Astronomy programs for high schoolers.

All astronomy programs

1. European Space Agency

   ESA Education for Schools

   Free space-science education projects, CanSat, Astro Pi for European school students.

   📍 Europe⏱ Year-long📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
2. IOAA

   International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad

   International olympiad in astronomy and astrophysics with national selection rounds.

   📍 Varies (International)⏱ 1 week📅 Summer🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
3. IAO

   International Astronomy Olympiad

   Team astronomy olympiad with theoretical, practical, and observational rounds.

   📍 Rotates by host country📅 National selection Fall🎓 Grades 9–12

   Selective
4. Edu Mithra

   International Space Olympiad

   International olympiad on space science, astronomy, and rocketry with online prelims.

   📍 India + Global📅 Autumn🎓 Grades 9–12

   Moderate
5. Perimeter Institute

   International Summer School for Young Physicists (ISSYP)

   Free two-week program for students entering their final year of high school; lectures, mentor sessions, and problem sets from Perimeter researchers on modern theoretical physics.

   📍 Waterloo, Canada + Online⏱ 2 weeks (July)📅 February🎓 Grades 11–12

   Selective
6. Leiden University

   Leiden University Summer Schools

   Broad catalog of summer courses in the Netherlands, from law to astronomy.

   📍 Leiden, Netherlands⏱ 1-3 weeks📅 July🎓 Grade 12

   Highly Selective
7. Caltech

   LIGO SURF

   Gravitational-wave research at Caltech. Need-based travel and housing aid.

   📍 CA⏱ 10 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grades 11–12

   Selective
8. University of Michigan

   Michigan Math & Science Scholars

   Hands-on math/science programs at U-M. Need-based aid available.

   📍 MI⏱ 2 weeks (summer)📅 May🎓 Grades 10–12

   Moderate
9. NASA

   NASA App Development Challenge

   Open team coding challenge from NASA. Teams build a visualization of mission data. No fee; finalists visit Johnson Space Center.

   📍 Online⏱ 12 weeks📅 December🎓 Grades 6–12

   Selective
10. NASA

    NASA Citizen Science

    Dozens of free NASA citizen-science projects. Your contributions co-author published papers.

    📍 Online⏱ Self-paced📅 Anytime🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
11. NASA

    NASA High School Internship Program (OSTEM)

    Students participate in NASA's mission-driven projects through unique internship experiences at NASA centers across the country.

    📍 Nationwide⏱ 10 weeks📅 January 15🎓 Grades 11–12

    Selective
12. NASA

    NASA International Space Apps Challenge

    The largest annual global hackathon: 48 hours to solve real challenges using NASA's open data, with local host cities on every continent.

    📍 300+ cities worldwide⏱ 48 hours (October)📅 September🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
13. NASA

    NASA Internships (HS / OSTEM)

    Search portal for NASA STEM internships and challenges, including high school programs.

    📍 United States⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
14. NASA / UT Austin

    NASA SEES Internship

    Earth and space science research mentored by NASA scientists.

    📍 TX / Remote (nationwide eligibility)⏱ Virtual spring + 2-week onsite📅 February🎓 Grades 10–11

    Selective
15. NASA

    NASA Space Apps Challenge (Student Track)

    A data science competition where students use real NASA data to solve problems.

    📍 Global⏱ 48 hours📅 April 30🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
16. University of Texas / NASA

    NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES)

    Free virtual + onsite NASA research internship for HS students.

    📍 Austin, TX⏱ 8 weeks📅 February🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
17. NASA / Future Engineers

    NASA TechRise Student Challenge

    Teams design space-bound experiments. Winners receive USD 1500 and their payload flies on a high-altitude balloon.

    📍 Online⏱ School year📅 November🎓 Grades 6–12

    Selective
18. SETI Institute

    SETI Institute REU

    Astrobiology and astronomy summer research.

    📍 Mountain View, CA⏱ 10 weeks📅 February🎓 Grade 12

    Selective
19. SETI Institute

    SETI Institute REU and Education

    Astronomy and astrobiology education programs including HS workshops.

    📍 Mountain View, CA⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
20. US Space & Rocket Center

    Space Camp

    Week-long astronaut training simulation programs for ages 9-18 in Huntsville.

    📍 Huntsville, AL⏱ 1 week📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 4–12

    Moderate
21. SSP International

    Summer Science Program (SSP)

    Team-based real research in astrophysics, biochemistry, or genomics. Need-based aid covers full tuition.

    📍 CA, NM, IN, CO (nationwide eligibility)⏱ 39 days (summer)📅 Early February🎓 Grade 11

    Highly Selective
22. Consortium for Ocean Leadership / NCF-Envirothon

    U.S. National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) / Envirothon

    The world's largest Earth Science competition where teams solve challenges in geology, meteorology, and oceanography.

    📍 Nationwide⏱ Year-round📅 Rolling (Feb-April)🎓 Grades 9–12

    Selective
23. Zooniverse

    Zooniverse Citizen Science

    Free crowdsourced research platform. Contribute to active university research projects in any field from your laptop.

    📍 Online⏱ Self-paced📅 Anytime🎓 Grades 9–12

    Highly Selective

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