Summer Experiences

• Click Here for a list of businesses that have hired our students in the past
• Ask around with the businesses near you too as they might be hiring!

Headwaters Outdoor School Apprenticeship

Application: https://hwos.com/apprenticeship-program/

Due:  check website

Note:  This is a Northern California camp that teaches primitive skills that humans have used throughout time to survive in kinship with the Earth. Skills include Wilderness Survival, Tracking, Edible and Medicinal Plants, Nature Awareness, Earth Philosophy and many others. 

Kaiser Permanente Launch Paid Internship Program

Application: https://kplaunch.kaiserpermanente.org/high-school-program/

Due: Application opens in November and closes in December

Note: This is a summer-long (10 week) research internship program for high-school juniors and seniors.

Little People’s Repertory Theater Teen Mentorship

Application: https://lprt.org/teen-mentorship-program/

Due: See website

Note:  The mentorship serves approximately 15 to 25 teens each summer. We offer paid internships to teens and young adults. Teens are trained to work with younger children as rehearsal-assistants, in a camp-counselor style capacity.

NASA Internship Program

Application: https://intern.nasa.gov

Due: See website

Note: This is a spring, summer or fall internship for students with at least a 3.0 gpa who are at least 16 year old. It takes place in California and across the country.

Police Department of Scotts Valley Explorer Program

Application: https://www.scottsvalleypd.com/police-explorer

Due:  check website

Note:  This a fun and safe way for young people in our community, 14 to 20 years of age, to learn about the field of law enforcement. They participate in ride-alongs, traffic control, crowd control, give tours of the Police Department, and help with many other tasks and events.

SEAP Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program

Application: https://www.navalsteminterns.us/seap/

Due:  Nov. 1

Note: This is an an opportunity for high school students to participate in research at a Department of Navy (DoN) laboratory during the summer. Locations are nationwide, and the closest lab is in Monterey There may be a paid stipend.

State Park Volunteer at Henry Cowell

Application: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29718

Due:  check website

Note: This is an opportunity to join a team of dedicated volunteers who rove the trails, interact with visitors, host at the visitor center and in general contribute to the inspiration, education and enjoyment of park visitors. 

Youth Conservation Corps in Yosemite

Application: https://www.nps.gov/yose/getinvolved/ycc.htm

Due:  March 29

Note:  This is a non-residential program. In Yosemite, YCC members work, learn, and grow in public lands restoring, rehabilitating, and repairing the natural, cultural, and historical resources protected as federally preserved places. Bus transportation may be available from Mariposa, CA. Youth will be paid within California’s minimum wage. 

Youth Conservation Corps

Application: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/youthprograms/ycc.htm

Due:  March 29

Note:  This is  is a summer youth employment program that takes place in many park locations. It engages young people in meaningful work experiences on national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and fish hatcheries while developing an ethic of environmental stewardship and civic responsibility. YCC programs are generally 8 to 10 weeks and members are paid the minimum wage for a 40-hour work week. 

AMDA High School Conservatory

Website: https://www.amda.edu/highschool

Due: Check Website

Note: The AMDA High School Conservatory is an immersive program that provides extraordinary performing arts training for passionate artists. This program offers cutting-edge learning opportunities that are uniquely personal and specifically designed for today’s emerging performing artists.

Berkeley Business Academy for Youth (B-BAY)

Website: https://haas.berkeley.edu/business-academy/high-school-entrepreneurship/

Due: Check Website

Information: Every year, 50 high-school students from around the globe spend two weeks learning at B-BAY, where they learn from Berkeley Haas Business School professors and corporate guest speakers and immerse themselves in the culture and life at Berkeley. This college prep business program is tailored to help students explore a variety of business subjects through an interactive curriculum and learn how to write a business plan and turn their ideas into a business. Course topics include accounting, game theory and negotiations, marketing, finance, and entrepreneurship. 

