24 Engineering Programs for High School Students
Updated: Oct 14
TL;DR
You’ll find 24 programs here, grouped into three formats: mentored research placements, internships at national and defense labs, and free selective academies. Most cost nothing and several pay a stipend, though many are limited to US citizens or to students who can commute to the lab, so check eligibility before you get attached to an option. The list covers sophomores through rising seniors, with a few programs open from age 15. Deadlines land earlier than most students expect, with Navy SEAP closing applications for summer 2027 on November 30, 2026, and AFRL Scholars closing on January 11, 2027. If you want mentored research and don’t have a lab within commuting distance, the Lumiere Research Scholar Program is one of the remote options on this list.
Engineering is easiest to understand once you've built something, tested i, and watched it fail in an interesting way. The programs below put high school students in real labs, research groups, and selective academies, from federal research centers to university engineering departments, and several pay a stipend or cost nothing at all. They're grouped by format, so you can jump straight to research programs (including online ones), lab internships, or free academies.
What’s the difference between an engineering camp and a research program?
| Engineering camp or academy | Research program |
What you work on | A set curriculum or design challenge, the same for everyone in the room | One open question, chosen with your mentor |
Typical length | One to six weeks, usually inside a school holiday | Six weeks to a year, often running across the school year |
Who guides you | Instructors, undergraduates or staff leading a group | A faculty member, postdoc or PhD mentor assigned to you |
What you finish with | A completed build, design or course credit | A paper, poster or conference-style presentation of original findings |
Examples on this list | MIT Beaver Works, MITES Summer, HK Maker Lab | |
Cost pattern | Free and paid options both appear, with the free ones the most selective | Same split, though several research placements add a stipend on top |
Best for | Testing whether a field suits you before you commit | Showing you can carry a question through to a result |
Can you do an engineering program for free?
Yes. Most of the strongest options on this list cost nothing, and several pay a stipend on top.
Fully funded university programs cover everything: MITES Summer at MIT is free, including room and board, and students pay only for travel to and from campus. These programs are funded by the institution rather than by tuition, which is also why they are the most selective.
Federal and defense lab internships pay you: Navy SEAP pays $4,000 for new apprentices and $4,500 for returning ones across more than 25 labs. The AFRL Scholars Program pays high school interns roughly $507 a week, with higher rates at Edwards and Whiteman.
Paid programs offer waivers: George Mason’s ASSIP charges $1,299 for three credits and waives both tuition and the application fee based on need. UT Dallas discounts its computer science program by 50% for low-income families.
How to get into a competitive engineering program
Apply the fall before the summer you want: Navy SEAP closes applications for summer 2027 on November 30, 2026. The AFRL Scholars Program opened on October 12, 2026, and closes January 11, 2027. NIST SHIP posts on USAJobs in mid-October and closes at the end of January. Missing an autumn deadline costs you a full year.
Do the prerequisite work: The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute runs free online courses that open on February 1, and how well you perform in them weighs heavily on your summer application. Plan for months of work before you submit anything.
Check eligibility carefully: Several programs here are closed to permanent residents, restricted to one state, or limited to students who can drive to the lab. Confirm you qualify first.
Take the hardest relevant courses you can: UMD ESTEEM asks for a 3.2 GPA, no Cs in math or science, and a B+ or better in trigonometry, chemistr, and pre-calculus. Engineering competitions give you something concrete to point at alongside the transcript.
Do engineering programs help with your college application?
Yes, though the effect comes from what you produced rather than from the program’s name on your activities list.
Sustained effort helps in admissions: Thousands of applicants to engineering majors say they like engineering. However, if you can point to research programs, camps, or internships you did in engineering, colleges have evidence that you actually are interested in the field.
It gives you a recommender who has watched you work: A faculty or PhD mentor who supervised your project can describe how you handle a problem you cannot immediately solve. This carries more weight for admissions officers than a teacher who knows you from a classroom.
Program output is important: At some programs, you will leave with a finished designed, a research paper, or a completed project. These give you something concrete to point to during applications. In our admissions report, we found that Lumiere alumni were 4x more likely to get into top universities, with 97% of them mentioning their research paper in applications.
