15 Free Online Summer Courses for Middle School Students
- Stephen Turban
- Sep 5
- 9 min read
Updated: Oct 19
If you’re in middle school and looking for a meaningful way to spend your summer, free online courses are a great option.
These free and online courses let you explore subjects you may not have studied yet, pick up useful subject-specific skills, and even get an early look at different career fields. Some courses include live sessions or guest speakers, giving you the chance to learn directly from people who work in those areas.
The best part is that these courses are free, so you don’t have to worry about the high costs that usually come with summer programs. You can experiment, try something new, and gain experience without any financial pressure. You might choose a course to get ready for high school, to test out an interest in a future career, or simply to explore a topic you’ve always wanted to learn.
To help you find the best options, we’ve narrowed down a list of 15 free online summer courses for middle school students!
15 Free Online Summer Courses for Middle School Students
Location: Virtual
Program dates: Varies by the cohort
Application deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year. Check here
Eligibility: Middle school students in grades 6-8
Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a remote research experience for middle school students who want to explore a topic they care about. Over eight weeks, you work one-on-one with a mentor from a top university such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke, or LSE. You choose a field like AI, engineering, environmental science, history, or economics and build a project with expert guidance.
You start by exploring different topics, then focus on one area and create a final project. You build skills in reading, writing, problem-solving, and critical thinking while preparing for high school and future academic work. Past students have written research papers, built presentations, and created Harvard Business School-style case studies. You can check out the JEP brochure and apply here.
Location: Virtual
Dates: 25 hours over 10 weeks (weekends) or 25 hours over 2 weeks (weekdays during the summer)
Application Deadline: Varies by the cohort
Eligibility: Grades 6 - 8
Veritas AI Trailblazers Program is a virtual experience for middle school students in grades 6 to 8 who want to explore artificial intelligence and machine learning through real-world applications in medicine. Over ten weeks, you attend online lectures and small group sessions with a 5:1 student-to-mentor ratio. You start by learning Python and the basics of AI and medicine. Then you study exploratory data analysis, regression, and convolutional neural networks. You finish with advanced topics like image classification, neural networks, and AI ethics. You work on a group project with three to five peers and present your findings at the end. Check out the brochure here and apply here.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Available at any time
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Middle school students (an educator is required to sign up and work with them)
Siemens Hour of Engineering is a free online program that helps middle school students explore engineering careers through short, flexible learning modules. You learn at your own pace using videos, real-world examples, and 3D simulations that introduce you to different engineering disciplines and design processes. You build STEM skills while discovering how engineers solve problems and create solutions. Educators can use the program with guided lesson plans, and students earn certificates and stickers for completing modules.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Any time, ongoing
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Anyone interested in learning the essentials of journalism!
NBCU Academy Fundamentals of Journalism is a free online course that teaches you the basics of journalism through short video lessons and interactive scenarios. You learn directly from NBC News anchors and newsroom leaders, including Lester Holt, Kristen Welker, and Al Roker. The course includes eight modules: newsroom operations, journalism ethics, reporting, news writing, pitching a story, interviewing, storytelling, and bringing diverse perspectives into the newsroom. You can take the course all at once or one module at a time, using any device, including smartphones and tablets. Once you complete at least 70 percent of each module and pass the final quizzes, you earn a digital credential you can share on your resume.
5. Lead4Change
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: NA, learn any time!
Application Deadline: NA
Eligibility: Grades 6 – 12 (supported by an adult advisor)
Lead4Change Student Leadership Program is a free online experience for students in grades 6 to 12 who want to build leadership skills while making a real impact in their community. You work in a small peer team to identify a local need, design a solution, and carry out a service project that builds skills in collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. You get access to step-by-step lesson plans and a flexible curriculum that teaches you how to lead with compassion and responsibility. Your team’s project can compete nationally for up to $10,000 in grant funding for your school or a nonprofit. Check more details here.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: July 7 - July 25, with weekly meetings August through March
Application Deadline: March 20
Eligibility: Grades 6 - 7 residing in and attending school in the U.S.; family income typically under $90,000
Stanford Middle School Scholars Program (SMSSP) is a free, online academic experience for low-income students in grades 6 and 7 who live and attend school in the United States. You join a three-week summer course and attend weekly sessions during the fall to build skills in writing, math, research, and public speaking. You learn in real-time with Stanford instructors and a small cohort of peers. You explore high school options, practice structured presentations, and attend outreach events with your family.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: July 1 to July 30
Application Deadline: June 23 (applications typically open on March 1)
Eligibility: Middle school and high school students, undergraduates
Scientific Enrichment Month (SEM) Program at Columbia University's Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center is a free virtual summer experience for middle school students interested in cancer research and public health. You attend live online sessions three times a week in July to learn about cancer biology, health inequities, and prevention strategies. You also join professional development workshops on resume writing, public speaking, and interview skills. You can participate in student-led public health working groups focused on topics like HPV vaccination, skin cancer prevention, and nutrition.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Learn any time!