Cabrillo College Extension

Website: https://www.cabrillo.edu/services/extension/

Due: Varies, check website

Note: Various summer activities and experiences for all grade levels.

California College of the Arts Pre-College Program

Website: https://www.inspiritai.com/blogs/ai-blog/summer-programs-for-high-school-students-in-california#

Due: Check Website

Information: At CCA’s Pre-College Program, high schoolers join a diverse group of creative thinkers and makers who share their passion for art and design. The program is open to all interested participants, those with little art and design experience and those with advanced skills. High school students with an interest in the arts will have the opportunity to take studio-focused, college-level courses to help push beyond concepts to portfolio-ready pieces while earning 3 college credits. CCA offers residential and commuter options (4 weeks) as well as virtual instruction (5 weeks), with the in-person program taught at the CCA San Francisco campus. 

California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA)

Website: https://www.csssa.ca.gov/

Due: Check Website

Information: The California State Summer School for the Arts (CSSSA) is a rigorous pre-professional training program in the visual and performing arts, creative writing, animation, music, theater and film for talented artists of high school age. CSSSA provides a supportive environment in which students hone acquired skills and explore new techniques and ideas for an intense and exciting learning experience. Students may receive 3 units of California State University elective credit for successful participation. Visit the link above for more information on the individual programs offered by CSSSA. 

Camp SEA Lab

Website: https://campsealab.org/voyage-seaward/

Due: Check Website

Information: A partner of California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), the Science, Education, and Adventure (SEA) Lab seeks to foster lifelong excitement, scientific understanding, and stewardship of the coasts and ocean by providing quality marine oriented programs. One of these programs allows high schoolers to embark on week-long boating expeditions in which they will participate in studies of plankton and marine mammal studies, oceanography sampling, and marine debris and conservation topics, among other activities. During these 5-day sea-going adventures, under the guidance of a professional captain and crew, students will be challenged to become a team by learning to sail a traditional ship on a voyage to the sea. 

Carnegie Mellon Summer Pre-College Programs

Website: https://www.cmu.edu/pre-college/academic-programs/index.html

COSMOS California State Summer School for Math and Science 

Website: https://cosmos-ucop.ucdavis.edu/app/main

Due: Check Website

Note: This is a four-week summer residential program for students who have demonstrated an aptitude for academic careers in STEM subjects in grades 8-12. 

EPIC Cal. Poly San Luis Opispo

Website: https://epic.calpoly.edu/

Due: Check Website

Note:  EPIC is Engineering Possibilities in College. This is for students entering 6th through 11th grade. It is a residential camp and there is a fee.

Harvard Summer School

Website: https://summer.harvard.edu/high-school-programs/

Due: Check Website

Note: Harvard’s Summer College Programs for high school students are intensive programs designed to give students a glimpse of college and the opportunity to challenge themselves in college-level academics.

Idyllwild Arts Summer Teen Programs

Website: https://idyllwildarts.org/teen-programs/

Due: Check Website

Information: Idyllwild Arts High School Intensives and Workshops provide focused, practical, hands-on experiences for students interested in the arts. In a supportive and creative environment, students immerse themselves completely in their chosen craft (e.g. fiction, filmmaking, ballet, fashion design, ceramics). High School programs nurture passion and talent, and help channel the creative spirit into a foundation for continued study. Instructors successfully work with students of all levels of ability and experience while emphasizing educational values, personal values, and achievement. Students will be challenged to improve and build skill and confidence.

Inspirit AI Scholars

Website: https://www.inspiritai.com/liveonline

Due: Check Website

Note: AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) artificial intelligence bootcamp that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project.

Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) - UC Santa Cruz & Loyola Marymount

Website: https://cty.jhu.edu/programs/on-campus

Due: Check Website

Information: Though run by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, CTY hosts residential programs on the campuses of UCSC in Santa Cruz and LMU in Los Angeles with expansive course catalogs. Chemistry, cognitive psychology, electrical engineering, marine ecology, and game theory are all available listings at one or both sites. Participants in CTY also benefit from a three-week experience of campus life including extracurricular exploration and deeper dives into course content. 

