13 Free Programs for High School Students in California
Are you a high school student in California looking for a way to enhance your resume, or boost your college applications?
Try signing up for one of the 13 completely free programs for high school students in California listed below!
Not only are these programs free but they also provide a gateway to in-depth knowledge, skill development, real-world applications, and networking opportunities. Whether you’re interested in STEM, arts, humanities, or the social sciences, or simply trying to figure out your passion, these programs are your ticket to early exposure in your chosen field.
Beyond the financial benefits, these programs can be a solid addition to your CV and make your college applications shine a little bit brighter! Moreover, a fully funded program adds a certain prestige to your portfolio that can give you an edge when you pursue a career in your chosen subject.
Now that we have mentioned all the benefits of pursuing a fully funded program as a high school student, let’s dive straight into our curated list of the 13 free programs for high school students in California!
Subject areas: Medicine, Biology, Chemistry
Location: Stanford, CA
Eligibility: Applicants must:
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Be 16 years or older at the start of the program
Be juniors or seniors at the time of application
Cost: Free; students receive a stipend of at least $500 and up to $2500, depending on their family’s need.
Deadline: February 24, 2024
Dates: June 10 - August 1, 2024
Selectivity: High
Expected cohort size: 50
The SIMR is an 8-week summer program open to high school juniors and seniors. The program offers hands-on research under the guidance of a one-on-one mentor at a top-class lab within the Institutes of Medicine at Stanford University as well as select departments. As an applicant, you can choose from eight areas of research (institutes) which include immunology, neurobiology, stem cell and regenerative medicine, cardiovascular biology, cancer biology, genetics, bioinformatics, and bioengineering. After being accepted, you are assigned to a specific institute based on your choices.
Although most of your time will be dedicated to lab research, there will be joint lectures as well throughout the summer. You should expect to be on campus around 40 hours a week during the program. The highlight of SIMR is the poster session where you will get to present a research poster of your project. Family, teachers, and Stanford community members (faculty, students, and staff) are invited to view the posters and speak with you about your research on the last day of the program.
Another option students in SIMR have is getting into the bioengineering boot camp. This is a hands-on learning experience in bioengineering that does not involve lab research. You can find out more details about the boot camp here.
Cost: The program is fully funded!
Location: Remote — you can participate in this program from anywhere in the world!
Application Deadline: 4 annual cohorts run in fall, spring, summer, and winter
Program Dates: Vary based on yearly cohort.
Eligibility:
You must be currently enrolled in high school or plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall of 2023.
Students must demonstrate a high level of academic achievement. (Note. Students have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4)
No previous knowledge of your field of interest is required!
The Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation stands as a non-profit research program tailored for gifted students from low-income backgrounds. Stemming from the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, renowned for its extensive one-on-one research opportunities for high school students, the foundation provides the same access to independent research experiences at zero cost.
The Lumiere Breakthrough Scholar Program is the equivalent of the Individual Research Scholar Program at Lumiere Education. In our flagship program, we pair talented high-school students with world-class Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll develop an independent research paper. You can choose topics from subjects such as psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can apply here!
This program is a particularly solid option if you are interested in interdisciplinary research and want to create an individual research paper.
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs tailored for high school students who are passionate about artificial intelligence. Students who are looking to get started with AI, ML, and data science would benefit from the AI Scholars program. Through this 10-session boot camp, students are introduced to the fundamentals of AI & data science and get a chance to work on real-world projects.
Another option for more advanced students is the AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase. Through this program, students get a chance to work 1:1 with mentors from top universities on a unique, individual project. A bonus of this program is that students have access to the in-house publication team to help them secure publications in high school research journals. The fellowship encourages students to explore interdisciplinary approaches, enabling them to merge AI with various fields such as finance, medicine, sports, environmental science, and more! You can also check out some examples of past projects here.
Location: Virtual
Cost:
$2,290 for the 10-week AI Scholars program
$5,400 for the 15-week AI Fellowship with Publication & Showcase
$6,900 for both
Need-based financial aid is available for AI Scholars. You can apply here.
Application deadline: On a rolling basis. Winter cohort deadline - December 1, 2024
Program dates: Various according to the cohort
Program selectivity: Moderately selective
Eligibility: Ambitious high school students located anywhere in the world. AI Fellowship applicants should either have completed the AI Scholars program or exhibit experience with AI concepts or Python.
Application Requirements: Online application form, answers to a few questions about the student's background & coding experience, math courses, and areas of interest.
Location: Virtual
Application Date: May 21, 2024 for the summer cohort, and September 25, 2024 for the fall cohort
Program Dates:
Summer seminar - June 24, 2024 - September 2, 2024
Fall seminar - October 23, 2024 - February 19, 2025
Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 weeks in advance.
