10 AI Courses for Middle School Students
If you’re a middle school student interested in AI and its real-world applications, you should consider enrolling in an AI course! Courses and certifications can help you strengthen your college applications, build a strong academic and professional portfolio, and prepare you to initiate your research projects or startups in the field!
These courses can enhance your prospects by indicating your ability to work with advanced material and your practical knowledge in the field of AI. Admission committees and potential employers highly value candidates who show a genuine interest in their chosen field, making these courses a valuable addition to your profile.
Early exposure to the field can help you understand complex topics, provide you with a competitive advantage, and prepare you for the demands of higher education. Additionally, familiarity with AI can foster problem-solving skills and critical thinking, helping you make informed decisions about your future academic and career goals.
Here are 10 AI courses for middle school students that you can consider!
Location: Duke University campus, Durham, NC
Cost:
Residential: $1,400 tuition + $750 room and meal fee
Commuter: $1,400 tuition + $125 meal fee
A limited amount of financial assistance is available.
Eligibility: Current 6th to 8th grade students can apply.
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in early April.
Course Dates: Multiple one-week sessions are available in June and July. The next session is from July 21–July 26, 2024.
Duke’s Summer Residential Program promises an engaging college-like experience for students from various backgrounds. You can expect to find courses like aerospace engineering, mathematical logic and proofs, financial literacy, technology & AI, law, and marine ecology. The courses are rigorous and completely engaging for those who are interested in these fields. You can check out the complete list of available courses here.
If you’re interested in AI, one good course option is “Technology and AI”, where you will get to learn about the applications of AI in technology, business, healthcare, and beyond. This course will equip you with critical skills such as decision-making, problem-solving, communication, and collaboration that are essential in today’s AI-driven world. It will also help you investigate the core building blocks of AI technology and gain essential knowledge in neural networks, machine learning, data analysis, and natural language processing.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $29 with the certificate and free without the certificate.
Eligibility: Open to all ages with beginner-level experience
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Course Dates: Self-paced (should take about 3 weeks with 2 hours per week)
“AI For Everyone” offered by DeepLearning.AI is a foundational course designed to teach artificial intelligence to a broad audience. This course provides an accessible introduction to AI, targeting individuals without a technical background, such as professionals in various fields, business leaders, and anyone curious about AI's impact on the world. Andrew Ng, a renowned AI expert and co-founder of Coursera, guides learners through essential AI concepts, including what AI is, what it can and cannot do, and how it can transform industries and everyday life. The course emphasizes the practical implications of AI rather than delving into technical details, making it suitable for those looking to understand AI's strategic potential without programming skills.
The curriculum of "AI for Everyone" covers several key areas, such as how AI can be applied in business, ethical considerations, and how to start an AI project. It also explores the impact of AI on society and the workforce which will help you grasp the broader implications of this technology. By the end of the course, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of AI's capabilities and limitations, how to integrate AI into business strategy, and the ethical challenges surrounding AI deployment.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $24–$49 with the certificate and free without the certificate.
Eligibility: Open to all but knowledge in basic code, arithmetic, and algebra is required.
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Course Dates: Self-paced, but usually spans 2 months at 10 hours a week.
The “Machine Learning Specialization” course, offered by Stanford Online and DeepLearning.AI, provides a beginner-friendly pathway into machine learning. This series of three courses helps high school students and other learners grasp essential concepts in machine learning without needing prior experience. The first course, "Supervised Machine Learning: Regression and Classification," demonstrates building machine learning models in Python using machine learning libraries. The second course, "Advanced Learning Algorithms," helps build and train neural networks. The final course, "Unsupervised Learning, Recommenders, Reinforcement Learning," covers unsupervised learning techniques such as clustering and anomaly detection.
The specialization emphasizes hands-on learning with interactive coding assignments and projects that use popular machine-learning tools and techniques. By working through these assignments, you’ll gain practical experience and learn how to implement machine learning models to solve problems like predicting housing prices or recognizing handwritten digits.
Location: University of California, San Diego, CA
Cost: $275; Financial aid is available.
Eligibility: Students in grades 6–8 can apply.
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in May for all courses.
Course Dates: July 15–July 19, 2024 | July 22–July 26, 2024
The Sally Ride Science Academy Summer Program provides engaging courses spanning various topics from core STEM areas such as computer science, robotics, engineering, and biology, to specific fields like filmmaking, business, financial literacy, or gemology.
If you’re interested in coding or AI, you can enroll in the Middle School: Raspberry Pi course, where you will discover how to use Raspberry Pi and Python scripting to build a variety of real-world applications. Raspberry Pi is a tiny computer board that plugs into a monitor and allows people anywhere to explore computing.
In this course, you will learn the basics of the Raspberry Pi Model B motherboard and get an introduction to basic circuit elements such as resistors, LEDs, and rotary potentiometers. In addition to learning basic Python script writing, you’ll also learn to build simple real-world projects with Raspberry Pi including a dimmer switch, intruder alarm with camera, drum set, and visual games.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $24–$49 with the certificate and free without the certificate.
Eligibility: Open to all regardless of coding experience.
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Course Dates: Self-paced; approximately 8 hours
The “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI)” course, offered by IBM, is designed to give learners a foundational understanding of AI. The course covers the history of AI, its evolution, and the key concepts that define this field. It aims to explain the core ideas and applications of AI in a way that is accessible to high school students and beginners. Topics include machine learning, deep learning, neural networks, and natural language processing. The course also explores how AI is being used in various industries, such as healthcare, finance, and transportation, highlighting its potential and current impact on the world.