National Student Leadership Summer Conferences

Website: https://www.nslcleaders.org/

Note: These are pre-college summer programs aimed for high schoolers. Students must be nominated. Any interested should see their high school counselor.

Neuroscape at UCSF 

Website: https://neuroscape.ucsf.edu/get-involved/volunteer/#high-school

Due: Check Website

Note: The Neuroscape volunteer internship program offers a rich environment with hands-on experience in transnational neuroscience research through UC San Francisco. There is also a paid opportunity for 12-16 year olds to participate in a study.

NYU Pre-College Program

Website: Nyu.edu/precollege

Due: Check Website

Note: NYU Precollege offers high schoolers the opportunity to experience life as an NYU student, earn college credits toward a future degree, and immerse themselves in the dynamic, global community that is New York University.

Stanford Envision Experiences

Website: https://www.envisionexperience.com/

Due: Check Website

Note: This is an opportunity to pay to have career experiences in Advanced Emergency Medicine or Intensive Law and Trial. It is a 10 day residential program.

Santa Clara University Summer Engineering Seminar Program

Website: https://www.scu.edu/engineering/beyond-the-classroom/outreach/summer-engineering-seminar-ses/

Due:  Opens in Dec. every year

Note:  The School of Engineering at Santa Clara University hosts a Summer Engineering Seminar (SES) program. This special summer experience is for current high school sophomores and juniors who are interested in exploring the field of engineering.

Stanford Summer Enrichment Programs

Website: https://spcs.stanford.edu/programs

Due:  check each program for the due date

Note: There are a variety of programs: Medical Youth Science Program, Mathematics Camp (SUMaC), AI4ALL (Artificial Intelligence Outreach), Summer Arts Institute, and Summer Institutes.

Additional Stanford Programs:

• Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes allows students currently in grades 8–11 to apply to a single-subject intensive course selected from a wide range of disciplines, and benefit from small class size and academically themed residences. 
   
• Stanford Pre-Collegiate University-Level Online Math and Physics offers 13 courses throughout the year, including a summer term for high school students, grades 9–12. Students earn Stanford University Continuing Studies credit.

STEM database of many programs

Website: https://cosmos.ucsc.edu/additional-resources/

Due:  check each resource for due date

Note: This is a resource for additional selected California Summer Programs in Math and Science.

UC Berkeley Pre-College Scholars

Website: https://precollege.berkeley.edu/

Due: Check Website

Information: To accommodate students all across the state of California, UC Berkeley offers residential, commuter, and virtual programs. Pre-College Scholars participants will get the opportunity to earn college credit while experiencing university life to the fullest with other students from across the United States and around the world. During the summer, students will take two courses offered through Berkeley Summer Sessions and have the option to participate in extracurricular activities, excursions, and an exploratory workshop series delivered by skilled admissions professionals.

UC Davis Young Scholars Program

Website: https://education.ucdavis.edu/young-scholars-program

Due: Check Website

Information: The UC Davis Young Scholars Program is a summer residential research program designed to expose approximately 40 high achieving high school students to the world of original research within the fields of the biological, agricultural, environmental and natural sciences. Participants in the UC Davis Young Scholars Program will work one-on-one with research faculty and research groups in state of the art laboratories for six weeks. Each student will work on an individual project and prepare a journal quality paper and symposium presentation about their work. In addition to scientific research, the UC Davis Young Scholars Program strives to introduce participants to the climate and culture of living and learning on a university campus. Staff make every effort to model the experiences that participants will have during their first years of college.

