11 Internships in Houston for High School Students
Doing an internship in high school offers a ton of value - not only is it a great addition to your resume as a student, but also equips you with the soft and hard skills admissions officers are looking for. Most internships also come with a mentorship/shadowing component, that you can make the best of while collecting letters of recommendation before applying to college.
If you are a high school student in Houston, we have compiled a list of 11 great internships in Houston for high school students that you can consider. This list includes internships across various subjects and fields so that you have plenty of options to choose from.
Please keep in mind the following information is for 2023 and dates for the following years will be at a similar time period.
11 Internships in Houston for High School Students
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: $1,490
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.
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
Application deadline: Applications open in mid-January and are screened from late March. Students are encouraged to apply early!
Eligibility: Any residents of Houston between the ages of 16 and 24 who are eligible to work in the US
Program dates: June 12, 2023 – August 3, 2023
Location: Varies as per department
Stipend: $10 per hour
The City of Houston offers several different internships for high school students in Houston interested in public service. You can choose from a number of departments including accounting, police, public health, administration, parks and recreation, and the city council’s office. The internship will go on for eight weeks during the summer and you will be expected to work 32 hours per week. This program is an ideal opportunity for students looking for internships for high school students in Houston to gain practical work experience and learn about the inner workings of local government.
Application deadline: March 31, 2023
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who can legally work in the US and come from families with an income at or below the HUD Median Family Income for the region
Program dates: Varies but the program lasts for 8 weeks
Location: Varies depending on project location
Stipend: Hourly wages as well as a transportation stipend
Houston is one of the several locations at which this internship for high school students in Houston takes place. DPR Construction is a private company and through this internship, you will get exposure to all the different roles at a construction site. You will work with a specific team on a construction project and engage in various aspects including planning, scheduling, design, logistics and even working with new technologies. Keep in mind that you will be expected to spend at least 35-40 hours per week in this valuable internship for high school students in Houston.
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: All high school students
Program dates: Students must complete a total of 50 hours of work during the summer months
Location: ASPIRE centers as well as at other Sewa events
Stipend: Unpaid
Hosted by the non-profit organization Sewa USA, ASPIRE is a program that focuses on the development of children from low-income or refugee families. This program offers an internship for high school students in Houston and is ideal for students interested in social service and community development. As an intern, you will help run the daily activities at ASPIRE centers as well as assist with the organization’s volunteer events. You will be guided by a GIH intern (a college student or young adult) and even aid them in the completion of their project, which could include tasks in the areas of public relations, event management, grant writing, and more—all while gaining experience through this internship for high school students in Houston.
Application deadline: January 16, 2023 for the spring session, May 8, 2023 for the summer session, and August 7, 2023, for the fall session
Eligibility: All high school students
Program dates: Varies as per internship but they usually last for a full semester
Location: DiverseWorks Office
Stipend: A small stipend (unspecified amount) is provided
DiverseWorks is a non-profit multidisciplinary arts organization whose internships are useful to students interested in careers as curators, artists, or arts administrators. At the time of writing, there is an opening for an artists’ assistant where you will assist in the production of an art piece called Portrait of Houston (although, some understanding of French is required for this). There is also an opening for an arts administration intern where you will aid the organization in research, marketing, gallery maintenance and other general office duties—all part of valuable internships for high school students in Houston.
Medical Internships in Houston
Application deadline: February 3, 2023
Eligibility: Current seniors from Texas public, private or charter high schools, who will graduate school before the program. Students must also have been accepted into a college for the fall semester after the program
Program dates: June 5, 2023 – August 11, 2023
Location: MD Anderson Cancer Center
Stipend: $6,000
MD Anderson Cancer Center is one of the country's top cancer research centers, making this a renowned and prestigious program. As one of the seven selected students, you will work on a research project in the field of biomedical sciences. Under the guidance of a mentor, you will engage in hands-on lab work and have access to seminars and activities like poster and elevator-speech competitions. The program is aimed at students interested in Allied Health as it offers a look at various career options in the field, particularly within internships for high school students in Houston.
Application deadline: May 15, 2023
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors who are residents of the Houston area
Program dates: Session 1 from June 12, 2023 – June 30, 2023, Session 2 from July 10, 2023 – July 28, 2023
Location: Rice University
Fee: Free
Exploring the intersection of digital design and medical treatment, this internship looks at the practical application of engineering fields in healthcare, making it one of the best internships for high school students in Houston. You will study digital circuitry, computer science, physics, and engineering research and analyze devices like pulse oximeters, accelerometers, and microphones. You could even work on developing a new device or piece of technology. Meanwhile, you will also learn about the various college pathways and network with peers and professionals. Do keep in mind that this is a highly selective program that accepts 12 students!
Application deadline: May 15, 2023
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors with a minimum GPA of 3.0
Program dates: 8 weeks, starting between June 1 and June 20
Location: University of Houston
Stipend: $2,000
During the 8 weeks of this program, you will spend most of your time in the lab learning about the research process from start to finish, making it one of the top internships for high school students in Houston. You will shadow a researcher working in the field of infectious diseases and get hands-on training in the lab while also developing your own independent project. A few examples of lab activities are biological sample processing, running PCR assays, and plating bacteria. However, while this program offers substantial practical experience it is also incredibly competitive as it only enrolls two students per cohort.
Application deadline: January 27, 2023
Eligibility: All high school students who are at least 16 years of age
Program dates: May 30, 2023 – August 4, 2023
Location: Various program locations across Houston, TX
Stipend: None
This immersive experience focuses on translational research — the practical application of scientific research in healthcare, making it one of the most sought-after internships for high school students in Houston. Under the guidance of a mentor, you will work on a research project and present your findings during a poster symposium at the end of the program. Guest speaker presentations and networking events are also part of the program. Along with getting an immersive lab experience, you will also learn the skill of scientific writing and receive career development tools that cover things like college selection and scholarship applications.
Application deadline: March 31, 2023
Eligibility: Juniors who have a strong academic standing
Program dates: 10 weeks during the summer
Location: Mohan Lab, University of Houston
Stipend: None
This 10-week program is ideal for students interested in biomedical, bioengineering, or health-oriented professions, making it one of the premier internships for high school students in Houston. For the first two weeks, you will undergo instruction and training in lab techniques. The following 8 weeks will be spent working on a research project under the guidance of a scientist or graduate student and then present your findings at the MohanLab joint laboratory meeting. Previous projects have included topics like identifying novel biomarkers for neuropsychiatric lupus and examining the impact of mesenchymal stem cell secretome on cancer cells.
For those of you who read this far, here is a bonus program!
Application deadline: February 20, 2023
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who are at least 16 years of age and are US citizens
Program dates: May 1, 2023 – July 26, 2023
Location: University of Texas, Austin (2-3 hours from Houston)
Fee: Free
Financial assistance: Travel scholarships are available
If you are interested in Earth and space research or would simply like to explore STEM fields alongside NASA experts, then consider applying to this program. While competitive, the internship will expose you to high-level research and data analysis on topics such as NASA’s remote sensing data or Earth’s gravitational field. You can expect an incredibly hands-on experience. The curriculum includes a distance learning component, followed by a remote work period and then a residential internship from July 8, 2023 – July 26, 2023. The program culminates in a science symposium where you can present your work.
While this program isn’t in Houston, we have still included it on this list due to the valuable experience offered to students as well as the combination of virtual and in-person components. The program is jointly organized by NASA, Texas Space Grant Consortium, and The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Space Research.
One other option – Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you are interested in doing research as a high school student, then you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective 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.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. 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: Sewa USA logo