. No previous knowledge is required for AI Scholars!
Note. The financial aid is available for students from households earning less than $60,000 annually (for a typical household of 4) with minimum assets.
Veritas AI is founded and run by Harvard graduate students and our programs are geared towards high school students who want to build their foundations in computer science. In the program, students learn various data science and artificial intelligence concepts like neural networks, image classification, natural language processing, sentiment analysis, coding using Python, and more.
Veritas AI offers up to 100% financial aid for the 10-week AI Scholars program. Through the program, students build real-world, hands-on projects in groups of 3-5 students to showcase their interests and skills. You can also apply for the AI Fellowship, where you work 1-1 with mentors from top universities to build unique machine learning projects for a period of 12-15 weeks. These programs are an excellent option for you if you like engaging in hands-on learning and are a beginner!
3. Horizon Academic Research Program
Location: Virtual
Application Date: May 21, 2024 for the summer cohort, and September 25, 2024 for the fall cohort
Program Dates:
Summer seminar - June 24, 2024 - September 2, 2024
Fall seminar - October 23, 2024 - February 19, 2025
Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 weeks in advance.
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a couple of tracks require formal prerequisites, more details of which can be found here.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and more! It is one of the very few research programs for high school students that offers a choice between quantitative and qualitative research!
Once you select a particular subject track and type of research you’ll be paired with a professor or Ph.D. scholar (from a top university) who will mentor you throughout your research journey. You’ll work to create a 20-page, university-level research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student.
This program is a solid opportunity for you to pursue a research program in highly specialized fields, under the guidance of a top scholar. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student, as well as detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects and on college applications. Apply here!
4. Harvard’s Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python
Cost: $3,900 - $14,250 (need-based financial aid available)
Application Deadline:
Early Application/ Priority Financial Aid - January 10, 2024
Regular Application/ Financial Aid - February 14, 2024
International Student Deadline - February 14, 2024
Late Application Deadline - April 10, 2024
Program Dates: June 22 - August 10, 2024
Eligibility:
Will graduate from high school and enter college in 2024, 2025, or 2026.
Are at least 16 years old by June 22, 2024, and will not turn 19 years old before July 31, 2024.
If you are interested in Artificial Intelligence, this course offers an exploration into the concepts that developed technology, such as game-playing engineers, handwriting recognition and machine translation!
The concepts you will explore include the theory behind graph search algorithms, classification, optimization, reinforcement learning and other topics that involve artificial intelligence and machine learning!
Do note that this course does have prerequisites such as CSCI S-50, CS50x, or at least 1 year of experience with Python.
5. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes’ Philosophy of AI
Cost: $3,050. Need-based financial aid is available.
Application Deadline: March 15, 2024 (based on previous year’s deadlines)
Program Dates: Typically conducted in June and July
Eligibility: Open to all high school students.
This program encourages students to ask the fundamental questions of what AI means. This initial question leads to some interesting philosophical issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and raises social and ethical questions about today’s existing technology.
Some of the things you will question and discuss are whether reliance on algorithms and ML (for instance, when banks make lending decisions or courts impose criminal sentences) improves fairness or makes things worse, and who do we hold accountable if things go wrong? You will explore these wide-ranging issues through readings, discussions, and a variety of activities and projects.
On successfully completing the program, you will receive a certificate of completion.
6. Columbia University's Big Data, Machine Learning, and their Real World Applications
Cost: 1-week program - $2,890, 2-week program - $4,040
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions for the summer.
Program Dates: July 17 - July 28, 2023 (2-week program) & August 7 - 11, 2023 (1-week program)
Eligibility: High school students (grade 8 to 12). While not a prerequisite, a basic understanding of algebra, geometry, statistics, and computer programming is recommended.
This introductory level course offered by Columbia University enables students to engage with data and its growing applications as an invaluable asset. Students will develop a strong foundation in data-driven thinking in solving real world problems while learning common AI and ML techniques and develop and evaluate analytical solutions. The course is a great introduction to data science and AI and is taught by industry experts (from the Walt Disney Company), educators, and researchers!
This course is a pretty solid option if you’re already familiar with basic concepts in AI and ML, and are looking for a course that offers a deep dive into more specific topics. The difficulty level of this course will be a bit higher than camps that offer introductory courses on AI, so you should make sure you are prepared to take on the time and learning commitment required. Additionally, this course offers a focused take on the real world applications of big data and ML, and can serve as a useful base if you’re interested in working on projects in the field.
7. UC Berkeley Coding Academy’s Data Science to AI
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,495. Limited scholarships are available.
Application Deadline: To be announced.
Program Dates: Held in the summer. Dates to be announced.
Berkeley’s summer course on data science to AI is focused on introducing students to the fundamentals of AI, ML, and big data science. The academy offers 1-1 classes for students aged 12-18 and a junior Python coders program for ages 7-11. Through the programs, you will learn how to write and evaluate Python code behind AI and build ML models from real data. This course is a good choice for you if you are looking to take part in a technical skill-building course. The course has different levels for students based on their coding background. You will work in small groups to create your own projects and models.
If you’re looking to hone your technical and programming skills while gaining access to long-term valuable resources like Berkeley Coding Academy lecture videos, slides, and portfolio projects, consider applying to this program!
8. University of Washington’s A14ALL
Cost: No cost
Application Deadline: April 15, 2024 (tentatively, based on the previous year’s schedule)
Program Dates: August 08, 2024 - August 28, 2024(tentatively, based on the last year’s schedule)
Eligibility:
Students must be rising juniors, seniors, or recently graduated.
Must be from an underrepresented background
Hosted by the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington, A14ALL is a 2-week introductory course on data science and artificial intelligence. You will learn how to understand, analyze, interpret, and discuss real-world applications of data science and machine learning to understand impactful technology decisions.
A key focus of this program is to enable dialogue and learning in small-group settings. The Center focuses on anti-bias in AI teachings on non-ableist AI, bringing a disability studies lens to interrogate bias and fairness in AI.
Note. If you are interested in pursuing a non-STEM major in university, this is still a great option, as a critical focus of the program is the interdisciplinary applications of data science! Plus, it also focuses on the ethical use of technology, which is a significant debate across STEM and non-STEM areas.
If you’re looking to build unique projects in the field of AI/ML, consider applying to Veritas AI!
Veritas AI was founded by Harvard graduate students, and through the programs, you get a chance to learn the fundamentals of AI and computer science while collaborating on real-world projects. You can also work 1-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn data science and AI with us. You can apply here!
Image Source - Veritas AI Logo