14 Fall Engineering Programs for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Oct 18
- 9 min read
If you are a middle school student curious about engineering, a program in the field can be a great way to explore your interests. Engineering programs place you in professional or academic environments where you get to practice real problem-solving. You may design simple machines, build robotics projects, test prototypes, or work on sustainability challenges alongside mentors and peers. In the process, you will develop a clearer understanding of how engineers apply math and science to tackle real-world issues.
Fall can be a good time to enroll in such programs, as this is when universities and organizations conduct small cohort sessions and flexible commitment requirements, making these opportunities valuable as well as manageable alongside school work. As a participant, you will also get to strengthen your skills, expand your network, and prepare for advanced opportunities in high school and beyond.
To help you get started, here are 14 fall engineering programs for middle school students.
14 Fall Engineering Programs for Middle School Students
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Dates: Eight-week cohorts around the year, including in the fall
Application deadline: Several rolling deadlines throughout the year; the Fall Cohort deadline is August 24
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a virtual eight-week opportunity designed for curious middle school students who want to explore their academic interests on a deeper level. Here, you will be paired with a Ph.D. mentor and work one-on-one on a project in areas like mechanical, electrical, or environmental engineering. In the process, you will develop research and critical thinking skills while creating a final project, such as a research paper or prototype, that reflects your curiosity and passion. As it’s fully remote, you can join from anywhere and get a head start on exploring engineering in a meaningful way.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment
Location: Various locations nationwide
Cost: Free
Dates: October - May; weekly commitment throughout the fall and spring semesters
Application deadline: Not specified; students can usually join at the beginning of the school year.
Eligibility: Students in grades 3 – 12
The Girls Who Code Clubs Program gives middle schoolers opportunities to dive into computer science within supportive environments. You can join a club, choose your own learning path from self-guided tutorials in coding languages, and work on projects in web development, game design, cybersecurity, or even artificial intelligence. Each club is project-based, so you will not only learn to code but also create something meaningful to share. As a participant, you will work alongside peers and role models and learn from a flexible curriculum that fits your schedule and interests. These clubs can help you gain engineering skills while you practice coding, creative design, and problem-solving.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Dates: Multiple 10-week sessions available each year, including in the fall
Application deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8; no prior computer science experience required
The AI Trailblazers Program by Veritas AI is a virtual opportunity to explore the fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning—two key areas within modern engineering. Over the course of 25 hours, you will learn Python programming skills and dive into core AI concepts like data analysis, regression, image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. Within small group classes following a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio, you will get personalized guidance while working on a project-based curriculum. By the end, you will have a real AI-based solution to showcase, such as a model that classifies music genres or a tool that curates educational resources.
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open enrollment
Location: Various locations nationwide
Cost: Free
Dates: Clubs typically run throughout the school year
Application Deadline: None; students can join at any time
Eligibility: Students aged 13 or older
SWENext, a program offered by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), allows students to join or form a club and dive into engineering in a hands-on, community-driven way. As a participant, you will connect with other SWE members to receive mentorship, explore STEM through activities, and engage in competitions like Future City or FIRST Robotics. Clubs are flexible, so you can start your own club of any size with friends, through your school, or as part of another group. While engaging in the club, you will work on projects that use engineering to make a difference in your community while discovering possible career paths. With access to SWE’s extensive resources and network, your club can help you explore engineering and pursue it as a career.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ
Cost: $399
Dates: October 18 - November 19
Application deadline: October 6
Eligibility: Students in grades 5 – 8
NJIT offers middle and high school students year-round learning opportunities in STEM. Its Saturday STEM sessions cover various STEM topics, like robotics, computer science, and engineering. Depending on the session you choose, you will learn how to build and program your own robot, explore engineering fields like mechanical, biomedical, electrical, and materials engineering, or practice coding. Each session combines instruction with activities like challenges and projects to help you practice what you learn. The sessions also offer opportunities to build teamwork, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills while you participate in collaborative assignments.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited to 75 students
Location: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Cost: $15.00/student; financial assistance is available
Dates: October 31 (one-day event)
Application deadline: August 27
Eligibility: Middle school students
Engineering Bits & Bytes, hosted by NC State's The Engineering Place, is a one-day event where you can explore engineering on a real university campus. You will take part in hands-on, project-based activities that guide you through the full Engineering Design Process from brainstorming to prototyping and testing. The event also includes a tour of facilities like the Hunt Library and labs, giving you a glimpse into how engineers work in real academic settings. You will also present your prototype during the program. With its focus on active participation, challenge-based learning, and real-world problem-solving, this program can help you develop the skills required to pursue engineering.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; small class sizes
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Cost: $55/class; scholarships available
Dates: Saturdays throughout the fall semester, including September 27, October 25, and November 15
Application deadline: First-come, first-served enrollment; registration typically opens in late summer
Eligibility: Students in K-12; grade-specific workshops available with dedicated sessions for middle schoolers
Carnegie Mellon's Gelfand Center offers STEM Saturday workshops where you can dive into science, technology, and engineering while exploring the university campus. The middle school sessions offer hands-on activities focusing on robotics, coding, and the engineering design process. The classes also cover advanced topics like the engineering of fabrics, robot sensors, and optoelectronic applications. The exact activities vary by session, but typically focus on programming languages, testing models and prototypes, and working on hypotheses and experiments. You will learn directly from CMU faculty and students, gaining an insight into what it’s like to study engineering at a university.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment
Location: Varies by team and region
Cost: Varies; includes $275 team registration fee, $556.90 robot kit fee, and $95 challenge set fee; aid available
Dates: November - June
Application deadline: Varies by region, but team registration is typically completed by early October.
