North Carolina State University: Pre-College Summer Programs

NC State offers many pre-college programs specifically designed for certain age groups. Whether the student is just starting to expand their educational horizon or they are on their way to becoming an NC State freshmen, pre-college programs can provide them with the opportunity to explore their interests. Find out more!

4-H Camp

North Carolina 4-H Camp programs offer campers a great chance to learn, develop life skills and form attitudes that will help them to become self-directing and productive members of society. For more information, visit the 4-H Camp website.

Ag-DISCOVERY

Ag-DISCOVERY is a two-week residential camp for students designed to help high school students (age 14-17) learn about careers in plant science and veterinary medicine. Students live on the college campus and learn about science from university professors and practicing entomologists, botanists, and plant pathologists. Participants gain experience through hands-on labs, workshops, and field trips. Students also participate in character and team-building activities and diversity workshops. For more information, visit >The Science House website.

Communication Camp

Communication Summer Camp is an intensive, five-day workshop designed for rising junior and senior high school students interested in television production, broadcasting, and public speaking. Students will learn to operate cameras, audio boards, write news copy, and present as on-air talent, culminating in a closed circuit “live broadcast” at week’s end. Campers must be recommended by their high school administrator prior to registration. Visit the website for more details.

Creating Awareness of Agriculture and Life Sciences Disciplines, Degree Programs and Discoveries (CAALS 3-D) Project

The CAALS 3-D is a week-long day program that serves male, rising 11th and 12th graders from under-represented groups (African-American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American). Students learn, under the guidance of NC State faculty mentors, cutting-edge scientific techniques in NC State laboratories. Students select research experiences in agriculture and life science disciplines such as biochemistry, biotechnology, organic agriculture, soil science, microbiology, plant biology, food science, and forensics. To further enhance the transdisciplinary nature of this project, students may also select research experiences in closely related disciplines within natural resources and textiles. For more information, visit the (CAALS 3-D) Project website.

Design Camp

Design Camp is an annual series of pre-college summer programs offered at NC State University College of Design to high school and middle school students who are interested in design. Design Camp informs students about college study in design and raises awareness of the impact of design in all aspects of our everyday lives. The skills in design thinking and creative experience gained at Design Camp can empower students on their path toward becoming innovative problem solvers and prepare them to tackle the challenges of the future. For more information, visit the Design Camp website.

Drum Major Leadership Camp

Designed specifically for drum majors and section leaders, the Drum Major Leadership Camp focuses on the various aspects of field conducting and leadership in both competitive and non-competitive marching bands. Camp faculty will work closely with each student to build a solid foundation of conducting, leadership, and teaching methods. Video recordings of each attendee’s conducting and teaching will be used for in-depth individual and group analysis. Every leadership class is intended to equip students to handle real life situations and to react effectively and proactively to achieve positive results. This camp experience will help develop the skills required to conduct and lead with confidence. For more information, visit the camp website.

Engineering Summer Day and Residential Camps for High School Students

The College of Engineering offers high school students two camp opportunities: a week long day camp for rising 9th and 10th graders and a week long residential camp for rising 11th and 12 graders. The week long day camp introduces campers to a variety of engineering fields through fun and challenging, hands-on projects and investigations. Activities are all related to research happening on NC State’s campus. By the end of the week, students will have a deeper understanding of the fields of engineering and how engineers solve problems.The residential camps provide the opportunity to experience engineering through workshops presented by engineering departmental faculty, staff and students and get a glimpse of college life while staying in campus student housing and eating in campus dining facilities. They will also experience fun and engaging activities scheduled for each evening. For more information, visit the Engineering Summer Programs website.

Horticultural Science Summer Institute

High school students are invited to spend a week at NC State University climbing trees, grafting tomatoes, snacking on raspberries, discovering new genes and so much more. The Horticultural Science Summer Institute is a residential, hands-on, pre-college program designed to engage youth into the many career opportunities within horticulture. Students will dig into workshops led by faculty, staff and students on topics ranging from breeding better vegetables, propagating ornamental shrubs, lengthening the life of cut flowers, learning sustainable production and design practices and delving into practical tools that enhance our understanding of plant processes. Students will visit unique and innovative North Carolina farms, markets, greenhouses and gardens. Youth will also explore college-making decisions and leadership development, enjoy evening entertainment and team-building activities, live in a campus residence hall with campus dining. The camp provides a close-knit forum for high school students across the state (and country) to gather together and broaden their interest and knowledge about horticulture. For more information, visit the Horticultural Science Summer Institute website.

Junior Green Belt Academy

The Junior Green Belt Certification Academy is an introduction to Lean Six Sigma (LSS), a continuous process improvement program that incorporates the efficiency tools found in Lean Manufacturing and the data collection and analysis tools found in Six Sigma and merges them into a robust toolkit. Learning these skills will provide the team with the means to reduce waste, improve quality, increase customer satisfaction and improve the bottom line. In addition to receiving LSS training, student teams will complete a project to improve an existing process at their school. The training will provide a structured approach to problem-solving useful at school, work and in life. The participants will be given access to an online training program, attend a four-day session on campus and present their project results in October. For more information, visit the Junior Green Belt Certification Academy website.

Livestock Science Camp

High school students with an interest in careers with animals, particularly farm animals, but not necessarily looking to go into veterinary medicine can explore the diverse options available. Participants will spend a week living on campus, engaging in hands-on lessons with livestock at the teaching farms and campus laboratories, tour local livestock industries, and develop leadership skills. No experience with livestock necessary! For more information, visit the website.

