For High School Students
Timeline and Course Schedule
This page is for the high school program (grades 9-12)
Visit the STEM Academy Ignite page for the middle school program (grades 6-8).
STEM Academy is offered twice per year during our 12-week fall and spring sessions. STEM Academy is not currently offered during the summer.
Important Reminders
- Review the course timeline.
- There will be no classes held during the weeks of Thanksgiving break or spring break.
- STEM Academy will have classes on all other scheduled days, including scheduled school holidays.
The timeline below is for the 2025–2026 calendar year. Next year’s timeline will be posted by July 2026. Dates are subject to change.
During the fall session, courses are offered one day per week from 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET from the third week of September until the end of the second week of December.
Fall 2025
| Dates | |
|---|---|
| Dates August 7, 2025 | STEM Academy Open House at APL |
| Dates August 13–16, 2025 | Returning Student Registration Period |
| Dates August 15–25, 2025 | New Student Application Period |
| Dates September 10, 2025 | Student/Parent Fall Session Virtual Orientation |
| Dates September 15, 2025 | First Day of STEM Academy Courses |
| Dates November 24–27, 2025 | Thanksgiving Break (No Courses) |
| Dates December 8–11, 2025 | STEM Expo (End of Courses) |
During the spring session, courses are offered one day per week from 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET mid-February until the end of the second week of May. Because we may experience inclement weather during the spring session, an individual class may be canceled without being rescheduled. If a class is canceled, we will attempt to reschedule it or offer it online.
Spring 2026
| Dates | |
|---|---|
| Dates January 7–10, 2026 | Returning Student Registration Period |
| Dates January 9–20, 2026 | New Student Application Period |
| Dates February 4, 2026 | Student/Parent Spring Session Virtual Orientation |
| Dates February 9, 2026 | First Day of STEM Academy Courses |
| Dates March 30 to April 2, 2026 | Spring Break (No Courses) |
| Dates May 4–7, 2026 | STEM Expo (End of Courses) |
Courses listed below are tentative for the fall 2025 session only, and are subject to volunteer instructor availability. The finalized course schedule will be updated in August for fall courses and in January for spring courses.
For more information about courses, including descriptions and prerequisites, please view the course catalog.
Fall 2025 Courses
| Day | Course | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Day Monday | Course Aero+Space with STK | Format Virtual |
| Day Tuesday | Course Wireless Communication | Format In Person |
| Day Tuesday | Course Critical Thinking 2: Systems and Society | Format In Person |
| Day Tuesday | Course Intro to Programming using Python | Format Virtual |
| Day Wednesday | Course Materials Science | Format In Person |
| Day Wednesday | Course Cybersecurity 1 | Format In Person |
| Day Wednesday | Course MATLAB 1 | Format Virtual |
| Day Thursday | Course Life in Code: Bioinformatics | Format In Person |
| Day Thursday | Course Public Speaking | Format In Person |
| Day Thursday | Course Programming in C 2 | Format Virtual |