10 Online AI Courses for High School Students
AI-powered solutions are slowly shaping the future of work, education, and everyday life. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming industries across the world, and its impact is only expected to grow. If you’re curious about the field of AI, taking up an online course could give you the opportunity to explore the field and start building essential AI skills, including machine learning, data analysis, and algorithm design.
AI courses also offer a solid foundation in programming and problem-solving and would help improve your critical thinking and analytical skills. Not to mention, participating in such courses beyond the standard school curriculum can enhance your college applications!
An AI course will introduce you to the fundamentals of how machines can learn from data and make decisions, a skill valued across sectors such as technology, healthcare, finance, and robotics. An online course provides flexibility and virtual access to classes and faculty at some of the world’s top universities. Virtual courses also often allow students to learn at their own pace!
Here are 10 top online AI courses that you consider:
1. Veritas AI
Cost: $2,290 for the 10-week AI Scholars program | $5,400 for the 15-week AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase | $6,900for both. Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars.
Location: Virtual.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary based on cohort.
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter and spring.
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs tailored for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students who are looking to get started with AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and get a chance to work on real-world projects.
Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that students have access to the in-house publication team to help them secure publications in high school research journals. The fellowship encourages students to explore interdisciplinary approaches, enabling them to merge AI with various fields such as finance, medicine, sports, environmental science, and more! You can also check out some examples of past projects here.
Cost: $4,000
Financial Aid: Partial and full financial aid are offered. You’ll find the financial aid application here!
Location: Online.
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in March.
Dates: June-end to mid-July (tentatively, based on previous year’s dates).
Eligibility: Current 9th-grade students (who will be rising 10th graders in the summer) are eligible to apply. If you are from an underrepresented background in AI and related fields, you’re strongly encouraged to apply.
Stanford University’s AI4ALL is a 3-week course that will introduce you to the principles of artificial intelligence while you engage in hands-on projects and interact with Stanford faculty. During the program, you will explore the field of AI through a combination of lectures, research projects, and mentoring activities. You will get to learn from and network with professionals in the field and discuss innovative ideas, such as how AI can be applied in medicine, disaster response, or even combating poverty. On successfully completing the course, you will receive a certificate of completion and achievement.
3. Horizon Academic Research Program (HARP)
Location: Virtual
Application Date: May 21, 2024, for the summer cohort, and September 25, 2024, for the fall cohort
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! Horizon is one of the few research programs for high school students that offers you the choice to engage in either quantitative or qualitative research.
Once you select a particular subject track and the type of research you wish to carry out, Horizon pairs you with a professor/PhD scholar from a reputed university who acts as a mentor throughout your research journey. As a participant, you will be expected to develop a 20-page 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 and detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects.
4. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python by Harvard University on edX
Cost: Free (certificate available for a fee of $299)
Location: Online.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Dates: Self-paced, you can choose to start a session at your convenience. The entire certification (3 courses) takes 6 months to complete.
Eligibility & Prerequisites: Open to everyone. Some experience in Python coding is required.
This self-paced course by Harvard University (online on edX) covers the basics of AI using Python and introduces you to topics such as neural networks, machine learning, and game playing. Designed to equip learners with a deep understanding of various concepts in Python programming and how it's used in AI, it covers a range of topics, starting from the basics and progressing towards complex applications. By the end of the course, you’ll have explored concepts in graph search algorithms, reinforcement learning, machine learning, and how to design intelligent systems.
Bonus! Here’s another online course Harvard offers virtually that you can consider — Machine Learning and AI with Python
5. MIT: Introduction to Deep Learning (MIT OpenCourseWare)
Note: This course is conducted as a bootcamp in person at MIT, and offered as an open-sourced online course as well.
Cost: Free.
Location: Online.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Dates: Self-paced.
Eligibility & Prerequisites: Open to everyone. Prerequisites include experience in calculus (i.e., taking derivatives) and linear algebra (i.e., matrix multiplication). Experience in Python is helpful but not necessary.
MIT's OpenCourseWare platform offers online courses that help students explore a range of subjects across computer science, AI, ML, engineering, and so on. This foundational course is a great start for students with little to no experience who want to learn about AI. You will explore deep learning deep learning methods in depth, with applications to computer vision, natural language processing, biology, and other fields. The program will help you build foundational knowledge of deep learning algorithms, and get hands-on experience in building neural networks in TensorFlow. The course includes a project proposal competition with feedback from industry sponsors and faculty.
