Topics We Cover:
- Why Do Internships in High School?
- How to Find Business Internships for High School Students
- 20 Business Internships for High School Students
- Cold Outreach Strategy for Business High School Internships
- Email Template for Finding a High School Internship
Why do internships in high school?
Before we jump into a long list of business internships for high school students, it is important to understand why these opportunities could matter for your future. According to PRISM, a consultancy, 70% of students attending a US News top 50 University have completed at least one internship while in high school. These opportunities serve as a way to distinguish yourself in the admissions process by showing that you have gone out and verified your future goals through experience. Doing internships will help you enter college with a clearer idea of the professional environments you enjoy or don’t enjoy, which will make it easier for you to recruit into a job you love after graduation. Students who have done at least one internship in high school also typically have an easier time recruiting into college internships and pre-professional organizations such as finance or pre-law clubs.
How to Find Business Internships for High School Students
The best way to find official programs to apply to is through online search tools and lists. The StandOutSearch database provides the largest free resource that lists almost every internship program for the high school age group and allows you to search by interest area. MIT Admissions also provides a helpful list of High School Internships, as does the Collegevine blog.
However, official programs tend to be very competitive, so if you are serious about finding a business internship in high school, you should also prepare a cold outreach strategy. You can read more about how to form a cold outreach strategy to find a business high school internship at the end of this article. We also include email templates to make finding an internship through cold outreach less daunting.
20 Business Internships for High School Students
Most of the high school internship opportunities below have an acceptance rate of 20% or lower, given that there are many more high school students looking for internships relative to official programs that provide them. We recommend choosing at least five opportunities to apply to. If you see an opportunity that excites you, take a moment to write the deadline on your calendar!
- Ages: 15-19
- Location: Virtual
- Timeline: Summer, Spring, Fall, or Winter
- Deadline: Various Deadlines
StandOut Connect is a program backed by The University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Innovation that matches high school students with virtual internships relating to their interest area. Students interview with potential mentors who are leaders and innovators within their area of interest until they are hired for a two-month internship. Many students then receive optional return offers to continue with their internship for as long as they would like.
2. Bank of America Student Leader Program
- Ages: 16-18
- Location: Locations Across the US
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: Contact for Deadline
As a Student Leader, you will participate in an eight-week paid internship at a local nonprofit organization where you will learn first-hand about the needs of your community and the critical role nonprofits play. In addition, you will learn valuable civic, social and business leadership skills. Each Student Leader will attend the Student Leaders Summit held in Washington, D.C. where you will learn how government, business and the nonprofit sector work together to address critical community needs.
3. Meta (Facebook) Summer Academy
- Ages: 15-16
- Location: California
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: March 1st 2024
Externs of Meta Summer Academy (formerly known as Facebook 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. Applicants must be sophomores in high school and full-year residents of either: East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, or Redwood City.
4. Emma Bowen Foundation Internship
- Ages: 17-18
- Location: Locations Across the US
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: April 1st 2024
Whether you’re interested in being a producer, a journalist, a web developer, an engineer, a business executive, a PR agent, a sales representative, or any other career in media or tech, the EBF Internship is here to help you get your start. If selected, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in these organizations so you can learn, grow and put yourself on the fast-track to career success.
5. Bella Abzug Leadership Institute Journey to Leadership Program
- Ages: 13-18
- Location: New York
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: Contact for Deadline
BALI believes that all youth, including female identifying and gender expansive-youth are destined for greatness. Their mission is to inspire them to become effective, dynamic and visionary 21st century leaders as well as active and creative participants in civic, political, corporate and community life. This program provides the skills set and the social-emotional learning needed by the current generation of young women to gain the knowledge and the confidence needed to become leaders in all circles of life.
6. U.S. Department of State Pathways Internship Program
- Ages: 16-18
- Location: Locations Across the US
- Timeline: School Year or Summer
- Deadline: Various Deadlines
The U.S. Department of State’s Pathways Internship Program includes both the Internship Experience Program (IEP) and the Internship Temporary Program (ITEP). Both programs are targeted toward U.S. citizens enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions from high school to graduate school and professional academic levels. Both programs provide students with opportunities to explore Federal careers while being paid for the work performed.
