15 Online Coding Classes for Middle School Students

If you are trying to supplement your middle school coursework during the academic year or prepare for high school classes, online classes in your field of choice can help you boost your academic abilities. If you are interested in tech and computer science, coding classes can be a great way to build new skills beyond the school curriculum! Online coding classes can provide advanced programming experiences not covered in school, opportunities to build practical skills for future careers, and preparation for extracurricular clubs and competitions. These opportunities are also typically accessible for middle schoolers, being low-cost, free, or scholarship-based options. 

You can explore basics and advanced concepts in these classes, boosting your abilities to participate in coding competitions and prepare for high school or college academics. The experience can also help you pick up programming skills for engaging in computational research or pursuing careers in STEM. 

In this blog, we have come up with a list of 15 online coding classes for middle school students. We have focused on factors like academic rigor, prestige, and hands-on experiences that these opportunities offer.

15 Online Coding Classes for Middle School Students

1. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes: Introduction to C++ Course 

Location: Online

Cost/Stipend: $3,080; financial aid available

Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified; approximately 15–16 students per class

Dates: Session One: June 16 – 27 | Session Two: July 7 – 18

Application Deadline: March 20

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

Stanford’s Pre-Collegiate Summer Institute offers a programming class centered on C++, moving from basics to advanced coding activities. Here, you will cover topics like control statements, functions, arrays, abstract data types, and recursion, through lectures with hands-on group activities. The class also provides insights into algorithms and the interaction between the compiler and the hardware. As part of a class assignment, you will work on developing algorithms for solving real-world coding problems. You will also have access to online office hours to get additional assistance.

2. Lumiere’s Junior Explorer Program

Location: Virtual

Cost/Stipend: Varies depending on program type; full financial aid offered

Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective

Dates: Eight-week programs with multiple cohorts held throughout the year

Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines for each cohort

Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8

Lumiere’s Junior Explorers program provides eight-week virtual experiences for middle school students looking to combine coursework with hands-on research. You will be matched with a Ph.D.-level mentor in computer science for one-on-one coding instruction, beginning with training in four core topics in the field before you hone in on a focus area. You’ll spend the next four weeks developing and executing a research project, culminating in an academic research paper. Although unlike a traditional coding class, the program provides a personalized, entirely virtual, flexible learning experience. 

3. UC Santa Cruz’s Coding for Everyone: C and C++ Specialization 

Location: Online via Coursera

Cost/Stipend: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion

Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not applicable; open enrollment

Dates: Self-paced; approximately 40 hours total commitment

Application Deadline: No deadline; open year-round enrollment

Eligibility: Open to all

Developed by UC Santa Cruz instructors, Coding for Everyone: C and C++ Specialization is a programming class series for middle school students and other coding beginners. You will start by concentrating on C, learning how to write and debug programs, including arrays and pointers, logic operators, and lexical elements. You will then move on to working with C++, learning how to convert programs from C to C++, developing efficient algorithms, coding with advanced syntax, and utilizing basic container classes. Each module includes activities to help you practice writing programs, as you work toward a final project in game design and AI algorithms.

4. Veritas AI Trailblazers

Location: Virtual

Cost/Stipend: Varies depending on program type

Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective

Dates: Multiple 10-week cohorts each year

Application Deadline: Varies by cohort

Eligibility: Middle school students in grades 6–8

Veritas AI’s Trailblazers program is a small-group coding program for middle schoolers focused on programming for artificial intelligence applications. You will learn how to code in Python while studying machine learning, neural networks, and image processing, moving from introductory concepts to advanced material through class lectures and group activities. The program culminates in a final coding project, where you will work with a small group of classmates to design and execute an AI coding project of your choosing and present it to the class. Throughout the program, you will have access to mentorship.