6. Fundamentals of Google AI for Web Based Machine Learning by Google on edX
Cost: $359
Location: Virtual.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Dates: Self-paced; you can choose to start a session at your convenience. The entire certification (2 courses) takes 3 months to complete.
Eligibility & Prerequisites: Open to everyone. This is an introductory course; no prior knowledge is required.
This course, taught by Google AI experts, will help you understand Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in a simplified manner, covering the basics of AI and ML. The program focuses on TensorFlow.js, Google's ML library for JavaScript, offering a practical learning experience. The course breaks down the complexities, starting with fundamental AI concepts, and bridging the gap between data, ML, and AI's real-world applications. The course covers diverse topics: from defining AI and understanding its scope to exploring machine learning programming using neural networks. From filtering spam comments to crafting smart security systems, you'll learn to apply cutting-edge models to solve problems and innovate. With TensorFlow.js, this course equips you to delve into pre-made models, retrain existing ones, and embark on your journey as a Web Machine Learning Engineer.
Bonus! Here’s Google’s crash course on Machine Learning, a key aspect of AI!
7. Foundations of AI by IBM on edX
Cost: $268
Location: Virtual.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Dates: Self-paced; you can choose to start a session at your convenience. The entire certification (3 courses) takes 4 months to complete.
Eligibility & Prerequisites: Open to everyone. No prior knowledge is required.
This course is ideal for students with minimal or no prior experience in AI, computer science, or data science. It is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) basics, applications, and its influence across diverse industries. The program offers accessible insights into AI concepts, applications, and terms like machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, and natural language processing. During the course, you will explore IBM's Watson AI services, exploring their potential across various business contexts. By the end of the course, you will be able to construct AI-powered chatbots for websites without requiring coding skills.
8. Computer Science for Artificial Intelligence by Harvard University on edX
Cost: $467
Location: Virtual.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Dates: Self-paced; you can choose to start a session at your convenience. The entire certification (2 courses) takes 5 months to complete.
Eligibility & Prerequisites: Open to everyone. No prior knowledge is required.
This course, taught by some of Harvard’s senior faculty members, will allow you to build a foundational understanding of computer science, programming, and artificial intelligence (AI). It's designed to equip you with a solid foundation in programming fundamentals and advanced concepts integral to modern AI. Apart from an in-depth exploration of AI principles, you will learn common programming languages.
Throughout the course, you'll engage in hands-on projects, gaining practical insights into graph search algorithms, machine learning, reinforcement learning, and other pivotal AI topics. By the end of the course, you will be proficient in machine learning libraries and have a comprehensive understanding of AI principles.
9. Artificial Intelligence by Columbia University on edX
Cost: Free (certificate available for a fee of $249)
Location: Online.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Dates: 12 weeks. Dates for the next session are yet to be announced.
Eligibility & Prerequisites: Open to everyone. Some basic of Python programming and an understanding of probability is required.
This Columbia University course covers the essentials of AI, from search algorithms to knowledge representation, and provides insights into the ethical considerations surrounding AI. You will learn how to build intelligent agents (search, games, logic, constraint satisfaction problems). You will also explore Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, the applications of AI across Natural Language Processing and Robotics, and solving real AI problems through programming with Python! The classes in this course will be taught by computer science faculty at Columbia.
10. Machine Learning by Georgia Tech on edX
Cost: Free (certificate available for a fee of $99)
Location: Online.
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions.
Dates: 14 weeks. Dates for the next session are yet to be announced.
Eligibility & Prerequisites: Open to everyone.
This online course, offered by Georgia Tech via edX, allows students to explore the kind of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides computers with the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed – Machine Learning (ML). You will dive into both theoretical and practical learning, covering a number of approaches and techniques in machine learning. You will also build the programming skills that will help you to build intelligent, adaptive artifacts; and the essential skills needed to pursue research in machine learning.
Tyler Moulton is Head of Academics and Veritas AI Partnerships with 6 years of experience in education consulting, teaching, and astronomy research at Harvard and the University of Cambridge, where they developed a passion for machine learning and artificial intelligence. Tyler is passionate about connecting high-achieving students to advanced AI techniques and helping them build independent, real-world projects in the field of AI!
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