Online pre-college STEM programs give high school students a way to dive into advanced science, technology, engineering, and math topics from anywhere, without the need to step onto a college campus. These programs often explore specialized subjects like computer science, AI, biomedical research, physics, data science, engineering design, mathematics, and environmental science–areas that many schools don’t offer. Because they’re built for motivated students, the coursework tends to feel structured, challenging, and surprisingly close to what you’d encounter in an actual undergraduate STEM class.
Most online STEM programs are short, focused, and built around one key technical skillset or subfield. You’ll often find live lectures, virtual labs, simulation platforms, coding environments, and problem-solving workshops woven into the curriculum, along with opportunities to complete guided research or design projects. Even in an online setting, you still get direct access to instructors, mentors, and feedback, creating a learning experience that’s efficient but still hands-on. And since everything is remote, these programs make rigorous STEM training far more accessible–especially for students who can’t travel, prefer more flexible scheduling, or want to learn from top-tier faculty and explore niche STEM subjects that aren’t available locally.
To help you get started, we’ve pulled up a list of the best online pre-college STEM programs for high school students.
15 Best Online Pre-College STEM Programs for High School Students
1. UCLA Neuroscience High School Scholars Program
Cost/Stipend: None | Unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive
Dates: June 15 – July 23
Application deadline: February 9
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (ages 16–18)
In this six-week online program, you spend your summer digging into how the brain works while learning about disorders like Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions. You attend live seminars three times a week, join virtual lab sessions, and participate in a journal club where you break down current scientific research. You also sit in on neurology grand rounds, giving you a look at how clinicians think through real patient cases. A core part of the curriculum explores how social, cultural, and economic factors shape healthcare access and outcomes. Throughout the program, you work with UCLA mentors who guide you through a final research project that ties together the scientific and societal themes you’ve studied.
2. Stanford AIMI Summer Research Internship
Cost: $850 + $40 application fee (financial aid is available for both fees)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 23 – August 8
Application deadline: February 28
Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and will be 14 years or older by the program’s start
Over two weeks online, the Stanford AIMI Internship introduces you to how artificial intelligence supports medical imaging, diagnostics, and clinical decision-making. Each day blends technical lectures with hands-on group work where you practice applying machine-learning tools to real healthcare datasets. You collaborate with Stanford researchers and student mentors, who guide your team through a research mini-project. The program also hosts virtual “Career Lunch and Learn” sessions so you can hear directly from professionals working in academia, industry, and public health. If you complete all requirements, you earn a certificate, and you may even qualify to continue with an optional extended research opportunity.
3. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Cost/Stipend: Free | Unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 18 – August 8
Application deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Students who are at least 15 years old
ASSIP places you in an eight-week virtual research environment where you collaborate with faculty on STEM projects ranging from neuroscience and bioengineering to cybersecurity and environmental science. Your work depends on your assigned lab, but tasks often include data analysis, computational modeling, coding, and preparing scientific materials. Because the program follows standard research practices, you also learn how to write reports, deliver presentations, and analyze findings just like a professional researcher. Workshops throughout the program introduce you to career paths in STEM and help you understand the ethics behind scientific research. You may even contribute to work that later appears in academic journals or conference presentations.
4. Johns Hopkins’ ASPIRE
Cost/Stipend: None | Unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 24 – August 21
Application deadline: February 15
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are 15 or older by June 1 of the application year | Minimum 2.8 GPA | Residents of specific regions of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia | U.S. Citizens
ASPIRE connects you with a mentor at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory for six to nine weeks of project-based STEM work conducted entirely online. You commit at least 190 hours to a research project in areas such as aerospace, computer science, cybersecurity, or engineering, depending on your interests. Projects may involve coding, data interpretation, algorithm design, or technical problem-solving as you contribute to real APL research tasks. Along the way, your mentor guides your progress and helps you learn how to communicate your work through a digital research poster. You may also continue working with their mentors during the school year, depending on project needs.
5. Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC)
Cost/Stipend: $3,580; financial aid is offered
Acceptance rate: Highly selective
Dates: Session One: June 15 – July 3 | Session Two: July 6 – 24
Application deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors from around the world
In SUMaC’s three-week online program, you tackle advanced mathematics normally encountered in early university courses, such as abstract algebra, number theory, or algebraic topology. You join a small cohort of motivated students and attend daily lectures, problem-solving sessions, and collaborative workshops led by Stanford instructors. The workload resembles a college class, with challenging assignments and ongoing discussions that push you to think deeply about mathematical structures. You also complete a research-style project where you explore a mathematical question and present your findings to your peers.
6. Stanford AI4ALL
Cost/Stipend: $4,000; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size:
Dates: June 18 – July 2
Application deadline: December 9 – January 24
Eligibility: Current 9th graders or rising 10th graders who will be over 14 years old by the start of the program
This two-week online program gives you a structured introduction to artificial intelligence while highlighting how AI affects society, medicine, and the environment. You attend daily lessons on topics like machine learning, computer vision, robotics, and natural language processing, then apply those concepts through team-based research projects. Stanford faculty, graduate students, and researchers mentor you throughout the research process. Many projects address issues like fairness, bias, or the ethical consequences of AI systems. You also join career panels and workshops that expose you to different pathways in STEM and AI-related fields. By the end, your team presents a completed research project that reflects both the technical and societal elements of AI work.
7. Kode With Klossy
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort Size: Competitive
Dates: Multiple 2-week sessions available between June 2 and August 15
Application deadline: March; dates can vary
Eligibility: Girls and gender-expansive teens between the ages of 13 and 18 years are encouraged to apply
Kode With Klossy’s free two-week virtual camps focus on teaching programming skills to students from underrepresented genders in tech, giving you a chance to explore several specialized tracks. Depending on your chosen track, you might learn Python for data science, JavaScript for web development, Swift for mobile apps, or HTML/CSS for front-end design. Each session blends instruction with hands-on project work, allowing you to build websites, apps, chatbots, or data-driven tools by the end of the camp. The program also introduces broader discussions around accessibility, bias, and inclusivity in technology. You collaborate closely with peers and mentors, all while developing a portfolio project that demonstrates your new skills. Guest speakers from tech fields join many sessions to share insights about their work and experiences.
8. Girls Who Code Summer Programs
Cost/Stipend: Free | Unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Virtual Summer Immersion Program: Round One: July 7 – 18 | Round Two: July 28 – August 8 | Pathways: June 30 – August 8
Application deadline: April 11
Eligibility: 9th–11th-grade girls and non-binary students can apply for the Virtual Summer Immersion Program; 9th–12th-grade girls and non-binary students can apply for Pathways
Girls Who Code’s virtual summer options give you two different ways to strengthen your programming skills, depending on how you like to learn. The two-week Summer Immersion Program offers live instruction focused on game design, user experience, and foundational coding principles, along with hands-on creation of interactive digital projects. The six-week Pathways Program is self-paced and lets you explore more advanced topics such as cybersecurity, AI, data science, and web development. In both experiences, you work with programming languages like Python, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS while collaborating with mentors and peers. The programs also include industry events where you hear from professionals working on real technology challenges.
9. sci-MI Neuroscience Mentorship Program
Cost/Stipend: Free | Unpaid
Acceptance rate/cohort Size: Selective
Dates: June 23–August 8
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Open to all high school students (preference is given to underprivileged students in neuroscience or without any prior research experience)
In this five-week online program, you step into the world of neuroscience research by designing and completing your own independent project with the help of volunteer mentors. Each week includes a recorded lecture that strengthens your understanding of core neuroscience concepts, along with a journal club where you discuss published papers and learn how scientists interpret data. If you choose the synchronous track, you’ll meet regularly with your mentor to refine your research question, organize your analysis, and prepare for your final presentation. The program emphasizes the use of open-access tools, so you get hands-on practice with resources you can continue using long after the program ends. By the final week, you’ll create a 10–15 minute presentation and submit a written paper summarizing your findings.
10. Columbia Brain Seminar for Teens and Opportunities for Research Mentorship (BrainSTORM)
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Seminar Series: September – May (Monthly); Mentorship Program: June – May (one-year duration)
Application deadline: January 1
Eligibility: All high school students
BrainSTORM gives you a structured way to explore neuroscience through a monthly online seminar series paired with an optional research mentorship during the school year. From September to May, you’ll join virtual sessions led by experts in fields like neurology, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, and neuropathology, with topics ranging from Alzheimer’s and epilepsy to sports-related concussions and cognitive experiment design. If you apply and are selected for the mentorship portion are matched with a faculty mentor to complete a guided research project that unfolds over several months. Mentorships can be virtual or hybrid, depending on the mentor’s availability and your location. At the end of the academic year, you present your work in a poster session at a research symposium.