Music Technology Camp

Designed for high school students with an interest in the intersections between music, engineering and computers, the Music Technology Camp introduces students to audio engineering and digital music composition through experiential learning. Camp faculty will work closely with each student to learn concepts and skills in a variety of areas, including songwriting with digital audio workstations, audio engineering, acoustics, music theory and keyboard skills. In every class, students will work with hands-on, inquiry-based projects and experiments to develop an understanding of the concepts underlying modern music technology. Open to rising freshman through rising seniors in high school. A limited number of spaces are available so please register early. For more information, visit the Music Technology Camp website.

NC-MSEN Summer Scholars Program

The NC State University NC-MSEN Pre-College Program offers a 2-week summer program on NC State’s campus. The program provides classes in math, science, robotics, communications, and career awareness for middle and high school students. The main focus of the program is to prepare students for the math course they are taking in the fall. Students are grouped together according to their current math class. Middle school students must attend the full-day program while high school students have the option to attend for a half-day or a full-day. Lunch is provided each day for students who attend the full-day program. Students must have a grade point average of 2.0 or higher to participate in this program. For more information, visit the website.

North Carolina Youth Institute

The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences is delighted to invite high school youth to participate in the North Carolina Youth Institute. This program is part of the Global Youth Institute and World Food Prize and provides a platform for students to research and give recommendations to solve key global challenges that range from food insecurity, access to potable water, poverty, human rights and more. To participate, students research a global issue and write a two-three page paper under the supervision of a teacher/mentor (using these downloadable guidelines).

Polymer Camp

Polymer Camp is a two-day workshop held at the end of July in the Wilson College of Textiles Department of Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science by the faculty, staff and students. It is designed for high-school students that are interested in physical sciences and engineering, and attending NC State. Attendees will engage in hands-on laboratories and interactive sessions, learn about degree programs in TECS, scholarships in the Wilson College, the admissions process for NC State and will screen print their own NC State t-shirt. This program is open to all high school students but preference is given to rising juniors and seniors. For more information, visit thePolymer Camp website.

Poultry Science Summer Institute

The Poultry Science Summer Institute is a four-day, four-night conference for high school students with an interest in biological sciences or a career in the poultry industry. The institute is designed to broaden understanding of the educational disciplines, scholarship opportunities, careers and industries related to poultry science. For more information, visit the Poultry Science Summer Institute website.

Red Hat Shelton Challenge Leadership Program

The Red Hat Shelton Challenge is a six-day summer residential experience for rising 9th-12th-grade students. Shelton’s five cornerstones of values-based leadership — honesty, integrity, diversity, social responsibility, and compassion — are the foundations of the camp. The core curriculum focuses on Personal Leadership Assessment and Interpersonal Dynamics, Role of Values and Ethics in Leadership, Leadership Traits and Approaches, Team-building and Empowering Others, Social Responsibility, Public Speaking, and Goal Setting. Students will have the opportunity to complete a service project, experience a high and low ropes course, coordinate events for their peers, learn from six inter-generational instructors from various professional fields, and build a network of youth leaders from around the country. For information, check out the website.

Resource Conservation Workshop

The Resource Conservation Workshop is a week-long intensive study and hands on conservation workshop requiring student application and participation in a wide range of conservation topics. The workshop is intended to engage students to learn about natural resources and their management in today’s environment. Students participate in field study, tours, hands-on sessions as well as evening activities that focus on college-decision making and career decisions. Awards and scholarships are won and presented to the students under several awards programs. The Resource Conservation Workshop students stay on campus at NC State in dormitories and attend workshop sessions in Williams Hall, Lake Wheeler Soils Field Lab as well as field studies at Falls Lake State Recreation Area and Clemmons State Educational Forest in Clayton. For information, check out the website.

SATELLITE

SATELLITE (Science And Technology Enriching Lifelong Leadership In Tomorrow’s Endeavors) is a five-day overnight camp for high school sophomores interested in STEM fields. This program involves a combination of lectures, hands-on activities, and field trips. Students will explore a variety of opportunities in STEM, as well as participating in leadership development activities. This program is open to 10th grade students from rural or underfunded communities in North Carolina. For more information, visit the SATELLITE website.

Summer Textile Exploration Program (STEP)

STEP is a residential program for rising high school seniors to experience a taste of NC State life by working with Wilson College of Textiles professors in a project area of their interest. The project choices include apparel design, business/marketing, polymer chemistry, textile design and engineering. The Wilson College holds four one-week long sessions of STEP each summer. Participants live in a NC State residence hall; participate in presentations on degree programs, applying to NC State, the Wilson College Centennial Scholarship application process; and work on a project related to a Wilson College major; as well as take part in fun activities on and around campus. This program is for rising high school seniors only. For more information, visit the STEP website.

Teen Writers’ Workshop

Teen Writers Workshop is a nonresidential summer program that brings students to the NC State campus to study creative writing. The two-week afternoon workshop focuses on the areas of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, dramatic writing, and genre fiction. TWW is open to artists in grades 9 through rising college freshman. For more information, visit the Teen Writers Workshop website.

VetCAMP

VetCAMP is designed to allow pre-veterinary high school students to delve into the immense field of veterinary medicine. Students will hear from veterinarians in many different fields and take a behind the scenes tour of the NC State University Vet School. Lessons will be given on veterinary clinic basics, surgery, dissections and anatomy. For more information, visit the VetCAMP website.

Young Investigators’ Summer Program in Nuclear Engineering

Young Investigators in Nuclear Engineering  is a residential experience that engages participants in the role that nuclear technologies play in meeting the needs of society and solving everyday problems. The program is open to rising juniors and seniors and graduating seniors. Participants will learn about: nuclear energy, radiation detection & applications, computational science, nuclear materials, nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear waste management, policy etc.  For more information, visit the Young Investigators website.