9 Ivy League Robotics Courses for High School Students
Robotics is a field that blends engineering, computer science, and problem-solving to create technology that will shape our future. For high school students eager to explore this exciting area, taking courses from Ivy League institutions is a great way to build technical skills, gain hands-on experience, and deepen their understanding of robotics concepts.
These courses, offered by renowned institutions like Harvard, UPenn, and Princeton, introduce you to topics such as programming, automation, and artificial intelligence. They are designed to help you develop foundational skills while exploring real-world applications of robotics. Additionally, completing courses from prestigious universities can strengthen your academic profile and prepare you for future studies in STEM fields.
To help you get started, we’ve compiled a list of 9 Ivy League robotics courses for high school students!
1. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Institute: Introduction to Machine Learning
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: March 20
Course Dates:
Session 1: June 16 – June 27
Session 2: July 7 – July 18
Eligibility: Students enrolled in grades 10 and 11 at the time of application.
Cost: $3,080; financial aid available
Stanford’s Introduction to Machine Learning course offers high school students a solid foundation in the fast-evolving field of machine learning. Serving as a foundation to learn robotics, the course explores advanced methods for analyzing and drawing insights from large datasets. You will meet every day for two weeks for three hours daily, consisting of two hours of lecture and one hour of office hours
Through Python, you will learn how to preprocess and visualize data, train and test machine learning models, and assess the performance of algorithms. By the end of the course, you will be able to choose a project and present a final model, gaining valuable technical skills and practical experience to give you an insight into your academic and future career.
2. Harvard's Machine Learning and AI with Python
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: None; open enrollment
Course Dates: Self-paced
Eligibility: Open to all students
Cost: Free to audit; $299 for certification
The Machine Learning and AI with Python course offered by Harvard University on EdX introduces the fundamental concepts of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The course covers important aspects of robotics, such as machine learning, and goes in-depth about supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, regression models, clustering techniques, dimensionality reduction methods, and more. It also teaches you how to analyze data.
You will also learn about topics like deep learning and neural networks and be introduced to building and training networks using Python frameworks. The course is beginner-friendly. You can learn flexibly through pre-recorded lectures, coding assignments, and assigned readings, which will help you understand real-world applications of the subject.
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: None; open enrollment
Course Dates: Self-paced, future dates to be announced
Eligibility: Open to all students
Cost: Free to audit; $299 for certification
The Foundations of Robotics course offered by Columbia University provides students with a comprehensive introduction to robotics by combining theory and experiential applications of the field. Through this course, you will get to explore topics like kinematics, control systems, and programming.
You will delve into areas like motion planning and sensor integration to learn how to design and control robotic systems. The course is beginner-friendly and will teach you how robotics is applied in fields like healthcare, manufacturing, and autonomous systems. It features flexible learning through pre-recorded video lectures, coding assignments, and case studies to deepen your understanding of robotics.
Location: Virtual
Application deadline: January 24
Course dates: June 18 - July 2
Eligibility: 9th graders or rising 10th graders in the summertime. You must be passionate about STEM and have a strong academic background.
Cost: $4,000; Financial aid available.
Stanford A14ALL is a two-week virtual program that offers high school students the opportunity to learn about the dynamic field of machine learning and artificial intelligence. Through lectures and interactive learning sessions, you gain foundational knowledge about the field and are exposed to AI in critical sectors such as healthcare, disaster management, poverty, and other global issues.
You will also gain hands-on experience as you get to collaborate in small groups on research projects under the guidance of graduate students and researchers specializing in AI and ML. These research projects will center on real-world problems, allowing you to apply your theoretical knowledge in practical situations — a skill that college admission officers value.
5. MITx: Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python
Location: Online
Application Deadline: Rolling
Course Dates: Self-paced, next session starts 27 January
Eligibility: Open to high school students and beyond
Cost: Free to audit; $149 for certification
MITx Introduction to Computer Science and Programming in Python is ideal for students who want to develop programming skills but have little to no exposure to them. The course is a comprehensive guide to computational thinking and problem-solving, using Python 3.5 as the primary programming language.
You will learn through projects and interactive sessions. The key topics this course covers are data structures, testing, debugging, and algorithm complexity. This flexible foundational course will help you learn programming, which is essential for robotics. Programming enables you to learn how machines process data and make decisions. It also allows for the integration of sensors and algorithms, making the process more efficient and adaptable. This course is introductory yet challenging and rigorous in nature and will require dedication on your part.
6. MITES Summer
Location: MIT campus, Cambridge, MA
Application Deadline: February 1
Course Dates: Six weeks in the summer, typically late June to August.
Eligibility: High school juniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
Cost: None
The MITES Summer Program at MIT is a six-week residential experience designed for rising high school seniors passionate about STEM. While the program offers a broad range of courses, students interested in robotics can engage in project-based electives that delve into areas such as engineering design and machine learning, which are integral to robotics. These electives provide hands-on experience in designing, building, and programming, offering a comprehensive understanding of robotics principles.
You will benefit from lab tours, seminars with STEM professionals, and college admissions counseling, all of which enhance the learning experience and provide insights into pursuing robotics and other STEM fields at the collegiate level.
7. PennX: Robotics: Locomotion Engineering
Location: Online
Application Deadline: Rolling
Course Dates: Future dates to be announced (12 weeks)
Eligibility: Open to high school students and beyond
Cost: Free to audit; $349 for certification
Offered by the University of Pennsylvania on edX, this course explores the principles and engineering behind robotic locomotion. If you are interested in the engineering behind robotics, including mechanics, control, and design, this course will help you learn the theoretical foundations and real-life applications of robotics. You will be able to understand the function of robots, such as how they move by walking, flying, and more.
The course is advanced in nature and covers topics like kinematics, gait analysis, and control strategies related to robotic locomotion. Throughout the course, you will be assigned hands-on projects and will be able to interact through comments and questions. By the end of the course, you will have the skills to analyze and understand the engineering behind locomotion systems for a wide range of robotic applications.
8. UPenn’s Machine Learning Essentials
Location: Online
Application Deadline: None, Open enrollment
Course Dates: Self-paced, can start the session anytime (3 weeks)
Eligibility: Open to high school students
Cost: Free of cost for a limited time
This course is an intermediate-level introduction to the fundamental concepts and techniques of machine learning that can be applied to robotics. The course will build on the use of Python to understand how machines can learn from data to make predictions and decisions. You will explore topics like supervised and unsupervised learning, feature engineering, and model evaluation.
The course is structured to help you gain experience with popular tools and libraries, such as Python and sci-kit-learn. You can advance your Python knowledge by learning how to preprocess and analyze data and train machine-learning models. By the end of the course, you will be able to apply machine learning principles to practical problems and robotics.
9. PennX: Robotics: Kinematics and Mathematical Foundations
Location: Online
Application Deadline: Rolling
Program Dates: Future dates to be announced (12 weeks)
Eligibility: Open to high school students and beyond
Cost: Free to audit; $349 for certification
PennX: Robotics: Kinematics and Mathematical Foundations, offered on EdX, provides an intense introduction to the mathematical principles and foundational concepts of robotics. The course is advanced in nature and focuses on kinematics and its application to robotic systems. You will need to know basic computer programming, fundamental levels of calculus, and advanced algebra. You will also explore topics like forward and inverse kinematics, coordinate transformations, and motion planning.
You will delve deep into model robotic systems mathematically, analyze motion, and learn about real-world robotics challenges. By the end of the course, you will be equipped with the skills that will help you design and analyze kinematic systems for a variety of robotic applications, from industrial manipulators to autonomous vehicles.
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