15 Coding Bootcamps for Middle School Students

If you are a middle schooler who wants to explore computer science and programming, a coding bootcamp can be a great way to get started. 

A coding bootcamp is typically a brief, hands-on experience where you will participate in a series of activities to build coding skills. Here, you will get to learn basic and advanced concepts, programming languages, and front- and back-end development from professional coders or programmers, data scientists, tech experts, or university professors. 

These programs can also help you design your own digital tools, like apps, websites, and software, which you can add to your portfolio. In middle school, gaining some practical coding experience through bootcamps can help you participate in advanced high school coding programs in the future!

To help you find the right option, here’s a list of 15 coding bootcamps for middle school students.

1. Lumiere Junior Explorer Program

Acceptance rate: Selective

Program dates: Varies for different cohorts; the upcoming fall cohort starts in September

Application deadline: Varies for different cohorts; upcoming deadline is August 24

Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8

Location: Virtual

The Junior Explorer Program offered by Lumiere is an eight-week virtual opportunity for middle school students to explore academic interests. In the first half of the program, you will explore foundational concepts in multiple fields, and in weeks five and six, you will choose one subject for specialised study. In the last two weeks, under the guidance of a Ph.D. mentor from a top university, you will develop a project, which can be in a research report or presentation. You can choose AI & Data Science or Computer Science exploration tracks to learn about these fields through research and mentorship, and then apply what you learned to practical situations through your individual project. For instance, you could work on a program that forecasts weather patterns for your project.

2. Veritas AI’s AI Trailblazers Program

Acceptance rate: Selective

Program dates: Multiple cohorts; Summer session 1: June 9 – 20; Summer session 2: July 14 – 25

Application deadline: Varies according to the cohort; summer deadlines are usually in May and June

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8

Location: Virtual

The AI Trailblazers program is a virtual 25-hour program for middle school students interested in artificial intelligence. Through a combination of lectures and activities, you will explore the basics of AI/machine learning, as well as coding, AI ethics, and deep learning. You will work with mentors from credible universities throughout the program. You will learn how to work with data sets and explore AI applications. The program also gives you the chance to develop a customized AI project that addresses real problems. Past participants have worked on machine learning projects to detect malaria.

3. Berkeley Coding Academy Data Science: The AI Journey

Cohort size: Small cohorts of 8 students grouped by age and coding experience

Program dates: July 14 – August 1

Application deadline: Not specified

Eligibility: Students who are 12 – 14 years old or 15 – 18 years old

Cost: $2,699; limited number of scholarships available

Location: Virtual

Berkeley Coding Academy’s Data Science: The AI Journey program is a three-week online program for students looking to build coding skills and learn about AI and data science. You will engage in lectures, activities, and projects to get some experience in data analysis, data visualizations, neural networks, deep learning, and machine learning. A key focus of the program is teaching how to build and assess machine learning models and understanding concepts like linear regression, logistic regression, decision trees, random forests, and sequential neural networks. You will also work on a peer-reviewed artificial intelligence project that aims to solve a real-world problem with the help of your own datasets. At the end of the program, you will present the project through slideshows and coding notebooks.

4. Oregon State University STEM Academy: Middle School Summer Coding Camps

Acceptance rate: Not specified

Program dates: July 14 – 18

Application deadline: Not specified

Eligibility: Middle school students

Cost: $170; need-based scholarships available

Location: Oregon State University Campus, Corvallis, OR

Oregon State University’s STEM Academy offers several summer camps for middle school students, including coding bootcamps like Making with Microcontrollers and Making Arcade Games. Here, you will attend three-hour sessions daily for five days to learn programming and practically apply its concepts to build projects. At the Making With Microcontrollers camp, you will learn how to use the MakeCode programming platform and create a physical device that can interact with your environment. Here you will learn how to program micro:bit (a programmable device), which you will use as a controller. The Making Arcade Games camp offers you the chance to use MakeCode to develop top-down and multi-level platformer arcade-style games.

5. UC San Diego Summer Camps and Workshops

Acceptance rate/Cohort size: Not specified

Program dates: Multiple camps available from June 23 to July 11. You can find more details here.

Application deadline: Not specified

Eligibility: Students in grades 5 – 8

Cost: $250 or $340, depending on the program.

