Top 14 Aerospace Engineering Summer Programs for High School Students in 2025–2026

The right aerospace engineering summer program can help you build technical skills, explore college-level engineering, and gain hands-on experience with flight, space, and design. Aerospace engineering is also considered one of the hardest engineering degrees, and these programs can give you a head start in experiencing what it’s like to study or work in the field.

This guide highlights the top 14 programs for 2025–2026 that offer learning opportunities—from university-based courses to research experiences and NASA-supported initiatives. If you’re aiming to strengthen your STEM background and prepare for competitive engineering majors, these programs are the best places to start.

• What Are the Best Aerospace Engineering Summer Programs?
• Summer Science Program in Astrophysics
• Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University Summer Academy
• NASA High School Aerospace Scholars
• MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute
• Caltech Aerospace Research Mentorship Program
• University of Michigan Aerospace Engineering High School Scholars Program
• Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program
• Stanford University Aerospace Robotics Lab High School Internship
• MIT Lincoln Laboratory High School Internship Program
• Georgia Tech Aerospace Systems Design Lab High School Internship
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center High School Internship
• Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory High School Internship
• University of Miami Summer Scholars Program – Applications of Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Architectural Engineering
• IN FOCUS Seminars at Northwestern
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Takeaways

What Are the Best Aerospace Engineering Summer Programs?

The best aerospace engineering summer programs provide high school students with hands-on experience with flight, space systems, and engineering problem-solving. These programs stand out for their rigorous curriculum, expert mentorship, and opportunities to work on aerospace projects.

These programs strengthen your college applications by showing a genuine commitment to aerospace beyond the classroom, especially if you’re aiming for highly selective engineering schools like the Ivy League, Stanford, MIT, or Caltech.

Here’s a quick overview of the best aerospace engineering summer programs for high school students, including each program’s location and dates:

Let’s discuss each program one by one.

1. Summer Science Program in Astrophysics

• Location: Hosted on rotating U.S. university campuses
• Cost: Up to ~$9,800 (2025 fee; tuition, room & board included) – generous need-based aid often makes it free
• 2026 Dates: Late June – Early August 2026 (≈5 weeks)

The Summer Science Program (SSP) in Astrophysics is a prestigious residential research camp where teams of high school students conduct an astronomical research project. This immersive experience has students calculate asteroid orbits by taking telescope observations, then analyze the data with guidance from astrophysicists.

Participants live on campus and follow a college-level schedule, which includes daytime coding and problem-solving, evening lab work, and occasional guest lectures and field trips. Each team finishes by presenting its original research.

SSP is highly selective for rising seniors (and some juniors) and meets 100% of demonstrated financial need, ensuring all admitted students can attend. Applicants must also have a strong STEM background (including physics and math) and an interest in research.

If you’re curious about one of the most prestigious and academically rigorous STEM programs in the world, check out our complete guide to the Summer Science Program.

2. Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University Summer Academy

• Location: Embry‑Riddle campuses in Daytona Beach, FL and Prescott, AZ
• Cost: Varies by camp (~$1,200–$2,000 per week; flight-oriented camps at higher end)
• 2026 Dates: Multiple one-week sessions, June–July 2026 (specific camp dates vary)

Embry‑Riddle’s Summer Academy offers several aerospace engineering summer programs in both Florida and Arizona. High school students choose from hands-on camps in aviation, aerospace engineering, robotics, space science, and more. Options range from day camps to immersive overnight camps where students live in dorms and explore career paths in fields like piloting, drone technology, air traffic control, and astronautics.

In the Robotics and Autonomous Systems camp, students spend a week building and programming robots for competitions. Meanwhile, in the Aerospace Career Exploration camp, participants learn aerodynamics, aircraft design, and use flight simulators.

Embry-Riddle also offers multiple one-week sessions and some need-based scholarships, making it an accessible way to experience college-level aerospace and aviation training.

Specific eligibility varies by session, but generally students must be current high school students (usually up to 18 years old) with an interest in aviation or engineering.

3. NASA High School Aerospace Scholars

• Location: Virtual (online coursework + “Moonshot” design project); top teams attend on-site finals at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
• Cost: Free (NASA-sponsored; all-expense-paid for the residential experience)
• 2026 Dates: Online course from Oct 2025 – Mar 2026; Moonshot virtual week either June 1–5 or June 8–12, 2026; in-person capstone at JSC in July 2026

NASA HAS is a competitive year-long program for Texas juniors combining a five-month online STEM curriculum with a mentored summer experience. Students study NASA mission topics and build skills in coding, CAD, and engineering design.