7. 1435 Capital Management High School Internship (Venture Analyst)
- Ages: 16-18
- Location: New Jersey
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: Rolling
This is an open listing for individuals within their junior or senior year of high school interested in exploring more in-depth areas related to business, finance, and entrepreneurship who would like to intern for a specialized venture capital firm located in the Northeastern part of the US. The position is for a hybrid internship, and the applicant must be able to commute to Princeton, NJ, on a limited basis. We’re looking for talented individuals that are hungry for knowledge and have the entrepreneurial spirit.
8. The City and County of San Francisco High School Internships
- Ages: 14-18
- Location: California
- Timeline: Summer, School Year
- Deadline: February 2024
The City and County of San Francisco offers various internships and summer programs for high school students through several departments and programs (Airport, City Attorney, Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, Department of Elections, District Attorney, General Services Adminstration, Office of Economic Workforce Development, Public Utilities Commission, Opportunities for All [San Francisco Students Only], and Public Works).
9. Columbia Engineering Hk Maker Lab
- Ages: 15-18
- Location: New York
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: February 29th 2024
The Hk Maker Lab is an intensive six-week summer program to learn the foundations of design. Focusing on addressing a health problem, participants will design, prototype and test a biomedical device and develop an associated business plan. The program will culminate in a presentation to leading executives from the biomedical community. The Hk Maker Lab projects might then be incubated using the state-of-the-art facilities at Harlem Biospace.
10. PHC Group, LLC Mary Miller Summer Program
- Ages: 16-18
- Location: Remote
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: Rolling
The PHC Group Summer Program offers talented high school rising/seniors an opportunity to go beyond the classroom to develop leadership skills and gain meaningful and tangible experience as part of a global team in a paid internship. Interns will participate in scheduled activities throughout the summer, engaging in team projects with senior leadership and exploring independent interests that support PHC Group’s mission. Under the guidance of the Public Health Director, Interns will actively assist the team via social media-related projects, online community interaction, and technical support.
11. Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Internship Program
- Ages: 16-18
- Location: Connecticut
- Timeline: Summer, School Year
- Deadline: Rolling
The Center offers engaging paid internship opportunities available across all departments — engineering, operations, workforce, and marketing/communications. Their summer internship program includes firsthand industry experience, professional development, networking opportunities, and personal growth.
12. Barnard College Athena Summer Innovation Institute
- Ages: 14-18
- Location: New York
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: April 2024
The Athena Institute sees entrepreneurship as a powerful way to build the world we want to inhabit. They take an approach to entrepreneurship that’s creative, collaborative, and conscious of impact, on others as well as on ourselves. The Athena Summer Innovation Institute is an intensive, 3-week boot camp that provides young women with the practical skills and knowledge they need to develop ideas that will make a difference in the world.
13. The Japanese Community Youth Council SF YouthWorks & MYEEP
- Ages: 14-18
- Location: California
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: Spring 2024
SF YouthWorks provides job readiness workshops, training, and internships at different SF City Departments such as the Public Utilities Commission, the Public Library, and the SF International Airport. Interns are paid a wage of $18.93/hr and are paired with city department employee mentor. SFYW provides professional training to equip participants with the skills needed to enter the workforce.
14. Chicago Summer Business Institute Internship Program
- Ages: 15-17
- Location: Illinois
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: Contact for Deadline
CSBI matches Chicago high school students with internships in leading companies in Chicago. Their goal is to supply students with the skills and connections that they need to begin their careers as working professionals. Students make connections with industry experts in fields like finance, law, government, and more.
15. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Internship Program
- Ages: 15-18
- Location: Massachusetts
- Timeline: Summer, School Year
- Deadline: Rolling
Today’s Interns, Tomorrow’s Professionals (TIP) is the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s paid work and learning internship program for eligible high school students who have completed their sophomore year in the Boston Public Schools. It starts with a developmentally rich summer work experience that includes job coaching and skill-building workshops. Then, based on available openings and individual interest, effort, and performance, some students are selected for an extended year-round internship program that can last up to three years.