5. University of Michigan’s Web Design for Everybody: Basics of Web Development & Coding Specialization 

Location: Online via Coursera

Cost: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment

Dates: Self-paced; approximately 80-hour commitment

Application Deadline: None; open enrollment

Eligibility: Open to all

University of Michigan’s Web Design for Everybody is an online coding class for middle school students looking to develop skills in website development and user interface design. You will work with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS to develop interactive websites for computers, phones, and tablets. The course is divided into different segments with dedicated focus areas, including coding skills for website-user interactivity, personalizing text and formatting, and advanced styling and responsive design. The course will also teach you how to modify your site’s code for accessibility, including modifications for individuals with visual, auditory, or physical impairments. You will complete the course with an initial web portfolio, which you can continue to develop for college applications or for creating personal websites.

6. USC CS@SC’s Mobile App Development Class 

Location: Online option available

Cost: $200

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 5–8 students per class

Dates: Two weeks during the summer; dates TBA

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

Eligibility: Students in grades 6–10

A part of USC’s summer CS@SC online coding program, the Mobile App Development class teaches how to design apps through programming and design. In this class, you will explore programming in Java, from introductory set-up to coding advanced features, while working with MIT App Inventor and Android Studio. You will build app development skills while designing graphical interfaces and app layouts, creating functional buttons, integrating dynamic loading, and developing UI features like toast messages. Typical in-class projects include creating apps that can offer recycling tips, create to-do lists, and track sun time. At the end of the class, you will present the app you coded to your instructor and peers. 

7. Programming with JavaScript Course  

Location: Online via Coursera

Cost/Stipend: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion

Acceptance rate/cohort size: N/A

Dates: Self-paced; ~50 hours total

Application Deadline: None

Eligibility: Open to all

Designed by Meta programmers, Programming with JavaScript is a free online coding class for middle school students as well as older learners looking for comprehensive training in JavaScript. While longer than many online coding classes, requiring a commitment of 50 hours to complete the modules and 27 assignments, the class covers a comprehensive range of topics. It follows a progressively challenging structure that moves from the basics of Java setup to advanced program testing. Topics covered include functions and strings, error handling, functional programming paradigms, modifying Document Object Models, and working with npm packages. You will have access to lectures, complete assigned readings, and practice your skills through assignments, labs, and projects. 

8. Northwestern Center for Talent Development Online Honors Program: Coding and Programming Classes 

Location: Online

Cost: $835 (one credit) or $1,425 (two credits)

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: Varies; courses are offered multiple times throughout the year

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

Eligibility: Students in grades 6–12; additional requirements and prerequisites vary by course

Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development is designed for middle school students who perform at above-grade academic levels. It offers advanced online classes across all main disciplines, with multiple options in coding. You can choose online classes like Programming C++ Honors and Machine Learning: Algorithms & Data Science, which cover programming techniques and applied coding. In the Programming C++ Honors course, you will learn to code computer games and programs for task management, exploring areas such as object-oriented coding and memory manipulation. The Machine Learning class focuses on AI coding, covering topics like neural networks, pattern recognition, and dimensionality reduction. These CTD coding courses combine lectures with hands-on projects to help you test your knowledge.

9. University of Michigan’s Programming for Everybody: Getting Started with Python Course 

Location: Online via Coursera

Cost: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not applicable; open enrollment

Dates: Self-paced; commitment of ~20 hours

Application Deadline: None

Eligibility: Open to all

Taught by a University of Michigan professor, the Programming for Everybody: Getting Started with Python online coding class offers asynchronous coursework in Python programming to beginners in the field. You will start by exploring the basics of the Python programming language and learning how to code basic Python programs. Then, you will move on to exploring variable storage and calculation, loops and iteration, conditional code, and functions. The course comprises lectures, readings, assignments, and small app development projects. 

10. Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes: Introduction to Java Programming Course 

Location: Online

Cost: $3,080; financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; program maintains 16 students per class

Dates: June 16 – 27 (Session One) | July 7 – 18 (Session Two)

Application Deadline: March 20

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

Stanford’s Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes offers multiple online coding classes for middle school students, including its Introduction to Java Programming Course. Designed for students without prior Java experience, the course first covers the fundamentals of Object-Oriented Programming, including Java syntax, control statements, arrays, and recursion. Then, you will move on to advanced topics like graphical user interfaces and abstract data types, focusing on developing algorithms for real-world applications. To test your knowledge, you will complete a problem set, which will focus on constructing an algorithm to solve a challenge, after each class. Outside of class, you will have access to one-on-one office hours with your instructor to get extra help, ask them questions about the curriculum and assignments, or discuss course topics in more depth.

