If you are a high school student considering a future in mechanical engineering, academic programs can help you build early familiarity with engineering tools, methods, and problem-solving approaches. Mechanical engineering is a hands-on field, and these programs offer experience with design, testing, and real systems that regular classes often cannot.
Why Choose California for Mechanical Engineering?
California stands out as a place to explore mechanical engineering because of its mix of research universities and engineering-focused industries. Many programs operate on college campuses or are linked to organizations working on real engineering problems. These opportunities can be especially useful for students in California, as well as for those who want to experience engineering education in a state known for innovation.
Staying within the state can also make these programs more accessible. Lower travel costs and simpler logistics make it easier to focus on learning, while the experience still adds depth to your college applications and resume.
To make your search easier, we’ve curated a list of 15 mechanical engineering programs for high school students in California! You can also check out our blog on engineering programs for high school students.
15 Mechanical Engineering Opportunities for High School Students in California
1. UC Berkeley Pre-College Scholars
Location: UC Berkeley, Berkeley (virtual options available)
Cost: Varies by program; scholarships available
Dates: Varies by program
Application deadline: Varies by program
Eligibility: Open to students who have completed the 10th or 11th grade by the start of summer classes and plan to continue their high school studies in the subsequent fall, with a minimum GPA of 3.0
In the UC Berkeley Pre-College Scholars program, you can experience university academics by enrolling in credit-bearing or non-credit courses across tracks such as Residential, Commuter, Virtual, or Non-Credit. The curriculum allows you to explore subjects that range from mechanical engineering and computer science to advanced mathematics and planetary science. If you are interested in mechanical engineering specifically, courses such as Thermodynamics, Solid Mechanics, and Fluid Mechanics give you early exposure to core college-level concepts. You will also participate in structured workshops focused on college readiness and meet peers from around the world through planned social activities.
2. NSLC High School Summer Program: Engineering
Location: Multiple locations, including the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA
Cost: $4,395
Dates: Berkeley: June 12 – 20 and June 24 – July 2 | UCLA: June 23 – July 1 and July 5 – 13
Application deadline: Mid-March
Eligibility: High school students ages 14-18
In the NSLC Engineering Program, you work through hands-on engineering challenges that introduce you to concepts used in mechanical, civil, chemical, and electrical engineering. You will design and build devices such as Sea Perch underwater robots and remote-controlled vehicles while applying engineering design principles in structured workshops and simulations. The program incorporates facility tours and guest lectures, giving you insight into current engineering careers and technologies. Leadership workshops are built into the schedule, allowing you to develop communication, teamwork, and project-planning skills alongside technical activities.
3. Santa Clara University: Summer Engineering Seminar (SES)
Location: Santa Clara University, Santa Clara
Cost: None
Dates: Session One: July 12-16 | Session Two: July 19-23 | Session Three: July 26- 30
Application deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores and juniors
Santa Clara University’s five-day Summer Engineering Seminar gives you a fast but grounded introduction to what studying engineering in college actually feels like. You rotate through workshops led by faculty in areas like mechanical, electrical, computer, civil, and environmental engineering, and bioengineering, combining short lectures with hands-on project work. Mechanical engineering is part of the core experience, so you explore ideas around design, materials, and how mechanical systems are put together. You stay on campus, work with student mentors, and spend your days building and testing small projects that mirror how engineering problems are approached at the university level.
4. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) by the Department of the Navy (DoN)
Location: Various labs across the country, including the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in NJ
Stipend: $4,000 for new participants; $4,500 for returning participants
Application deadline: November 1; applications open on August 1
Dates: Eight weeks in the summer
Eligibility: High school students who have completed at least grade 9 and are 16 or older; labs may have additional requirements
The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program places you inside a Navy research lab for eight weeks, where you work alongside professional scientists and engineers on active research projects. You contribute to tasks that may involve experimentation, evaluations, cybersecurity assessments, tool development, or other technical responsibilities, depending on your assigned lab. A mentor guides your daily work and helps you navigate the scientific methods and technologies used in Navy research settings. The program gives you exposure to engineering problem-solving and applied systems analysis relevant to fields such as robotics, ocean science, and mechanical design.
5. Air Force Research Laboratory Program
Location: Various locations across the U.S.
