Youth and Pre-college Programs

Since 1975, the College of Charleston's Upward Bound program has provided a year-round experience  aimed at providing high school students tools to build academic and social success in high school, college, and beyond.

An immersive day for high school musicians (and their parents) to explore opportunities to study music at the College of Charleston.

Since 1978, the College of Charleston's Department of Mathematics has hosted innovative individual and team competitions for high school mathematics students. This annual event helps motivate students to excel and appreciate the role of this subject outside of the classroom. 

Hosted by the Department of Computer Science, an annual programming competition for high school students in which participating teams solve problems and introduce their solution utilizing Python and Java. Typically held in February.

An affiliate of the International Science and Engineering Fair and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. Serves Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, and Georgetown counties in South Carolina.

Dual enrollment is an option that allows high school students (usually juniors and seniors) to take courses at the College of Charleston and earn college credit prior to high school graduation.

Summer Dance Experience: Designed for intermediate and advanced level high school and college dancers, this weeklong program enhances skills through technique classes, seminars and repertory. 

Summer Theatre Experience: Designed for beginning to intermediate high school students and rising college freshmen, this five-day program includes technique classes, seminars, and repertory.

Charleston Chamber Music Intensive: Open to high school and college students, this weeklong program provides private lessons, masterclasses, seminars and public performance opportunities.

Studio Art Summer Immersion: This two-week program guides 10th-12th graders in producing works in mediums focused on drawing, painting, digital photos, and mixed media and includes visits to local galleries and museums. Students will create portfolio-quality work and images for their college application and personal use.

Honors College Summer Institute: Designed for highly motivated rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the Institute consists of three week-long programs. Students can apply for one or more than one program.

STEM 360: This five-day program gives rising 10-12th graders the opportunity to sample a range of STEM disciplines, ranging from biology to computer programming and many more in between!

Charleston Engineering Youth Conference: This five-day residential program is designed for high-achieving high school students interested in engineering. Through site visits, executive lectures, and insider access, students will explore various careers and be introduced to relevant and complex issues the industry currently faces.

Interested in technology? Curious about the many career opportunities in the tech field? If you answered yes to either question, the CofC High School Innovation Academy Sponsored by Google may be a great fit for you!

Funded by a grant from Google, the program is a collaboration between the College of Charleston’s School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics and the Office of Community Engagement. During each session, College of Charleston faculty will guide students through interactive workshops allowing them to experience hands-on innovation while developing new skills and learning about potential technology careers.

CofC High School Innovation Academy Sponsored by Google is open to motivated students in grades 10–12. There is no cost to participate. Space is limited and registration is required.

Fall 2026 sessions will be held on select Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Students may register for as many sessions as they would like, as long as space is available. 

For each session, registration closes one week prior to the session date or when capacity is reached, whichever comes first. If a session you desire is full, email ballardi@cofc.edu to be added to the waitlist.

Fall 2026 Sessions

Students can choose from the following sessions:

SESSION 1 - September 19 — Robotics in Action: Build, Program & Compete - Get hands-on with robotics! Students will explore the foundations of robotics and programming using hand-sized robotic vehicles. They will learn how sensors work, program robots to complete basic tasks and avoid collisions, and discover how robotics is used in real-world settings. The session ends with a fun robotics competition where students put their new skills to the test. 

SESSION 2 - September 26 — AI to App: Build Your Business Idea - Turn an idea into a working product using AI! Students will use Google Gemini and Google Docs to explore software-based business ideas, select a promising concept, and build a working prototype. Along the way, they will practice key tech skills such as product design, requirements definition, evaluation of results, and refining their ideas through quick rounds of testing and revision. By the end of the session, students will leave with a software product they helped create

SESSION 3 - October 3 — Details Coming Soon

SESSION 4 - October 24 — Cracking the Calorie Code with Machine Learning - Discover how machines can learn from data! In this interactive session, students will explore linear regression, a key concept in machine learning, by investigating how nutrition labels calculate calories. Using a visual tool, students will create food items, analyze carbohydrates, protein, and fat, and train a model to uncover the 4-4-9 calorie relationship used in U.S. nutrition labeling. Students will see firsthand how data, math, and machine learning work together to find patterns and make predictions.

Since 2013, the College of Charleston women's basketball team has partnered with the College's School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering to host an interactive STEM experience for 4th-8th graders prior to game tip-off.

An affiliate of the International Science and Engineering Fair and the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. Serves Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, and Georgetown counties in South Carolina.

Camp Art Attack: Designed for rising kindergarten through sixth grade students, this four-day program includes hands-on experience with the visual and performing arts.