10 Computer Science Programs for High School Students in Texas
If you are a high school student in Texas who is interested in computer science, chances are that you are looking for summer programs in your area as a valuable addition to your application.
In this post, we have curated a list of 10 computer science programs in Texas that will enable you to gain hands-on experience, and will make for an excellent learning opportunity. The programs range from free to paid and have different levels of selectivity. There’s something for everyone.
The programs we’ve identified are highly selective and will also look great on your college application!
1. Anson L.Clark Scholars Program
The Anson L. Clark Scholars Program was established in 1963 in honor of Anson L. Clark, a former Texas A&M student and World War II veteran who proceeded to create a successful business career! This 7-week comprehensive research program will allow you to gain hands-on research under the mentorship of Texas Tech faculty. Apart from one-on-one research with faculty, you can participate in weekly seminars, discussions, and field visits!
One of the research areas available for students is the computer science track. Scholars from the 2022 cohort, like Akaash Kolluri, have conducted research in predicting GPU energy consumption using machine learning algorithms. You can view past projects from other scholars here!
The Clark Scholars program is one of the most prestigious and selective programs, with an acceptance rate of less than 3% and only 12 students in each cohort. Therefore, having the title of an Anson L. Clark Scholar will be a valuable add-on to any college application. An additional benefit is the $750 tax-free stipend that is provided!
The Dean of Texas Tech has given advice on how to get into this very prestigious program which you can find here!
Cost: No Cost
Location: Texas Tech University
Application Deadline (2023): February 13, 2023
Program Dates (2023): 6 weeks, June 18 - August 3, 2022
Eligibility: Applicants must be at least 17 years of age by the program start date and should graduate in 2023 or 2024 (U.S. and International)
2. Veritas AI
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 concepts in data science and artificial intelligence 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 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.
Scholarship Amount: Up to 100%
Location: Remote - you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Application Deadline: There are 4 cohorts (You can apply here!) Fall 2023: September 3, 2023, Winter 2023: November 26th, 2023, Spring 2024: January 14th, 2024
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!
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.
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. UT Austin’s Academy for All
UT Austin’s Academy for All is a week-long program where you can explore computer science or game development through classes conducted by existing UT Austin faculty. The program runs in 2 streams - the Standard Edition and the Game Development Edition.
The Standard Edition is perfect for any student intending to pursue Computer Science as the program covers C++, careers in tech, engineering, and project management. You also gain hands-on experience through projects. For example, coding an Arduino microcontroller to put on an LED display light show!
If you're interested in game development, UT Austin also offers a game development edition where you'll cover game development processes - including programming in Java, art, and game design, 2D game development, running and debugging code and exploring game development tools!
Another great aspect of this program is that you’ll be staying in the same residence halls as your mentors. The program has a 10:1 student to mentor ratio so you can expect a decent amount of face time with your mentor.
Cost: No Cost
Location: UT Austin Campus
Application Deadline (2023): While the application deadline is not specified, you can expect it to close a month and a half to a month before the program.
Program Dates (2023): June 4th - June 10th, 2023 or June 11th- June 17th, 2023 (Standard Academy Editions)
Eligibility: Open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
5. Rice University’s Tapia STEM Camps
Named after Professor Richard Tapia, a current professor at Rice University, the Tapia STEM Camp is a 6-day/5-night program where high school students can explore STEM careers through classes conducted by Rice University students, with a curriculum designed by research members.
Throughout the course of a week, students can focus on multiple STEM subjects, design their independent STEM projects, and present them at the end of the program to professors, fellow students, and Dr. Richard Tapia himself. Students also discuss STEM concepts in the context of social equality, and they can gain firsthand experience from professionals and academics on their work and experiences in the STEM field. We’ve gone through a bunch of student testimonials and what most students speak highly about are the building communication skills they pick up and the college advice that’s given to them.
While the Tapia STEM camp is focused on STEM as a whole, you will be able to explore college-level computer science courses and can even choose to do your project in this field!
Bonus - Another option is Rice's one-week ELITE tech camp where you can explore college-level engineering topics such as machine learning, AI, internet of things, data science, 3D printing, deep learning, data analytics and more.
Cost: $1,750 for tuition.
Location: Rice University Campus
Application Deadline (2023): Rolling Admissions
Program Dates (2023): Session 1: July 2 - 7, Sunday - Friday, Session 2: July 9 - 14, Sunday - Friday, Session 3: July 16 - 21, Sunday - Friday, Session 4: July 23 - 28, Sunday - Friday.
Eligibility: Open to all students between grades 8-12.
6. Lumiere Research Scholar Programs - Computer Science Track
Founded by Harvard and Oxford PhDs, Lumiere is a selective research program for high school students, where students work one-to-one with a PhD mentor to develop an independent research paper. While it offers programs across an array of disciplines, research areas in computer science span computer networks, human computer interaction, ethics in computer science and so much more!
Due to its one-to-one nature, you can expect to not only learn the most recent developments of various tech industries but also expand your technological skillset, regardless of what level it is at. If you’re interested in doing interdisciplinary research, this would be a good option!
Cost: Lumiere Individual Research Program – $2,600, Lumiere Premium Research and Publication Program – $4,800, Lumiere Research Fellowship – $8,400
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: Rolling, Cohort based. Applications for the Fall Cohort are open now.
