If you're a high school student passionate about coding and technology, participating in an online coding program can help you jumpstart your professional journey. Online coding programs allow you to refine your skills, learn from professionals, and contribute to real-world projects, all from the comfort of your home. 

Such experiences can also enhance your academic prospects by highlighting your commitment to both theoretical and hands-on learning, and help you network with experts in the field. By demonstrating your interest and initiative, these programs look great on college applications, too!

Coding has a wide range of applications in various domains, including software development, data analysis, AI, ML, game development, web development, mobile app development, robotics, cybersecurity, bioinformatics, financial analysis, and more. 

To help you get started, here are 10 online coding programs for high school students that you can consider!

1. Kode with Klossy Summer Camps

Location: Virtual. In-person camps are also held at multiple locations. 

Cost: Free 

Application Deadline: Typically in late March; TBA for 2025

Dates: Multiple 2-week sessions were available in 2024; TBA for 2025

• June 3–June 14, 2024

• June 17–June 28, 2024

• July 8–July 19, 2024

• July 22–August 2, 2024

• August 5–August 16, 2024

Eligibility: Girls and gender-expansive teens between the ages of 13-18 years with an interest in technology. No prior coding experience is required. 

Kode with Klossy offers free 2-week coding camps for students who are typically underrepresented in the STEM fields. These camps are available both in-person and virtually. During the camp, you will select one course from the following four courses:

• Web Development—Here, you will learn how to create websites using three programming languages—JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. You'll also learn how to make websites that work well on different devices, make sure people with disabilities can use them, and make the websites easier and more enjoyable to use.

• Mobile App—You will learn to code in Apple’s programming language, Swift, using the SwiftUI framework. You will also learn to use Xcode to create fully functioning mobile apps for iOS.

• Machine Learning—Here, you will learn the basics of artificial intelligence and machine learning, including algorithms, data sets, and natural language processing. The course also includes training on how to create a chatbot using Python.

• Data Science—In this course, you will learn to analyze data using SQL, Python, and data visualization tools to gain valuable insights.

This camp provides a great opportunity for you to gain insights from women in the technology field through engaging speaker sessions. Additionally, it allows you to connect with peers who share similar interests and goals.

2. MehtA+ Machine Learning Bootcamp

Location: Virtual

Cost: $1,975. Limited need-based scholarships are available.

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in June or whenever slots fill up. Applications for the 2025 camp will open in early October 2024.

Dates: June 17–July 26, 2024 (6 weeks); TBA for 2025

Eligibility: All 8th-12th graders can apply.

The MehtA+ Machine Learning Bootcamp is a virtual 6-week camp led by engineers from MIT and Stanford that introduces high school students to basic and advanced concepts in data science. During the program, you will learn the math behind different AI, machine learning, and deep learning models. You'll also learn various data processing techniques and how to train your own complex AI models. 

For your midterm and final project, you'll work in groups of 3-4 and engage in machine learning research either with a university or independently, on topics such as medicine, economics, digital humanities, and linguistics. After completing your project, you will write and publish your research papers online and present a research poster to university professors at the annual MehtA+ Machine Learning conference. 

The curriculum includes various subjects, such as Python programming, machine learning libraries, ethical considerations, and research methodologies. You can check out the past projects of this camp here.

3. Spark Summer Mentorship Program (SparkSMP)

Location: Virtual. Opportunities are also available in the Greater Seattle area, WA. 

Cost/Stipend: No cost; some projects offer stipends.

Application Deadline: April 22, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program). Applications for summer 2025 will open in March/April 2025.

Dates: Vary depending on the opportunity, typically between May and August (~ 8–12 weeks).

Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and reside in the United States can apply.

The Spark Summer Mentorship Program offers hands-on, immersive internships for high school students. When applying to the program, you can select 1 to 5 projects based on your interests. Research topics for 2024 included extreme weather conditions, software engineering, sensor data processing, data engineering AI for real-world problems, and more.

