Pre-college computer science programs offered by prestigious institutes can be great opportunities for you to experience what college life might look like while having an immersive learning experience. 

When it comes to computer science, these programs could give you a sense of direction about the field of computer science you may want to pursue in the future. An added bonus is that it also looks good on your applications for universities, showing your interest and passion for the subject. If this is something that you’re interested in, then consider the Beaver Works Summer Institute offered by MIT, which offers an array of courses spanning different fields within computer science!

What is the MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute?

The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) is a rigorous and highly selective STEM program for high-school students hosted by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Beaver Works Centre. The program spans 4 weeks and will teach you computer science concepts through project-based, workshop-style courses. These courses are offered, both virtually and in person, depending on the course you want to pursue. 

More than 80% of BWSI participants reported that they were able to integrate concepts from multiple academic disciplines during the program. These participants also hail from diverse academic backgrounds, with around 50% of participants (as of 2019) pursuing a major or concentration in computer science. 

Is MIT’s Beaver Works prestigious?

The BWSI program is highly prestigious as it invites applications from individuals who are passionate in their areas. Being a highly selective program and its affiliation to MIT makes it extremely prestigious and a great fit for you if you wish to apply to undergraduate programs at top universities. 

The sponsors of this program also offer internship opportunities to the students who complete the program. Previous students have pursued internships at Lincoln Laboratory, Raytheon RTX, and MITRE. Alumni can also return as mentors for the program in the following year!

Am I eligible for Beaver Works?

The BWSI is a highly selective program, so to attend the BWSI, you will need to match the following criteria: 
- You should be in high school.
- You should be able to demonstrate technical ability through test scores, completed coursework, and grades collected in the application.
- You must also submit a recommendation by a school official. 
- Demonstrated commitment to extracurricular learning via participation and completion of the online course offered in February. If you haven’t completed the online course you will not be allowed to participate in the summer program.
- Every course lists at the very beginning what the expectations are in order to be considered for the summer program, so make sure to complete the expected amount of the course load before the application deadline. Make sure to look at the “Introduction and Prerequisites” section of the course page to know what this expected course load is. 
- You must write 3 short essays of 500 words or less for the application.
- The program is open to US citizens, permanent residents, and international students currently attending a high school in the US. 

What is the application deadline and program timeline?

You can either be nominated for the program or self-register. The nomination form is usually filled out by parents, teachers, or guardians of the student who believe the student would be a good applicant for the program. The registration form on the other hand is filled by the student themselves. The institute encourages students to self-register- nominations are not required. 

1. The online course: Applying to BWSI is a multi-step process, with a mandatory online course completion without which you won’t be allowed to register for the summer program. This registration portal in 2023 opened on February 1st and remained open till November. The online course is required to be completed by June 25 (as of 2023), otherwise, your acceptance to the summer program will be at risk. The online courses are independent study and therefore individual performance-based. 

2. The summer program: The application for the summer program is separate from the online course application. You will need to show your progress made on the online course by the application deadline for the summer program, which was previously March 31. Based on previous years, students are typically notified about their enrollment decisions for the summer program by the end of April. The classes for the program generally started in mid-July and continued until early August (based on previous years). The final event for the courses is held in the first week of August. The summer program is rigorous, challenging, and team-based so that students can achieve more together.

For students who are only interested in the online courses, and don’t particularly want to participate in the summer program, the online courses remain open until the end of November, giving students easy access to try out a course you may like in a different field. 

How much does Beaver Works cost?

One of the most important factors to consider when applying for a pre-college summer program is cost, regardless of how prestigious or educational it may be. The BWSI program is entirely free of cost, inviting some of the brightest minds from across the country.

Note that you will be responsible for your travel arrangements to and from BWSI and will be required to have a laptop and internet access to fully participate in the courses. BWSI is willing to provide as many materials as possible to aid you in your journey and make sure every selected student can participate, so feel free to contact them in case you have any requests or questions. 

What is the program structure?

The BWSI summer program is focused on application-based learning in STEM, mainly engineering and computer science. The classes will be held from 10 am - 6 pm EDT, Monday-Friday (based on previous years). There will be a mix of lectures, labs, and office hours.

The program consists of 2 components - an open-to-all online course, and a 4 week summer program if you’re selected. The online course will serve as an introduction to the summer course. Enrollment into the summer program heavily depends on your performance in this online course, so do your best! You can only attempt the online course a limited number of times.

If you’re an aspiring computer science major, you should consider one of the online courses that explore various subjects overlapping with computer science, and find your niche within the subject, regardless of whether you take part in the summer program or not. Some of our favorite courses include: 

1. Serious Games and Artificial Intelligence: This course combines modern methods in machine learning and game-like modeling to analyze and answer social and policy issues regarding technology. With the growth of language models and AI systems, this course will give you great insight into the ethics of AI and how we should implement it. This course would be a great option for you if you’re interested in video games, machine learning, the growth of artificial intelligence, and the questions of ethics behind using such technology.

2. Autonomous Cognitive Assistance (Cog*Works): Cognitive assistance using technology is a growing industry and is one that is very accessible to beginners, making this course a great jumping-on point. You will be expected to be familiar with Python and NumPy in particular. This course takes an in-depth look at neural networks and natural language processing models, so if you’re interested in these topics, this course is for you!