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a couple of tracks require formal prerequisites, more details of which can be found here.
Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and more! It is one of the very few research programs for high school students that offers a choice between quantitative and qualitative research!
Once you select a particular subject track and type of research you’ll be paired with a professor or Ph.D. scholar (from a top university) who will mentor you throughout your research journey. You’ll work to create a 20-page, university-level research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student.
This program is a solid opportunity for you to pursue a research program in highly specialized fields, under the guidance of a top scholar. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student, as well as detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects and on college applications. Apply here!
Subject areas: Technology and Social Media Operations
Location: Meta Headquarters, Menlo Park, CA
Eligibility: Applicants must be:
Sophomores in high school
Residing in East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, or Redwood City
Minimum Cumulative GPA of 2.0
Cost: Free
Deadline: March 1, 2024
Dates: June 17 - July 26, 2024,
Selectivity: High
Expected cohort size: 150-200
Meta Summer Academy (formerly known as Facebook Summer Academy) is a highly competitive 6-week summer internship program for high school sophomores held by Meta at their headquarters. Students get an opportunity to learn about the day-to-day operations of one of the world’s leading social media networks by being part of a dynamic workforce.
The program is highly selective and aims to inspire and motivate young people to achieve economic success, stability, and mobility through skill development and early exploration in the tech industry. As a participant, you will learn coding, explore career options, and develop soft skills that will help you build a successful career. You will also receive direct mentorship from Meta employees who will guide you through constructive feedback. The program is prestigious and demanding and requires you to commit 30 hours per week over six weeks.
To read an in-depth review of the program, read this article.
Subject areas: Liberal Arts
Location: Pomona College, Claremont, CA
Eligibility: Applicants must be:
Currently a 9th-grade student
A resident of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, or Ventura Counties
Cost: Free
Deadline: February 26, 2024
Dates: June 23 - July 19, 2024
Selectivity: Low
Expected cohort size: 90
PAYS is a free program where students engage in a combination of college-level courses, cultural events, workshops, projects, and field trips during an intensive 4-week, residential program as well as throughout the academic year, for 3 consecutive years upon acceptance. Participants often come from populations traditionally underrepresented in college like low-income families and marginalized ethnicities. Pomona College covers all costs including housing, food, activities, and transportation to field trips. As a participant, you will live in a dorm on the campus while taking math and critical inquiry courses taught by Pomona professors. Additionally, you will receive hands-on support from trained college TAs in learning and leading your own seminars.
To learn the detailed offerings of this program, visit this link.
7. CAMP CHLA
Subject areas: Healthcare
Location: Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles
Eligibility: Applicants must be:
Currently a freshman, sophomore, or junior in high school
Residents of Los Angeles County
Cost: Free
Deadline: January 12, 2024
Dates: The program has 2 sessions:
Session 1: June 24 - 28, 2024
Session 2: August 5 - 9, 2024
Selectivity: Low
Expected cohort size: Not specified
Camp CHLA is a 5-day, in-person healthcare career exploration camp offered twice per summer for high school students to explore, learn, and participate in the work that team members at Children’s Hospital, LA do every day. As a participant, you will attend various activities including but not limited to:
Presentations from select healthcare professionals detailing their personal career journeys and “day-in-the-life” details about their roles
Hands-on skills in health promotion and disease/injury prevention, such as CPR, first aid, body ergonomics, and more
Networking opportunities with like-minded students
Real-life and up-close exposure to the world of healthcare and lifesaving work happening throughout the hospital
Subject areas: Medicine
Location: Los Angeles Pediatric Society, LA
Eligibility: Current 11th and 12th grade students can apply
Cost: Free; participants are awarded a $500 scholarship at the end of the program.
Deadline: February 16, 2024.
Dates/Duration: 6-8 weeks; dates vary for different sessions.
Selectivity: Low
Expected cohort size: 100-180
Started in 1969, the Eve and Gene Black Summer Medical Career Program was designed to encourage high school students to choose careers in the health profession. Open to students from Los Angeles and its surrounding counties, the program is often best described as a medical mentorship.
As a participant, you will attend daily sessions, presentations, and interactive lessons hosted by professionals in various medical fields. These include a variety of general pediatricians and specialists, including surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, ophthalmologists, radiologists, and therapists, (i.e., physical, speech, occupational, or cognitive).
Subject areas: STEM
Location: La Jolla, CA
Eligibility: Applicants must:
Be a San Diego County resident and have completed their most recent semester of high school at a public or private high school within San Diego County.
Be at least 16 years of age on or before the start date of the program.
Have completed at least one year each of high school-level chemistry and biology successfully.
Have a minimum grade point average of 3.