Section | Top programs | Cost | Best for |
Engineering research programs | Research Science Institute (RSI), Anson L. Clark Scholars Program, NYU ARISE, Simons Summer Research Program, Lumiere Research Scholar Program | Students who want a mentored research project with a faculty or PhD mentor and an original result to show at the end | |
Engineering internships at national and defense labs | Navy SEAP, NIST SHIP, JHU APL ASPIRE, AFRL Scholars Program, SEES (NASA and UT Austin) | US citizens who live near a lab, or can relocate for one, and want real federal or defense engineering experience | |
Free, selective engineering academies | Free to $3,000 (BWSI charges $3,000 only for families over $200,000 in income and assets) | Students who want a rigorous, team-based engineering build at a top institution without paying tuition |
Engineering Research Programs
These programs pair you with faculty or lab mentors for hands-on research. Most of the in-person options are free or low-cost and limited to students within commuting distance, while the last three let you do mentored research from home.
Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX (residential)
Cost/Stipend: Free, plus a $750 stipend; $25 application fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 12 scholars each summer
Dates: Seven weeks in summer; the 2026 session ran June 21 to August 6
Application deadline: Usually in late winter
Eligibility: At least 17 years old, finishing junior or senior year of high school; US citizens or permanent residents
The Clark Scholars Program places just 12 students with Texas Tech faculty for an intensive research summer across a wide range of disciplines, including engineering. You work one on one with your faculty mentor on a real project while joining seminars and activities with the rest of the cohort, and the program covers your costs on top of the stipend.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A rising junior or senior who wants a fully funded, very small research cohort and is happy to spend seven weeks in Lubbock.
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY (commuter)
Cost/Stipend: Free, plus a $2,000 stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published; spots are limited to the NYU labs taking interns each year
Dates: About ten weeks in summer; the 2026 program ran June 1 to August 14
Application deadline: Usually in late February (the 2026 deadline was February 27)
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who live in New York City and attend a New York City school
ARISE places students in NYU research labs for a full summer of hands-on work in engineering and the sciences. It is paid and fully funded, which makes it one of the strongest options on this list for students who already live in the city.
Who it's best for: A New York City rising junior or senior who wants a paid, full-time lab placement without leaving home.
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA, with a second site at Stanford University starting in 2027
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 100 students at MIT and 50 at Stanford from 2027; among the most selective programs for high schoolers
Dates: Usually six weeks starting in late June
Application deadline: RSI 2027 applications are open through December 11, 2026
Eligibility: High school juniors
RSI combines a short stretch of STEM coursework with an individual research project mentored by working scientists and engineers, ending in written and oral presentations of your results. The new Stanford site from 2027 adds 50 places on top of the 100 at MIT.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A junior with an exceptional STEM record who is ready to submit an application by mid-December.
Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Cost/Stipend: Free; students receive a stipend at the closing symposium
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; no official acceptance rate is published, and each school can nominate only two students
Dates: About six weeks in summer; the 2026 program ran June 29 to August 7
Application deadline: Usually early February, with school nominations due in late January (the 2026 deadline was February 5)
Eligibility: High school juniors, at least 16, who are US citizens or permanent residents; schools can nominate up to two students
Simons places students in Stony Brook faculty labs across science, math and engineering for about six weeks of hands-on research, finishing with a research symposium. Each school can nominate at most two students, so the competition starts inside your own school.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A junior whose counselor is willing to nominate them, which means starting the conversation in the fall.
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (in person, commuter)
Cost/Stipend: Free (unpaid)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: More than 3,000 applicants each year for a small number of lab places
Dates: Five to six weeks in summer
Application deadline: Usually mid-February to mid-March
Eligibility: At least 16 by June 15; must attend a local New Jersey high school; US citizens only (green card holders are not eligible)
Students join a Princeton faculty research group in the sciences or engineering and spend the summer working on that group's research. The program is free but unpaid, and only students who can commute to Princeton are eligible.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A New Jersey student who is a US citizen and can commute to Princeton every day.
