Online Engineering Programs for High School Students
Updated: 1 day ago
Updated November 2026
TL;DR
Nine fully online engineering programs from U.S. universities and organizations are listed here. Where prices are posted, they run from free to about $4,100, and a few programs have not posted 2027 dates yet. Pick a program by engineering field, check what equipment you need, read the nine programs, see what one hour of instruction costs, and get quick answers on grades, credit, aid, and recommenders. If you want to research your own engineering question with a PhD mentor, apply to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program.
If engineering is on your college major shortlist but you can't commit to an in-person program, online options are worth checking out. You can explore different engineering fields, work on design challenges, and even build things using lab kits from home. Some programs also let you earn college credit or work on a research project. We've rounded up nine fully online engineering programs for high school students and covered what you'll do, who can apply, how much they cost, and when to apply. For a wider list that includes in-person programs, see our guide to engineering programs for high school students.
Which kind of engineering do you want to try first?
Mechanical, civil, electrical, and chemical engineering all show up online, and so do aerospace and robotics. Find your field in the table, then jump to that program's entry below. Stanford's courses change each year.
Engineering field | Where to start |
Mechanical | Explore Engineering Innovation Online, Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes (Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering), Northwestern Pre-College Online, Rice Precollege |
Civil and environmental | Explore Engineering Innovation Online, Northwestern Pre-College Online, Rice Precollege, Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes (Chemical and Environmental Engineering) |
Electrical, computer, and hardware | Explore Engineering Innovation Online, Rice Precollege, Beaver Works online courses (Basics of ASICs, Microelectronics and Hardware Development, E-textiles and Wearable Tech) |
Chemical | |
Biomedical | |
Materials | |
Aerospace and space | Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes (Orbital Mechanics and Aerodynamics), Beaver Works online courses (Build a CubeSat Challenge, Autonomous Air Vehicle Racing) |
Robotics and autonomous systems | Beaver Works online courses (Autonomous RACECAR, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Challenge) |
A tour of every major at one university | |
Any field, on your own question |
Once a course ends, you may want something hands-on to build on it, and our guide to online engineering internships for high school students lists remote options.
What do you need to bring to an online engineering program?
Most of these programs need only a computer and an internet connection, and a few add gear. The live Explore Engineering Innovation Online course needs a computer with a USB port, a way to record video, and reliable internet, and your lab supplies ship to you.
The Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes require your camera and microphone to be on during class. Several Beaver Works online courses cover hardware, such as Microelectronics and Hardware Development, while Northwestern Pre-College Online and Rice Precollege rely on video lessons, simulations, and a capstone project. If you'd like work experience that happens from home, see our list of virtual internships for high school students.
9 Online Engineering Programs for High School Students
1. Lumiere Research Scholar Program (Engineering track)
Location: Online
Cost: Varies by the program; need-based financial aid is available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Winter Cohort starts December 7, 2026; summer 2027 dates are TBA
Application Deadline: November 8, 2026 (priority) and November 22, 2026 (regular)
Eligibility: Currently enrolled high school students with a strong academic record
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is built around an independent research paper that you write with a PhD fellow or postdoc over 12 weeks. You meet your mentor nine times and a writing coach twice, and engineering is one of the listed research areas. If your topic isn't on the list, you can propose your own. Completing a Lumiere program also makes you eligible for 3 post-baccalaureate credits through UC San Diego Extended Studies.
Why it stands out: You choose the engineering question, and what you finish with is a college-level academic paper.
Location: Online (U.S. residents only)
Cost: Free; MIT's funders cover program costs
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 22 to December 6, 2026)
Application Deadline: February 1 (recommenders by February 15)
Eligibility: 11th graders who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents; no minimum GPA
MITES Semester is a six-month remote program from MIT that mixes live and self-paced work. It's a STEM program, and MIT asks applicants to show an interest in science and engineering. Public, private, and homeschooled students can all apply. Our guide to MIT's MITES explains how the program works in more detail.
Why it stands out: It is free, and it runs for six months.
