8 Free College Summer Programs for Middle School Students
If you’re a middle school student, summer is the perfect time to explore new interests, build valuable skills, and track your high school trajectory at school. Free college summer programs offer a great opportunity to learn new things at top universities, and give you a better understanding of the subjects you may want to pursue as a high schooler! These programs cover a range of subjects, from STEM and the arts to leadership and entrepreneurship.
In this blog, we’ve rounded up 8 free summer programs for middle schoolers hosted by universities.
1. dynaMIT
Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Program Dates: Mid to late August 2025
Application Deadline: Applications for 2025 will open in early 2025
Eligibility: Rising 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th graders
Cost: None
DynaMIT is hosted at MIT annually and allows participants to explore various STEM concepts. Through hands-on activities and challenges, you will learn new problem-solving methodologies. As part of the program, you will work in research labs and on team projects. As a program at one of the world’s leading institutions, this experience is a valuable introduction to STEM.
Location: College & Career Lab, New York University, New York, NY
Program Dates: July 7 – August 1, 2025 (tentative, based on previous years)
Application Deadline: March 31, 2025 (tentative, based on previous years)
Eligibility: Students currently enrolled in the 7th or 8th grade at a New York City public school
Cost: None
The NYU College and Career Lab introduces middle school students to college life and potential career paths. This program covers the arts, sciences, businesses, and technology. It allows you to engage in personal development activities while learning from NYU faculty. The program includes classes, city field trips, and opportunities to explore college campus life. You can connect with industry leaders to gain insights into the day-to-day of careers like law, physical therapy, and more.
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Program Dates: July 2025 (tentatively)
Application Deadline: April 15, 2025
Eligibility:
Students enrolled in Grades 7 to 12
A New York State Resident or a Permanent Resident residing in the state
Economically disadvantaged*, or Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Alaskan Native, or American Indian and will benefit from academic enrichment
Cost: None
Columbia University's S-PREP is a rigorous academic program for students from underrepresented backgrounds who are interested in pursuing careers in medicine or STEM. S-PREP provides guided tours of Columbia’s medical facilities and research labs, giving you a look at real-world STEM applications. S-PREP combines lectures, lab working sessions, and peer activities. You will engage with Columbia’s faculty, medical students, and industry professionals through guest lectures and interactive panel discussions, further expanding your academic horizons. You can read our full guide to this program here.
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Program Dates: June 24 – 28, 2025 (tentative, based on previous years)
Application Deadline: April 10, 2025 (tentatively, you can sign up for the CMU Engineering Outreach newsletter here for more updates)
Eligibility: Rising 8th and 9th graders
Cost: None
Carnegie Mellon University's SEE offers middle school students an opportunity to explore engineering through hands-on projects and activities. Led by CMU’s faculty, this program gives you insight into different engineering fields like electrical, mechanical, and computer engineering. Throughout the program, you will have the opportunity to solve real-world problems using engineering concepts.
Location: Virtual
Program Dates: July 8 – 26, 2025 (tentative, based on previous years)
Application Deadline: March 29, 2025 (tentative, based on previous years)
Eligibility: Low-income students in grades 6 or 7 who reside in and attend school in the United States
Cost: None
The Stanford Middle School Scholars Program is a unique experience that allows middle school students to participate in an academically challenging environment early on. This program invites you to explore intellectually challenging courses such as “Democracy & Dissent,” “U.S. Social Movements through Graphic Novels,” and “Real-Life Applications of Mathematics.” Classes are led by instructors affiliated with Stanford. One of the best parts of the program is the community you have access to, as you will learn with some of the brightest middle school students from across the country. To learn more about this program, check out our full guide here.
Location: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Program Dates: June 2025 (tentatively, based on previous years)
Application Deadline: 2025 registration will open in Spring 2025
Eligibility: Current students in grades 7 and 8
Cost: None
The Physics Inside Out program is ideal for middle school students who want to go beyond the regular physics curriculum. By engaging with how physics influences everyday life, you will learn by seeing and doing. With activities and access to labs, this program offers a hands-on learning environment. The program also includes demonstrations and collaborative team projects, promoting critical thinking and teamwork.
Location: Four universities in North Carolina, see details here
Program Dates: Mid-June to early-August 2025 (tentatively, check the website for updates)
Application Deadline: January 5, 2025
Eligibility: Current eighth-grade students who are residents of North Carolina
Cost: None
North Carolina State University's Step Up to STEM program is a summer initiative to help underrepresented minority students explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. This program offers hands-on STEM workshops, collaborative projects, and interactive experiments led by NC State's faculty and student mentors.
Rising ninth graders will take an interdisciplinary curriculum that blends science, mathematics, and biomedical engineering, focusing on biological systems and cellular processes. There is a writing component that supports academic growth, while activities offer social and experiential learning opportunities. These include on-campus and off-campus events like planetarium visits, STEM career panels, sports activities, hip-hop writing workshops, and lab tours. Past participants have also enjoyed board game nights, university campus tours, and ice cream socials, making Step Up to STEM educational and fun.
Location: New York University, New York, NY
Program Dates: July 8 – August 4, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Application Deadline: April 29, 2025 (tentative, based on the 2024 program)
Eligibility: Students who live in New York City and will be at least 12 but not older than 14
by the start of the program
Cost: None
NYU’s Sounds of New York City program offers middle school students an opportunity to explore the auditory landscape of New York City through science and technology. You will study the impact of sound in urban environments, using advanced tools to collect and analyze audio data. The program includes field trips to different New York City neighborhoods, where you can apply what you’ve learned in real-world settings. Through activities like sound walks and recording sessions, you will capture the unique sounds that shape the city's atmosphere. These hands-on experiences not only build technical skills in audio analysis but also provide a deeper understanding of the environmental and social dynamics of urban spaces.
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 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 our Head of Partnerships, Maya, 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 2025, you can refer to this page!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. 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.