Summer Programs for Middle School Students: STEM, Academic and Free Options

Last updated: October 28, 2026

Summer programs for middle school students give 11- to 14-year-olds something school rarely does: time to go deep on one subject they love. The options range from three-week residential programs at Johns Hopkins and Northwestern to one-week university engineering camps, math camps, coding clubs, free programs and research projects with a mentor. This guide lists the main programs by type, with grades and 2027 dates checked on each official site in October 2026, and ends with ideas for students who want to stay home.

Want your middle schooler to spend the summer on a real STEM project? See if your child qualifies for the STEM Explorers Program →

Academic programs for advanced students

Johns Hopkins CTY. Day programs for grades 2 to 8 and three-week residential programs for grades 5 to 12 at select sites (grades 7 to 12 at all sites). Most residential students are 12 to 15. Tentative 2027 sessions run June 27 to July 16 and July 18 to August 6.

Northwestern CTD. Three-week day and residential programs on Northwestern's campus for grades 6 to 12, with honors, AP and college-level courses.

Duke Pre-College. Residential or commuter summer courses for students currently in grades 6 to 8. Registration for 2027 opens in December 2026.

Purdue GER²I Summer Residential. Students in grades 5 to 12 live on Purdue's campus and take small, fast-paced courses. New applicants submit an essay or alternative media statement and qualifying documents.

Belin-Blank Center (University of Iowa). The Blank Summer Institute is a one-week residential program for Iowa 7th and 8th graders nominated by their schools; 2027 sessions run June 13 to 18 and June 20 to 25. The Junior Scholars Academy is a commuter program for grades 3 to 6.

Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes. Two-week online courses for students currently in grade 8 and up, with more than 75 courses and an average class size of 16.

learnSTEM STEM Explorers Program. One-on-one STEM research online with a mentor from a top-20 university: nine hour-long Zoom sessions over 12 weeks, scheduled around your family's calendar, from anywhere. Students choose a topic with their mentor by week four and finish with a research paper, software project or portfolio. If your child wants an expert's full attention on a subject they love, at their own level and on your family's schedule, this is the program for them.

For more on these programs, see our guide to programs for gifted middle school students.

Admitted students in the STEM Explorers Program work one-on-one with a mentor from a top-20 university. See if your child qualifies for the STEM Explorers Program →

STEM, engineering and enrichment camps

Penn GEMS: an engineering, math and science summer camp at the University of Pennsylvania for students in grades 6 to 8.
Carnegie Mellon SEE: a one-week program for rising 8th to 11th graders.
UMBC Summer Enrichment Academy: weeklong summer programs for students entering grades 6 to 8.
Illinois WYSE camps: engineering camps at the University of Illinois for students entering grade 7 and up.
Texas A&M AggieSTEM: five-day, hands-on STEM camps for students in grades 6 to 12.
Wayne State Summer Academy: two-week day camps in engineering, computer science and STEAM for rising 1st to 8th graders.
Camp Invention: a hands-on invention program for grades K to 6, and a Leaders-in-Training Program for grades 7 to 9.

Math camps

MathPath: a residential program for students ages 11 to 14 with high interest in math.
Epsilon Camp: for younger students, ages 7 to 10 at the start of camp.
Canada/USA Mathcamp: for ages 13 to 18, so older middle schoolers qualify. 2027 details will be announced in December.
AwesomeMath Summer Program: intensive three-week sessions from June through August, with a qualifying test that sets the course level.

Coding and technology programs

iD Tech: summer tech camps for ages 7 to 17, and Teen Academies for ages 13 to 18.
Girls Who Code Clubs: free clubs for students in grades 3 to 12, offered after school and in the summer.
Art of Problem Solving: online classes for grades 5 to 12, including programming.

Free summer programs for middle school students

Stanford Middle School Scholars Program: tuition-free for students from low-income backgrounds in grades 6 or 7 who live and attend school in the U.S. Scholars take a three-week online course in July in a cohort of 12, then meet weekly online through December.
William & Mary Camp Launch: a summer camp for high-ability rising 7th to 10th graders in Virginia from low-income households.
Competition preparation: MATHCOUNTS posts last year's chapter and state competitions free online, and the 2027 Science Olympiad rules are free to download. A summer of practice prepares a student for the school-year season.

STEM Explorers students choose a topic with their mentor by week four, in subjects like astrophysics, neuroscience and cryptography. See if your child qualifies for the STEM Explorers Program →

What can my 12- or 13-year-old do this summer?

If the programs above don't fit your schedule or budget, a student this age can still do something meaningful at home:

Run a small research project. Pick a question, collect data and write a one-page summary. Public data from NOAA, NASA or a city open data portal is enough. Our guide on how to get into research in middle school has step-by-step instructions and project ideas.
Learn to code. Build one small program that solves a real problem, such as a quiz app or a budget tracker.
Join citizen science. Zooniverse and iNaturalist let anyone contribute to real research.
Prepare for a competition. MATHCOUNTS for math, Science Olympiad for science and engineering, NASA's TechRise Student Challenge for students in grades 6 to 12 attending U.S. schools.
Read one hard book in a subject they love, and explain it to the family at dinner.

The key at this age is a finished product. A completed project teaches more than ten started ones.

Prefer a mentor to guide the project? In the STEM Explorers Program, students meet one-on-one with a mentor on Zoom. Learn about the STEM Explorers Program →

How to choose a summer program for your middle schooler

Start with your child's interest. A program in the subject they already love will hold their attention.
Residential, day or online? Residential programs build independence; most CTY residential students are 12 to 15. Day and online programs fit younger or less experienced students.
Check the eligibility rules. Many programs set grade ranges, qualifying scores, residency rules or school nominations.
Register early. Several programs open registration in December and January.
Look for a real result. A project, a paper or a written evaluation lasts longer than a T-shirt.

If your child is also identified as gifted, see our guide to gifted and talented programs and the list of online programs for gifted students.

Frequently asked questions

What can my 13-year-old do for the summer? Attend an academic or STEM summer program, go to a math camp, join a coding club, prepare for a competition or do a research project at home or with a mentor.

What can my 12-year-old do during the summer? Most programs for middle school students accept 12-year-olds, including CTY, Northwestern CTD, Duke Pre-College, Purdue GER²I and MathPath. Free options include Girls Who Code Clubs and citizen science projects.

What are some fun summer activities for middle schoolers? Hands-on activities work best at this age: building a robot, coding a game, tracking wildlife for a citizen science project or running a home experiment.

Are there free summer programs for middle school students? Yes. The Stanford Middle School Scholars Program is tuition-free for eligible students from low-income backgrounds, Girls Who Code Clubs are free, and William & Mary's Camp Launch serves high-ability Virginia students from low-income households.

When should I sign up for summer programs? In the winter. Several programs open registration in December or January.

Sources

About the STEM Explorers Program

We look for curious, motivated middle school students who want to go beyond the classroom; prior research experience is not required. Each admitted student works one-on-one with a STEM mentor from a top-20 university in nine hour-long Zoom sessions over 12 weeks, scheduled around the family's calendar. Students choose a topic with their mentor by week four, then create a research paper, software project or portfolio. Example topics include cryptography, astrophysics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and game theory. At the end, each student receives a written evaluation from their mentor.

See if your child qualifies for the STEM Explorers Program → · Questions about eligibility? Contact us →