10 Free Summer Programs for High School Students in Georgia
If you’re a high school student looking for opportunities in Georgia to build your skills over the summer, you should consider enrolling in a summer program!
These programs can help you build on your knowledge, learn from experts, and get some practical experience in your chosen field. Such experiences are also a great way of enhancing soft skills like creativity, innovation, leadership, and analytical thinking.
Many popular universities and research centers offer fully funded programs that can introduce you to concepts beyond your school curriculum and add a prestigious and professional touch to your college applications, helping you create a strong portfolio. What’s more, participating in a free program can showcase your talent and determination to college admissions officers.
To help you get started, here is a list of 10 free summer programs for high school students in Georgia!
Location: Virtual
Eligibility:
You must be currently enrolled in high school.
You must demonstrate a high level of academic achievement (Note: Students must have an unweighted GPA of 3.3 out of 4).
Previous knowledge of your field of interest is optional!
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort. The main summer deadlines are March 17, April 14, and May 12. The final deadline for the summer cohort is typically in June.
Program Dates: The summer cohort runs from June to August, the Fall cohort from September to December, the Winter cohort from December to February, and the Spring cohort from March to June. (The program options range from 12 weeks to 1 year).
Cost: This program does have a fee but also offers 100% financial aid through the Lumiere Foundation.
The Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a rigorous research program for high school students. The program offers extensive 1-on-1 research opportunities for high school students, across a broad range of subject areas that you can explore as a high schooler. The program pairs high-school students with Ph.D. mentors to work 1-on-1 on an independent research project.
During the program, you will get to attend individual sessions with your research mentor and writing coach who will help you decide on a topic for your research. You’ll spend the next few weeks exploring your research topic and attending workshops on the research process. At the end of the 12-week program, you’ll have developed an independent research paper! You can choose research topics from psychology, physics, economics, data science, computer science, engineering, chemistry, international relations, and more. You can find more details about the application here!
2. Veritas AI
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: High school students passionate about AI; Basic understanding of Python or completion of AI scholars is required for the AI Fellowship program.
Application Deadline: Varies depending on the cohort. You can apply here!
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts are available throughout the year.
Cost: This program does have a fee but also offers 100% financial aid.
Veritas AI, founded and run by Harvard graduate students, offers programs geared toward high school students who want to build their foundations in computer science. In the program, students learn various concepts in data science and artificial intelligence like neural networks, image classification, natural language processing, sentiment analysis, coding using Python, and more.
Veritas AI offers up to 100% financial aid for the 10-week AI Scholars program. Through the program, students build real-world, hands-on projects in groups of 3-5 students to showcase their interests and skills. You can also apply for the AI Fellowship where you work 1-1 with mentors from top universities to build unique machine learning projects over 12-15 weeks. These programs are a great option for you if you’re keen to engage in hands-on learning and are a beginner!
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort.
Dates: 8-week programs with multiple cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Cost: Starts at $2,490. Full financial aid is available.
Ladder Internships, a fairly selective program founded by Harvard alumni, pairs high school students with startups and nonprofits around the world for virtual internships. You can choose the field you wish to work in, from a wide range of industries, including technology, machine learning, AI, computer science, finance, environmental science, sustainability, business, marketing, healthcare, medicine, media, journalism, and more.
As an intern, you will work on meaningful projects that contribute to the startup or nonprofit’s larger mission, and present your work at the end of the program. This internship program includes one-on-one training in communication and time management, among other skills, and group training sessions with fellow interns. You will be paired with a manager at the startup and with a Ladder coach, who serves as a second mentor. The internship opportunities in this program span the globe, with a concentration in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the UK. You can explore all the options here on their application form.
4. Horizon
Location: Virtual
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.
Application Deadline: May 21, 2024, for the summer cohort and September 25, 2024, for the fall cohort.
Program Dates:
Summer seminar: June 24–September 2, 2024
Fall seminar: October 23, 2024–February 19, 2025
The dates are flexible for Horizon Labs, but you must apply 4 weeks in advance.
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 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 and detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects and college applications. You can apply here!
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops.