11. USC CS@SC’s Game Design Class 

Location: Online option available

Cost: $200

Acceptance rate/cohort size: 5–8 students per class

Dates: Two weeks during the summer; dates TBA

Application Deadline: Rolling admissions

Eligibility: Students in grades 7–12

USC’s Game Design online coding class, offered under its CS@SC program, offers middle and high school students the opportunity to learn how to design their own video games through programming. In class, you will work with the Unity game development software to learn how to create and manipulate 3D scenes using GameObjects. You will also write scripts, learn about variables, loops, and functions. You will work on a game design project and finish the class by presenting your work to peers and instructors.

12. Johns Hopkins University’s CTY: Coding and Creating With Arduino® Course 

Location: Online

Cost: $1,850; financial aid available

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: Multiple 12-week sessions; exact dates vary by course

Application Deadline: Varies

Eligibility: Students in grades 7–11 who meet test score-based

Coding and Creating With Arduino®, offered by Johns Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth, is an online coding class for middle school and high school students interested in learning about the Arduino® platform. You will work with an Arduino® microprocessor starter kit, completing hands-on experiments using a breadboard, sensor, and actuator in both in-class activities and homework. You will learn how to create devices that can read data from sensors or activate lights. You will also refine technical skills while modifying prototypes, adapting designs to develop new features, and using computer code to operate physical devices and hardware.

13. Princeton University’s Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose Course 

Location: Online via Coursera

Cost/Stipend: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not applicable; open enrollment

Dates: Self-paced; ~80 hours total

Application Deadline: None

Eligibility: Open to all

Computer Science: Programming with a Purpose, developed and taught by Princeton computer science professors, is an asynchronous online coding class focusing on computing and Java. Over 10 modules, you will attend lectures that cover programming, from introductory Java knowledge to in-depth exploration of topics like conditionals and loops, arrays, functions and libraries, recursions, and abstract data types. You will also complete 20 programming and educational coding assignments spread across the modules to test your knowledge. Toward the end, you will also gain some insight into languages like C, C++, Python, and MATLAB.

14. UPenn’s Introduction to Programming with Python and Java Specialization Course 

Location: Online via Coursera

Cost/Stipend: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not applicable; open enrollment

Dates: Self-paced; ~80 hours total

Application Deadline: None

Eligibility: Open to all

Introduction to Programming with Python and Java Specialization is an intensive online coding class taught by a UPenn professor that provides comprehensive training in two core programming languages. The class is divided into four sub-courses, with the first two focusing on Python Programming and Data Analysis Using Python, and the following two covering Java and Object-Oriented Programming and Inheritance and Data Structures in Java. Within this structure, you will delve into the basics of the programming language before applying them to data science challenges involving data aggregation and summarization, visualization, data storage and manipulation, and text parsing through object-oriented processes. You will also complete Applied Learning Projects, developing functional Python and Java programs, which aggregate and analyze movie reviews or serve as an online banking application. 

15. Duke University’s Programming Fundamentals Course 

Location: Online

Cost/Stipend: Free; optional fee for certificate of completion

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrollment

Dates: Self-paced; ~20 hours total

Application Deadline: Not applicable

Eligibility: Open to all

As the first course in Duke’s asynchronous Introductory C Programming Specialization online coding class series, Programming Fundamentals offers an introduction to programming in C. Here, you will explore a seven-step process for algorithm development and problem-solving, with an emphasis on software development. You will also learn how to analyze code and explore concepts like functions, loops, variables, and data types. The course is divided into mini-lectures that address each subtopic within the broader concept area, 19 coding assignments, and final project work. While the focus is on programming in C, the class’s structural approach to coding is designed to help you build transferable skills to approach challenges in other programming languages. 

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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