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD (commuter only, no housing)
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published; selection includes a virtual interview with the student and a parent
Dates: About four weeks in July; the 2026 program ran July 7 to 31
Application deadline: Usually late March, with recommendations due in early April
Eligibility: Rising seniors with a 3.2 GPA or higher, no Cs in math or science, and a B+ or better in trigonometry, chemistry and pre-calculus; applicants should be interested in studying engineering at UMD
ESTEEM / SER-Quest gives rising seniors a month of hands-on engineering research with faculty at UMD's Clark School of Engineering. The academic bar is specific, and the program openly looks for students who want to study engineering at Maryland.
Who it's best for: A rising senior near College Park who already has UMD engineering on their college list.
Location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA (commuter, Monday to Thursday)
Cost/Stipend: Free; a stipend has been offered in past years but isn't guaranteed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 30 students from more than 400 applicants in recent cycles
Dates: June 22 to July 31, 2027
Application deadline: Applications open December 14, 2026 and close March 1, 2027; recommendations due March 8
Eligibility: Rising seniors who are permanent Massachusetts residents within commuting distance; US citizens or permanent residents
YSP is a free, six-week research program where students work in Northeastern faculty labs, including engineering labs, four days a week. With roughly 30 places for 400-plus applicants, it is one of the more competitive local options in New England.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A Massachusetts rising senior who can commute into Boston and wants lab research rather than a course.
Location: Tufts University, Medford, MA (commuter, no housing)
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 900 applicants for 13 places in 2024
Dates: About six weeks in summer, usually early July to mid-August
Application deadline: Usually in late winter
Eligibility: At least 16 by July 1; must live in Medford, Somerville, Arlington, Cambridge, Malden, Everett, Melrose, Revere, Winchester, Boston or Quincy
TUBERS places students in Tufts biomedical engineering labs for a summer of mentored research. Since 2025, only students living in 11 nearby cities can apply, which keeps the pool local even though acceptance is still tight.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A student living in one of the 11 eligible Greater Boston cities who is drawn to biomedical engineering.
Location: University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX (commuter, no housing)
Cost/Stipend: $5,000, with limited need-based aid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published; more than 600 alumni since 2002
Dates: Eight weeks in summer at 25 or more hours a week; the 2026 program ran June 8 to July 30
Application deadline: Usually the end of February (the 2026 questionnaire was due February 28)
Eligibility: At least 16 years old
NanoExplorers places students in UT Dallas nanotechnology labs for an eight-week research apprenticeship. It is one of the few paid-tuition research programs here, but it gives Dallas-area students a long stretch of real lab time.
Who it's best for: A Dallas-area student who is curious about nanotechnology and materials and can cover the fee or qualifies for aid.
Location: UC Santa Barbara, CA (residential or commuter), with a short virtual start
Cost/Stipend: Roughly $5,200 for commuters and $14,500 for residential students, based on the most recent figures found
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published; widely reported as highly selective
Dates: June 14 to July 30, 2027 (virtual June 14 to 16)
Application deadline: Applications open December 15, 2026 and close March 8, 2027; decisions are rolling
Eligibility: High school students, usually in 10th or 11th grade
RMP pairs each student with a UCSB graduate student, postdoc or faculty mentor on an interdisciplinary research project, chosen from a long list that includes engineering topics. Students also attend the GRIT talk series and earn UC credit. Because admissions are rolling, applying early helps.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A sophomore or junior who wants UC credit and a research project and can afford a residential summer in California.
Location: University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX; lab internship in person, workshops in person or virtual
Cost/Stipend: Lab internship $1,500; workshops $1,000 in person or $900 virtual; eight-week AI workshop $2,000; 50% discount for low-income families
Acceptance rate/cohort size: The lab internship is described as highly selective
Dates: About eight weeks in summer; the 2026 program ran June 8 to July 31
Application deadline: Usually around March 1 (priority deadline); applications reopen in early 2027
Eligibility: High school students; at least 15 for the in-person lab internship; no housing provided
The UT Dallas program offers a selective in-person research internship in computer science labs, plus workshop tracks for students who want structured instruction instead. It sits at the computer engineering and computer science end of this list, and the 50% low-income discount keeps costs down.