Note: Only students from the five REACH partner schools are eligible to apply for the 2024 Summer Internship Program. These schools include Barrio Logan College Institute, San Diego; Hilltop High School, Chula Vista; Hoover High School, San Diego; Lincoln High School, San Diego; and Morse High School, San Diego.
Cost: Free; students are paid a $4,760 stipend for their research.
Deadline: April 19, 2024
Dates: June 24 - August 9, 2024
Selectivity: High
Expected cohort size: Not specified
Scripps College Student Research Internship is a highly prestigious program that exposes high school students to contemporary issues in biomedical research and provides hands-on laboratory experience and guidance. The program aims to increase the number of talented students who choose a career in the biological and chemical sciences, particularly first-generation college-bound students and students from groups that are historically underrepresented in the sciences.
As a participant, you will receive direct mentorship from leading scientists that will enable you to understand complex scientific concepts and methodologies through rigorous coursework. This will not only prepare you for college admissions and academics but also for future career endeavors. To get an in-depth review of this program, read this article!
Subject areas: Multidisciplinary
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Eligibility: Applicants must:
Be completing their Sophomore, Junior, or Senior year
Be enrolled in an LA County high school
Cost: Free; interns earn a stipend for their work.
Deadline: March 15, 2024
Dates: June 20 - August 9, 2024
Selectivity: Moderate
Expected cohort size: Not specified
The Intern Project (TIP) is an 8-week internship program that offers outstanding high school students from schools across LA County the opportunity to work in dynamic career areas. TIP company partner fields include but are not limited to Arts, Media & Entertainment, Engineering & Tech, Business, Government, Sports, and Healthcare & Medical Technology and more.
Activities include informational interviews, skill workshops (communication, introduction to software used, project management and planning, or small skill-based projects). As a participant, you earn a stipend and a college credit as well! Although a majority of the program workshops are virtual, you will be required to attend 80% of the in-person meetings.
TIP also offers a fall and spring program. To know more, click here.
Subject areas: Multidisciplinary
Location: San Francisco, CA
Eligibility: All high school students can apply; priority will go to 11th-grade students.
Cost: Free; students are paid a weekly stipend
Deadline: February 29, 2024
Dates: Dates vary based on the internship but the program is typically held during the summer months
Selectivity: Moderate
Expected cohort size: Not specified
SFUSD's Work-Based Summer Internships are an exceptional opportunity for you to expand your learning outside of the classroom and explore careers in a hands-on environment. Over the course of six weeks, you can explore working professionally in industries like animation, architecture, automotive technology, computer science, culinary arts, marketing, education, law, finance, hospitality, and more. Additionally, you will have the chance to network with like-minded interns and work with experienced mentors.
This internship provides in-depth insights into the operations of these industries and allows you to tackle projects extending beyond foundational concepts.
Subject areas: Mathematical biology
Location: University of California, Irvine
Eligibility: Applicants must currently be high school students, and not be graduating in spring 2024
Cost: Free
Deadline: April 14, 2024
Dates: June 17 - July 25, 2024
Selectivity: Moderate
Expected cohort size: 50
Math ExpLR is a 6-week mathematical biology program where students are paired with undergraduates and collaborate on a computational biology research project with a principal investigator. As a participant, you will get a larger view of research in computational biology and university studies. In addition, you will attend skill-building workshops that prepare you to carry out mathematical research, including Matlab programming, mathematical modeling, giving research presentations, and writing a research paper.
With a few exceptions, all meetings, courses, and activities in this program occur in person.
Subject areas: Communication and media
Location: University of Southern California (USC), LA
Eligibility: Applicants must reside and attend school in LA County to be eligible
Cost: Free
Deadline: Applications closed for summer 2024
Dates: June 17 - July 19, 2024
Selectivity: Moderate
Expected cohort size: 26
The Annenberg Youth Academy (AYA) for Media and Civic Engagement is a 4-week summer intensive academy for high school students from the communities surrounding the USC University Park and Health Science Campuses. Students are exposed to the equivalent of first-year college-level courses and develop an understanding of the necessary role that media communications and journalism play in building thought leadership and innovation.
As a participant in AYA, you will strengthen skills in writing, critical thought, public speech and debate, multimedia production, and ethnography — all essential competencies required for excellence in and out of the classroom. Additionally, you will have opportunities to meet the school’s innovative scholars who are advancing issues of race, gender, and ethnicity in communication and journalism.
Bonus Programs
Looking for an immersive internship experience?
Check out Ladder Internships!
Ladder Internships is a selective, virtual internship program where students work with startups and nonprofits from around the world! The startups range across a variety of industries. As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the startup they are working with, and present their work at the end of their internship. In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship. Apply now!
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.