8 Online Data Science Programs for Middle School Students
If you’re a middle school student who is interested in data science, you should definitely consider joining a program. Data science programs help you understand the foundations of this up and coming field, while helping you get an early start. You learn how to think critically, problem solve, and gain hands-on exposure on how to solve real-world projects.
To help you get started, we have put together a list of 7 online data science programs that allow you to build your foundations in the field earlyon!
1. Veritas AI
AI Trailblazers - $1,790
AI Junior Fellowship - $2,900
Need based financial aid is available
Application Deadline:
Spring cohort - February 25, 2024
Summer cohort - March 24, 2024 (early admission).
Apply here!
Program Dates:
AI Trailblazers - Runs for a total of 25 hours over 10 sessions
AI Junior Fellowship - 12 weeks
Eligibility: All high school students in grades 6-8
Veritas AI is a virtual AI program for middle school and high school students founded and run by Harvard graduate students. Middle school students can pick from two options - the first is the AI Trailblazers bootcamp. Through this program, you will learn the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning, along with the basics of Python. You'll work on hands-on, real-world AI projects in areas like medicine, finance, autonomous vehicles, and more under the guidance of mentors from top universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more! This is best suited for students who are beginners.
If you have already gone through the bootcamp or have some experience with Python, the AI Junior Fellowship is a good option for you. You get to work 1-1 with a mentor to build out your own project or research paper over 12 weeks. This is a great way to work with AI at the intersection of various topics and showcase your passion.
2. 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!
3. UC Berkeley Coding Academy’s Data Science to AI
Cost: $2,495. Limited scholarships are available.
Application Deadline: Rolling
Program Dates: June 17-28 & July 8-12
Eligibility: All students aged 12-18
If you are a middle school student who wants to explore how data is used in various areas, from social media trends to environmental changes, the UC Berkeley Coding Academy is a good option for you. With tools like numpy, pandas, matplotlib, seaborn, and sklearn, you'll get hands-on experience analyzing big data and constructing machine learning models, all while mastering the Python code that powers AI.
Students work on projects that culminate in a presentation, backed by blockchain-authenticated certificates, giving you a tangible link to your achievements. You will also gain lifetime access to an extensive suite of resources, including over 100 4K Data Science videos, Colab Notebooks, slides, and all materials generated for the class.
4. Stanford Middle School Scholars Program
Cost: $2,495. Limited scholarships are available.
Application Deadline: March 29, 2024
Program Dates: July 8 - July 26 & August 26 - December 13 2024
Eligibility: Low-income students currently in grades 6 or 7 who reside in and attend school in the United States.
The Stanford Middle School Scholars Program is a great opportunity for you if you’re interested in data science. Through a three-week online summer course and weekly after-school meetings in the fall, the program caters to low-income students in grades 6 or 7 across the United States.
With a dedicated team of instructors, including many with Ph.D.’s in their fields, scholars engage in lively discussions and interactive classes. Importantly, the program is tuition-free, ensuring accessibility for all aspiring students. Through a combination of academic enrichment, mentorship, and real-world applications such as cryptography and financial mathematics, the Stanford Middle School Scholars Program will equip you with the data science skills you need to succeed.
5. MehtA+ Machine Learning Bootcamp
Cost: $1,975
Application Deadline: June 5, 2024
Program Dates: June 17th, 2024 to July 26th, 2024
Eligibility: 8-12th grade students
The MehtA+ Machine Learning Bootcamp offers a comprehensive opportunity for middle school students interested in delving into the realm of data science. This virtual 6-week university-level camp, led by MIT and Stanford engineers, allows students to start from the fundamentals and progress to advanced concepts in AI, machine learning, and deep learning.
Throughout the program, students are equipped with essential skills, from understanding the mathematics behind various models to training complex AI models from scratch. The camp culminates in engaging interdisciplinary research projects, where students collaborate in teams to tackle cutting-edge challenges in fields like medicine, economics, and linguistics. Through the presentation of research papers and posters at conferences, students have the opportunity to showcase their work to university professors and potentially publish in research journals. The curriculum covers a wide range of topics, including Python programming, machine learning libraries, ethical considerations, and research methodologies.
6. Girls Who Code Python Activities
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: No deadline
Program Dates: Self Paced and is available at any times
Eligibility: All female middle school students are eligible.
Through the Girls Who Code Python Activities, you will learn how to program in one of the most popular text-based languages, Python. The program offers you the chance to work on real-world, practical projects by creating a chatbot, learning how to depict data using various types of graphs, or drawing information from a dataset to observe possible trends.
Through various projects, you'll specifically explore how to represent data through line, bar, pie, histogram, and scatter plot graphs using Python. One of the exciting projects involves analyzing data from Kickstarter projects, a popular crowdfunding platform. This hands-on experience will introduce you to the many roles of data scientists, from cleaning data to ensure its accuracy and relevance, to analyzing it with sophisticated algorithms, and finally presenting findings to stakeholders, who could range from policy makers and business leaders to researchers.
7. Create and Learn Data Science with Python, Pandas, and ChatGPT Class
Cost: $262.80 for six sessions
Application Deadline: No deadline
Program Dates: 6 weeks at ~1 hour per week
Eligibility: All middle school students are eligible.
Create and Learn Data Science with Python, Pandas, and ChatGPT Class is a live online class, designed for small groups of 2-3 students and lasting 75 minutes per session. Students begin with an introduction to data science, exploring the purpose and features of the powerful Pandas library. You'll delve into essential techniques for data cleaning, data processing, and data analytics, setting a strong foundation for your journey in data science.
You will also learn how to leverage ChatGPT for developing higher quality code and expanding your learning beyond the classroom. This program opens up new avenues for exploration and enhances your coding skills in practical, real-world applications. You will leave with a capstone project where you'll apply everything you've learned to your own dataset.
8. Code HS Introduction to Python
Cost: Unspecified
Application Deadline: No deadline
Program Dates: Self-paced for 30 hours
Eligibility: All middle school students are eligible.
The CodeHS Introduction to Python course is perfect for middle school students who are curious about data science and want to get started with one of the most versatile programming languages out there, Python. Through engaging lessons with Tracy, a virtual turtle, you'll learn to command her to create various scenes on a canvas.
You'll master Python commands, functions, and control structures by solving puzzles and crafting creative programs for Tracy to execute. The learning environment is a blend of digital and hands-on activities, allowing you to write and run code directly in your web browser while also participating in collaborative exercises with your classmates. With 45 lessons, 43 videos, 76 exercises, 11 challenges, and numerous offline handouts, each lesson includes short, formative quizzes to help consolidate your learning and gauge your progress.
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