Application Deadline: NA
Eligibility: Varies as per the course
Code.org AI Courses for Middle School Students are free, online, and designed to help you explore artificial intelligence even if you're new to coding. Created by engineers from Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, these courses use interactive videos and hands-on activities to teach you how AI works and how it's used to solve real-world problems. You learn basic concepts like machine learning, ethical AI, and how to design a simple AI app. You also build problem-solving and coding skills while thinking creatively about how technology can improve healthcare, education, and the environment. Explore all courses here.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Not specified. 6 weeks, 3 - 4 hours/week
Application Deadline: Self-paced course available anytime
Eligibility: Middle school students; open to all learners; elementary math is a prerequisite
MyCS: Computer Science for Beginners is a free online course from Harvey Mudd College designed for middle school students and their teachers. You learn how computers store and process data, how algorithms work, and how to think like a computer scientist. You apply these concepts by programming in Scratch, a visual coding platform that helps you build creative projects while learning the basics. The course is instructor-paced and includes interactive lessons that build your creative thinking and problem-solving skills. You earn a certificate when you complete the course.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Courses are self-paced and available year-round
Application Deadline: No application is required; just sign up.
Eligibility: All ages
Drawspace offers free and paid online courses for those keen to start learning to draw, as well as those with advanced-level skills. On enrollment, you will have unlimited access to the courses and can learn at your own pace. Children ages 11 - 13 can enroll for free in the Getting Started with Drawing course, which includes modules that will teach you to select the right graphite pencils and drawing supplies, how to make a storage portfolio, etc.
The Introduction to Traditional Drawing is a 5-week drawing course to learn the basics of outlining and shading, with learning components including experimenting with pencil points, shading with tapering lines, etc. The Introduction to Drawing People is a 3-week course that provides facial guidelines for drawing people (babies to senior citizens), including contour lines and aspects of light and shadow.
11. Kode With Klossy
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Typically 2-week camps in June–August
Application Deadline: Typically, March-end for the summer course
Eligibility: Open to girls and gender-expansive youth ages 13–18
Kode With Klossy Summer Coding Camps are free two-week programs for young women and gender-expansive students aged 13 to 18. You’ll choose one course and learn how to build a website, create an iOS app, explore machine learning, or analyze data. Camps are held online and in person across major U.S. cities. You’ll work with instructors, meet other students, and leave with real tech skills and a finished project.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free ($249 for graded assessments and certificate)
Dates: The course is self-paced and available anytime through Dec 31
Application Deadline: No formal application, just enroll via edX.
Eligibility: Open to all
StanfordOnline: Computer Science 101 is a free, beginner-friendly course designed for students who are comfortable using a web browser. Taught by Stanford’s senior lecturer Nick Parlante, the course runs for six weeks at your own pace (about 4–6 hours per week) and requires no extra software. You’ll explore how computers work, including hardware, software, and the internet. You’ll also experiment with simple code and learn how digital media like images and sounds are created and processed. Everything happens inside your browser, making it easy to follow along and try things out.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Open year-round
Application Deadline: No applications required
Eligibility: Open to all
HarvardX: CS50's Introduction to Cybersecurity is a free, beginner-friendly course designed for anyone curious about online safety, including middle school students. Over eight weeks, you’ll explore real-world cybersecurity threats and learn how to protect your data, devices, and accounts. You’ll dive into topics like phishing, password security, encryption, firewalls, biometrics, and ethical hacking. You’ll also work on assignments based on real-world scenarios, helping you understand how cyberattacks happen and how to prevent them.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free; A verified certificate costs $299
Dates: Self-paced; available anytime through Dec 31
Application Deadline: No formal application is required; just enroll via edX.
Eligibility: Open to all
HarvardX: CS50's Introduction to Programming with Scratch is a free, beginner-friendly course designed for students with no prior programming experience. Over three weeks, you’ll learn to code using Scratch, a visual programming language developed at MIT’s Media Lab. You’ll progress at your own pace, typically spending 2 to 6 hours per week. You’ll explore core programming concepts like loops, variables, functions, and conditions. You will also create animations, games, and interactive stories, and get a gentle introduction to text-based languages like Java and Python.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Dates: Open year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Best suited for middle and high school students, typically ages 13+, though younger students may participate with support.
Code.org: Introduction to Game Lab is a free self-paced course for middle school students who want to learn programming and game design. You will follow a step-by-step curriculum to create animations, interactive art, and games using Game Lab, which runs entirely in your browser. You will start by exploring sample programs and learning to code with shapes and parameters. Then you will learn programming concepts like variables, functions, and numbers. Later lessons introduce sprite-based animation and game design. In the final project, you will create your interactive program. Explore more self-learning and teacher-led courses here.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
Image Source - Stanford University logo