3. Quantum Software − MITRE Project: Quantum computing is a highly sought-after skill, with government, academic, and commercial organizations spending billions of dollars attempting to create reliable, general-purpose quantum computers. Creating such a system would allow you to perform computations that conventional systems would not be capable of performing. 

You should pursue this course if you’re interested in quantum algorithms and the overlap of physics with computer science. However, this course has a lot of prerequisites such as linear algebra, digital logic, machine instruction, and the visual studio integrated development environment.

Other courses offered in this program include:

- Embedded Security and Hardware Hacking: Hidden beneath what we think of as a computer, there exists a diverse group of smaller computers referred to as embedded systems. The security of these systems is of utmost importance and that is exactly what this course will uncover for you!

- Medyltics: The BWSI Medlytics program will allow you to explore the intersection of data science and medicine by using high-resolution data to train algorithms to help physicians build prognostic models, conduct medical image analysis, and improve diagnostic accuracy.

- Build a Cubesat: This 4-week course will guide you through building, testing, and flying a Cubesat with an imaging payload, giving them access to space imaging. 

- Autonomous RACECAR Grand Prix:  The BWSI will offer your team its own MIT-designed RACECAR robot, the opportunity to explore the broad spectrum of research in these areas, and demonstrate fast, autonomous navigation in a Mini Grand Prix.

- Remote Sensing for Disaster Response: You will explore, leverage, and transform open-source information and imagery collected from drones, airplanes, and satellites to generate actionable inferences.

- Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Challenge: This course will introduce you to the challenges faced by real-world ocean engineers in designing, building, and programming autonomous underwater autonomous vehicles (AUVs). 

- Cyber Security in Software Intensive Systems: You will be introduced to the fundamentals of cybersecurity,  real-world software threats, and ways to mitigate them.

- Back to bASICs: This course will give you practical experience with the building blocks of today’s electronic world—knowledge that will benefit you no matter what you decide to pursue academically. 

- Microelectronics and Hardware Development: This course will allow you to be imaginative with your original hardware designs and enable you to create electronic systems that can impact many lives.

You will be offered the resources relevant to the courses such as access to labs and equipment, as well as relevant tech stacks for CS-based courses. However, this doesn’t mean that the course will be within your comfort zone. You will be expected to engage with concepts you may not be familiar with. 

What will be covered in the summer program? 

The online course is only an introduction to the program and gives you a brief of what’s required in order to successfully complete the four-week summer course. 

For example, for the Build a Cubesat summer program, students attended daily lectures that reviewed the basics, and guest lectures on key spacecraft systems. They were split into teams and provided with hardware kits to get hands-on exposure to hardware testing, assembly, and programming. They were mentored by the Lincoln Laboratory Staff, MIT faculty, and graduate students. 

So while the online course is very informative and will impart a lot of useful knowledge to you, the summer program will actually help you apply that knowledge through hands-on experience and provide you with the right tools to make sure you have a good experience. 

Pros and Cons of joining MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute

Every program comes with its pros and cons, and BWSI is not an exception. Below we have listed out some pros to help you make a more informed decision as to whether this is a good fit for you!

Pros:

1. Building your network: If you are going to continue pursuing a degree in STEM, participating in such a program would be a great way of networking with alumni and mentors who have valuable insights in the field. The program also has a great network of sponsors and we highly recommend that you try to tap into that network as well.

2. High-quality curriculum: The curriculum at BWSI is rigorous, challenging, and relevant to today’s technological climate, taught by experts in fields, such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, and the overlap these fields have with other STEM fields such as Biology and Medicine. 

3. Hands-on experience: Since the program prioritizes hands-on learning, you will get to work on real-world projects in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, making you familiar with working in the lab and doing research in the field. Here are some recorded streams from the program.

4. MIT resources: Since BWSI is affiliated with MIT, you will get access to high-quality resources, facilities, and expertise, giving you a taste of the MIT experience.

5. Immersive Learning Experience:  The program gives you a truly fleshed-out learning experience, making sure that you’re prepared for an interest in the rigorous summer program through the online course. 

Cons:

1. Competitive admission process: Since the program is highly selective, you may spend some time working on the online course but end up not getting selected for the summer program, which might not be a great experience for a lot of students.

2. Geographic location: BWSI is held at MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, making it difficult for people who live far away to attend the program, as they do not cover travel costs. 

3. Varied course quality: Since there are so many racks within the program, there is a chance that some courses might not end up being on par with others, especially the new ones. 

4. Limited subject range: Since the program is primarily focused on specific computer science fields such as robotics and machine learning, if you aren’t interested in these tracks in particular but rather in others, then this program might not be for you. 

5. Fixed course content: If you’re an innovative person who doesn’t like being given what to do, and would rather come up with their own way of doing something, then this course may not be for you. While there is a competitive element, it’s more dependent on who has best followed the instructions given to them. Most BWSI courses have a fixed structure and curriculum, with not much space for your own creative ideas to come through, which may hinder your experience. 

Our review

At the end of the day, if you’re an aspiring computer scientist interested in machine learning, robotics, and cybersecurity and the intersectionality of these topics with other subjects, then the BWSI program is a great fit for you!

It’s a prestigious program that will provide you with great hands-on experience and familiarize you with the skills needed for the industry. If you’re someone who appreciates more of a theoretical approach, then this program may not be your best option. Needless to say, we would recommend you take the online course even if you don’t think you’re up for the rigorous, main course. The modules are very interesting and it’s self-study so you have nothing to lose! 

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: MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute Logo