10 Internships for High School Students in India
If you are a high school student in India looking to boost your profile before applying to college, an internship may be a great choice! Not only do internships help demonstrate your skills and ability to work well in a professional setting, but also add to your knowledge in a particular field!
Here are 10 internships for high school students in India. In this list, you’ll find a combination of virtual, in-person, and international internships of various sorts that are open to students from India. We’ve covered a variety of forms and areas so that there is something to suit everybody.
Note that these internships are spread across multiple subjects like journalism, tech, STEM, and wildlife conservation!
Internships for high school students are limited, what do you do?
Apply for internships that may only be open for undergraduates but you are ‘highly’ suitable for and try to make a good case for yourself. You never know where it can take you!
Target early-stage startups and write to managers on LinkedIn. Smaller, leaner teams are more likely to hire high school students as opposed to larger companies because they are A) more structured and B) have more hoops to run through in order to make hiring decisions.
Leverage your network - ask friends and family for introductions!
Explore local NGOs
Connect with small business owners on social media - they often need and appreciate help with marketing, inventory planning, etc. - especially the ones on Instagram! (Do your due diligence and connect with legitimate people)
Additionally, you can explore role-based opportunities that are focused on building your skills in a particular space, such as content writing or graphic design. You can choose to approach NGOs, your local magazine, or even a mentor or their organization and offer your skills.
Note: we would recommend that for international programs you check specifically for your eligibility to A) intern and B) receive compensation. For in-person internships, you would typically travel on a visitor visa and there would be restrictions towards working for compensation or working at all. For virtual internships, you may only be eligible for work without compensation.
Application deadline: Open all year round
Eligibility: Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors only who have taken at least one honors science or honors English class
Program dates: Rolling dates
Location: Virtual
Fee: Free
EnergyMag is a non-profit organization whose internship offers students an opportunity to delve into renewable energy research. Guided by mentors, you will study a specific company, technology, or market, gathering information through research and networking. The goal of your research will be to analyze the data and produce a report which will be published on the website. You can choose between a half-time internship that runs for 2-8 weeks or a quarter-time internship that runs for 1-9 months.
Application deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year (Fall deadline on August 27, 2023)
Eligibility: All high school students
Program dates: 8-week programs with multiple cohorts throughout the year
Location: Virtual
Fee: $1,990
Financial assistance: Available
Through this internship, you will be matched with a top start-up and work with them on a real-world project. The field of work could be anything from machine learning, finance, engineering, and health tech to fashion, non-profit, media, and journalism. Examples of previous projects include ‘Machine learning model to predict customer churn for an e-commerce website’ and ‘Marketing campaign for series-A backed media company’. Overall, you will spend 10-15 hours per week on this internship and end it with a letter of completion from the company.
In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship - the Ladder Coach serves as a second mentor and a sounding board, guiding students through the internship and helping them navigate the startup environment. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors who are at least 14 years of age. This internship accepts international students!
Program dates: June 26, 2023 – August 18, 2023
Location: Virtual (for 2023)
Stipend: Unpaid
Organized by the Stanford Compression Forum, this internship is centered on research. As an intern, you will work in groups and be exposed to multidisciplinary research and research tools. Previous groups have come up with reports on The Progression of Perovskite Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in our Future and A Tangible Solution to Closing the Gender Gap in Engineering. The program spans various fields like engineering, psychology, linguistics, computer science, and philosophy, and also looks at how the humanities are interlinked with STEM research. Note that this internship is moderately selective, accepting about 60 students for each cohort.
Application deadline: None
Eligibility: The internship is looking for people with good research skills, a passion for social media, and basic knowledge of the B2B SaaS industry
Program dates: 3 months
Location: Pepper Content’s Mumbai office
Fee: Not specified
Pepper Content is a content marketing platform that connects businesses with content creators. As their social media intern, you will be responsible for the in-house social media content across platforms while also being involved with some event planning. Your work will cover every aspect of social media marketing from the planning to execution and coordinating with various other teams. Making a content calendar, organizing live sessions, shooting reels, and writing copy are a few of the many tasks included.