UCLA Summer Programs for High School Students

Website: https://summer.ucla.edu/student-types/high-school-students/

Due: Check Website

Information: UCLA hosts a wide range of residential programs for motivated high school students including the Summer College Immersion Program (SCIP) and Pre-College Summer Institutes. In the former, high schoolers take 1-2 UCLA courses alongside UCLA undergraduates and receive exclusive access to co-curricular enhancements that foster academic growth and college readiness. The Pre-college Summer Institutes provide motivated and driven high school students with the opportunity to earn college credit in one to three weeks while advancing their academic career and abilities in an area of study of their interest.

UC Santa Barbara Summer Research Academies

Website: https://www.summer.ucsb.edu/programs/summer-research-academies/overview

Due: Check Website

Information: UC Santa Barbara's Summer Research Academies offer a dynamic summer experience that introduces qualified high school students to the research enterprise through project-based, directed research in STEM, Humanities, and Social Sciences fields. Students will take a 4-unit university course in which they choose and develop a research topic specific to the track they select, under the direction of an instructor who is conducting active research in that field. Students will develop academic and professional skills by presenting their research findings in a capstone seminar, networking with peers, and experiencing university life in a challenging environment. The lecture series will connect students to some of the best minds among the UC Santa Barbara research community as they present on their ground-breaking research and innovative technology.

UCSB Research Mentorship Program

Website: https://www.summer.ucsb.edu/programs/research-mentorship-program/research-experience

Due: Check Website

Information: Students participating in the Research Mentorship Program are actively engaged in the pursuit of new knowledge alongside UC Santa Barbara researchers. Depending on the nature of their project, students will dedicate 30 to 40 hours a week to research. The program allows students to be exposed to a wide variety of interdisciplinary research topics, and then rank a selection of projects that they would prefer to work on. Students will be paired with a project and a research mentor (graduate student, postdoc, or faculty) to conduct hands-on, university-level research. Previous projects in 2022 included research on machine learning, blockchain, and neural networks. 

UCSC Science Internship Program

Website: https://sip.ucsc.edu/

Due: Check Website

Note: This is a summer-long (10 week) research internship program for high-school students in STEM fields.

UCSC Summer Session

Website: https://summer.ucsc.edu/high-school/index.html

Due:  registration opens April 1

Note: This is for high school students (age 14-18) who completed their sophomore or junior year with a GPA of 3.0. Students take UCSC courses on campus.

World Strides - Educational Travel & Experiences

Veterinary Academy

Website: vetmed.worldstrides.com

Due: Check Website:

Information: Forget boring summer camps! All of the Veterinary Academy programs offer endless possibilities to explore. You can care for stray dogs in Costa Rica, contribute to wildlife conservation efforts in Belize, connect with the public about the importance of habitat preservation at the Texas Zoo, or spend your spring break studying coral reefs.

USC Summer Programs for High School Students

Website: https://precollege.usc.edu/summer-programs/

Due: Check Website

Information: USC Summer Programs’ courses are taught by USC faculty and experienced professionals of the USC academic community. Participating faculty create an engaging academic experience by combining lectures, hands-on workshops and labs, and guest speakers. Each course is designed to be more interactive, engaging and challenging than accelerated high school classes or the broad introductory courses offered by other summer pre-collegiate programs. As a “Summer Trojan,” high schoolers balance academic and campus life as they prepare for college—and earn college credit. Areas of study include business, engineering, journalism and pre-health.

Yale Pre-College Program

Website: https://summer.yale.edu/apply/pre-college-students

Due: Check Website

Note: Yale Summer Session seeks motivated high school students who wish to enroll in Yale College courses for credit. While enrolled in Yale courses, qualified high school students will share the classroom with college students and will do college-level work. All participants will be held to the same set of standards.

Volunteering can be a great way to spend your summer, below are some opportunities to give back to our community and be sure that when you come back in the Fall, to turn in your Volunteer Hours!

Community Service Sheets can be found here.

State Park Volunteer at Henry Cowell

Application: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=29718

Due:  check website

Note: This is an opportunity to join a team of dedicated volunteers who rove the trails, interact with visitors, host at the visitor center and in general contribute to the inspiration, education and enjoyment of park visitors.