Program Dates: Rolling, Cohort based.
Eligibility: High School Students
7. University of North Texas’ GenCyber Program
The University of North Texas, the National Security Agency, and the National Science Foundation have collaborated for the Texas Edition of the GenCyber Program, which provides free summer cybersecurity camps. These camps are non-residential day camps where students are introduced to the fundamentals of cybersecurity mechanisms, principles of practicing effective cybersecurity, and how cybersecurity policies can be reliably implemented.
Students will explore areas such as cryptography, network security, and digital forensics through games, hands-on labs, animals/simulations, videos, and invited speakers. If you are interested in a career in cyber security, the GenCyber camp is a great introduction to this field!
Cost: No Cost
Location: University of North Texas Campus
Application Deadline (2023): Rolling Admissions
Program Dates (2023): Session 1: June 5th - June 9th, 2023, Session 2: June 12th - June 16th, 2023, Session 3: June 19th - June 23rd, 2023, Session 4: June 26th - June 30th, 2023
Eligibility: Open to all students from North Texas middle and high schools who are in grades 8-12 (as of Fall 2023).
8. UT Austin’s Academy for Women
UT Austin holds a week-long summer program for girls looking to pursue careers and degrees in computer science. In this camp, you learn foundational computer science concepts from the UT Austin faculty. The topics covered in this camp are C++, project management, teamwork, and women in tech jobs.
Apart from courses, you have the opportunity to gain hands-on experiences through projects such as coding an Arduino microcontroller to put on an LED display light show and explore technologies under the guidance of professors and industry experts! You will also discover future internship and career opportunities from the guest lectures and gain insights into the UT admissions process.
Cost: No Cost
Location: UT Austin Campus
Application Deadline (2023): While the application deadline is not specified, you can expect it to close a month and a half to a month before the program.
Program Dates (2023): June 4th - June 10th, 2023 or June 11th- June 17th, 2023
Eligibility: Open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors who identify as female.
9. University of Texas San Antonio’s Explore!STEM
Supported by the Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation, the Explore!STEM camp at UTSA gives differently abled students the opportunity to learn about STEM concepts and occupations through hands-on activities and instructions.
In the 4-day program, students will delve into basic computer programming concepts and skills, computer vision and data science. Moreover, the camp provides hand-on activities to build autonomous driving AI computer programs!
An added bonus are the guest lectures where students can learn from the expertise of professionals working in STEM fields.
UT Austin also has a tuition based Computer Science Academy! There are currently 4 different specialisations - iOS game development, robotics, web-based game development or graphic programming. If you're interested in covering 1 specific aspect of computer science, this is a great opportunity!
Cost: No Cost
Location: University of Texas, San Antonio North Paseo building
Application Deadline (2023): Rolling Admissions
Program Dates (2023): June 12th - June 16th, 2023
Eligibility: Open to all students between the ages of 14 and 22. Must have a 6th grade level reading ability and can type on a computer.
Note: There are no restrictions on the type of disability.
10. Angelo State University’s Code Camp
The Code Camp by Angelo State University is a free, hands-on, one-week program for students interested in learning the foundations of computer programming. The program is offered both offline and online, where students can take part in either interchangeably. The program itself introduces students to the basics of computer programming through courses offered by ASU’s Computer Science Department.
In the camp, you can expect to:
- Learn to program in Javascript
- Learn to draw and make animations
- Learn to solve problems using computers
The program culminates with a project presentation of the work you have done over the week!
Cost: No Cost
Location: Online/ Angelo State University Campus
Application Deadline (2023): May 29th, 2023
Program Dates (2023): June 5th - June 9th, 2023.
Eligibility: Open to all students.
Note: On-campus seating is limited to 100 students, and completed registrations will be placed on a waiting list according to the date/time submitted.
11. UT Dallas’ Deep Dive AI Workshop
UT Dallas offers an 8-week program for advanced-level high school students where you will explore the foundations of AI and machine learning under current UT Dallas Computer Science graduate students, with supervision by Dr. Anurag Nagar - a computer science professor at UT Dallas.
The list of topics for the course are:
- Introduction to Python programming, tools for data analysis such as NumPy, pandas, and graphics, which are essential for machine learning models
- Getting started with data processing – various file formats, loading into data frames, and performing basic statistical operations
- Introduction to machine learning, with examples and real-life scenarios These will help you identify what problems can be solved using ML
- AI/ML model building – decision trees, neural networks, etc
- Deep Neural Nets using TensorFlow
- Convolution Neural Nets(CNN) and Recursive Neural Nets (RNN)
- Model Evaluation – accuracy, error, Receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve
An added benefit is that at the end of the 8 weeks, you can request a letter of recommendation based on your performance which can supplement your college application!
Cost: $1,200 (Note, If you cannot afford this, you can email and ask about any financial aid/scholarships available. You can get more information here!)
Location: UT Dallas Campus
Application Deadline (2023): Rolling admission
Program Dates (2023): June 5th - July 28th, 2023
Eligibility: Open to all advanced-level high school students. Prerequisites include familiarity with Python programming and high school level mathematics.
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: Lumiere Education Logo