§ CA

Research programs in California.

45 local programs run in California, 20 of them free or paid, and 13 explicitly prioritize under-resourced or first-generation students. Plus 197 nationwide programs open to anyone in the US.

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Local to California

UPenn Wharton Global Youth
AI Leadership
A location-based program in San Francisco, CA, focused on AI leadership.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Aspiring Scholars Directed Research Program
ASDRP (RISE)
Free year-round Bay Area lab research. Open application.
⏱ Year-round📅 May🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Art of Problem Solving Initiative
Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM)
Free intensive math programs for underserved middle schoolers in NYC and LA.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 6–8
Selective
Forestry Challenge
California Forestry Challenge
California's premier natural resource competition for high school students, similar to Envirothon.
⏱ 1 week📅 April 1🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
CSSSA Foundation
California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)
Multi-disciplinary arts sessions for young artists to collaborate and learn from professionals.
⏱ 4 weeks📅 March 15🎓 Grades 10–12
Moderate
Mathcamp
Canada/USA Mathcamp
Five-week summer program for mathematically talented teens at rotating universities.
⏱ 5 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
Coro Northern California
Coro Youth Fellows
Civic leadership fellowships for young people exploring careers in public affairs.
⏱ Varies📅 Spring🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
University of California
COSMOS
UC residential STEM program. Need-based fee waivers cover full cost for qualifying families.
⏱ 4 weeks (summer)📅 Early February🎓 Grades 9–12
Highly Selective
NCF-Envirothon
Envirothon
North America's largest high school environmental education competition.
⏱ 1 week📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Grassroots Ecology
Grassroots Ecology Youth Internships
Paid summer employment for high schoolers working on habitat restoration in San Jose area parks.
⏱ 6-8 weeks📅 March 15🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
UPenn Wharton Global Youth
Innovation and Startup Culture
A location-based program in San Francisco, CA, delving into innovation and the startup ecosystem.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
JSA
Junior State of America Summer School
Three-week residential programs in government, politics, and leadership at Princeton, Georgetown, Stanford.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
The Knowledge Society
Knowledge Society (TKS) Innovate
Selective ten-month innovation program for teens 13-17 in emerging tech (AI, biotech, blockchain).
⏱ 10 months📅 Spring🎓 Grades 8–12
Moderate
Caltech
LIGO SURF
Gravitational-wave research at Caltech. Need-based travel and housing aid.
⏱ 10 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
Middlebury College
Middlebury Monterey Language Academy
Four-week language immersion for grades 8-12 (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Spanish).
⏱ 4 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 8–12
Highly Selective
UPenn Wharton Global Youth
Moneyball Experience
A location-based 'Moneyball' program in San Francisco, CA, focused on sports analytics.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
New York Film Academy
New York Film Academy High School Programs
Summer and gap-year programs in filmmaking, acting, photography, and game design.
⏱ 1-12 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Otis College
Otis College Summer of Art
Four-week pre-college art and design program.
⏱ 4 weeks📅 May🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Otis College of Art and Design
Otis Summer of Art
Four-week pre-college program in fine art, design, fashion, and animation in LA.
⏱ 4 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 10–12
Moderate
Posse
Posse Foundation
Full-tuition leadership scholarships nominated by partner cities. High schoolers from cities like New York, Chicago, LA, Atlanta nominate by August of senior year.
⏱ Senior year📅 August🎓 Grade 12
Selective
SETI Institute
SETI Institute REU
Astrobiology and astronomy summer research.
⏱ 10 weeks📅 February🎓 Grade 12
Selective
SETI Institute
SETI Institute REU and Education
Astronomy and astrobiology education programs including HS workshops.
⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
SF DCYF
SF Mayors Youth Employment & Education
Free paid year-round and summer internships for SF youth.
⏱ Flexible📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Stanford
Stanford AI4ALL
Three-week residential AI program for underrepresented HS students.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 January🎓 Grade 9
Selective
Stanford School of Medicine
Stanford AIM-HI
Free Stanford program for under-resourced Bay Area students interested in health equity careers.
⏱ 4 weeks (summer)📅 March🎓 Grades 10–11
Selective
Stanford SIEPR
Stanford International Youth Forum
Policy and economics forum for international and US high school students.
⏱ 1 week📅 March🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies
Stanford Math Circle
Stanford Math Circle offers after-school classes for elementary, middle & high-school students interested in math to improve academic and extracurricular performance.
🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Stanford
Stanford Mathematics Camp (SUMaC)
Three-week intensive abstract math program.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 February🎓 Grades 10–12
Highly Selective
Stanford School of Medicine
Stanford Medical Youth Science Program
Free five-week summer program for low-income California high schoolers exploring medicine.
⏱ 5 weeks📅 Winter🎓 Grades 10–11
Selective
Stanford
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Economics & Finance
Summer courses in microeconomics, behavioral econ, finance.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 February🎓 Grades 8–11
Moderate
Stanford University
Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes
Residential courses in humanities, social sciences, and STEM.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 February🎓 Grades 8–11
Moderate
Stanford University
Stanford Summer Humanities Institute
Three-week intensive humanities seminars for rising 11th/12th graders.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 11–12
Moderate
Stanford University
Stanford Summer Session
Eight-week Stanford summer course program for HS juniors and seniors.
⏱ 8 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 11–12
Moderate
Stanford University
Stanford TreeHacks (High School Track)Check Site
Youth-led hackathons and tech workshops held annually at Stanford.
⏱ 1 day📅 Varies🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
UC Berkeley Academic Talent Development Program
UC Berkeley AI Summer Program (ATDP)
Hands-on AI and Machine Learning summer program at Berkeley for high schoolers.
⏱ 2 weeks📅 April 1🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley ATDP
Academic Talent Development Program with summer courses for grades 7-12.
⏱ 3-6 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 7–12
Moderate
UCLA
UCLA Summer Internship Program (SIP)
Paid biomedical research at UCLA for LA-area students.
⏱ 8 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
UCLA
UCLA Summer Sessions for HS
Six-week and short-term pre-college academic courses at UCLA.
⏱ 2-10 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 10–12
Moderate
UC San Francisco
UCSF SEP High School Intern
Paid summer research for SFUSD students underrepresented in science.
⏱ 8 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grades 10–12
Selective
X-Camp
USACO Guide Summer Camp (X-Camp) (Affiliated)
Intensive summer coding bootcamp focusing on competitive programming and software dev.
⏱ 2-4 weeks📅 March 15🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
USC
USC Bovard Scholars
Fully-funded college-prep and academic program for high-achieving, low-income California juniors.
⏱ 3 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grade 11
Selective
USC
USC Summer Programs
Pre-college summer programs across arts, sciences, business, journalism.
⏱ 2-4 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 10–12
Moderate
USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC Summer Programs Cinematic Arts
Four-week filmmaking pre-college at USC for rising 11th-12th graders.
⏱ 4 weeks📅 Spring🎓 Grades 11–12
Moderate
USC School of Cinematic Arts
USC Summer Programs Film
Pre-college film production programs at USC.
⏱ 4 weeks📅 February🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
UC Davis
Young Scholars Program (YSP)
A high-level research internship where students work in labs at UC Davis on environmental and biological projects.
⏱ 8 weeks📅 February 15🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective