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students
Application Deadline: Varying deadlines based on cohort. The main summer deadlines are March 17, April 14, and May 12. The final deadline for the summer cohort is typically in June.
Program Dates: The 2024 edition of the program started on July 3 and spanned 4 weeks.
Cost: $2,900 (4 weeks). Need-based financial aid is available.
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.
Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more.
The program is an excellent opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school and have a space to explore multiple theoretical as well as practical frameworks that lead to a successful business. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
Location: Emory University’s Oxford College campus, Oxford, GA
Eligibility: Rising Newton County School System and Putnam County Charter School System sophomores and juniors can apply.
Application Deadline: TBA
Program Dates: June 3–June 7, 2024; TBA for 2025
Cost: Free for all accepted participants.
Emory University’s Oxford College offers high schoolers an opportunity to explore campus life and prepare themselves for a university education through its Summer Experience Program. During the program, you’ll get to attend classes at a top liberal arts university. You will study topics such as chemistry, political science, and English while attending college preparation workshops on college applications, financial aid, essay writing, and more.
The program also includes field trips and recreational activities, ensuring that you get a well-rounded glimpse of what life at university will be like. You will also participate in college preparation workshops and develop teamwork and essay-writing skills. By the end of the program, you will have a better understanding of career opportunities available in various fields and the college application process.
Location: Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors in Georgia can apply.
Application Deadline: March 15, 2024; TBA for 2025
Program Dates: June 9–June 14, 2024; TBA for 2025
Cost: Free for all accepted participants.
EarthCare: The Leadership Challenge for the 21st Century is a week-long STEM and environment-focused leadership development program for high school students. This residential program includes workshops on the environment, sustainability, energy, and more.
During the program, you will get to participate in roundtable sessions with Georgia Power business leaders, team-building exercises, and other professional development experiences. There is a keen focus on leadership development through seminars, panel discussions, communication exercises, and interactive sessions with business professionals. Previous cohorts’ students have had the opportunity to visit a nuclear power plant. Only 100 students are selected each year, so the program can be fairly competitive. You can check out the 2024 agenda before applying.
Location: Microsoft office at either Redmond, Washington or Atlanta, Georgia
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors who live in or around Atlanta, GA can apply. Check the detailed eligibility criteria here before applying.
Application Deadline: Applications usually become available in March for students in Redmond and Atlanta and are evaluated on a rolling basis. Dates TBA for 2025.
Program Dates: July 8–August 2, 2024; TBA for 2025
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Interns receive a competitive salary that varies depending on the location.
Microsoft’s High School Discovery Program is designed for high schoolers interested in exploring careers in computer science and technology. This is a paid internship. If selected, you will get to be a part of the design phase of the product development cycle. This experience can help you see the real-world application of software engineering, computer science, and UX design fundamentals.
A key part of the program is hands-on work on a project, for which you will be placed into a group. Along with your group members, you will learn to understand potential customer issues/requirements and accordingly, assist with product development and design. This experience will help you work on key professional skills like communication, collaboration, and problem-solving as well as technical skills for a tech career. You will also get to interact and work with Microsoft employees during the program, making this a solid networking opportunity.
Location: Emory Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA
Eligibility: Rising or graduating high school seniors who are at least 17 years old can apply.
Application Deadline: TBA, but applications for the summer program typically open in the fall of the previous year.
Program Dates: June 10–July 19, 2024; TBA for 2025
Stipend: $2,400
The Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University offers high school seniors the opportunity to work one-on-one with a physician or researcher and conduct cancer research in a lab or clinic setting. As an intern, you will work on a research project and attend lectures on cancer research conducted by Winship oncologists and research faculty. By working on the research project under the guidance of a mentor, you will be able to develop your laboratory, data collection, analysis, and presentation skills.
You will get to go on field trips to places like the CDC David J. Sencer Museum and the Georgia Institute of Technology. You will also get to explore oncology-related careers through the program. This experience concludes with a final symposium, where you will present your project to Winship doctors, researchers, and graduate students. This is a fairly competitive program as only 10–12 students are accepted into the cohort each year.
