If you're an ambitious high schooler, you probably know that completing an internship is a good way to gain skills and build your resume. However, getting an internship in high school can be difficult. Many organizations have a preference for older interns (such as college students), and it can be logistically expensive to travel and intern outside your hometown.

In this article, we outline 9 online internship programs for high schoolers that you can do from anywhere! You'll find virtual internships in a variety of fields, including STEM, business, entrepreneurship, art and culture, environmental science, and foreign policy.

Why do an internship in high school?

By interning before starting college, you can gain valuable professional experiences, learn new skills, and expand your network, all of which can prove valuable during and after your undergraduate degree. Internships that offer a stipend can provide financial support for passion projects or college tuition and other expenses. Additionally, internships offer the chance to apply your learning in a real-world context, solving challenges that impact people daily.

While some internships may come with a fee, these programs often offer added guidance on maximizing the value of your experience and preparing you to perform at your best. It is crucial to carefully review program offerings to determine which internship will be most beneficial for your personal and professional goals.

Are internships prestigious?

Being selected as an intern for a prestigious program adds great value to your resume and overall profile. If you were to intern with an esteemed organization such as Johns Hopkins for medicine and life sciences, it would reflect well on your college application. Furthermore, a prestigious internship is often a door to other academic opportunities because of the learning and networking opportunities it provides. That being said, the work that you do during the internship will be equally important, and so will the way in which you write about your experience in college applications.

What should I look for in an internship?

When applying for internships as a high school student, you should focus on the following components -

1. Length/duration of the internship

If you are looking for a year-round internship that offers enough flexibility to work on school and test prep, make sure you look for opportunities with such duration. Summer internships are the most popular amongst high school students, as you can work on-site and devote more time to your work due to a relatively less packed summer schedule. Additionally, micro internships that last only a few hours may demonstrate lower initiative or a less committed experience than one that lasts a few months (such as Ladder Internships).

2. Commitment and responsibilities

Reading the job/internship description should be your first step, as many students find themselves in positions where they are assigned responsibilities that they did not sign up for. Read the responsibilities that you will be assigned to see if they align with your goals, and then apply.

3. Networking opportunities

Working with industry professionals and learning from them is an essential part of a successful internship. If the opportunity you’re looking for is an on-site one that offers networking opportunities in the form of meetings, seminars, or mentorship, make sure that you make the best use of such opportunities. Remote internships limit the in-person interactions you have with other students and employees, but putting in some extra effort (such as setting up meetings with mentors, sending introduction emails, asking them questions, and discussing ideas with your co-workers) can lead to a great networking experience.

4. Stipend or costs (your budget)

While a stipend is an attractive feature for an internship, do not base your decision solely on the money you are offered. Many opportunities are fully funded, which means that you do not have to undertake any costs (be it travel or residence). Find opportunities that align with your career and educational goals, not just the amount of stipend they offer.

If an internship requires a fee, you should understand why that is the case and whether the offerings are valuable, given your skills, experience, and goals. For instance, if this is your first internship and you want more guidance on what it means to be ‘job ready’ and a program provides that along with an internship, it may be worthwhile for you to consider it.

Along with these factors, you should ensure that the internship you are applying for is in a field or subject that you are truly interested in.

Now that you know what to look out for, here are 9 great online internships for high schoolers!

1. Ladder Internship Program

Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries, from tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. You can explore all the options here on their application form. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. In the program, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.

Cost: Starting at $2,490 (financial aid available)

Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.

Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November). 

Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!

2. EnergyMag Research Internship

EnergyMag, a non-profit, offers virtual research internships to students looking to gain experience in the renewable energy sector. You will gain research and analytical skills alongside work experience by researching specific companies, technologies, and markets. Internships can be half-time (2-8 weeks, 20 hours per week) or quarter-time (1-9 months, 8 hours per week)

Cost: No stipend provided

Location: Virtual

Application Deadline: Applications are open all year round

Program Dates: Rolling dates

Eligibility: Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have taken at least one honors science or honors English class

3. Internship at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

The Smithsonian offers highly competitive internship opportunities. If you're a high school student interested in contributing to museum work related to Asian-Pacific American history, art, and culture, you should consider applying to this program. The Smithsonian invites applications from undergraduate as well as high school students, so you can expect the application process to be quite competitive. You will develop and implement public programs and events, contribute to research and exhibition development, and help with marketing and outreach efforts.

