If you’re a high school student looking for ways to spend a productive summer, an internship can be a solid opportunity to gain valuable real-world experience in your chosen field! 

Particularly for those interested in technology, a summer internship can help with practical knowledge and hands-on skills that extend beyond classroom learning. You should also know that doing an internship in high school helps enhance your resume, making you a more competitive candidate for college admissions and future job opportunities. A tech internship can also help you build a professional network, exposing you to potential mentors and industry contacts.

To help you get started, here are 8 summer tech internships for high school students!

Securing a tech internship as a high school student can be challenging as it demands a solid academic background, a genuine interest in the field, and often, some preliminary experience or demonstrated skills in areas such as mathematics, science, and technology.

However, we’ve included a mix of beginner and advanced tech internship opportunities in this blog.

1. AI Internship Program by Veritas AI

The AI Internship Program by Veritas AI is founded and run by Harvard graduate students. Through the 8-week internship, students have the opportunity to work with VC-backed startups on real-world AI/ML projects. Students work directly with mentors from Harvard, Wharton, Google, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, and more. This program is a great opportunity for students who have prior experience with AI/ML and are looking to gain real-world exposure to a career in the field. Students get a chance to network with industry professionals, work closely with company leadership, and receive a letter of completion from the company at the end of the internship. You can learn more about the program here and apply here.

Cost: $2,490

Application Deadline: October 20, 2024

Internship Date: The start date for the cohort is November 11, 2024

Eligibility: Open to high school students who have prior experience with AI/ML or have completed a Veritas AI program 

2. Meta Summer Academy

Location: Menlo Park, CA

Stipend:  Students will receive a stipend upon successful completion of the six-week program.

Application Deadline: The admission cycle for summer 2025 will open in December 2024.

Program Dates: Typically mid-June to late July (~ 6 weeks). The 2024 program will run from June 17 to July 26.

Eligibility: Open to applicants who are:

• Sophomores in high school during the year of application

• Full-year residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, or Redwood City

• Have a minimum 2.0 Cumulative GPA.

Students of Meta Summer Academy will have the opportunity to learn about the day-to-day operations of one of the world’s leading social media networks by being part of a dynamic workforce.

Students will learn coding, explore careers, and develop soft skills that will help propel them into successful careers. You will be expected to participate for 30 hours/week. As an intern, you will be mentored by Meta summer academy mentors – these are employees at Meta. While this program focuses on the workings of Meta, you will learn a lot from the technology and computer science side of things. The position also offers you exposure to the tech industry. Meta provides transportation to all externs, which makes it accessible to applicants from across California. Landing an internship at Meta as a high school student is a matter of prestige, as the selection process is quite competitive, with only 150 students making it to the final cohort.

3. Spark Summer Mentorship Program (SPARK SMP)

Location: Greater Seattle area, WA

Stipend: Stipends are dependent on the project, as some projects offer stipends and others do not. 

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in May after opening in April.

Program Dates: June to August (~ 6-8 weeks)

Eligibility: High school students in the Greater Seattle area who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and can work for 40 hours/week for 8-12 weeks.

Participants in SparkSIP can choose from 1 to 5 projects that interest them, with selected students (only 5-6) receiving mentorship from sponsors. The program also provides resources and opportunities that are beneficial during and after the college application process.

SparkSIP offers high school students the chance to apply concepts in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data visualization to real-world scenarios. The program enables students to interact with and learn from industry leaders, university professors, and mentors. Research topics for 2024 include extreme weather conditions, software engineering, detecting tick-borne infections and cancers, ML workflow, quantum, CHIPS/semiconductors - GaN/AIGaN, low-temperature electronics, competitive analysis, and market research, data engineering and AI, social media content generation, and more.

4. MIT Lincoln Laboratory High School Internship Program

Location: Lexington, MA

Stipend: Stipend is provided to the interns.

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in March. Applications for the 2025 program will open in February.

Program Dates: July 10 - August 15, 2024

Eligibility: Open to applicants who are:

• U.S. citizens

• Local high school rising seniors

• 16 years old before the start date

The Summer High School Internship Program at MIT Lincoln Laboratory offers an opportunity for rising seniors residing in the New England area to delve into STEM careers before committing to a college major.

Throughout the summer, interns are paired with Laboratory staff mentors to complete projects, tackle problems, and develop both technical and interpersonal skills in a hands-on, professional environment. If you’re interested in technology, you can choose to work on projects related to developing radar, electronic warfare, and technologies for future integrated air and missile defense systems. You can also work on projects that improve air transportation by developing sensors, weather tracking, and forecasting systems, and decision support automation, or you could opt to work on developing technology for advanced satellite systems that are used to monitor the activity of objects in space and to perform remote sensing of Earth.