NASA HAS is open only to U.S. citizens who are Texas high school juniors. It begins with a long online STEM curriculum during the school year. Top performers advance to the free, week-long virtual Moonshot challenge, where teams design a crewed Artemis-related mission and pitch their proposal. The strongest teams earn an all-expenses-paid residential internship at NASA Johnson Space Center, including facility tours and on-site mentorship.

4. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute

• Location: MIT campus in Cambridge, MA (with some courses offered virtually)
• Cost: Free for many students (need-blind admission; families under ~$150K income attend at no charge); otherwise up to $2,350 program fee
• 2026 Dates: July – Early August 2026 (4-week program, expected July 6 – Aug 2, 2026)

The MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute is an intensive four-week STEM research program for high-achieving rising seniors interested in engineering and AI. Admitted students choose one of around 14 project-based courses—past offerings have included Autonomous RACECAR design, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Racing, satellite engineering, cybersecurity, and other advanced topics at the cutting edge of tech.

Participants spend July at MIT working in teams under the mentorship of MIT faculty and scientists from Lincoln Laboratory. They engage in hands-on workshops by day and make rapid progress on ambitious projects—for example, programming swarms of mini racecars or designing a mock lunar rover.

With donor support, the program offers no-tuition options for students with financial need. It ends with project competitions and presentations attended by MIT researchers.

BWSI is designed for high-achieving U.S. high school students (often rising seniors) with a strong interest in STEM, especially engineering and computation. Students must complete an online prerequisite course and then apply. Acceptance is competitive, and middle/high school eligibility is tied to performance in the online portion.

If you want to experience what it’s like to tackle engineering problems using college-level tools and frameworks, dive into our comprehensive guide to BWSI.

5. Caltech Aerospace Research Mentorship Program

• Location: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
• Cost: Free (competitive internship with stipend ~$6,840 plus housing provided)
• 2026 Dates: Mid-June – Late August 2026 (10-week research internship)

Caltech’s Aerospace Mentorship Program is a highly selective, ten-week research internship where students join faculty labs and work full-time on graduate-level aerospace projects. Interns tackle independent problems in areas such as aerodynamics, propulsion, spacecraft engineering, or structures.

The program also offers weekly seminars, skills workshops, and lab tours, including possible visits to JPL or campus wind tunnels. Students conclude with a research report or poster and present their findings as a capstone project.

Caltech’s AMP is essentially a mini grad-school experience for exceptional high school (and community college) students, and it comes with a generous stipend and housing.

6. University of Michigan Aerospace Engineering High School Scholars Program

• Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
• Cost: Free (no tuition or fees for selected students)
• 2026 Dates: Summer 2026 (multi-week program, dates to be announced)

The University of Michigan’s Aerospace Engineering High School Scholars Program brings students to campus to explore flight and space systems through hands-on projects and simulations. Participants study core aerospace topics including aerodynamics, aircraft design, propulsion, and basic orbital mechanics.

Under the guidance of UMich’s Aerospace faculty and researchers, students might, for example, design and test model gliders, learn to use CAD software for airplane parts, or analyze how rockets and satellites are engineered. Students get to tour Michigan’s wind tunnel labs and fabrication shops, and work in teams to solve engineering challenges.

The program is typically free for those admitted, making it an accessible chance to earn the title of “Michigan Aerospace Engineering Scholar.”

7. Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program

• Location: On-site at various Air Force Research Laboratory facilities across the United States (multiple lab locations depending on research area).
• Cost: Free to participate; the program is a stipend-paid internship (you receive weekly pay based on your academic level).
• 2026 Dates: Internships typically run 10–12 weeks between early June and late July 2026

The Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program is a highly selective summer internship that places STEM students—ranging from upper-level high schoolers to undergraduate and graduate students—directly inside active Air Force research environments.

Scholars work full-time alongside AFRL scientists and engineers on mission-driven projects across aerospace engineering, materials science, sensors, systems, computing, physics, and related technical fields. Students often conclude their internships by producing technical reports or presenting findings to their research teams.

The program is open to U.S. citizens aged 16 or older who are enrolled or accepted at an accredited educational institution and can relocate for the duration of the internship. A GPA of 3.0 or higher is encouraged. In return, students receive a weekly stipend scaled by academic level, build strong professional networks, and gain resume-ready experience that offers a clear window into careers in advanced aerospace and national defense research.