Location: Online (live)
Cost: $3,800 tuition plus a $265 lab kit (Summer 2025)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA
Application Deadline: TBA (previous cohort: early action January 30, 2026)
Eligibility: Strong math and science students; Algebra II, trigonometry, and a year of lab science
Explore Engineering Innovation Online is Johns Hopkins' college-level engineering course for high schoolers, with three hours of live class every weekday for five weeks. Teams test the material properties of spaghetti, design and build a stable bridge, link heat transfer to a small bioreactor, and build an electronic device with a microcontroller. The projects cover civil, chemical, electrical and computer, and mechanical engineering plus materials science. We also looked at whether Johns Hopkins' Engineering Innovation programs are worth it.
Why it stands out: You build real projects with a lab kit during live classes, and you can earn three JHU credits.
Location: Online (live)
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (previous cohort: June 15 to 26 and July 6 to 17, 2026)
Application Deadline: TBA
Eligibility: Students in grades 8 to 11
The Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes run more than 75 online courses each summer in two two-week sessions. The engineering courses are Fundamentals of Mechanical Engineering, Chemical and Environmental Engineering, and Orbital Mechanics and Aerodynamics. Classes are small and live, daily attendance is required, and you can take one course per summer. Courses are ungraded and earn no credit, and you receive a certificate of completion if you attend.
Why it stands out: Two weeks go to one topic, like orbital mechanics, with a live teacher and a small class.
Location: Online (live)
Cost: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: 2027: June 7 to 25, June 28 to July 16, or July 19 to August 6
Application Deadline: Not listed
Eligibility: Grades 6 to 12 on the application
BlueStamp Engineering runs its remote summer program in three-week sessions, Monday through Friday, with a morning or afternoon block and an optional midday Innovation Lab. The application says BlueStamp welcomes students from all academic backgrounds and focuses on interest and motivation.
Why it stands out: Three start dates and two daily time slots let you fit it around your summer.
Location: Online
Cost: Not listed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Offered year-round
Application Deadline: Not listed
Eligibility: Grades 9 to 12, with a nomination from a teacher, mentor, or robotics coach
The Beaver Works Summer Institute online courses are 15 options, including Autonomous Air Vehicle Racing, Autonomous RACECAR, Basics of ASICs, Build a CubeSat Challenge, and Remote Sensing for Disaster Response. They are built as prerequisites for the on-site summer program, and they're also useful if you're curious about Python, machine learning, and autonomous systems. Our breakdown of the MIT Beaver Works acceptance rate covers the on-site program.
Why it stands out: The course list reads like a lab menu, from racing drones to CubeSats.
Location: Online (self-paced)
Cost: $1,895; need-based scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Year-round, in 2-week or 4-week sessions
Application Deadline: Not listed
Eligibility: Ages 13 and up
Northwestern's Engineering: Solving Problems Through Design teaches the engineering design process through case studies in civil and environmental, materials, mechanical, and biomedical engineering. The course is fully asynchronous and takes about 20 to 30 hours. For the capstone, you choose one of four specialty-area options and plan how to test your design. You earn a Certificate of Completion from Northwestern.
Why it stands out: There are no required log-in times, so you finish it on your own schedule.
Location: Online (self-paced)
Cost: $1,795; need-based scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: Year-round, in several lengths
Application Deadline: Not listed
Eligibility: Ages 13 and up
Rice's Engineering: Solving Real-World Problems covers chemical and biological, mechanical and materials, electrical and computer, and civil and environmental engineering. You work through about 20 to 30 hours of video lectures, simulations, and assignments, with a mentor for feedback. For the capstone, you expand on a module assignment or pick a new challenge, and you finish with a Certificate of Completion from Rice.
Why it stands out: It ties four engineering fields to the physics, chemistry, mechanics, and calculus behind them.
Location: Online (self-paced, with weekly webinars)
Cost: $200
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not published
Program Dates: TBA (June and July in 2026)
Application Deadline: TBA (registration opens January 2027)
Eligibility: Rising 10th to 12th graders, any gender
The UT Austin Virtual Summer Engineering Experience is a two-month online camp from UT Austin's Women in STEM program. The program is built around weekly role-model webinars and engineering design challenges you finish at your own pace. It takes about 2 to 4 hours a week. Through hands-on challenges and videos, you explore each engineering major at UT Austin and the careers that follow, and a virtual celebration closes the camp at the end of July.
