Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Code Python projects and apply AI to a social-impact capstone in this 3-week program for middle school students on UCLA’s campus.
Course Description
How can a computer find patterns in data and use them to make a prediction? Students build Python fundamentals through guided notebooks, then connect code to machine-learning tasks in natural language processing, computer vision, healthcare, sustainability, and assistive technology.
Projects make the machine-learning pipeline concrete. Students customize a chatbot, analyze real-world data, and explore a decision-tree model that predicts heart-disease risk. Additional examples may include crop-yield prediction, movie recommendations, autonomous vehicles, social robots, or tools for disaster relief. Ethical discussions ask who benefits, who may be excluded, and what can go wrong when data or design assumptions are weak.
For the collaborative capstone, teams select a meaningful problem and develop an AI application or prototype. They define the goal, prepare or interpret data, test a model, evaluate limitations, and present both the technical approach and the intended social impact.
This three-week course is part of Summer Discovery’s Institute for the Gifted program on UCLA’s campus. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect active academic exploration with campus life, growing independence, new friendships, and a clearer sense of what students may want to explore next.
What Will You Do?
• Build Python skills through guided coding notebooks
• Customize a chatbot using natural-language concepts
• Train and interpret a decision-tree model with health data
• Explore AI applications in sustainability and assistive technology
• Evaluate bias, privacy, accessibility, and model limitations
• Develop and present a collaborative AI-for-good capstone
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Use Python fundamentals to complete guided data and AI tasks
• Explain the basic machine-learning pipeline and evaluate a model’s limitations
• Collaborate on an AI application that addresses a social-impact problem
Students will leave with coded projects, experience interpreting real-world data, and a capstone presentation, along with a clearer sense of which areas of AI they may want to explore next.
Why Artificial Intelligence Skills Matter
Artificial intelligence is more than a finished app. It depends on data, mathematical patterns, code, testing, and human decisions about what a system should optimize. Building small models helps students see where predictions come from and why accuracy alone may not make a tool fair or useful.
Python practice strengthens logical thinking and debugging, while model evaluation develops evidence-based judgment. Discussing bias, privacy, accessibility, and unintended consequences encourages students to connect technical choices to people. These skills support future exploration in computer science, data science, engineering, health, and responsible technology.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for middle school students who have completed 6th, 7th, or 8th grade and are curious about coding, artificial intelligence, data, or how technology can address real problems. It is a strong fit for students who are willing to learn Python and work through coding challenges.
Students should be ready to work through coding errors, collaborate on a project, discuss ethical questions, and explain what a model can and cannot do.
A strong participant brings curiosity, patience, and a willingness to revise. The most important preparation is readiness to ask questions and take part.
Why UCLA?
UCLA gives middle-school students an energetic place to learn, have fun, and experience campus life in Los Angeles. The setting brings together science, technology, creativity, entertainment, and culture, helping new subjects feel connected to a wider world of ideas.
The program combines hands-on academics with friendships, campus activities, clear routines, and support as students become comfortable in a large university environment. Students can try new challenges, share interests with peers, and build confidence through participation without needing to decide where those interests will lead. For families, UCLA offers a structured middle-school experience that balances substantive learning with fun, community, and age-appropriate independence. Students leave with new memories and a clearer sense of what they may want to explore next.
Summer Discovery Certificate of Completion
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification of completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive
UCLA
UCLA
UCLA
UCLA