9 Online Business Internships for High School Students in 2024-2025
If you’re a high school student keen on pursuing business, finance, or any related fields in the future, you should consider doing an internship! Business internships can offer valuable exposure and opportunities to build your knowledge and skills, a professional network, and boost your profile for college applications. Often, however, internships can be difficult to access because of their location requirements. Arranging travel and stay if you don’t live where the internship takes place can be challenging. This is why we’ve curated this list of online business internships you can consider as a high schooler.
These internships can provide you with experiences that set you apart from your peers. A virtual setup lends flexibility and accessibility, allowing you to work with companies from various industries anywhere in the world, participate in meaningful projects, and develop a professional network—without stepping out. These internships will also expose you to potential career paths!
Early exposure to the business world can also significantly enhance your college applications. Admissions committees seek candidates who show initiative and are proactive about their education and academic interests. By participating in a business internship, you demonstrate that you’re driven and willing to go beyond the standard curriculum to pursue your interests.
Cost: Starts at $1990. Financial aid is offered.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. The applications for the Summer II cohort close on June 26, 2024.
Program dates: Multiple 8-week cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring.
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is a selective program for ambitious high school students to virtually intern with a startup or nonprofit organization across the world. During this program, interns can choose to work in a field that they’re interested in, with partner companies across industries such as AI/ML, engineering, business, finance, tech, health tech, marketing, sustainability, media, and more. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook.
As an intern, you will work closely with your manager and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present your work at the end of the program. You will also be offered one-on-one training in communication, time management, and other professional skills; along with group training sessions with other interns in your cohort.
Cost: No cost.
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Program Length: 10 weeks, May to August.
Eligibility: High school students who are at least 16 years old can apply.
Note: Students can choose to intern virtually, in-person at the SSEC in Washington, DC, or in a hybrid format.
This 10-week SSEC summer internship is for high school students who are keen to work in the communications and marketing side of business. As an intern, you will be involved in projects that enhance the SSEC brand, create marketing materials, and assist in communications dissemination, strategy, and asset management. When you work on researching and identifying key components of the Smithsonian Institution’s network of museums and centers, you will learn how to leverage brand image – an essential component when it comes to any business. You will also help identify diverse subject matter experts, create accessible content, and consider a variety of cultural contexts to ensure the SSEC is relevant to a global audience in order to assist in implementing the their commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion.
The AI Internship Program by Veritas AI is founded and run by Harvard graduate students. Through the 8-week internship that combines AI with business leadership, 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
Cost: $2900. Need-based financial aid is offered.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary with the cohort. Applications for the second summer cohort close on June 23, 2024.
Program Dates: The 2024 edition of the program starts on June 5 and spans over 4 weeks.
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students.
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up bootcamp founded and run by Harvard alumni. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions and more.
The program is a solid opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school, and explore multiple theoretical as well as practical frameworks that lead to a successful business. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
5. LeanGap
Cost: $6,450 (online) | $9,450 (in-person)
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February.
Program Dates: June 17, 2024 - July 12, 2024 (online) | July 15, 2024 - August 9, 2024 (in-person)
Eligibility: All high school students are eligible.
LeanGap is an opportunity for students interested in getting hands-on experience in entrepreneurship. With a choice between an in-person program hosted at UC Berkeley and an online option that allows participation from anywhere, LeanGap caters to a wide range of aspiring entrepreneurs. The program spans four weeks, featuring a full-time schedule for the in-person program and flexible class hours for the online program, accommodating students from different time zones.
You’ll be taught by experienced entrepreneurs and receive mentorship tailored to guide you through the journey of starting a company. The curriculum is designed to take you through the crucial stages of launching a startup, starting with idea validation, where you'll pitch ideas and form teams around the most promising ones. In the following weeks, you'll focus on creating a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), gaining traction in the market, and finally, perfecting your pitch for Demo Day. This journey is supported by hands-on activities, group recreational events, and the opportunity to present your company to a panel of Silicon Valley investors, CEOs, and technologists.