Who it's best for: A Dallas-area student leaning toward computer engineering or computer science who wants research or a structured workshop.
Location: Remote, from anywhere in the world
Cost/Stipend: Varies by program type; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; more than 4,000 students applied for 500 places last year
Dates: Cohorts in summer, fall, winter and spring, with options from 12 weeks to one year
Application deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Currently enrolled high school students with a high level of academic achievement
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs you one on one with a PhD mentor on an independent research project in subjects including engineering, computer science, data science and physics. You finish with an independent research paper of your own.
Who it's best for: A student who wants an individual, mentored engineering research paper and doesn't have a lab within commuting distance.
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies by program type; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; applicants need prior AI Scholars completion or experience with AI concepts or Python
Dates: 15-week cohorts in spring, summer, fall and winter
Application deadline: Spring (January), summer (May), fall (September) and winter (November)
Eligibility: High school students who have completed AI Scholars or can show experience with AI concepts or Python
The AI Fellowship lets you pursue an independent AI research project over 15 weeks with a mentor, and you can combine AI with another field, including engineering. Students who don't yet have the background can start with the AI Scholars program first.
Who it's best for: A student with some Python or AI experience who wants an engineering-adjacent AI research project they can do from home.
Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, with remote and computational projects available
Cost/Stipend: $1,299 tuition for three GMU credits plus a $25 application fee; both can be waived based on need
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published
Dates: Eight weeks in summer; the 2026 program ran June 18 to August 12
Application deadline: Usually mid-February
Eligibility: High school students (and undergraduates); at least 15 for remote or computational projects and 16 for wet labs
ASSIP places students with GMU mentors on research across many fields, with engineering options including civil engineering, bioengineering, robotics and software engineering. Because remote and computational projects are offered, you don't have to live near Fairfax for every placement, and you earn college credit.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A student who wants a mentored research project with college credit and can't commit to a full-time, in-person lab.
Engineering Internships at National and Defense Labs
Government and defense labs run some of the best engineering internships open to high schoolers. Most require US citizenship, and you'll need to live within commuting distance of the lab.
Location: More than 25 Navy laboratories across the US (in person)
Cost/Stipend: Paid; $4,000 for new interns and $4,500 for returning interns
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Placements depend on each lab's capacity; cohort size not published
Dates: Eight weeks in summer
Application deadline: Summer 2027 applications are open now through November 30, 2026
Eligibility: High school students who are US citizens
SEAP places students with Navy scientists and engineers at Department of the Navy labs for an eight-week summer research apprenticeship. The deadline comes much earlier than most summer programs, so this is the one to apply for this fall.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A US citizen who lives near a Navy lab and can get an application in before November 30.
Location: NIST campuses in Gaithersburg, MD, or Boulder, CO
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid (no cost to participate)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published; places depend on available mentors
Dates: Seven weeks in summer
Application deadline: The 2027 vacancy opens on USAJobs in mid-October 2026 and closes at the end of January 2027
Eligibility: US citizens in their junior or senior year with a 3.0 GPA or higher, living within 50 miles of Gaithersburg or Boulder
SHIP puts students alongside scientists and engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology on real measurement and engineering research. The program is unpaid but free, and applications go through USAJobs like a federal job posting.
Who it's best for: A student living near Gaithersburg or Boulder who values federal lab experience over a paycheck.
17. JHU APL ASPIRE
Location: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD (in person, with up to one remote day a week)
Cost/Stipend: Free (unpaid)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Roughly 15% to 20%, based on the most recent figure the program has shared
Dates: Summer, starting in late June, at 30 to 40 hours a week for at least 190 hours
Application deadline: Usually opens January 1 and closes mid-February, with recommendations due March 1
Eligibility: Rising juniors or seniors, at least 15 by June 1, US citizens only (green card holders are not eligible), 2.8 GPA or higher, living in specific Maryland counties, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax or Washington, DC, with their own transportation
ASPIRE pairs students with APL staff mentors on technical projects at one of the country's major defense research labs. There is no virtual option and APL isn't reachable by public transit, so a reliable ride matters as much as your application.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A student in the Baltimore and DC area with dependable transportation who wants a defense lab on their resume.
