The STEM Academy at Galena High School encompasses fields of study in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students are enrolled in a 4-year course sequence that follows a nationally-recognized curriculum, providing them with challenging activity-, project-, problem-based learning with meaningful assessments. The sequence includes two foundation courses designed for 9th-10th graders, followed by a core specialization course (e.g. Civil Engineering and Architecture, Computer Integrated Manufacturing), and ends with a capstone course whereby students work in teams to design and develop an original solution to a valid open-ended technical problem by applying the engineering design process.