SparkSMP offers several remote projects where you’ll get to study the performance of different designs for an identification problem, proofread and edit problems involving math and coding for a quantum mechanics textbook, or use applications of AI/ML to build effective solutions for some of the challenges faced by the industry. The program will allow you to interact with and learn from industry leaders, university professors, and mentors from diverse organizations. This program is highly competitive with an acceptance rate of approximately 3–5%.

4. The UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute

Location: Virtual or in-person at the University of California, Los Angeles, CA 

Cost: $4,920 (Residential) | $3,077 (Virtual). Need- and merit-based scholarships are available for California residents.

Application Deadline: June 1, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)

Dates: Multiple sessions were available in 2024; TBA for 2025

• Session A: July 8–July 19, 2024 (Virtual)

• Session B: July 21–August 3, 2024 (In-person)

• Session C: August 4 – August 17, 2024 (In-person)

Eligibility: Students at least 15 years old by June 24, in grades 9–12 with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher can apply.

The UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute introduces high school students to game design and helps them learn techniques and tools to create both analog and digital games. This two-week program is taught by the alumni of the UCLA Game Lab and consists of four courses in game development. These classes focus on learning game design fundamentals, creating compelling characters, building game worlds, and programming games. 

During the program, you will create complete games or game assets in each of the four classes and develop game art that you can include in your college applications. This summer institute will help you develop a strong foundation in various aspects of game design and learn how to convey your ideas through game-making and game art. You will also have the opportunity to earn four units of UC credit and receive feedback from the institute that can be useful in your academic and career pursuits.

5. Columbia’s Pre-College Summer Sessions

Location: Both virtual and in-person (Columbia University, NY) options are offered. 

Cost: $2,810 (one-week session) | $3,960 (two-week session). 

Application Deadline: TBA for 2025; Varies depending on the course. 

Dates: One and two-week online courses between July 1 and August 9, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)

Eligibility: High school students who will be in 9th-12th grades in the fall can apply.

Columbia’s Pre-College Summer Sessions offer high school students various technology-based online courses to choose from, with durations ranging from 1 to 2 weeks. The online courses, listed here, cover the fundamentals of computer science and coding like Java, C, and Python, as well as various applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

If you’re interested in coding, you can choose ‘Introduction to AI: Search Algorithms,’ where you will learn the history of artificial intelligence and how to build functioning programs in Python and Java. You can also opt for ‘Data Science and Machine Learning,’ where you will gain hands-on experience in introductory coding using Python and learn to use popular machine learning algorithms. ‘Introduction to Programming with Python’ is another introductory course where you’ll learn the best programming practices, data representation and storage, data structures, and functions and scripts.

These sessions will allow you to improve your programming skills and boost your college applications.

6. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)

Location: Virtual or in-person at MIT, Cambridge, MA

Cost: $1,750 for families earning more than $150,000; free for all other accepted participants.

Application Deadline: March 31, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)

Dates: July 8–August 4, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)

Eligibility: High school students in grades 9-11 attending school in the U.S. can apply. Accepted students are usually in the 11th grade.

The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute offers hands-on STEM courses in a workshop format covering various subjects. Some of the online courses offered in the field of coding and AI include Remote Sensing for Disaster Response, Serious Games Development with Artificial Intelligence (SGAI), and Quantum Software. 

• In the "Remote Sensing for Disaster Response" course, you'll learn to use Python to process geospatial data and satellite imagery and analyze networks for emergency management applications. It involves GIS, remote sensing, image processing, and deep learning to respond to disaster situations.

• In the "Serious Games Development with Artificial Intelligence" course, you will learn about game design, teamwork, and coding. You will collaborate in groups to create a mod for a game to explore a socially relevant research question.

• In the “Quantum Software” course, you will learn about quantum computation concepts through practical coding exercises. You will also learn to develop and test a quantum algorithm as a software program.