Location: 4C Academy for the Albany program and Georgia Tech main campus for the Atlanta program
Eligibility: Georgia high school students who are at least 16 years old can apply.
Application Deadline: March 31, 2024, for the Albany program and March 22, 2024, for the Atlanta program; TBA for 2025
Program Dates: June 3–June 14, 2024, for the Albany program and July 8–July 19, 2024, for the Atlanta program; TBA for 2025
Cost: Free for all accepted participants.
Organized by the Georgia Tech Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, STEP is a hands-on engineering program for high school students. During the program, you will be given an open-ended engineering challenge problem. You will then work in teams to design and prototype a solution and present it at the end of the program during a poster session.
You will contribute to real research problems and come up with your solution to an engineering problem, so the experience will help you hone your problem-solving and analytical skills. At the end of the program, you will share your results with parents, faculty, and industry representatives at a poster session. Previously, students have worked on designing an autonomous rover that can navigate a course, modifying a baseline model rover with tech that would aid future missions to Mars, and creating an ultra-light rover that can complete a course in the least amount of time.
Location: David J. Sencer CDC Museum, CDC headquarters, Atlanta, GA
Eligibility: Current sophomores or juniors at least 16 years old on the first day of the camp can apply.
Application Deadline: March 22, 2024; TBA for 2025
Program Dates: June 24–June 28, 2024 | July 22–July 26, 2024; TBA for 2025
Cost: Free for all accepted participants.
Hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Disease Detective Camp aims to teach high school students the foundations of public health and epidemiology. Some of the topics covered are environmental health, global health, emergency preparedness, public health law, data analysis, disease surveillance, scientific communication, and more. During the camp, you will get to participate in activities like re-created outbreaks, environmental and global health activities, mock press conferences, short lectures from leading CDC scientists, and laboratory sessions.
Each session hosts only 27 students with the program’s acceptance rate between 7–8%, making it extremely selective. Before applying to this camp, please keep in mind that while this program does touch upon careers in medicine and health, the focus is more on public health than medical treatments.
Location: UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel, Athens, GA
Eligibility: Students aged 15–17 years who belong to underrepresented and underserved backgrounds can apply.
Application Deadline: The deadline is generally at the end of March; TBA for 2025
Program Dates: June 3–June 7, 2024; TBA for 2025
Cost: Free for all accepted participants.
The University of Georgia hosts several summer academy camps for high school students, one of which is the B.L.A.C.K. Engineering camp. The week-long, residential program offers an immersive experience in the field of engineering, with plenty of hands-on design work as well as data analysis.
During the program, you will work on a hands-on project, through which you will learn about the engineering design process. You will also come up with a creative, ethical solution for a given engineering problem. Through this experience, you will be able to work on your analytical and critical thinking skills as well as oral and written communication skills. This camp will also help you enhance your existing math, physics, and science knowledge and connect it to the field of engineering.
Location: This is a residential program which takes place on a college or university campus in Georgia
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors in Georgia can apply. You can check the detailed eligibility criteria here before applying.
Application Deadline: Schools are supposed to submit nominations on November 15, 2024, and online applications for candidates close on January 10, 2025.
Program Dates: June 15–July 12, 2025
Cost: Free for all accepted participants; Students only need to cover the costs of travel and basic supplies.
The Georgia Governor's Honors Program (GHP) is a summer residential program designed for talented high school students. To enter the four-week program, you must be nominated by your school in one of the nomination areas — a range of topics including engineering, math, music, science, visual arts, and more. If accepted into the program after multiple rounds of selections, you will choose your electives and then attend classes in the mornings and afternoons in your chosen areas of study.
You will stay on a college or university campus and participate in seminars on diverse topics, typically conducted outside the usual periods of instruction. You also get to attend concerts and performances performed by other students in the program, allowing you to see what the other program participants have learned in four weeks. This experience can help you find like-minded peers and explore academic, co-curricular, or extra-curricular subjects in detail.
The application process is extremely rigorous, including two rounds of selection. Additionally, approximately 4,000 students are nominated per year and the program’s acceptance rate is about 20%, making it quite difficult to get accepted.
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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