Application deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
Eligibility: No education level is specified
Program dates: A commitment is required for most internships, ranging from 2 – 6 months
Location: The Caravan, Delhi
Stipend: Paid (amount unspecified)
Acceptance to the internships at The Caravan would probably require a higher level of academic achievement. That said, The Caravan is a prestigious journalism magazine that would elevate your CV. The internship opportunities are in several fields including editorial management, design, research, social media, video editing and more. Before applying, consider that these are full-time internships that require your attendance from 11 am to 7 pm, Monday to Saturday.
Application deadline: Applications open twice a year in February and October
Eligibility: Higher-education students are preferred but other students can also apply
Program dates: Duration can range from 1 to 6 months
Location: WWF-India office, New Delhi
Stipend: Paid (unpaid for those who are doing it as part of their academic courses)
The World Wide Fund for Nature India offers this internship for students interested in working in the environmental conservation sector. This charitable trust works with several organizations such as government bodies, schools, NGOs, and more, to work towards issues like species conservation, environmental education, and climate change. As an intern, you will get to be involved in the projects undertaken alongside these organizations and actively contribute to them. At the end of the program, satisfactory performance will grant you an internship certificate.
Application deadline: April 15, 2023
Eligibility: All high school students who are at least 14 years of age. Although, each internship may have individual requirements
Program dates: Duration ranges from 4-12 weeks
Location: Virtual
Stipend: Ranges from Rs. 3,000 – Rs.6,000
Stoodnt is an EdTech company that offers summer internships for high school students in India. You can choose from a number of areas including marketing, business development, branding, community outreach, 3D animation, data science and even an internship in the CEO’s office. Most internships require a 10-15 hour commitment per week. You will receive an experience certificate at the end of the program and, if you perform well, even a letter of recommendation.
Application deadline: July 23, 2023 for the Fall cohort, November 17, 2023 for the Spring cohort, April 1, 2023 for the Summer cohort
Eligibility: All students are eligible, including international students. However, the program does require that you have authorization to work in the U.S.
Program dates: Fall cohort from September – December, Spring cohort from February – May, Summer cohort from June – August
Location: Virtual
Stipend: Paid
If you’re interested in foreign relations and international policy, the FPRI’s internship offers relevant experience in the field. Research, Special Events/Development, and Operations are the three primary areas the internships fall into and you can choose from among them. During the program, you will be paired with a scholar/professional and be trained in industry-specific skills. You will also have the opportunity to write a research paper which could then be published on FPRI’s Intern Corner. Summer interns will also be able to attend weekly seminars on foreign policy and career pathways.
Note: We have covered this internship in detail here!
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors
Program dates: Not specified, but the program should take place during the summer
Location: Virtual
Stipend: Paid
PHC Group is a company that provides public health and management solutions and its high school internship provides students with an opportunity to learn about leadership and communities. Key tasks of the internship include working on social media projects, contributing to planning discussions, conducting research, and organizing virtual collaborations with other parties. As an intern, you will be expected to work on multiple assignments and implement strategic and creative thinking.
Application deadline: July 30, 2023
Eligibility: No education level is specified
Program dates: Not specified
Location: Bangalore (hybrid format)
Stipend: Paid (amount unspecified)
During this internship, you will conduct research in a wide range of areas related to computer science and present your findings while working alongside other interns and researchers. You will also be paired with a mentor to guide your research. While there is no specific education level specified, it’s safe to assume that this program is aimed at college-level students. So, do consider that the program will ideally require a very high level of academic achievement.
Bonus - The Smithsonian’s Internships (Virtual)
Application deadline: Varies as per internship
Eligibility: All high school students. Although, each internship may have some specific requirements. A couple of internships require US citizenship but the rest are open to international students!
Program dates: Varies as per internship
Location: Virtual, hybrid, and in-person internships available
Stipend: Paid (amount unspecified)
The Smithsonian’s Office of Internship Programs offers several internships for students. Options range from fields like communications and marketing to internships at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. This program is ideal for those interested in leadership, museum professions, or culture studies. While a lot of the internships are open to international students, a few do have US citizenship requirements so keep an eye out for it.
If you are passionate about conducting research as a high school student, you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students I 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.
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: The Caravan logo