Eligibility: Students, ages 9 – 16
The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Challenge is the division of FLL created specifically for middle schoolers who want to dive into robotics and engineering. You will join a team to design, build, and program a robot using LEGO MINDSTORMS technology to complete missions inspired by real-world challenges. While not a traditional program, this is an opportunity to practice coding, engineering design, and creative problem-solving while learning how to share ideas and improve through collaboration. Beyond technical skill building, the experience can help you develop teamwork skills and a deeper understanding of how engineers turn ideas into action.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Cost: $10; financial assistance available
Dates: November 15 (one-day workshop)
Application deadline: None; registrations accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Eligibility: Students in grades 7 – 12
University of Maryland’s Women in Engineering Program offers various free and low-cost opportunities to students interested in exploring engineering as a career. The WIE are Makers: Robot Cars allows you to learn about robotics engineering through hands-on projects. Led by Maryland’s Engineering and IEEE@UMD students, the workshop offers an introduction to microcontrollers and Arduino. As a participant, you will take on a challenge, for which you will program a Keyestudio robotic car and share your work with peers.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; accepts public registration via local affiliates
Location: Varies by team affiliate and region
Cost: ~$190 ($165/per team and $25/per team manager) + applicable regional fees for a new team
Dates: August - May
Application deadline: Varies by affiliate; typically late December
Eligibility: Students from kindergarten through university
The Destination Imagination (DI) Challenge Experience gives students of all ages the chance to take on open-ended challenges that combine STEM, the arts, and creativity. Each season, you will choose from areas like Technical or Engineering to design a load-bearing structure, invent a new device, or build a vehicle, solving a real problem. Work begins in the fall as you begin to brainstorm, design, and test solutions with your team, leading up to regional tournaments where you present your project. In the process, you will practice problem-solving, collaboration, and design thinking. While not a traditional program, DI can help you explore engineering through hands-on activities.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment; programs are booked directly by schools, no competitive admission
Location: Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA + schools and community sites across the Bay Area
Cost: $1,650 for up to three sessions at one location on one day + possible travel and custom agreement fees
Dates: Available year-round; scheduling depends on school or organization booking
Application deadline: At least six weeks before program start
Eligibility: K-12 students; specific workshops available for middle school students
Lawrence On-The-Go is an outreach program by the Lawrence Hall of Science that brings STEM directly to your school, community center, or local event. You will engage in hands-on, inquiry-based activities led by expert educators, working with materials and experiments that reflect real scientific practices. From building structures, exploring circuits, or designing small machines, you will get to test ideas, come up with designs, and explore how engineering works in tangible ways. Since the program is mobile and community-based, you will experience STEM in settings that are familiar and local.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Location: MIT Museum, Cambridge, MA
Cost: $14/student
Dates: 90-minute sessions available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays throughout the fall
Application deadline: Registration should be done three weeks in advance.
Eligibility: Students in grades 5 - 12 and undergraduate students; a group of 10 or more students with an adult chaperone required for registration
The MIT Museum in Cambridge offers a variety of hands-on workshops for middle school students held on weekdays during the fall. Unlike typical individual participation programs, these workshops require you to register as a group along with 10 or more peers and an adult chaperone. During the workshop, you will explore MIT's culture of "mens et manus" (mind and hand) while working on creative engineering and design challenges, from building simple machines to exploring circuits and robotics. Under direct guidance from MIT museum educators, you will build tangible prototypes using engineering, art, and computer science principles.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment for teams.
Location: Remote competitions for early rounds; National Finals in Bethesda, MD
Cost: $175/team; waivers available for all-girl teams or Title I schools
Dates: Training and competition rounds run between October and March
Application deadline: October 1
Eligibility: Middle school students; teams of two to six students should apply
CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition created by the Air & Space Forces Association to spark students’ interest in cybersecurity and STEM. Within a team of peers and mentors, you will take on the challenge of managing and securing a virtual network, a core concept in network engineering. The competition season begins in the fall with training and qualification rounds, giving you time to sharpen your skills in systems administration, security, and ethics. If your team advances, you will compete at the national finals, where the best young cyber defenders from across the country will present their work.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Varies
Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by course length and subject area. Financial aid is available.
Dates: Starts in the week of September 8; dates and program length vary by course
Application deadline: August 12
Eligibility: Students in grades 6 – 8 who meet CTY eligibility requirements through qualifying test scores (e.g., SCAT, PSAT).
The Johns Hopkins CTY Online program offers a wide array of courses for academically advanced students, including several options focused on engineering. You can enroll in courses like Introduction to Engineering or Scratch Programming to start building foundational engineering skills. Each course is paced to fit your schedule and taught by expert instructors who will guide you through advanced coursework. Project work, homework, challenges, and class assignments are also part of the experience to help you track your progress and build technical engineering skills.
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 research mentor to develop a research paper.
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