Location: Air Force Research Laboratory sites across the US (in person; relocation required)
Cost/Stipend: Paid; about $507 a week for high school students, with higher rates at Edwards AFB and Whiteman AFB
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published; placements depend on mentor demand at each site
Dates: Full-time summer internship at 40 hours a week
Application deadline: Summer 2027 applications open October 12, 2026 and close January 11, 2027
Eligibility: US citizens only (permanent residents are not eligible), at least 16 by the deadline (18 for California sites), enrolled at least half time, able to pass a background check and relocate to the site
AFRL Scholars places upper-level high schoolers alongside Air Force scientists and engineers on research projects at lab sites around the country. High school interns earn a weekly stipend based on the federal pay scale, which makes this one of the better-paid options here.
Who it's best for: A US citizen who is at least 16, willing to relocate for the summer, and wants a paid defense research role.
Location: US Army research labs and partner university labs across the country (in person, commuter)
Cost/Stipend: Free; every intern receives an educational stipend, with the amount set by location and length
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Described by the program as highly competitive; places vary by lab
Dates: Usually full time in summer, with some part-time school-year positions
Application deadline: Varies by position, usually in late winter
Eligibility: US citizens or permanent residents currently in high school; extra requirements set by each lab; housing, meals and transport are not provided
AEOP connects students with Army-funded research at university labs and Army research centers, under a professional scientist or engineer. You browse open positions and submit one shared application, so the real work is finding a lab within commuting distance.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A student who lives near an Army-funded lab and wants a paid research internship close to home.
Location: Online learning from May, then two weeks on site at the UT Center for Space Research, Austin, TX, or a virtual project team
Cost/Stipend: Funded by NASA; no tuition is listed for interns
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Nationally competitive; cohort size not published
Dates: Online work from mid-May, with the 2026 on-site session running July 5 to 18 and a virtual symposium July 20 to 21
Application deadline: Usually late February (the 2026 deadline was February 22)
Eligibility: Current sophomores or juniors who are at least 16 by early July and US citizens
SEES is a NASA-funded internship where students work on Earth and space science projects with scientists and engineers at UT Austin's Center for Space Research. It leans toward satellite data and aerospace rather than classic engineering design, and both on-site and virtual project tracks are available.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A US citizen sophomore or junior drawn to aerospace and Earth observation who can commit from May through July.
Free, Selective Engineering Academies
These programs aren't research placements, but they are free or close to it and selective, and they give you a rigorous engineering experience at a top institution.
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA (in person, no housing provided) or virtual, depending on the course
Cost/Stipend: Free for families with income and assets under $200,000; $3,000 otherwise
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive; grades in the online prerequisite course weigh heavily
Dates: July 5 to August 1, 2027
Application deadline: Usually late March to early April, after the online prerequisite course (teacher recommendations are due April 3)
Eligibility: Students living in and attending high school in the US, in 11th grade or below when applying; most accepted students are rising seniors
BWSI runs four-week, team-based engineering courses designed with MIT Lincoln Laboratory, from autonomous RACECARs and drones to underwater vehicles and radar. You earn your place by working through a free online prerequisite course over the winter.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A junior who is willing to put months into the online prerequisite and can arrange housing near MIT if they want an in-person course.
22. MITES Summer
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA (residential, required)
Cost/Stipend: Free, including room and board; students pay only for travel to and from MIT
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published; highly selective, with a waitlist
Dates: Six weeks, late June to late July (2026 ran June 20 to July 31)
Application deadline: Usually February 1, with recommendations due February 15; the application usually opens in November
Eligibility: High school juniors who are US citizens or permanent residents
MITES Summer is MIT's six-week residential program, run through its School of Engineering outreach office, where students take five rigorous courses in math, physics, life sciences, humanities and a project elective such as engineering design or electronics. It strongly encourages applicants from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM and from high schools with low admittance rates to top colleges.
Who it's best for: A junior from an underserved school or community who wants a demanding, college-style summer at MIT at no cost.
