What’s Covered:
- 20 Paid Internships for High School Students
- How Do Internships Impact Your College Chances?
20 Paid Internships for High School Students in 2023
Internships are a great opportunity for high schoolers to network, explore different fields, and gain real-world experience. Internships also look great on college applications—they demonstrate determination, motivation, and an active pursuit of areas of interest. In addition, many internships pay, which is important for students looking for ways to cover the cost of college.
1. GeoSciences Bridge Program
Application Deadline: TBD 2023
Duration: 6 weeks (Summer 2023)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides a grant for the Geosciences Bridge Program, a 6-week paid internship for recent high school graduates in the summer before their first year of college. Participants learn about and get to engage in hands-on activities in marine geology, physical oceanography, atmospheric science, marine biology, and marine chemistry. Interns receive a $500 weekly stipend for their work and are reimbursed for all travel expenses. Students will stay on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus, where they will live and learn, working alongside fellow recent high school graduates.
2. Plant Genome Research REU
Application Deadline: March 31, 2023
Duration: 7 weeks (June 27 – August 11)
With these undergraduate and high school summer internships at Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), Cornell University and the USDA provide an excellent opportunity to gain research experience and explore if a scientific career in plant science research and bioinformatics is a good fit. Students will work to further the BTI’s missions of increasing food security, improving environmental sustainability in agriculture and making basic discoveries that will enhance human life. Students will also receive a competitive stipend paid biweekly throughout the internship.
3. The Expanding Horizons Internship
Application Deadline: January 31, 2023
Duration: 4 months (April 4 – August 4, 2023)
The Expanding Horizons Internship is an initiative of the Constitutional Rights Foundation that aims to help first-generation, college-bound high school students in Los Angeles County develop essential skills and personal growth that will prepare them for higher education, career, and civic life. The EHI program includes interactive seminars throughout the spring and a paid summer internship at a prestigious law firm, corporation, government agency, or non-profit organization.
4. KP LAUNCH Program
Application Deadline: December 23rd
Duration: 7 weeks (June 19 – August 4, 2023)
Kaiser Permanente’s KP LAUNCH program, which is designed to bring underrepresented and low-income high school and undergraduate students into health careers, offers paid internships in Oakland and across Northern California. Interns will learn professional and community leadership skills as well as the hands-on expertise necessary for employment in healthcare fields. Students will make minimum wage depending on their city.
5. Johns Hopkins CARES Summer Program
Application Deadline: Varies
Duration: Varies
The Johns Hopkins University offers a number of summer programs for underrepresented high school students to encourage them to pursue careers in science, public health, and medicine, targeting a number of STEM and health-related disciplines. This internship enables students to visit university departments and interact with professionals in their respective fields and is perfect for students interested in medicine. Applications, timelines, and compensation vary depending on the program, but all are held over the summer. Johns Hopkins offers in-person opportunities for Baltimore-area high school students as well as virtual research opportunities nationwide.
6. Bank of America Student Leaders
Application Deadline: January 13, 2023
Duration: 8 weeks (Summer 2023)
The Bank of America Student Leaders program prepares a diverse group of community-minded young people for success in the workforce through leadership training. While employed in these eight-week paid internships, more than 300 high school juniors and seniors from roughly 100 communities gain first-hand experience working with nonprofits such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Habitat for Humanity. Participants leave the program with a firsthand look at how non-profits, governments, and businesses collaborate to meet local needs and the skills needed to bring about positive change. The program includes a one-week in-person summit in Washington D.C. where students will congregate and continue to develop their skills. The internship is about 35 hours a week.
7. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Program
Application Deadline: January 10, 2023
Duration: At least 12 weeks (Summer 2023)
The AFRL Scholars program offers stipend-paid opportunities to upper-level high school students (as well as undergraduate and graduate students). Available at a variety of locations across the U.S., this STEM-focused program provides students with the chance to gain hands-on experience working with cutting-edge research and technology under the supervision of AFRL scientists and engineers.
8. The Met High School Internship Program
Application Deadline: March 31st, 2023
Duration: 7 weeks (June 24 – August 11, 2023)
This fantastic opportunity for rising juniors and seniors who attend school in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut allows students to observe, assist, and be mentored by a Met staff member — connecting them to the arts and creative professionals while gaining work experience and building a professional network. Students are placed in a department based on their interests and experience and are paid a stipend in line with New York State minimum wage law, with the internship primarily being about 10-20 hours a week.
9. MITRE Early Summer High School R&D Internships
Application Deadline: February 6, 2023
Duration: 8 weeks (June 20 – August 11, 2023)
MITRE’s federally funded R&D centers offer paid, 40-hour-a-week internships to high school students interested in the STEM fields. Students will collaborate on projects including research, development, engineering, and analysis while learning how to discover, create, and lead in the science, engineering, technology, and mathematics fields. Interns must be able to work in person at MITRE’s facilities in McLean, Virginia. Students can choose from positions such as serving as a Technical Aide on projects across topics from artificial intelligence, biotechnology, health sciences, telecommunications, and many more.
10. Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program
Application Deadline: February 14, 2023
Duration: 8 weeks (Summer 2023)
The Hutton Program is a paid summer internship and mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing natural resource and environmental management. Sponsored by the American Fisheries Society (AFS), this internship’s aim is to foster interest in fisheries science and management among groups underrepresented in the field. This paid internship program also provides mentoring and has paired more than 700 high schoolers with mentors since 2001 – 69% of Hutton alumni have gone on to study fisheries or other biological sciences.
