Cybersecurity Programs & Competitions for High School Students

Cybersecurity extracurriculars — capture-the-flag competitions like picoCTF and CyberPatriot, GenCyber camps, and government-sponsored training — are a fast-growing niche with strong scholarship pipelines.

Because far fewer students compete here than in math or robotics, standing out is genuinely achievable.

24 verified programs match this page; 19 of the featured listings are completely free; 9 can be done online.

Featured programs

Browse 24+ curated programs for high school students:

• CSAW High School Forensics Competition — NYU Tandon: Compete in a free high school cybersecurity competition! Analyze digital evidence, develop forensic skills, and boost your college application. Hybrid
• CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Defense Competition — Air & Space Forces Association (AFA): Join a free high school cybersecurity competition to develop hands-on skills in Linux, Windows, and networking. Boost your college applications with r
• CyberCorps Scholarship for Service — NSF / CISA: Full scholarship + stipend for cybersecurity studies in exchange for government service. Early pathway programs for high schoolers.
• CryptoHack Cybersecurity Challenges — CryptoHack Community: Master cryptography and cybersecurity with self-paced online challenges. Perfect for high school STEM enthusiasts to boost skills and stand out on col
• Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP) — National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST): Explore an exciting summer high school research internship in STEM! Gain hands-on experience in materials, cybersecurity, and metrology to boost colle
• PicoCTF Cybersecurity Competition — Carnegie Mellon University: Largest cybersecurity CTF for high schoolers. Challenges in cryptography, forensics, etc.
• AFCEA STEM Scholarships — Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association: Explore free STEM scholarships for high school juniors and seniors passionate about cybersecurity, IT, or military fields. Boost your college applicat
• FBLA Cyber Security and Computer Problem Solving — FBLA: Technology-focused FBLA events. Coding and cybersecurity.
• National Cyber Scholarship Competition — Cyber Scholarship Foundation: Master cybersecurity skills in a free online competition for high school students. Gain hands-on experience and boost college applications with schola
• U.S. Naval Academy Summer STEM Program — United States Naval Academy: Hands-on engineering and design camp on the USNA campus for grades 9-11.
• MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) — MIT Lincoln Laboratory & MIT School of Engineering: Rigorous 4-week STEM program. Students work on real engineering challenges in robotics, AI, cybersecurity. Free for selected students.
• National Security Agency (NSA) GenCyber Camps — NSA/National Science Foundation: Free cybersecurity camps at universities nationwide funded by NSA/NSF. Learn ethical hacking, cryptography, and cyber defense.
• National Cyber League (High School Division) — National Cyber League: Master cybersecurity skills in this online high school competition. Solve real-world forensics challenges, boost college applications, and prepare for
• HackerOne Student Ambassador Program — HackerOne: Ambassador program for aspiring security researchers. Access to bug bounty platform and community. Demonstrates ethical hacking skills and security ex
• NYU Tandon CS4CS — NYU Tandon School of Engineering: Explore computer science and cybersecurity in this free, hands-on summer program for high school students. Build skills, boost college applications, a
• U.S. Cyber Challenge (Cyber Quests) — SANS Institute: Identify and recruit next generation cybersecurity professionals.
• DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): A DARPA-run autonomous cybersecurity competition where systems found and fixed software vulnerabilities in real time at DEF CON 2016.
• DEF CON Capture the Flag (CTF) Competition — DEF CON Hacking Conference: Premier hacking competition at world's largest hacker conference. Tests real-world cybersecurity skills. Extremely prestigious in security community.
• Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) — George Mason University: Explore hands-on STEM research in neuroscience, cybersecurity, and bioinformatics with ASSIP's summer internship. Boost college prospects and build pr
• CyberStart America — SANS Institute & partners: Master cybersecurity skills through free, game-based challenges in this virtual competition for high school students. Boost college apps with hands-on
• Stevens Summer Pre-College Programs — Stevens Institute of Technology: STEM pre-college programs at Stevens Institute of Technology covering cybersecurity, VR, and engineering.
• Northeastern Accelerate PreCollege Program — Northeastern University: Pre-college program at Northeastern University for high school students focusing on bioengineering, cybersecurity, engineering, entrepreneurship, phys
• CyberPatriot National Finals Competitor — Air Force Association: The nation's premier youth cybersecurity competition. National finalists are among the top cybersecurity students in the country, highly recruited by
• Stokes Educational Scholarship Program — National Security Agency: NSA's Stokes Program pays high school seniors up to $30,000/year in tuition plus a salary and paid summer work at NSA while they complete degrees in c

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