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 | |
|---|---|
| August 7, 2025 | STEM Academy Open House at APL |
| August 13–16, 2025 | Returning Student Registration Period |
| August 15–25, 2025 | New Student Application Period |
| September 10, 2025 | Student/Parent Fall Session Virtual Orientation |
| September 15, 2025 | First Day of STEM Academy Courses |
| November 24–27, 2025 | Thanksgiving Break (No Courses) |
| 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 | |
|---|---|
| January 7–10, 2026 | Returning Student Registration Period |
| January 9–20, 2026 | New Student Application Period |
| February 4, 2026 | Student/Parent Spring Session Virtual Orientation |
| February 9, 2026 | First Day of STEM Academy Courses |
| March 30 to April 2, 2026 | Spring Break (No Courses) |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Aero+Space with STK | Virtual |
| Tuesday | Wireless Communication | In Person |
| Tuesday | Critical Thinking 2: Systems and Society | In Person |
| Tuesday | Intro to Programming using Python | Virtual |
| Wednesday | Materials Science | In Person |
| Wednesday | Cybersecurity 1 | In Person |
| Wednesday | MATLAB 1 | Virtual |
| Thursday | Life in Code: Bioinformatics | In Person |
| Thursday | Public Speaking | In Person |
| Thursday | Programming in C 2 | Virtual |