5. TARGET by Fermilab

Location: Fermilab site, Batavia, IL

Stipend: Students are paid a salary of $17.20 per hour.

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February. Applications will reopen in November 2024.

Program Dates: Typically mid-June to late July. The 2024 program will run from June 17 to July 26.

Eligibility: Open to high school students who are/have:

• Sophomores or juniors at the time of application

• Enrolled in an Illinois high school

• a 3.0+ GPA average

• Eligible to work in the U.S. 

The TARGET program is a competitive six-week summer internship specifically for high school sophomores and juniors from Illinois. It is designed for students with a strong interest and demonstrated aptitude in physics, mathematics, computer science, and engineering, aiming to inspire them to pursue college studies and careers in STEM fields.

Each year, the TARGET program accepts about 15-25 interns. The program blends work with experiential learning, allowing interns to collaborate closely with scientists and engineers at Fermilab. This hands-on experience not only enhances their technical skills but also provides valuable exposure to professional STEM environments, fostering a deeper understanding and passion for these fields.

6. Simons Summer Research Program

Location: Stony Brook University, NY

Cost/Stipend: No participation cost but students are expected to cover transportation, dining, and residential costs; Stipend is provided to the interns.

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February.

Program Dates: July 1 - August 9, 2024

Eligibility: Open to students who are:

• High school juniors at the time of application

• U.S. citizens or permanent residents

• 16 years of age by the start of the program

Stony Brook University’s Simons Summer Research Program offers high school students a unique opportunity to engage in hands-on STEM research alongside faculty mentors. Participants are matched with a faculty mentor, join a research group or team, and take responsibility for a specific project. By the program’s conclusion, students are required to produce a written research abstract and a research poster. You should expect to commit a minimum of 4 hours per day working independently and/or with your mentor or research group. The exact hours will be determined in consultation with the assigned faculty mentor. 

If you’re interested in technology, you can opt to work alongside Dr. Dongyoon Lee in the Computer Science Department where research projects are offered in the areas of computer systems, security, and software engineering. Possible topics include C/C++ memory safety, regular expression denial of service, and software testing. You can view the other projects for Summer 2024 here!

7. Honors College - The Anson L. Clark Scholars Program

Location: Honors College, Lubbock, TX

Stipend: Students will receive a $750 stipend upon successful completion of the research project report.

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February.

Program Dates: June 16 - August 1, 2024

Eligibility: Open to applicants who are:

• at least 17 years of age by the program start date, and are participating in the summer before or after senior year of high school

• U.S. citizens or permanent residents

The Anson L. Clark Scholars Program at Texas Tech University is a seven-week comprehensive research program designed for high school students to gain hands-on research experience under the mentorship of Texas Tech faculty. Although it is not a traditional internship, the program provides an opportunity for independent research exploration.

This program offers the flexibility to incorporate machine learning and its applications within computer science. This includes areas such as virtual and augmented reality, big data visualization, visual analytics, statistical data analysis, data-intensive computing, computer architectures, and systems software. Additionally, you can explore research areas in Mechanical Engineering or Electrical and Computer Engineering, which involve applications of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and robotics.

For tips on how to get into this prestigious program, you can find advice from the Dean of Texas Tech here!

8. National Institute of Standards and Technology Internships

Location: Varies from lab to lab.

Cost/Stipend: No participation cost but students must cover their transportation and housing costs; Unpaid.

Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February.

Program Dates: Typically 8 weeks between June and August. The 2024 program will run from June 17 to August 9.

Eligibility: Open to students who:

• are U.S. citizens.

• are juniors or seniors in high school during the application period.

• have a minimum GPA of 3.0

The Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP) by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers an exceptional opportunity for students who have completed their junior or senior year of high school by the start of the program and have a demonstrated interest in scientific research. This prestigious program allows students to engage in cutting-edge research at NIST, working closely with NIST staff scientists and engineers on specific research topics. You can choose to intern at one of these 6 NIST laboratories:

• Communications Technology Lab

• Engineering Lab

• Information Technology Lab

• Material Measurement Lab

• NIST Center for Neutron Research 

• Physical Measurement Lab

If you are interested in tech, we recommend opting for the Information Technology Laboratory where you will help research to support the development and advancement of measurement science, standards infrastructure, and computer technology. For instance, your research activities will include digital data retrieval and preservation, bioinformatics, data mining, machine learning, information visualization, and image analysis.

One other option - Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you would like to participate in a rigorous research program open to high schoolers, you should also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.

Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

Image Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology logo