11. Asian Art Museum Art Speak Internship
Application Deadline: TBD
Duration: 10 months (August 2023 – May 2024)
This paid internship for high school students in grades 10-12 from the Bay Area is an excellent opportunity to explore the intersection of art, activism, and culture. Over the course of ten months, students will explore Asian art and cultural traditions, learn from local artists and arts organizations, conduct interviews with museum staff, and explore careers in the arts. They will also facilitate virtual arts activities and build leadership skills. The program is 10 months from August to May.
12. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)
Application Deadline: November 1, 2023
Duration: 8 weeks (Summer 2024)
This eight-week internship doing research for the Department of Navy (DoN) pays a bi-weekly stipend and offers the chance to participate in research and receive mentoring from laboratory personnel. Three hundred high school students with an interest in pursuing a career in science and engineering participate in this program annually at 35 DoN laboratories.
13. Museum of Fine Arts Boston Teen Arts Council
Application Deadline: Rolling
Duration: 12 months
The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Teen Arts Council allows high schoolers to learn about museum professionals and build valuable leadership skills, all while earning a respectable hourly wage. Teen Arts Council students assist museum staff and visitors, participate in a variety of art classes and workshops, and provide teen-focused events for their Boston-area peers to engage with and enjoy the Museum’s collections.
14. Smithsonian High School Internships
Application Deadline: Varies
Duration: Varies
The Smithsonian offers a wide variety of internship opportunities ranging from centrally funded opportunities that place interns throughout the Smithsonian to specific opportunities available at each of the Smithsonian’s various museums, research centers, and other units. Participants can find roles in art history, business and administration, museum conservation, and much more, for which they will receive a competitive stipend.
15. Adler Planetarium Summer High School Internship
Application Deadline: March 2023
Duration: 7 weeks (Summer 2023)
This eye-opening internship allows Chicago high schoolers to engage with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) fields while preparing for a variety of careers. Participants are given space for personal growth and scientific experimentation while connecting with peers from around the city. Students will work in various museum roles and help develop research and engineering projects in this paid in-person opportunity.
16. Fred Hutch Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
Application Deadline: March 31, 2023
Duration: 8 weeks (June 26 – August 18, 2023)
Aimed at students from underrepresented groups in biomedical science, the SHIP is an eight-week, full-time, paid internship for rising twelfth graders. Students will receive an orientation covering laboratory safety, technique, and skills then proceed to participate in immersive mentored activities in a Fred Hutch research group in Seattle. Additional activities for interns include social events, workshops, and presentations. Interns are expected to work 40 hours a week and be in-person.
17. Richard Louie Memorial Internship for High School Students
Application Deadline: Varies (Spring 10/15, Summer 3/15, Fall 8/15)
Duration: 200 hours
The Richard Louie Memorial Internship for High School Students allows interns to work in the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art (the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery) and undertake a specific independent project within a departmental area of interest. Participants are required to be over 16 years old and enrolled in high school, and preference is given to students who are fluent in an Asian language or who have demonstrated an interest in Asian art and culture. At the completion of 200 internship hours, students are awarded a stipend.
18. Texas Tech Anson L. Clark Scholars Program
Application Deadline: February 13, 2023
Duration: 7 weeks (June 18 – August 3, 2023)
The Clark Scholars Program delivers an incredible variety of paid internships for high school students in fields ranging from Accounting to Theatre Arts. This prestigious and intensive seven-week program is extremely competitive, just 12 exceptional high school juniors/seniors are chosen from a global pool of applicants to undertake hands-on, faculty-supervised research. Upon completion of a successful project report, participants receive a tax-free stipend.
19. Indiana University Cancer Center Summer Research Program
Application Deadline: February 2023
Duration: 8 weeks (Summer 2023)
This awesome internship opportunity offers exposure in biomedicine and behavioral science to students from underrepresented populations. Participants in the program will undertake projects with a mentor, such as laboratory-based research, computer-based database research, or clinical research. On Indiana University’s campus, students will learn from faculty, fellow students, and researchers to gain experience and knowledge in biomedicine and behavioral science and begin their path toward a career in these fields. The internship is 40 hours a week and students will receive a paid stipend for their work.
20. Washington Performing Arts Internship
Application Deadline: Varies (Fall October 16, 2023 for Spring)
Duration: 12 weeks (Fall 2023 or Spring 2024)
This internship for students with an interest or background in the performing arts helps participants build professional skills and gain an understanding of arts management. Interns will receive a small stipend for their time, working about 15 hours over a 12 week span, and interns are also invited to attend many Washington Performing Arts performances for free.
How Do Internships Impact Your College Chances?
One of the ways internships benefit college-bound high schoolers is by contributing to their extracurricular activities, which account for as much as a quarter of admissions decisions. Extracurricular activities are broken down into four tiers, with internships such as the Texas Tech Anson L. Clark Scholars Program ranking in tier 1 (rare and exceptional) and internships like working at your local humane society ranking in tier 4 (commonly seen).
If you’re curious how your paid high school internship affects your odds of college admission, CollegeVine can help. Our free chancing calculator factors in data such as grades and test scores along with other considerations such as extracurricular activities, like internships, to predict your odds at hundreds of schools across the country. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account to start using this valuable tool.
