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