Stipend: $501.60/week
Dates: Fall: 16 weeks (late August/early September – mid-December) | Spring: 16 weeks (mid-January – early May) | Summer: 10 weeks (late May/early June – August)
Application deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: High school students over 16 years of age who are U.S. citizens and have a minimum 3.0 GPA
In the AFRL Scholars Program, you take part in a paid internship where high school students join Air Force research teams focusing on aerospace systems, materials behavior, sensors, and computational engineering. Your role may involve data analysis, modeling, experimental testing, or software-oriented tasks, depending on the specific project and mentor assignment. If you’re interested in mechanical engineering, you may observe or contribute to work connected to aerodynamics, structural components, or mechanical system performance within defense technologies. The program pairs you with a professional mentor who supports your skill development and introduces you to the technical expectations of research facilities.
6. California State Summer School for Mathematics & Science (COSMOS)
Location: University of California Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, San Diego, or Santa Cruz campuses
Cost: $5,518 + $46 application fee
Dates: July 5 – August 1
Application deadline: February 6
Eligibility: California students going into grades 9 through 12 in the Fall
The COSMOS program gives you four weeks of intensive, residential STEM study, allowing you to work with university faculty and researchers in lab-based settings. You explore advanced topics in engineering, mathematics, and computer science that go beyond typical high school coursework and are centered on experimental design and analytical reasoning. Each campus offers clusters built around its academic strengths, and some clusters include engineering themes that overlap with areas relevant to mechanical engineering. You spend much of your time conducting hands-on investigations, completing assignments, and analyzing real-world problems using scientific methods.
7. Aspiring Scholars Directed Research Program (ASDRP)
Location: Fremont
Cost: $0 – $1,070 (For students who meet financial need eligibility criteria, there is no cost to attending ASDRP)
Dates: June 1 – August 24
Application deadline: April 15
Eligibility: High school students in 9th-12th grade; No prior research experience required
ASDRP gives you the chance to do original research with a strong focus on engineering, including mechanical engineering projects. You work with a mentor to design your own research question, often exploring areas like mechanics, materials, systems design, or computational modeling tied to physical systems. You will plan experiments, build or test models, and collect and analyze your own data in ASDRP’s research lab. The program also walks you through writing a formal research paper, taking part in peer review, and presenting your work at a poster symposium. Many students go on to submit their projects to conferences or journals.
8. Sandia National Laboratories Internships
Location: Various locations across the U.S.
Stipend: $15–$25/hour
Dates: Varies by internship; Part-time year-round internships are offered
Application deadline: Varies by internship
Eligibility: U.S. citizens who are at least 16 years of age with a GPA of 2.5+; Specific eligibility criteria vary by position
Sandia National Laboratories offers paid internships where you work inside active research teams on real engineering projects. If you are interested in mechanical engineering, your work may involve analyzing hardware, modeling physical systems, or supporting testing and design tasks used in applied research. You work closely with engineers and scientists who assign concrete responsibilities tied to ongoing projects, giving you a clear view of how large research labs operate day to day. Alongside the technical work, you receive mentorship and take part in career sessions that help you understand how engineering research moves from design to testing to real-world use.
9. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) High School Apprenticeship
Location: Various U.S. Army Research Labs and university research centers nationwide
Stipend: Paid
Dates: Primarily 8-week summer (June–Aug)
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Applicants must be entering grades 10–12, 15+ (U.S. citizen)
The AEOP High School Apprenticeship places you full-time in the U.S. Army research lab or a partner university lab, where you support real STEM projects over several weeks. You work closely with a mentor who shows you how experiments are run, how data is collected, and how technical work is documented. Depending on the lab, you may be involved in materials testing, engineering design tasks, coding, or applied analysis, with many placements tying closely to mechanical engineering areas like materials behavior and system design. Alongside the lab work, you also attend AEOP workshops and career sessions that explain how research connects to Army priorities and long-term STEM careers.
10. The Intern Project Summer Program
Location: Various companies in Los Angeles
Stipend: Paid
Dates: Multiple cohorts in the fall, spring, and summer
Application deadline: Varies by the cohort
Eligibility: LA County 10th-12th graders
The Intern Project places you in an eight-week paid internship with an organization in Los Angeles, where you work on real projects in fields such as engineering, technology, healthcare, business, or media. Mechanical-engineering–related placements often occur through aerospace companies or engineering-focused nonprofits in TIP’s partner network, giving you early experience with technical problem-solving in a workplace setting. Throughout the summer, you meet with supervisors and mentors who clarify expectations, introduce you to workplace tools, and guide you through tasks that may involve research, drafting, or basic project support. At the end of the program, you submit a final deliverable such as a report or presentation.