Nationwide programs open to California students

Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP)
AEOP High School Apprenticeship Program
Students work alongside Army scientists and engineers on cutting-edge research projects in world-class laboratories.
⏱ 8 weeks📅 Early March🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
American Foreign Service Association (AFSA)
AFSA National High School Essay Contest
An essay contest designed to engage students in thinking about peace and conflict resolution.
📅 February 15🎓 Grades 11–12
Selective
Carnegie Mellon University
AI Scholars at CMU
Free AI-focused summer program for rising seniors underrepresented in computing.
⏱ 3 weeks (summer)📅 February🎓 Grade 11
Selective
AI4ALL
AI4ALL Open Learning
Girls in grades 6-12 learn AI and Python through interactive virtual classes.
⏱ 2 weeks📅 March 1🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Mathematical Association of America
AIME
Invitational round for top AMC scorers. 15-question, 3-hour exam that gates the USAMO. No fee for invited students.
⏱ 3 hours📅 February🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Freedom Forum
Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference
An all-expenses-paid journalism conference for one student from every US state and DC.
⏱ 1 week📅 February 15🎓 Grade 11
Selective
Amazon
Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship
Scholarship for high school seniors planning to study computer science in college.
⏱ 4 years scholarship📅 December 1🎓 Grade 12
Selective
Mathematical Association of America
AMC 10/12
The entry-level American Mathematics Competition. Top scorers qualify for AIME and the path to the USAMO. Open to all US high schoolers; school registration required.
⏱ 75 minutes📅 November🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
ACSL
American Computer Science League (ACSL)
A multi-division computer science competition covering both theory and programming.
⏱ School year📅 November 30🎓 Grades 9–12
Moderate
Amgen Foundation
Amgen Scholars Future Track
Free online biotech simulations and pipeline programs preparing high schoolers for biomedical research.
⏱ Self-paced📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Apple Inc.
Apple Swift Student Challenge
Swift coding competition hosted by Apple to showcase creativity and app development skills.
⏱ 1 month📅 April 15🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Berklee College of Music
Aspire: Five-Week Music Performance Intensive
The world's premier summer performance program for contemporary music, including jazz, rock, and pop.
⏱ 5 weeks📅 March 1🎓 Grades 10–12
Moderate
NCWIT
Award for Aspirations in Computing (AiC)
Award for girls and non-binary students in computing, providing recognition and a cash prize.
⏱ One-time📅 April 15🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Bard College at Simon's Rock
Bard College at Simon's Rock Young Writers Workshop
A 3-week residential program where students engage in creative and analytical thinking through literature and history.
⏱ 3 weeks📅 April 1🎓 Grades 10–12
Moderate
MIT Lincoln Lab
Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)
Free MIT-led project-based courses in AI, robotics, cybersecurity.
⏱ 4 weeks (summer)📅 Early February🎓 Grade 11
Selective
ELASH / Bebras US
Bebras Computing Challenge (US)
An international computational thinking and informatics competition. Students can take the test remotely or through a local school coordinator.
⏱ 45 minutes📅 Early February🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Bennington College
Bennington Young Writers Awards
A prestigious creative writing competition for students to win cash prizes and publication.
📅 January 12🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Black Girls CODE
Black Girls CODE Workshops
Program that provides coding workshops and tech exposure to young girls of color.
⏱ Varies📅 Rolling🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Blue Ocean Strategy / various
Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneurship Competition
Free global pitch competition with cash prizes. Teams pitch a novel business idea via video; finalists present live.
⏱ 3 months📅 February🎓 Grades 9–12
Selective
Breakthrough
Breakthrough Collaborative
Free summer and school-year academic program for first-generation, low-income middle schoolers; high schoolers can serve as teaching fellows.
⏱ Multi-year📅 Spring🎓 Grades 6–12
Selective

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