Location: San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA

UC San Diego’s summer camps and workshops are meant for middle school and high school students interested in exploring STEM areas, including tech and computer science. Here, you can consider tech programs like Blast Off, Space Crew!, and Beginning Automation & Robotics with VEX EXP. At camp, you will get to explore programmable bricks, motors, and sensors, and create and automate mechanical systems through programmed inputs. You will also work on projects involving research and prototype creation to address community needs. The experience can also help you build skills in robotics, problem-solving, automation, and teamwork. 

6. CEISMC Summer P.E.A.K.S. @ Georgia Institute of Technology

Acceptance rate/cohort size: High acceptance

Program dates: Multiple programs in and between June and July

Application deadline: Varies by program

Eligibility: Students in grades 6 to 8

Cost: $400 – $650, depending on the program; scholarships available

Location: Georgia Tech Atlanta Campus, Atlanta, GA

The CEISMC Summer P.E.A.K.S. (Programs for Enrichment and Accelerated Knowledge in STEAM) program, hosted by Georgia Institute of Technology, offers a range of multi-length summer sessions in STEAM areas, including programming. Through six-hour daily sessions consisting of educational and experiential activities, you will get to build programming skills and learn how to use various platforms. For instance, depending on the camp you choose, you will write code to address real-world challenges (such as rescuing a pet or cleaning a park) or learn how to compose and code songs using EarSketch, a platform that combines coding in Python and JavaScript and music mixing. The experience can help you design and develop a digital product that you can add to your portfolio!

7. Kode With Klossy Summer Camp

Acceptance rate: Not specified

Cost: Free

Program dates: June 2 – 13 | July 7 – 18 | July 21 – August 1 | August 4 – 15

Application deadline: Not specified

Eligibility: Women and gender expansive teens who are 13 to 18 years old

Location: Virtual or in-person at Chicago, Dallas, London, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, and St. Louis

Kode With Klossy is a nonprofit that organizes various programs to help middle and high school students develop coding skills. The organization’s Summer Camp is an entirely free two-week program that offers insights into and hands-on exposure to coding, machine learning, and programming languages. As a participant, you will learn how to code in one of the four tracks—machine learning, web development, data science, or mobile applications. If you are assigned the machine learning track, you will explore AI/ML basics like natural language processing, algorithms, and data sets. In the web development track, you will work with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS to create an online site. In the data science track, you will explore data visualisation. The mobile app track focuses on coding in Swift (Apple’s programming language) using the SwiftUI framework and developing an iOS mobile app!

8. UC Berkeley Summer Teen Research Programs: Coding and Engineering Nano-Satellites

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 20–25 students per session

Program dates: Multiple week-long sessions in June and July

Application deadline: June 15 or June 29, based on the session you choose

Eligibility: Students in grades 7 to 9

Cost: $1,465; financial aid available

Location: University of California, Berkeley, CA

The Summer Teen Research Programs at UC Berkeley’s The Lawrence Hall of Science are opportunities to explore STEM topics and disciplines in the context of research. You can opt for the Coding and Engineering Nano-Satellites for Space Exploration track, which covers the real-world applications of computer programming. Here, you will learn block-based coding and use it to develop a model satellite for deep space exploration. Additionally, you will participate in coding challenges and learn how to code in Scratch during the program. You will also get a chance to present your project at the end of the session.

9. Penn GEMS: Engineering, Math & Science Camp

Acceptance rate: Highly selective

Program dates: June 23 – 27

Application deadline: March 3

Eligibility: Students in grades 7 to 9 who attend schools and live within a 60-mile radius of the program location

Cost: $650; financial aid available

Location: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 

Penn GEMS is a STEM-based program for middle school students who want to explore fields like environmental engineering, nanotechnology, materials science, robotics, chemical engineering, graphics, and computing. The program activities cover real-world applications of robotics, computer science, and animation. The track Imagination to Animation covers basic computer programming skills related to animation and gaming to help you get some coding experience. You will also get to interact with engineers and professors to learn about pursuing STEM majors and careers.

10. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes: Programming Courses

Cohort size: 16 students/class; total number of students in the cohort not disclosed

Program dates: Session I: June 16 – 27 | Session II: July 7 – 18

Application deadline: March 20

Eligibility: Students in grades 8 to 11 who have completed an algebra course

Cost: $3,080 + $65 registration fee and other variable course-specific costs; financial Aid available

Location: Virtual

As part of its pre-college program, Stanford offers various online courses, including the Introduction to C++ and Introduction to Java Programming. The Introduction to C++ course covers topics like basic syntax, data types, control statements, recursion, functions, and other fundamental concepts in C++ programming. Each session consists of live video lectures. You will also learn how to construct an algorithm to solve a problem during the course. The Introduction to Java Programming course covers object-oriented programming using JavaScript and concepts like syntax, datasets, searching and sorting algorithms, and graphical user interfaces. Both courses involve assignments and activities that offer you hands-on exposure to programming, computing, and coding.

11. NYU’s Sounds of New York City (SONYC)

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specifiedCost: None

Application deadline: May 15

Dates: July 7 – August 1

Eligibility: Rising 7th and 8th graders who are residents of NYC

Location: Andries Hudde Junior High IS 240 and STAR Early College School, Brooklyn, NY

SONYC is an in-person program that focuses on the study of noise pollution through the development of smart, electronic solutions. During the program, you will learn about the public health consequences of sound and get to design and build devices that produce and track sound. You will come up with smart city technologies that address real-world problems while exploring the fields of engineering, physical sciences, and computer sciences. You will build programming and coding skills, learn about concepts like waves and sound, and work with hardware like microcontrollers, sensors, circuitry, and electronics. You will get to present your project at the end of the program. 

12. USC Viterbi Northrop Grumman Summer Engineering Camp

Cohort size: 32 students

Program dates: July 14 – 25

Application deadline: May 5

Eligibility: Rising 6–8th graders with at least a B grade average in science and math; priority consideration given to active Engineering Transformers, Mission Science, and MESA students, as well as students from USC K–12 STEM Center partner schools

Cost: None

Location: University of Southern California (USC) main campus, Los Angeles, CA

The Summer Engineering Camp at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, conducted in partnership with Northrop Grumman, offers middle schoolers opportunities to explore engineering fields and learn how to code. At camp, you will work alongside USC faculty and Northrop Grumman engineers on projects in aircraft design, structural modeling, circuitry, environmental systems, mechanical fabrication, and basic app development. Through these projects, you will get insights into electrical, mechanical, civil, aerospace, and environmental engineering. You will participate in daily workshops that cover coding and engineering basics, as well as tours of USC research facilities. At the end of the session, you will join your peers in a team-based design showcase, which will be judged by industry professionals. 

13. HarvardX Computer Science Courses

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open to all

Program dates: Self-paced courses

Application deadline: Rolling basis

Eligibility: Anyone interested in coding; certain courses may require prior coding experience or familiarity with a programming language

Cost: Free to enroll, $299 to earn a certificate

Location: Virtual via edX

Harvard University offers various virtual courses, including options in computer science, coding, and AI. Its CS50x: Introduction to Computer Science course can help you develop algorithmic thinking to solve programming problems while gaining a basic understanding of programming languages like JavaScript and Python. Additionally, you will explore key concepts like data structures, web development, and software engineering. You will also work on nine programming assignments and a final programming project. Another option is the Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python course, which introduces concepts like algorithms, neural networks, machine learning, natural language processing, logical inference, and probability theory. Here, you will explore the applications of artificial intelligence in game-playing engines, handwriting recognition, and other fields.

14. University of Michigan’s Python Basics Course

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open to all

Program dates: Flexible; self-paced course

Application deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: Open to everyone

Cost: Free to enroll

Location: Virtual via Coursera

Python Basics is an online course offered by the University of Michigan and designed for beginners interested in programming in Python. This is the first course in the five-course series called Python 3 Programming Specialization. Divided into four modules, the course covers topics like strings and loops, conditional statements, sequences and iteration, and sequence mutation. During the course, you will also learn how to create drawings and engage in debugging. Conducted by lecturers, the program can help you develop a theoretical and practical understanding of programming and coding. 

15. StanfordOnline: Computer Science 101 

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open to all

Program dates: Self-paced; recommended commitment of four to six hours a week for six weeks

Application deadline: Rolling basis.

Eligibility: Open to all learners

Cost: Free to enroll; $249 to earn a certificate

Location: Virtual via edX

The Computer Science 101 course offered by Stanford is a self-paced introductory STEM course covering topics like coding, loops and logic, digital images, computer security, and computer hardware. You will also explore computer jargon, the basics of the internet, and parts of a computer, and experiment with coding during the course. By the end of the session, you will develop a clearer understanding of the patterns through which a computer operates.

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.

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