8. Stanford University Aerospace Robotics Lab High School Internship

• Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
• Cost: Free (unpaid internship mentorship program)
• 2026 Dates: 7-week program in summer 2026 (approx. mid-June through early August)

Stanford’s Aerospace Design Lab (ADL) offers a research internship for a handful of local high school students, immersing them in cutting-edge robotics projects for about seven weeks. Interns work closely with Stanford graduate students and faculty, gaining experience with ADL’s task-level control frameworks and land, sea, air, and space robotics platforms.

The ADL focuses on improving robotic performance in aerospace contexts through advanced feedback control, integrated sensing, and human-robot interaction algorithms. A high school intern might program drone controllers, analyze sensor data for space robotics, or test rover navigation in a mock planetary terrain.

Internships at Stanford labs (including aerospace robotics) are competitive research placements that may be available to high-school students with strong academic and technical backgrounds. Eligibility usually requires a formal application with a project proposal and faculty sponsorship, and some programs target rising seniors or advanced students.

9. MIT Lincoln Laboratory High School Internship Program

• Location: MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Lexington, MA
• Cost: Free to participate — this is a paid internship where selected high school students receive a stipend for their summer work.
• 2026 Dates: July – mid-August 2026

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory High School Internship Program is a selective summer research internship for rising high school seniors that places students in a professional laboratory setting, working alongside MIT Lincoln Laboratory scientists and engineers.

Interns are matched with staff mentors and contribute to hands-on projects in engineering and applied science aligned with the Lab’s work in advanced technology and national security. The experience emphasizes research practices, including the use of professional tools, structured problem-solving, and technical documentation or presentations.

Eligibility requirements include being a rising senior, at least 16 years old, a U.S. citizen, and attending high school in the New England region, with the ability to commit to full-time on-site work. A strong interest in STEM is expected.

10. Georgia Tech Aerospace Systems Design Lab High School Internship

• Location: Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA
• Cost: Free (unpaid; educational internship)
• 2026 Dates: Summer 2026 (sessions typically run in June–July, exact dates vary annually)

Georgia Tech’s Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL) hosts a summer internship program for high schoolers, often as part of its STEP (Science and Engineering Pathways) outreach. Selected students join research teams in the ASDL, which is known for working on advanced aircraft and spacecraft design, optimization, and systems engineering projects.

Participants might assist with tasks like computational modeling, CAD design, or data analysis for conceptual aerospace vehicles. For instance, a high school intern could help evaluate the aerodynamics of a new UAV concept or contribute to trajectory simulations for a space mission design.

The program requires students to be at least 16, enrolled in high school, and have strong STEM interests.

Interns are typically assigned a mentor (a grad student or engineer) and a project module that’s appropriate to their background, ensuring they can make contributions over a few weeks. Throughout the program, students also attend some introductory classes or seminars on aerospace systems design and team up with peers to tackle simplified design challenges drawn from ASDL projects.

11. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center High School Internship

• Location: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
• Cost: Free (unpaid; participants may earn academic credit or volunteer service hours)
• 2026 Dates: Summer 2026 (approx. June – August, 6–8 weeks depending on project)

At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, high school interns join mentor-led teams working on aerospace and space science projects. An intern might help in creating CAD drawings for rocket component, supporting spacecraft thermal vacuum tests, or analyzing data from past missions. Interns also attend career talks, facility tours, and networking events.

NASA high school internships at Goddard and other NASA centers generally require applicants to be U.S. citizens, high school sophomores/juniors/seniors (often age 16+), enrolled full time, and maintain a solid GPA (often 3.0 or higher).

12. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory High School Internship

• Location: JHU Applied Physics Lab (APL), Laurel, MD
• Cost: Free (unpaid; students may earn school credit through their district’s work-study)
• 2026 Dates: Typically an academic-year program (placements for 2026 likely available in summer or school year, ~10+ weeks)

The Johns Hopkins APL’s ASPIRE internship pairs motivated juniors and seniors with APL scientists and engineers to work on R&D projects. Interns contribute to areas such as spacecraft engineering, robotics, computer science, and electrical engineering.

Students are matched to mentors based on their interests—one might support guidance algorithm development for small satellites, help build components for the Hopkins “cubesat” program, or participate in testing space instruments for NASA missions. The internship is typically part-time over several months, often during the school year with a summer option.

APL-sponsored internships for high school students require U.S. citizenship, a minimum age of 16+, enrollment in high school, and strong math/science preparation. Note that placements are often limited to specific Maryland counties due to APL’s school system partnerships.

The program is unpaid, but students may earn academic credit.