The BWSI provides a solid opportunity to enhance your programming skills, learn from MIT Lincoln Laboratory professors, researchers, and students, and collaborate with peers. You can check the current course listings here.

7. Stanford AI4ALL

Location: Virtual

Cost: $4,000; Financial aid is available.

Application Deadline: February 20, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)

Dates: July 8–July 26, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)

Eligibility: Current 9th-grade students (rising 10th graders) can apply.

Stanford AI4ALL offers a three-week virtual program for high school students interested in artificial intelligence (AI). During the program, you will participate in lectures, hands-on research projects, and mentoring activities. You will also have an opportunity to learn about topics like the application of AI in medicine, disaster response, and combating poverty from professionals in the field. This program will help you understand the impact of AI on society and its potential to address important issues.

This program aims to increase diversity in AI. You will be mentored by AI faculty and senior AI researchers and attend online lectures by experts in career and personal development. You’ll work on group research projects led by graduate students and postdocs and attend social events with Stanford AI graduate students. 

8. Girls Who Code Summer Programs

Location: Virtual

Cost/Stipend: Free (For the Summer Immersion Program, there is a $300 need-based grant for eligible students in the United States).

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in March; TBA for 2025

Dates: Girls Who Code offers two programs in the summer; TBA for 2025

• Virtual Summer Immersion Program: June 14–June 28, 2024 | July 8–July 19, 2024 | July 29–August 9, 2024)

• Self-Paced Summer Program: July 1–August 9, 2024

Eligibility: 9th–11th-grade girls and non-binary students (Virtual Summer Immersion Program) / 9th–12th-grade girls and non-binary students (Self-Paced Summer Program), with or without prior coding experience, including alums can apply. 

Girls Who Code offers free virtual programs for high school students to help them gain the computer science skills required for tech careers. During the program, you will get to learn about various tech jobs, meet industry leaders, and interact with like-minded peers. These programs provide various benefits, such as professional networking opportunities, financial grants, technical support, and more.

In the 2-week Summer Immersion Program (SIP), you’ll attend live, virtual classes sponsored by industry-leading companies like MetLife, Bank of America, Logitech, and Synchrony. You’ll get to explore the tech world and game design, the step-by-step design process, and the basics of UX design. In the Self-Paced Program, you’ll learn about cyber security, web development, artificial intelligence, and data science. You’ll work at your own pace to learn coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python.

These programs will help you code websites, apps, and video games to combat issues like climate change, cyberbullying, illiteracy, and more.

9. iD Tech’s JavaScript Coding Online Academy powered by MIT Teen Programs

Location: Virtual

Cost: Starts at $1,899. Need-based scholarships are available.

Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; 2025 registration opens in November 2024

Dates: August 5–August 16, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)

Eligibility: Students aged 14–19 can apply.

iD Tech’s JavaScript Coding Online Academy course is part of an intensive two-week virtual summer program, with each session lasting two hours a day. This program will allow you to work with a small group of students in workshops conducted by experienced instructors.

Throughout the program, you'll learn about web programming concepts, how to create web applications using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, and how to develop engaging user interactions on web pages. You'll also create UI components for web applications, use code management tools like GitHub, and build a portfolio you can share with teachers or employers. The program includes two hours of live learning daily with iD Tech instructors. You'll complete graded assignments on your own time and have access to video content from MIT faculty. This program is graded on a pass/fail basis. You need to get at least 75% to receive the certificate of completion.

10. Veritas AI

Location: Virtual

Cost: AI Scholars: $2,290 | AI Fellowship: $5,400 | Combination (AI Scholars + AI Fellowship): $6,900. Financial aid is available. 

Application Deadline: Varies depending on the cohort. The upcoming deadline for the fall cohort is September 8, 2024. You can apply here!

Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year. 

Eligibility: High school students passionate about AI; Basic understanding of Python or completion of AI scholars is required for the AI Fellowship program.

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, natural language processing, image classification, coding using Python, sentiment analysis, 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 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!

One other option - the Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, you could also consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!

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.