8 Summer Programs for High School Students in New York
If you’re a curious and ambitious high school student who wants to dive deeper into a subject to better prepare yourself for college, then consider applying for a summer program. Summer programs are a great way to expose yourself to a field of study, experience college-level coursework, conduct independent research, and meet industry leaders in your chosen field. What’s more, they help show a demonstrated interest in a subject on your college application!
Here are eight summer programs in New York (and online) that you should consider applying to!
Location: Online
Application deadline: Upcoming deadline for the spring - 25 February & for summer - May 12, 2024 (the deadline for early admissions may vary)
Duration: 25 hours over 12 weeks or 25 hours over two weeks during the summer
Cost: $1,790 (AI Scholars) & $4900 (AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase)
Eligibility: Students in grades 9-12; middle school students with a coding background can also be considered for the program
Veritas AI founded and run by Harvard graduate students introduces high school students to foundational concepts in AI, machine learning, and data science. The AI Scholars program is a virtual, 25-hour boot camp that introduces high school students to AI and teaches them how to code and execute a data science project. Students will learn to code Python and the course material will deep dive into neural networks, deep learning, image classification, AI ethics, and more.
The AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase program is a 1-1 mentorship program where students create unique AI projects under the guidance of PhD mentors. Over 12-15 weeks, you can pick a field of interest at the intersection of AI, ML, or data science to produce an individualized research paper, software/model, app, or presentation. Veritas has a publication team available to help students publish their papers in journals. Here are some past projects you can look at!
2. Lumiere Education’s Research Scholar Program
Location: Online
Application deadline: January 14, 2024, for the Spring cohort &
Duration: 12 weeks
Cost: $2,800
Eligibility: High school students
Founded by Oxford and Harvard graduates, Lumiere gives high school students the opportunity to undertake college-level research through individual sessions with a mentor. Its Individual Research Program runs for 12 weeks and includes individual sessions with a mentor and writing coach to produce a college-level academic paper.
Lumiere offers additional programs that seek to publish papers in high school or college journals and at/in selective research competitions/publications.
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. Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE)
Location: Hybrid; online and at New York University
Application deadline: March 1, 2024
Program dates: June 3, 2024, to August 9, 2024
Duration: 10 weeks
Cost: Free
Eligibility: New York City students who are rising high school juniors and seniors
NYU’s ARISE is a fully paid, 10-week summer research program for students interested in STEM. The coursework covers bio- and molecular engineering, chemical engineering, robotics, CS, and AI and machine learning. Classes are split between four weeks of remote, afterschool workshops and 6 weeks of in-person lab work.
Students work in NYU labs and participate in faculty research. A mentor, usually a graduate or postdoctoral student, will oversee students’ work. NYU also provides students with presentation and public speaking training; at the end of the program, students present their findings to faculty members, graduate students, and their ARISE peers.
5. The New York Times’ NYC Summer Academy
Location: New York City
Application deadline: April 1, 2024; check the program’s website for more information on early and priority applications
Program dates: June 9, 2024, to August 2, 2024
Duration: Each course lasts two weeks; students can opt for multiple courses
Cost: $5,935 for non-residential students and $7,220 including housing
Eligibility: Students entering grades 10,11, and 12 who are at least 15 years of age
The School of The New York Times offers high school students a variety of courses in journalism, new media, arts, sports, and more, all taught by reputed journalists, editors, and other industry experts. NYT offers 33 courses that cover topics like immigration in the U.S., investigative journalism, political commentary, playwriting, the UN and human rights, and podcasting and storytelling, among others.
6. Columbia University’s Secondary School Field Research Program (SSFRP)
Location: New York City
Application deadline: March 1, 2024
Program dates: July 8, 2024, to August 16, 2024
Duration: Six weeks
Cost: Free; previous cohorts have received an undisclosed stipend
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old by the program’s start date
Through SSFRP, the Columbia Climate School invites high school students for a six-week summer course of field and laboratory research. At SSFRP, students are early-career scientists studying the ecology of the Piermont Marsh in New York. First, they develop hypotheses in the Columbia labs before traveling to the marsh to collect samples. Throughout the process, students are mentored by undergraduate students and faculty. Together, they collect samples and conduct experiments to investigate nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, creating rechargeable batteries from soil bacteria, and more. At the end of the program, students make a presentation and poster to showcase their work.
Students participating in the program must make their own arrangements for accommodation, if needed.
7. The Rockefeller University Hospital’s Summer Science Research Program
Location: New York City
Application deadline: January 5, 2024
Program dates: June 24, 2024, to August 8, 2024
Duration: Seven weeks
Cost: Free; Rockefeller provides need-based stipends to deserving students
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are at least 16 years old
The SSRP is a seven-week, intensive summer research program for ambitious high school students. The cohort size is 32 and each research team has eight members. Rockefeller conducts cutting-edge biomedical research that investigates genetics and genomes, immunology and virology, neurosciences, stem cells, and more. The program mirrors the functioning of Rockefeller’s laboratories — Rockefeller trainees act as lab heads and direct a team of students. The program includes introducing students to laboratories and familiarizing them with research methodology and equipment, selecting a research question to investigate under the guidance of their team leader and Rockefeller scientists, and analyze and present data at an end-of-program symposium.
The program is fully paid and Rockefeller additionally provides a need-based stipend to financially deserving students. Housing is not included in the program.
8. Cyber Security for Computer Science (CS4CS)
Location: New York University
Application deadline: April 14, 2024
Program dates: July 8, 2024, to August 2, 2024
Duration: Four weeks
Cost: Free
Eligibility: All high school students who are New York City residents
NYU’s CS4CS is a four-week summer program for NYC high school students to discover computer science and cybersecurity. During the program, students learn about fundamental cybersecurity concepts like white-hat hacking, cryptography, steganography, digital forensics, privacy, and data usage. You will also learn about the tools and technologies used to detect and prevent cyber threats, how to trace threats like phishing scams to their source, learn to code, and how ciphers are used in network security, among other topics.
Additionally, participation in Irondale, a communication and public speaking program run by NYC theater artists, is mandatory.
9. Cooper Union Summer STEM Program
Location: The Cooper Union
Application deadline: March 31, 2024 (tentative)
Program dates: Three and six week courses begin on July 8, 2024
Cost: The three-week and six-week programs are priced at $1,950 and $3,950 respectively
Eligibility: Rising grade 10,11, and 12 students can apply
The Cooper Union, a private college in the East Village, offers a three- and six week summer STEM program for curious high school students to learn about design and engineering. Cooper Union offers students a dynamic program, with courses offered changing every year to address present-day challenges that can be solved through engineering and design innovations. Courses for the 2023 cohort included environment-friendly plastic design, robotics, and studying New York’s infrastructure systems. At the end of the program, you present a project you worked on to your peers and teachers. Alumni projects include designing portable printers, innovative furniture packaging to save space, and more. You can view students’ portfolios here.
Bonus option!
Cost: The total cost to attend the 4-week program is $2900. There is need-based financial aid.
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Application Deadline: There are 3 application deadlines that you can choose between:
Early Decision Deadline: March 17th, 2024
Regular Admission Deadline 1: April 14, 2024
Regular Admission Deadline 2: May 12th, 2023
You can access the application link here!
Program Dates: The 2024 edition of the program starts on June 5th and spans over 4-weeks.
Cost: The total cost to attend the 4-week program is $2900. There is need-based financial aid.
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up bootcamp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.
Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions and more.
The program is an excellent opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school, and having a space to explore multiple theoretical as well as practical frameworks that lead to a successful business. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
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 - ARISE Logo