One way to have fun and find out if engineering might be a good fit for you is to try one of the summer programs offered by the Clark School. You can learn about engineering, participate in hands-on activities, and meet engineering students and professors.
Description: The WIE Change the World summer program is designed for rising 11th and 12th grade high school women, though open to all, who are considering majoring in engineering. This week-long residential program introduces participants to campus life and the various engineering departments and majors through engaging lectures, hands-on activities, team challenges, and conversations with faculty, staff, and students in the Clark School of Engineering.
Target Group: Rising 11th and 12th graders
Program Office: Women in Engineering
Program Contact: women_in_engineering@umd.edu
WIE Change the World! An Introduction to Maryland Engineering
Description: The ESTEEM Research Mentoring Program (Engineering Science and Technology to Energize and Expand Young Minds) and the Summer Engineering Research (SER)-Quest is an intensive 4-week research-focused program for commuters (no housing available).
Target Group: Rising 12th graders
Program Office: Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering
Program Contact: cmse@umd.edu
Description: Prepare for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (S.A.T.) while learning more about the Clark School of Engineering and the necessary tools and strategies to navigate the college application process.
Target Group: Rising 11th and 12th grade students who attend high school or live in Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Program Office: Undergraduate Recruitment and Scholarship Programs
Program Point of Contact: Aishah Briscoe
Description: Spend a week discovering the vast field of engineering at the University of Maryland. Live on campus, meet faculty, tour one-of-a-kind labs and facilities, and learn about the various engineering disciplines offered at the University of Maryland.
Target Group: Rising 11th and 12th grade students
Program Office: Undergraduate Recruitment and Scholarship Programs
Program Point of Contact: Sandra Crespin Melgar
Description: The WIE Aspire summer program is designed for rising 9th and 10th grade high school women, though open to all, who are interested in exploring engineering. This week-long, commuter program introduces participants to the field of engineering through hands-on projects, engineering lab and facilities tours, and conversations with faculty, staff, and students in the Clark School of Engineering.
Target Group: Rising 9th and 10th graders
Program Office: Women in Engineering
Program Contact: women_in_engineering@umd.edu
WIE Aspire! Explore Engineering
Description: The WIE Empower summer program is geared towards rising 7th and 8th grade girls, though open to all, who are interested in exploring engineering. During this week-long, commuter summer program, participants will learn engineering concepts as they are introduced to the field of engineering through engaging activities and projects.
Target Group: Rising 7th and 8th graders
Program Office: Women in Engineering
Program Contact: women_in_engineering@umd.edu
WIE Empower!
Description: The WIE RISE virtual summer program, designed for women high school students though open to all, provides an introduction to engineering through the field of research. Students will explore different engineering disciplines each day of the week as they learn about various engineering research labs at the University of Maryland as well as engage in at-home friendly experiments.
Target Group: Rising 9th - 12th graders
Program Office: Women in Engineering
Program Contact: women_in_engineering@umd.edu
WIE RISE! A Summer Research Program
Machine Magic!
Rocket Magic!
Flying High!
Description: This summer, learn to navigate the college experience with the University of Maryland’s Terp Young Scholars (TYS). During three remarkable weeks, academically talented students pursue an academic interest, engage with passionate faculty, and get a jump on college by earning three university credits. TYS offers many courses; students interested in pursuing engineering are encouraged to enroll in ENES250 - Why Do Things Fail (July 14 - August 1, 2025)
Course Prerequisites: Students must have completed (or be currently enrolled in with anticipated successful completion) high school Algebra I and Algebra II before enrolling in this course.
Target Group: Rising 10th graders to graduating 12th graders
Program Office: Office of Extended Studies
Program Contact: https://exst.umd.edu/contact
Description: Participants will design and construct a two-room model apartment while also designing, building and testing the notification, detection and suppression systems for that model apartment. In small teams, participants will work to create the most innovative and effective life safety systems. The camp is housed at Mount St. Joseph's High School in Catonsville, MD. The teams will bring their model apartments to be fire-tested in a competition at the end of the week in the University of Maryland fire labs.
Target Group: Rising 10th, 11th and 12th grade students
Program Office: Department of Fire Protection Engineering
Program Manager: Nicole Hollywood, nlholly@umd.edu
Description: Throughout the UMD Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering "Jumpstart your Engineering Career" Summer program, students receive hands-on training and experience in electronics, sensors, microcontrollers, networks and protocols, software development, and 3D additive manufacturing. Additionally, students collaborate on projects from ideation to rapid prototyping in a real-world design setting, culminating in a Demo Day showcase. This five-week program runs from July 14th to August 15th. It is also conveniently located at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) Campus in Rockville, MD.
Target Group: High school and college students
Program Office: UMD Cyber-Physical Systems Engineering
Program Manager: Brian Schoem, es-sg@umd.edu
Description: The App-AI Summer Camp is for high school students with demonstrated background in coding and a strong interest in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in machine learning, computer vision, image generation/recognition, and robotics. July 14-August 1 at the USMSM SMART Building - 44219 Airport Road, California, MD 20619.
Description: The STEM Summer Camp is for high-school students who are interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields of study. It will provide a venue for students to learn mechanical design, electronics, and coding. It will teach engineering and math skills, as well as collaboration and teamwork, and will aim at developing these diverse skills to solve problems and encourage innovation. July 21-August 1 at the USMSM SMART Building - 44219 Airport Road, California, MD 20619.
Target Group: Maryland high school students in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's Counties
Program Office: Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering
