# AI & Machine Learning Programs & Competitions for High School Students

AI programs for high schoolers have exploded: research mentorships, university summer courses, and national challenges in machine learning and data ethics.

Colleges increasingly expect applicants claiming an AI interest to show real work — a trained model, a research poster, a competition entry. Start with these.

34 verified programs match this page; 23 of the featured listings are free; 14 can be done online.

## Programs (34 total, first 30 shown — full list on the canonical page)

| Program | Organization | Cost | Format | Grades | Deadline |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Presidential AI Challenge](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/presidential-ai-challenge) | White House Office of Science and Technology Policy | Free | virtual | Grades 1–12 | 2027-01-20 |
| [Microsoft AI for Good Challenge](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/ai-for-good-microsoft) | Microsoft | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | 2027-01-31 |
| [World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY)](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/waicy-ai-competition) | Ready AI | Free | virtual | Grades 6–12 | 2026-11-10 |
| [Kaggle Data Science Competitions](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/kaggle-competitions) | Kaggle/Google | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | Rolling |
| [The Knowledge Society](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/tks) | TKS | $4,500 | virtual | Grades 9–11 | 2026-07-31 |
| [Stanford AI4ALL](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/stanford-ai4all) | Stanford University | Free | in_person | Grade 11 | 2027-02-06 |
| [MIT Global AI Hackathon](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/mit-global-ai-hackathon) | MIT RAISE & App Inventor Foundation | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | 2027-04-14 |
| [International Olympiad in Artificial Intelligence (IOAI)](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/international-olympiad-ai) | IOAI Foundation | Free | in_person | Grades 9–12 | 2027-06-01 |
| [MIT Battlecode](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/mit-battlecode) | MIT | Free | hybrid | Grades 9–12 | 2027-01-10 |
| [Roborace Autonomous Racing Series](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/roborace) | Roborace Holdings Limited | Free | in_person | Grades 9–12 | Rolling |
| [NWEA Data Science for Everyone Competition](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/nwea-data-science-for-everyone) | NWEA | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | 2027-05-15 |
| [SECME AI Contest (High School)](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/secme-ai-contest-hs) | SECME | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | 2027-04-30 |
| [Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes (SCSI) - CS Tracks](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/stanford-pre-collegiate-summer-institutes-scsi-cs-tracks) | Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies | $2,500 | virtual | Grades 9–11 | 2027-03-13 |
| [MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI)](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/mit-beaver-works-summer-institute-bwsi) | MIT Lincoln Laboratory & MIT School of Engineering | Free | hybrid | Grade 11 | 2027-03-31 |
| [Princeton AI4ALL](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/princeton-ai4all) | Princeton University | Free | in_person | Grades 10–11 | 2027-04-09 |
| [SAE Autonomous Vehicle Challenge](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/sae-autonomous-vehicle-challenge) | SAE International | $100 | in_person | Grades 9–12 | 2027-01-08 |
| [Intel oneAPI Developer Challenge](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/intel-oneapi-developer-challenge) | Intel Corporation | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | Rolling |
| [DARPA Grand Challenge (Autonomous Vehicles)](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/darpa-grand-challenge) | Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) | Free | in_person | Grades 9–12 | Rolling |
| [Technovation Girls](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/technovation-girls) | Technovation | Free | hybrid | Grades 6–12 | 2027-03-18 |
| [AI4ALL Summer Program](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/ai4all-summer-program) | AI4ALL | Free | hybrid | Grades 9–11 | 2027-02-15 |
| [AIcrowd Challenges](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/aicrowd-challenges) | AIcrowd | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | 2026-07-31 |
| [Horizon Academic AI Essay Prize](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/horizon-academic-ai-essay) | Horizon Academic | Free | virtual | Grades 9–12 | 2026-07-13 |
| [Inspirit AI Scholars Program](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/inspirit-ai-scholars-program) | Inspirit AI | $1,750 | virtual | Grades 9–12 | Rolling |
| [NVIDIA AI City Challenge](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/nvidia-ai-challenge) | NVIDIA | Free | virtual | Grades 10–12 | 2026-07-10 |
| [SHINE: Summer High School Intensive in Next-Generation Engineering](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/shine-summer-high-school-intensive-in-next-generation-engineering) | USC Viterbi School of Engineering | $7,750 | in_person | Grades 10–12 | 2027-02-01 |
| [Stanford Pre-Collegiate Summer Institutes](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/stanford-pre-collegiate-summer-institutes) | Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies | $7,800 | in_person | Grades 9–11 | 2027-03-13 |
| [Carnegie Mellon AI Scholars](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/carnegie-mellon-ai-scholars) | Carnegie Mellon University | Free | in_person | Grades 10–12 | 2027-02-01 |
| [Autonomous Vehicle Challenge (SAE International)](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/autonomous-vehicle-challenge-sae-international) | SAE International | $200 | in_person | Grades 9–12 | 2027-01-09 |
| [Veritas AI x Sports Deep Dive](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/veritas-ai-sports-deep-dive) | Veritas AI + Sports | Free | in_person | Grades 9–12 | Rolling |
| [Veritas AI Program](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/veritas-ai-program) | Veritas AI | Free | in_person | Grades 9–12 | Rolling |

## Frequently asked questions

### How many ai & machine learning programs are listed for high school students?

ExtracurricularHub currently lists 34 verified ai & machine learning opportunities for high school students, each with cost, eligibility, deadline, and an official application link.

### Are any of these ai & machine learning programs free?

Yes — 23 of the programs featured on this page charge no participation fee. Free programs are often funded and can be more selective, so apply early.

### Which deadlines are coming up soonest?

The next deadlines: NVIDIA AI City Challenge (July 10, 2026); Horizon Academic AI Essay Prize (July 13, 2026); The Knowledge Society (July 31, 2026). Deadlines change every cycle — always confirm on the program's official site.

### Do ai & machine learning extracurriculars help with college admissions?

Yes — sustained, escalating involvement in ai & machine learning (participation → awards or leadership → independent work) reads far stronger than scattered one-off activities. Pick one or two programs from this page and go deep.

## Related pages

- [Computer Science Programs & Competitions for High School Students](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/computer-science)
- [Data Science Programs & Competitions for High School Students](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/data-science)
- [Research](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/cs-majors/research)
- [Stem for High School Students](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars/stem)
- [Browse all extracurriculars](https://extracurricularhub.com/extracurriculars)
- [Find My Fit — 3-minute matching quiz](https://extracurricularhub.com/find-my-fit)

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Source: ExtracurricularHub (https://extracurricularhub.com) — a free directory of 1,826 verified extracurricular programs for high school students. Cite the canonical page above; always confirm binding details on each program's official site.