In addition to theoretical knowledge, the course provides practical insights into how AI technologies work and how they can be applied. You will engage with interactive exercises and hands-on projects that help reinforce the concepts taught. By the end of the course, you will have a solid understanding of the basics of AI, including its capabilities and limitations, as well as an appreciation for the ethical considerations and societal implications of AI. This foundational knowledge will prepare you for more advanced studies in AI and related fields and equip you with the skills to think critically about the role of AI in the future.
Location: Virtual via edX
Cost: Free without a certificate and $299 with a certificate. Financial aid is available.
Eligibility: Open to all but prior programming experience in Python is required.
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Course Dates: 7 weeks at 10–30 hours per week; Self-paced.
The “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence with Python” course delves into the core concepts and algorithms that drive modern artificial intelligence, covering the foundational ideas behind technologies such as game-playing engines, handwriting recognition, and machine translation. In this course, you will engage in hands-on projects that will allow you to integrate these concepts into your own Python programs. By working through these projects, you’ll gain practical experience with graph search algorithms, classification, optimization, machine learning, and large language models.
Throughout the course, you are introduced to various AI principles and learn to utilize machine learning libraries. This blend of theory and practice will equip you with the knowledge to design intelligent systems. By the end of the course, you will have a solid understanding of AI and its applications which will enable you to create and optimize intelligent systems independently.
Location: Virtual via edX
Cost: Free without a certificate and $99 with a certificate. Financial aid is available.
Eligibility: Open to all
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Course Dates: Self-paced, but estimated to take 4 weeks with 1-2 hours per week.
In the “AI For Everyone—Master the Basics” course, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of what AI is and explore its various applications and use cases, observing how it's transforming our daily lives. You'll delve into fundamental AI concepts, such as machine learning, deep learning, and neural networks, and see how they are applied in real-world scenarios. Additionally, the course addresses important concerns related to AI, including ethical considerations, bias, its impact on jobs, and its broader societal implications.
As part of the course, you'll also look ahead to the future of AI and receive guidance on starting a career in this rapidly evolving field. The course culminates in a hands-on mini-project that demonstrates AI in action. Those who complete this IBM course successfully will earn a skill badge—a detailed, verifiable, digital credential that showcases the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the course.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $32
Eligibility: Open to anyone with basic Scratch knowledge.
Application Deadline: None
Course Dates: Self-paced
The “Artificial Intelligence for Kids” course provides an engaging introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its real-world applications, specifically designed for young learners. It covers the basics of AI, including its history and different techniques, and explains how AI impacts our daily lives. In this course, you will explore various AI branches and applications, such as machine learning, neural networks, and chatbots. The course also teaches the difference between supervised and unsupervised learning, as well as classification and regression. Through hands-on projects using Scratch, a visual programming language, you will create your own AI models, such as games and chatbots, and see firsthand how AI can make software and machines smarter.
The detailed course outline includes lessons on the fundamentals of programming and AI, the creation of AI applications, and an introduction to machine learning. You will get to develop smart games and projects using machine learning algorithms, explore decision trees, and learn about text classification and sentiment analysis. The course also features interactive activities and mid-course quizzes to reinforce learning. By the end of the course, you will have a solid understanding of AI concepts and practical skills in developing AI systems and models.
Location: Virtual
Cost: $37
Eligibility: Open to all without any prior programming knowledge.
Application Deadline: None
Course Dates: Self-paced
In the “Programming for Kids and Beginners” course, you'll start learning to code from the basics using Scratch, a fun programming language developed by MIT that makes coding feel like playing a game. The course is designed so you can create games and applications with your own hands. The unique teaching method used in this course has been proven effective over 4+ years and focuses on making learning enjoyable by using characters, animations, and analogies to simplify complex computer science topics.
You'll train your intuition to understand what you want to achieve and how to get there, which will help you quickly grasp the basics of coding. By the end of the course, you'll be ready to learn text-based programming languages at a fast pace and easily understand any piece of code. The lessons are designed to be fun, with projects like creating animations and cloning popular games like Flappy Bird and Pac-Man. The course will also be regularly updated with new content and challenges to keep you engaged and learning.
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Eligibility: Open to all
Application Deadline: None
Course Dates: Self-paced
The “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course is a great option for anyone interested in learning about artificial intelligence (AI) without needing any coding or programming skills. It provides a broad overview of AI and explains its key concepts and techniques thoroughly. You will learn what AI is, how it works, and see real-world examples of how it's used. The course also covers different machine-learning techniques and the process of developing AI.
By the end of the course, you'll be able to explain the main ideas of AI, understand different AI applications, and know the basics of machine learning techniques. You will also get an introduction to Azure ML Studio, a tool that lets you create AI solutions without writing any code. This course is a great starting point for anyone curious about AI and its possibilities.
One more option - The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program
The Lumiere Junior Explorer Program is a program for middle school students to work one-on-one with a mentor to explore their academic interests and build a project they are passionate about. Our mentors are scholars from top research universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale, Duke, and LSE.
The program was founded by a Harvard & Oxford PhD who met as undergraduates at Harvard. The program is rigorous and fully virtual. We offer need-based financial aid for students who qualify. You can find the application in the brochure!
To learn more, you can reach out to Lumiere's Head of Partnerships, Maya Novak-Herzog, at maya.novak-herzog@lumiere.education or go to our website.
Multiple rolling deadlines for JEP cohorts across the year, you can apply using this application link! If you'd like to take a look at the cohorts + deadlines for 2024, you can refer to this page!
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.
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