16. Family Service Paid Summer Internship Program
- Ages: 14-19
- Location: Texas
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: April 2024
The summer internship program provides paid, part-time internships for middle and high school students across San Antonio to build career opportunities and goals. Family Service partners with a variety of organizations within various industries to pair every person with the right organization for them.
17. Dartmouth Health High School Foundations Summer Internship
- Ages: 15-18
- Location: New Hampshire
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: March 2024
The 2023 High School Foundations Summer Internship program is a highly competitive and rigorous program designed for high school students to gain real-world experience and insights into various careers. Over the course of several weeks during the summer, interns participate in a range of learning opportunities, such as workshops, lectures, and hands-on projects, that are designed to deepen their understanding of fields like business, medicine, law, engineering, and the arts. Interns work closely with professionals in their areas of interest, participate in team-building activities, and receive mentorship from experienced advisors to guide their personal and professional growth.
18. New York University Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities (ieSoSC)
- Ages: 14-16
- Location: New York
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: April 14th 2024
Accelerate your STEM skills and dive deeper into the science behind urban infrastructure with Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities (ieSoSC). ieSoSC is a follow-up to the Science of Smart Cities program for middle school students; it is designed for high school students to take their skills in computer science, engineering and technology to a new level and gain hands-on experience designing prototypes for smart city solutions.
19. National Youth Congress Internship
- Ages: 14-18
- Location: Virginia
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: April 2024
Youth Congress is an organization that allows teenagers to experience and gain independence and leadership through paid internships. These internships range from office work to assistance in camp programs to assisting someone who works in a highly ranked job such as marketing. The program is a summer-long commitment of 60 hrs. Teens will have the option to set their own hours with their mentor.
20. Get Girls Going Teen Entrepreneur
- Ages: 15-18
- Location: Massachusetts
- Timeline: Summer
- Deadline: Contact for Deadline
Get Girls Going (GGG) empowers Black teen girls to create social enterprises that solve problems in the world, and in doing so equips them to be leaders that challenge racial and gender inequities that prevent them from success. Get Girls Going runs a 6 week summer incubator for Black high school girls that are interested in entrepreneurship, innovation and changemaking.
Cold Outreach Strategy for Business High School Internships
If the opportunities listed above don’t turn out to be a fit, the next step to finding a business high school internship is to launch a cold outreach strategy. This may seem intimidating at first, but the guide below should make it much more simple. As an added note, please exercise caution when reaching out to professionals you don’t know. It is always safest to interview or meet virtually.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for a High School Internship
Use LinkedIn to find small companies where you can help with skills such as social media, accounting, or website design. Smaller companies that need more hands on deck will be the most likely to hire high-school-aged students. Try to find personal connections with the professionals you reach out to, such as being from the same state originally or liking the same sports team.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
For a successful cold-outreach strategy, aim to send at least 50 emails to potential internship providers. Be sure to include a link to your resume, which should be no more than one page while you are in high school. Harvard provides a helpful free resume template and guide. We recommend including your resume as a Google Drive link because including it as a PDF will sometimes negatively impact the deliverability of your email. However, be sure to check that the sharing settings on the document allow anyone with the link to view its contents.
Email Template for Finding a High School Internship
If you are unsure how to structure your outreach emails to potential internship providers, here is a basic template you can customize to your needs.
Template for Finding an Internship
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Mr./Ms.____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I read about your company on LinkedIn and found the concept quite interesting. For context, [briefly state how the company relates to your interests or experience].
I was wondering if you might be looking for interns. I know I would have a great deal to learn from working with you, and I would love to contribute in any way I can. I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Conclusion
Whether you are applying to established programs or launching a cold outreach strategy, the name of the game when looking for a high school internship is perseverance. These opportunities can be extremely difficult to secure, but most high school students find it worth it in the end to get a head start on building their careers. If you found this article helpful, don’t forget to save it for later or share it with a friend. Good luck on your internship search journey!
