Free Engineering Programs for High School Students

Funded engineering programs put real hardware and lab time within reach — university intensives, maker fellowships, and outreach programs that cover every cost.

Free engineering seats are scarcer than free coding seats because materials cost money; apply to several and lead with what you've already built, however small.

128 verified programs match this page; 30 of the featured listings are completely free; 2 can be done online.

Featured programs

Browse 30+ curated programs for high school students:

• James Dyson Award — James Dyson Foundation: International STEM competition challenging high school innovators in Grades 11-12 to design groundbreaking solutions. Win $40k and boost college appli
• NASA HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) — NASA: Design and build aerospace hardware used on the ISS in this hands-on high school STEM program. Boost engineering skills and strengthen college applica
• Beaver Works Summer Institute — MIT: Elite summer program for high schoolers in Grades 10-11 focused on STEM fields like drones and cybersecurity. Gain hands-on experience and boost colle
• Women's Technology Program at MIT — MIT: Empower your STEM journey with a free four-week summer program for high school women at MIT. Gain hands-on engineering skills and boost your college a
• NASA Student Launch — NASA: Design and launch high-power rockets in this exciting STEM competition. Gain hands-on aerospace experience, boost college applications, and explore en
• Technoxian World Robotics Championship — Technoxian / All India Council for Robotics & Automation: Global robotics competition with diverse challenges for school and college teams, held annually in India.
• Technology Challenge Maryborough — Fraser Coast Anglican College: A STEM design and engineering challenge for local high school teams in Maryborough, Queensland.
• NYU ARISE Summer Research Program — NYU Tandon School of Engineering: Gain hands-on STEM experience in a free 7-week summer research program for high school juniors and seniors. Build skills for college and explore engin
• DARPA Grand Challenge (Autonomous Vehicles) — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): A historic DARPA competition that advanced autonomous ground vehicle technology through real-world desert races.
• Robo-Magellan Robotics Competition — Seattle Robotics Society: Robo-Magellan is an autonomous outdoor robot navigation contest where teams build robots to reach GPS-marked waypoints.
• Texas High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) — NASA Johnson Space Center: Explore aerospace and engineering through a free hybrid program for Texas high school juniors. Build STEM skills, gain hands-on experience, and boost
• MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs — MIT: Explore free in-person engineering programs for high school students at MIT. Build hands-on STEM skills, enhance college applications, and join a dive
• DARPA Prize Competitions — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA): Open prize challenges from DARPA that fund and reward breakthrough solutions in science, engineering, and national security technology.
• ExploraVision Science Competition — Toshiba & NSTA: Imagine future technologies in this free virtual STEM competition for grades 9-12. Build science communication skills and boost college applications w
• The Big Bang Fair UK — EngineeringUK: A major UK STEM fair showcasing science, technology, engineering and maths through interactive exhibits and shows for young people.
• Materials Science & Engineering Olympiad — ASM Materials Education Foundation: Test your materials science and engineering skills in this free high school competition. Top students join a hybrid camp, gaining hands-on experience
• Robotix Robotics Competition — Technology Robotix Society, IIT Kharagpur: Robotix is IIT Kharagpur’s annual robotics competition featuring diverse technical challenges for student teams.
• Shell Eco-marathon Student Competition — Shell plc: Global student competition to design ultra-energy-efficient vehicles and test them on track.
• E-Yantra Robotics Competition — IIT Bombay (e-Yantra Project, CSE Dept.): A major educational robotics competition by IIT Bombay that teaches embedded systems and robotics through themed challenges.
• TARGET Science and Engineering Program — Fermilab: Explore a free, in-person high school internship in physics, engineering, and computing. Gain research skills, hands-on STEM experience, and boost you
• Lehigh University Pre-College Programs — Lehigh University: Pre-college programs at Lehigh University covering engineering, business, arts, and sciences.
• Simons Summer Research Program — Stony Brook University: Explore STEM fields in the fully funded Simons Summer Research Program. Conduct hands-on research, gain mentorship, and boost college applications. Pe
• SeaPerch Underwater Robotics Program — Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Foundation & RoboNation: Build underwater robots in this hands-on STEM competition for grades 6-12. Gain engineering skills, boost college applications, and explore marine rob
• New Jersey Governor's School of Engineering & Technology — Rutgers University: NJ's premier engineering summer program at Rutgers. Hands-on projects and college-level coursework for NJ students.
• Geek Picnic Festival & Science Events — Geek Picnic: Geek Picnic is a large open-air popular science and tech festival with talks, exhibits, and hands-on activities for all ages.
• National Robotics League Combat Robots — National Robotics League (NTMA): A combat robotics competition where students design, build, and battle robots in a real-world engineering challenge.
• Invent Now America Invention Competition — National Inventors Hall of Fame: A U.S. competition where high school students design and submit original inventions for recognition, scholarships, and national exposure.
• Robofest Robotics Competition — Lawrence Technological University: Robofest is an autonomous robotics competition for 4th–12th grade students organized by Lawrence Technological University.
• Duke Annual Robo-Climb Competition — Duke University: A Duke University robotics challenge where high school teams design robots to autonomously climb a vertical structure.
• BEST Robotics Competition — BEST Robotics: Free robotics competition. Six-week design challenge.

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