13. University of Miami Summer Scholars Program – Applications of Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Architectural Engineering

• Location: University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
• Cost: ~$9,000 for 3-week residential program (2024: $9,057 residential or $7,799 commuter)
• 2026 Dates: June 27 – July 17, 2026 (3-week credit-bearing session)

The University of Miami’s Summer Scholars Program offers an engineering track where students explore mechanical and aerospace concepts through a three-week, six-credit course cluster.

Participants take two college-level classes—Intro to Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering and Intro to Civil/Architectural Engineering—taught by UM faculty. Coursework blends lectures with hands-on projects, such as designing model bridges or wind turbines, or building and testing small rockets or drones. Outside of class, you’ll also experience engineering lab tours (e.g., seeing UM’s structural testing labs) and guest talks from industry professionals.

The University of Miami’s Summer Scholars programs are pre-college programs open to current high school students (often rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors) with an interest in engineering disciplines. Eligibility typically requires enrollment in high school and submission of an application, including transcripts, essays, and a recommendation. A minimum GPA of 3.0 is also required.

Because it’s a credit program, students receive a college transcript and grades for their work, potentially transferable to their future university.

14. IN FOCUS Seminars at Northwestern

• Location: Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
• Cost: $5,235 for 2-week residential seminar (2026 pricing; includes housing and meals)
• 2026 Dates: June 21 – July 3, 2026 for “So You Want to Be a Rocket Scientist? Aerospace Engineering” seminars Session 1)

Northwestern’s IN FOCUS seminars are two-week immersive courses, and one 2026 offering—“So You Want to Be a Rocket Scientist?”—introduces students to core aerospace engineering concepts. Taught by a Northwestern engineering professor, the seminar combines lectures with hands-on design challenges.

Participants might 3D-print a small glider or test model rocket fins for stability, while also completing readings and group problem-solving discussions structured like a college course.

IN FOCUS Seminars at Northwestern University are pre-college summer courses for high school students, usually rising sophomores through seniors. Eligibility generally requires participants to be enrolled in high school and meet age/grade requirements stated for each seminar offering.

Northwestern’s program also integrates co-curricular events through the Wildcat Connect series, so beyond the content of aerospace engineering summer programs, students also get workshops on college prep and meet peers in other IN FOCUS seminars (covering topics from law to medicine).

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What are the best aerospace engineering summer programs for high school students in 2025?

Some of the strongest options include the Summer Science Program in Astrophysics, MIT’s Beaver Works Summer Institute, Caltech’s Aerospace Mentorship Program, and Embry-Riddle’s Aeronautical University Summer Academy.

These programs stand out for their hands-on projects, research depth, and mentorship from university faculty or NASA engineers.

2. Are there free aerospace engineering summer programs for high school students?

Yes. NASA’s programs like High School Aerospace Scholars, L’SPACE Academy, and many NASA center internships charge no tuition. MIT’s Beaver Works Summer Institute and the Summer Science Program meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. Some university-based programs also offer scholarships or fee waivers.

3. What subjects do aerospace engineering summer programs typically cover?

Most programs introduce core aerospace topics such as aerodynamics, aircraft and spacecraft design, propulsion, orbital mechanics, and systems engineering. Many also incorporate coding, CAD modeling, simulation tools, mission planning, robotics, and data analysis. Advanced research programs may focus on specialized areas like materials testing, trajectory optimization, guidance algorithms, or atmospheric science.

4. How can aerospace engineering summer programs help with college admissions?

These programs demonstrate academic rigor, initiative, and STEM commitment—qualities valued by selective colleges. Students gain hands-on experience, produce research or engineering projects, and build relationships with mentors who can provide strong recommendation letters. Participation can strengthen resumes, support future engineering applications, and offer compelling material for essays about STEM interests and career goals.

5. When should I apply for aerospace engineering summer programs?

Most aerospace programs open applications between September and January, with deadlines from December through March. Highly selective programs may close earlier, and NASA internships often require submitting materials several months in advance.

Takeaways

• Choosing the right aerospace engineering summer program can be a game-changer for your future in STEM. From world-class university labs to NASA-supported experiences and intensive research institutes, each program gives you a chance to challenge yourself, connect with mentors, and understand what aerospace engineering looks like in the real world.
• As you explore your options for 2025–2026, focus on programs that align with your interests—whether that’s hands-on design, computational work, astrophysics, or aircraft systems. Start preparing early, stay organized with deadlines, and don’t hesitate to aim high.
• If you want personalized guidance on which best aerospace engineering summer program matches your goals, check out our Academic & Extracurricular Profile Evaluation to make your experience stand out on college applications.