11. Stanford SHTEM Summer Internship
Location: Stanford University campus
Cost: $95 application fee (aid available)
Dates: June 22 – August 14
Application deadline: January 25
Eligibility: Must be currently a high school junior or senior; at least 14 by June 21; must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Stanford’s SHTEM internship assigns you to a multidisciplinary research team where you work on projects guided by faculty, staff, and student mentors from the Stanford Compression Forum. The program brings together engineering, technology, humanities, and science fields, allowing you to contribute to work that often spans multiple disciplines. Projects focused on mechanical engineering may involve robotics, biomechanics, materials investigation, or device-related research, depending on the topic chosen by your mentor group. You spend 30–40 hours per week on research tasks, virtual meetings, reading assignments, and technical deliverables, creating an experience similar in structure to an academic lab environment. Workshops, seminars, and community events supplement the research portion and help you stay connected with mentors and peers.
12. CLA’s Bruin Ascent Summer Experience (BASE)
Location: Remote
Cost: None
Dates: June 22 – July 31
Application deadline: April 15
Eligibility: California high school students in grades 10 and 11 who have a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA (unweighted), have not been a recipient of Summer Scholars Support, and have a household adjusted gross income (AGI) equal to or lower than the amount in the relevant category in the Family Income Eligibility Tables
The BASE program allows you to enroll in one UCLA summer course for college credit while receiving structured mentorship from current UCLA students. If you choose a course such as Physics 1A: Physics for Scientists & Engineers, you can explore foundational mechanics concepts that support future work in mechanical engineering, including motion, forces, and energy systems. Alongside your academic course, you participate in virtual workshops on college admissions, study skills, financial literacy, and academic planning, giving you a broad understanding of how to navigate higher education. Weekly meetings with your UCLA mentor provide a space to discuss course expectations, time management, and long-term academic goals.
13. Rice University Precollege Program – Engineering: Solving Real-World Problems
Location: Remote
Cost: $1,795
Dates: 2-week and 4-week sessions
Application deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: Students ages 13+
Rice University’s Engineering: Solving Real World Problems is an online pre-college course that shows you how engineers think and work across different fields. You spend time on mechanical and materials engineering ideas like motion, forces, design choices, and how materials behave, while also seeing how electrical, civil, chemical, and bioengineering fit into larger systems. The course uses short modules, case studies, and guided assignments to show how these concepts are applied to real problems, from infrastructure and climate challenges to everyday technologies. The course ends with a capstone project where you apply the full engineering design process to a problem of your choice.
14. Northwestern Pre-College Online Program – Engineering: Solving Problems Through Design
Location: Remote
Cost: $1,895
Dates: 2-week and 4-week sessions
Application deadline: Varies by session
Eligibility: Students ages 13+
Northwestern’s online engineering course introduces you to the engineering design process through video lessons, case studies, and assignments that you complete on a flexible schedule. You explore how engineers define user needs, sketch concepts, build prototypes, and evaluate their performance across fields such as mechanical, biomedical, materials, civil, and environmental engineering. Mechanical engineering appears throughout the course as you examine machine design, user interaction, material selection, and testing methods that shape product development. A personal mentor provides feedback on your work and helps you navigate each stage of the design tasks included in the curriculum. The course concludes with a capstone project that asks you to apply design principles to a final problem from one of several engineering specialties.
15. Cornell SCE Pre-College Studies: Fall & Spring Study
Location: Remote
Cost: $1,940/credit hour
Dates: Fall: August 25–December 20, Spring: January 20–May 16
Application deadline: 2 weeks before the term
Eligibility: High school students aged 15 years and above
Cornell’s Pre-College Studies program allows you to take university courses for credit during the fall or spring, studying alongside enrolled Cornell undergraduates in subjects that may include mechanical and aerospace engineering. If you choose engineering courses, you engage with topics such as statics, mechanics of materials, thermal sciences, and fluid mechanics through lectures, homework, lab work, and design projects. Coursework often includes CAD modeling, team-based problem-solving, and hands-on experiments that help you build early engineering intuition. All completed courses appear on an official Cornell transcript, and credits may be transferable.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in subjects like data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, and chemistry, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image Source – Cornell logo