Cost: Fully funded, stipend and college credits offered. Additionally, the Smithsonian Office of Fellowships and Internships also offers funded opportunities to interns through several scholarship programs

Location: Virtual

Application Deadline: Summer (June - August) - March 10 | Fall - June 9 | Spring - November 10

Program Dates: Internships usually last about 10 weeks, with interns dedicating about 20 hours per week

Eligibility: All high school students can apply

4. The Mary Miller Summer Program by the PHC Group

This is a selective internship opportunity for rising high school juniors and seniors. As an intern, you will assist the team with social media-related projects, online community interaction, and technical support. Additionally, you will engage in social marketing research and contribute to better remote collaboration and relationship building. Typical applicants possess strong technical proficiency in Microsoft Office, are fast learners, and are efficient workers on multiple projects and assignments. The internship is a great way to gain experience in consulting and marketing. As part of your application, you are required to send in your resume to joinus@phcgconsulting.com.

Cost: None, stipend provided

Location: Virtual

Application Deadline: Not specified, but you are urged to apply as soon as possible

Program Dates: Not specified, but the program takes place in the summer

Eligibility: All high school students can apply

5. Summer Internships at the Foreign Policy Research Institute

The FPRI offers internships for high school students across three main verticals - Research, Operations, and Special Events. Responsibilities for each of these verticals are outlined here. As an FPRI intern, you will be expected to attend weekly foreign policy and career-focused seminars with guest speakers. Additionally, FPRI offers its interns the opportunity to work on an independent research paper that has a chance to be published on FPRI’s Intern Corner. These internships require a cover letter stating why and where you wish to work and a 3-5 page research writing sample for some verticals.

Cost: The stipend provided varies from vertical to vertical; you also get the chance to apply for FPRI grants for your research

Location: Virtual

Application Deadline: Fall Cohort - July 20 | Spring Cohort - January 1 | Summer Cohort - April 15

Program Dates: Fall Cohort - September – December | Spring Cohort - February – May | Summer Cohort - June – August

Eligibility: All high school students can apply

6. Medicine Encompassed

For students looking to advance in medical careers, Medicine Encompassed is a student-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit that assists with accessibility in the field. The organization offers multiple positions across its 18 committees. The applications for each of these positions are open on a rolling basis, so it is recommended you apply as soon as possible. As an intern, you will work across writing, editing, sponsorships and partnerships, graphic design, marketing and social media, and resource creation. Interns are expected to have an interest in STEAM, biology, and medicine.

Cost: No stipend is provided, certificates and nominations to the President's Volunteer Service Award (in the U.S. only) are provided

Location: Virtual

Application Deadline: Rolling applications, you can apply here

Program Dates: Internships with ME are open year-round, you can read more about it here

Eligibility: All high school students can apply

7. Building-U Internship

Building-U is a non-profit centered around helping high school students. It is looking for interns to assist in the administrative/business aspect of the organization. The internship is for three months, and as an intern, you will help with a range of duties. Once selected, you will join one of their teams – these include R&D roles, positions of student ambassadors, Business Development roles, and other profiles, more details of which you can read about here. As an intern with the business development team, you will cultivate partnerships, organize data around their ongoing and projected initiatives, and help determine, develop, and diversify funding streams.

Cost: No cost

Location: Remote

Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines

Program Dates: Usually June through August – but if the intern is open to it, it can run year-round

Eligibility: High school students can apply

8. Meaningful Teams Teaching Programs

Meaningful Teens offers internships and volunteer opportunities for high school students across its welfare and education programs across the world. A few programs that you can contribute to are Project Speak Together, Project Diversidad, Project Ying Wen, and Project Udaan. These projects reach women, children, and members of underrepresented and under-resourced communities and assist them with grammar, speaking exercises, literacy workshops, and tutoring lessons. You can contribute to any of these projects (as well as multiple upcoming ones) for a few hours every week.

Cost: No cost, no stipend is provided

Location: Virtual

Application Deadline: Sign-ups are open year-round, but you are urged to apply as soon as possible

Program Dates: Volunteer experiences are open throughout the year; keep an eye out for available opportunities here

Eligibility: All high school students can apply

9. The Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Science Program (JHIBS): Project Pipeline Baltimore

This program aims to make neurological sciences more inclusive through its fully funded summer research program for high school students. As part of the program, you will participate in research under the guidance of researchers at JHU, take part in discussions, scientific seminars, and professional development sessions, and interact with neuroscientists at JHU. JHIBS has a competitive application process and provides you with an hourly stipend. At the end of the program, you will present your research via an oral or poster presentation. To get an idea of past projects, see here. To learn more about this internship, check out our complete guide here.

Cost: Free of cost, virtual interns receive a stipend of $500

Location: Virtual/JHU Campus

Application Deadline: March 1

Program Dates: July - August (Virtual program)

Eligibility: Juniors and seniors from around the country are eligible to apply to the 5-week, virtual program

Participating in these internships is a great way to understand how to solve real-world challenges and gain experience in the field. Another way of doing this is to work on your research project.

If you are looking to start your research journey with 1-1 mentorship from a top PhD, check out the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students that I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. 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: Ladder Internships logo