Why it stands out: It asks for only 2 to 4 hours a week, and you hear from working engineers through the weekly webinars.
What does one hour of instruction actually cost?
A sticker price tells you little when one program lasts two weeks and another lasts five. This breakdown divides each posted price by the posted hours. The numbers are our own arithmetic, so treat them as estimates, and programs with no posted price are left out.
Explore Engineering Innovation Online: about $51 per live class hour on the $3,800 Summer 2025 tuition (three hours a day for five weeks is 75 hours), or about $54 with the $265 lab kit.
Northwestern Pre-College Online: about $63 to $95 per hour, from $1,895 over 20 to 30 hours.
Rice Precollege: about $60 to $90 per hour, from $1,795 over 20 to 30 hours.
UT Austin Virtual Summer Engineering Experience: about $6 to $13 per hour, from $200 over roughly 16 to 32 hours (2 to 4 hours a week for about eight weeks).
MITES Semester: free.
The Hopkins figure counts live class time only, while the Northwestern and Rice figures count all instruction and coursework, so the Hopkins number is the lowest per hour but not directly comparable. For programs with free options, see our guide to free engineering programs for high school students.
Quick answers on grades, credit, aid, and recommenders
Question | Short answer | Programs |
Can a 9th grader join? | Yes, for most | Lumiere, Beaver Works online courses, Stanford, BlueStamp, Northwestern, Rice, UT Austin; Johns Hopkins may consider talented ninth graders; not MITES Semester |
Can a senior join? | Yes, for most | |
Is any program free? | Yes, one | MITES Semester; Lumiere, Northwestern, and Rice offer need-based aid |
Do I need a nomination or recommender? | For three | Beaver Works online courses (nomination), MITES Semester (recommenders), BlueStamp (two references, first required) |
Do I need prior coursework? | For one | Johns Hopkins asks for Algebra II, trigonometry, and a year of lab science; the others list no course prerequisites |
Can I start any time of year? | Yes, for some | Northwestern, Rice, and the Beaver Works online courses run year-round |
Which give a certificate or credit? | Several | Certificates: Northwestern, Rice, Stanford, Johns Hopkins; credit: Johns Hopkins (three JHU credits), Lumiere (3 UC San Diego Extended Studies credits) |
How long do they run? | 2 weeks to 6 months | Stanford 2 weeks, BlueStamp 3, Johns Hopkins 5, Lumiere 12, MITES Semester 6 months |
If you're a junior, you could send in the MITES Semester application by February 1 and plan a Stanford or Hopkins course once their dates post. Winter is a good time to compare options, and our list of winter research programs for high school students has more to look at. If you'd like to see in-person choices too, our list of engineering summer camps for high school students covers them.
Ready to pick your own engineering question?
Most programs on this list give you a class, a camp, or a design challenge. If you'd like to go deeper on a question you choose, the Lumiere Research Scholar Program pairs you one-on-one with a PhD fellow or postdoc.
In the 12-week Individual Research Program, you meet your mentor nine times and a writing coach twice, then finish with a college-level research paper. The program is fully online, and need-based financial aid is available.
Yes-or-no questions about these online engineering programs
Can I apply without taking physics or calculus first?
Yes, for most of them. One live university course asks for Algebra II, trigonometry, and a year of chemistry or physics with a lab. The self-paced courses ask for your age and a short note on why you want to take the course, and several others list no course prerequisites on their main pages.
Can I earn a certificate or college credit?
Yes. The self-paced university courses and the two-week live courses issue certificates of completion, and one live university course lets you earn 3 college credits. A few programs list neither, so check the program page before you count on one.
Can I join in 9th grade?
Yes, for several. A couple of the self-paced courses accept anyone 13 or older, one live camp is open to grades 8 to 11, and the application for another lists grades 6 to 12. The six-month remote program is for 11th graders only. For more online options, see our list of online research programs for high school students.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. The self-paced university courses offer need-based scholarships, and one program is free, while the posted prices for the rest run up to about $4,100. If cost is the sticking point, the Lumiere Research Scholar Program offers need-based financial aid for its 12-week, fully online research program.