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort size not published; selection includes an interview
Dates: Six weeks in summer
Application deadline: Usually a priority deadline in late December and a regular deadline in early January
Eligibility: 10th or 11th graders at New York City public or charter high schools who show educational or economic need, either through their school's Economic Need Index or a family's eligibility for government aid
Hk Maker Lab is a free, six-week biomedical engineering design program at Columbia where student teams design devices for real medical needs. Students who finish can go on to a paid internship in a research lab or health care institution the following summer.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A New York City public school sophomore or junior with financial need who wants a design summer that leads to a paid lab internship.
Location: Online, with a virtual summer challenge and a residential week at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, for top teams
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; top Moonshot teams are invited to the residential week
Dates: Online course September 28, 2026 to March 6, 2027; virtual Moonshot May 31 to June 4 or June 7 to 11, 2027; residential week July 25 to 30, 2027
Application deadline: Usually July to mid-September before junior year (the 2026 window closed September 16)
Eligibility: US citizens who live in Texas and are juniors at a Texas high school
Texas Aerospace Scholars is a free, year-long NASA program that takes juniors through an online course with four engineering design challenges before a team-based Moonshot mission challenge. The strongest teams finish at Johnson Space Center, and students can earn up to one science elective credit.
If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!
Who it's best for: A Texas junior who wants a year-long, NASA-mentored aerospace challenge and can apply in the summer before junior year.
Frequently asked questions: engineering programs for high school students
What should I study in high school to become an engineer?
Take the most demanding math and science courses your school offers, since this is what program selectors and admissions readers look at first. Calculus, physics, and chemistry carry the most weight, and several programs set explicit bars: UMD ESTEEM asks for a 3.2 GPA, no Cs in math or science, and a B+ or better in trigonometry, chemistry, and pre-calculus. Programming is worth adding early if you are drawn to computer, software, or aerospace engineering.
Are there online engineering programs for high school students?
Yes, and several on this list run fully remotely. The Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs you with a PhD mentor on an independent engineering or computer science project from anywhere in the world, and Veritas AI runs a 15-week virtual AI fellowship you can point at an engineering problem. George Mason’s ASSIP offers remote and computational placements for students aged 15 and up, so you do not have to live near Fairfax.
Can a high school student work in a university engineering lab?
Yes, and several programs here place you directly in one. NYU ARISE, the Simons Summer Research Program at Stony Brook, the Princeton Laboratory Learning Program, Tufts TUBERS, and Northeastern’s Young Scholars Program all put students inside faculty research groups for the summer. The catch is location: nearly all of them require you to live within commuting distance, and some restrict eligibility to specific cities or counties.
Are paid pre-college engineering programs worth it?
It depends on what you want from the summer. Paid programs on this list range from $1,299 for ASSIP to about $14,500 for a residential place at UCSB’s Research Mentorship Program, and they tend to be more flexible on eligibility than the free ones, which is the main thing you are buying. A free, committee-selected program usually signals more on an application, since the selection itself is the credential.
What skills do high school engineering programs teach?
That depends on the format you choose. Research placements teach you to read academic literature, design a method, and write up a result, which is the closest preview of what engineering study looks like at university. Design programs teach you to build, test and improve something under constraints, as at Columbia’s HK Maker Lab where teams design devices for specific medical needs.
Which branch of engineering should you explore first?
Start with whatever sits closest to a question you already find interesting, rather than picking the branch you think looks most employable. This list spans nanotechnology at UT Dallas NanoExplorers, biomedical engineering at Tufts TUBERS and HK Maker Lab, aerospace through SEES and Texas Aerospace Scholars, and civil, robotics, and software engineering through ASSIP. A single summer is not a commitment, and several students use one program to confirm which field is right for them.
Stephen Turban is the co-founder of Lumiere Education and a graduate of Harvard College, where he earned an A.B. in Statistics before beginning a PhD at Harvard Business School. A former McKinsey & Company consultant and former researcher, his research has been covered by the Harvard Business Review, The Economist, BBC News, Freakonomics Radio, and the Washington Post. In his articles for Forbes, he writes on what students and professionals can learn from high school research, high school passion projects, critical thinking, and mentorship. At Lumiere, he leads a selective research program where students work one-on-one with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper. Connect with him on LinkedIn.