11. Notre Dame Pre-College Online Program
Cost/Stipend: $1,495 (need-based scholarships are available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple 2-week and 4-week sessions are available
Application deadline: Varies depending on the course
Eligibility: Open to high school students aged 13 and above
This program lets you explore a subject that interests you through flexible, self-paced courses taught by Notre Dame faculty across fields such as medical research, psychology, business, biology, and more. Each course takes roughly 20–30 hours to complete and includes video lessons, readings, assignments, and activities that help you realistically apply concepts. You’re also paired with a mentor who provides feedback on your work and guides you through your final capstone project. Once you finish, you earn a certificate from the University of Notre Dame recognizing your work.
12. Summer@Brown Online
Cost/Stipend: 2 weeks: $3,218; 3 weeks: $4,454; 4 weeks: $5,314; 6 weeks: $6,238
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Multiple sessions offered in June – July
Application deadline: May 9 (rolling)
Eligibility: Students completing grades 9th-12th between the ages of 14 to 18 years by June 15
Summer@Brown Online gives you access to more than 50 college-level courses in areas like engineering, psychology, biology, economics, and the arts, all offered in asynchronous or blended formats so you can choose what fits your schedule. In each course, you complete readings, discussions, projects, and written work under the guidance of Brown instructors who provide individualized feedback. The program encourages independent thinking by letting you explore the subject without the pressure of grades or college credit. If you enroll in a course lasting three weeks or more, you’ll receive a detailed Course Performance Report summarizing your work, and all students earn a digital certificate. Beyond academics, you can join online workshops and discussions that introduce you to peers from around the world.
13. Harvard’s Secondary School Program
Cost: $4,050 (4-credits) to $7,900 (8-credits) + $75 as application fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive
Dates: June 21 – August 9
Application deadline: Early: January 8; Regular: February 12; Late: April 9 (no financial aid available)
Eligibility: Students who will graduate from high school and enter college in the next 3 years, are at least 16 years of age by June 21, and will not be 19 years of age before July 31
Through Harvard’s Secondary School Program, you can take real Harvard courses online during a 4-week or 7-week summer session and earn official college credit. With more than 200 courses available, you can study subjects like global health, medical ethics, and computer science while working directly with Harvard faculty. Classes meet several times a week for live sessions, and you’ll spend additional hours completing readings, essays, labs, or problem sets depending on the course. The 7-week option allows you to take one or two classes, giving you room either to concentrate on a single subject or explore two different areas. When you complete your class, the credit appears on an official Harvard transcript.
14. Jackson Lab Academic Year Fellowships
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: Fall through late spring
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school juniors/seniors (16+) in good standing; Must be within commuting distance
The Jackson Laboratory Academic Year Fellowships place you on an active biomedical research team where you work with a mentor to develop and complete an independent project tied to the lab’s ongoing work. Based on your placement, you may learn techniques in experimental design, data analysis, and literature review while contributing to real scientific questions. As a fellow, you participate in lab meetings, group discussions, and training sessions that build both technical and communication skills. Projects typically start in the fall and continue through the spring, giving you time to explore your topic in depth.
15. SPARK Summer Internship Program
Cost/Stipend: $25 application fee; stipends up to $500 for some projects
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Less than 5%
Dates: 8–10 weeks between June and August; exact dates vary by project
Application deadline: May
Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents
The SPARK Summer Internship Program connects you with mentors in fields like biotechnology, robotics, machine learning, and data visualization for eight to ten weeks of project-based STEM work. You’re matched with a small team and a mentor who guides you through the technical and research tasks involved in your chosen project. Past teams have explored topics such as DNA sequence classification, neural network modeling, semiconductor materials, and computational tools for organizing scientific data. Alongside your project, you attend professional development sessions that introduce you to research workflows and career paths in science and technology. By the end of the program, you’ll present your group’s findings to mentors and fellow interns.
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 – University of California, Los Angeles