Cost: No cost.
Application Deadline: Applications are open all year round, you can apply here.
Program Dates: Flexible. Students may request lengthening an internship by a week or two because of conflicting time pressure from school.
Eligibility: Sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have taken at least one honors science or honors English class, with a minimum GPA of 3.25, can apply.
Note: Students can expect a competitive selection process as this program is open to college students as well!
Open to high school and college students, EnergyMag offers virtual research internships to students looking to gain experience in research and analysis. As an intern, you will research companies, analyze technologies, and conduct market research – all essential to any business. Internships can be half-time (2-8 weeks, 20 hours per week) or quarter-time (1-9 months, 8 hours per week).
EnergyMag works in the renewable energy sector. This program is aimed at equipping students with skills in both science and business that will be useful in the future, no matter the profession they choose. Students will work from home, and be in regular contact via Skype, email, text, etc with EnergyMag and their mentor. Internship tasks will be based on your graduation date, academic record, and experience – you may have to research and analyze a specific company, a specific technology, a specific (narrow) market, or other similar activities. You will be assigned a mentor, who will brief you, guide you, and supervise your work. You will need to research your topic, get in touch with people who have the relevant information, analyze and synthesize the information you gather, and produce a draft analysis report, which will reference your name, and be published on the EnergyMag site.
Cost/Stipend: No cost. Students will be paid, but the amount is not specified.
Application Deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Program Dates: Summer (exact dates not specified)
Eligibility: Rising or current high school seniors with work authorization
With the Mary Miller Summer Program, high school students will have the opportunity to work on their leadership, teamwork and collaboration, communication, and independence. Interns will get to participate in team projects and activities with senior leadership while also developing independent projects. As an intern, you will work under the Public Health Director and assist the team in social media projects, online community interactions, and technical support. Some key tasks here include attending planning meetings, conducting social media research through trending, analysis, and reporting, developing regular and creative posts, and implementing feedback from team members and clients.
Cost: $6,295
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in March.
Program Dates: July 8 - 29, 2024
Eligibility: All high school students are eligible.
This program, though not a traditional internship, offers valuable experience. It emphasizes exploring social, economic, and environmental challenges aligned with the U.N. Global Goals, providing you with a broad understanding of entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing, finance, and business communication. The program boasts a global network, allowing you to connect with a diverse cohort of students passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation. Learning from world-class Babson faculty, who are both educators and experienced entrepreneurs, you will be able to access mentorship from Babson graduate and undergraduate students, who will guide you throughout your journey in the program.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem at Babson will allow you to hear from leaders within Babson’s entrepreneurial network, engage with faculty, alumni, and students through panels and presentations, and participate in both live and asynchronous academic coursework. The course schedule includes live sessions lasting approximately 3 hours daily, with an expectation of up to 5 additional hours each day for out-of-class assignments.
Cost: No cost.
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines, it is recommended that you apply as soon as possible.
Program Dates: Usually 3 months from June to August. It can be extended!
Eligibility: All high school students can apply.
Building-U is a remote non-profit focused on assisting high school students in their journey. The organization is looking for interns to assist in the administrative/business aspect of the organization. Once selected as an intern, you join one of their teams – these include R&D roles, student ambassador roles, Business Development roles, and others that you can read about here. These teams might concentrate on areas like digital marketing, content writing, web development, or data analytics. This structure not only allows interns to work in areas that align with their interests and skills but also promotes teamwork, leadership, and project management skills.
One other option - the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you are passionate about research in business, then you could consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, an online high school program for students that 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.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.
Jessica attends Harvard University where she studies Neuroscience and Computer Science as a Coca-Cola, Elks, and Albert Shankar Scholar. She is passionate about educational equity and hopes to one day combine this with her academic interests via social entrepreneurship. Outside of academics, she enjoys taking walks, listening to music, and running her jewelry business!