10 Coding Internships for High School Students
One of the best ways to gain experience in the field of computer science as a high school student is to complete a coding internship. In these programs, you can learn from experts in the field, participate in important research and form connections with industry professionals. While several sites advertise coding internships for high school students, these opportunities can be difficult to track down.
But don’t worry! In this blog post, Inspirit AI has assembled a directory of coding internships with direct links to relevant programs for which high school students are currently eligible. Still having trouble? Check out our tips on how to stand out in internship applications as a high school student.
1. National Institute of Standards & Technology Summer High School Intern Program
The NIST offers six different labs for high school students to select from for their summer research. These include the:
Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL)
Engineering Laboratory (EL)
Information Technology Laboratory (ITL)
Material Measurement Laboratory (MML)
NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR)
Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML)
When students apply to this internship program, they will be directed to construct a list of their top three choices among these options. Student acceptance numbers across the different labs vary from year to year, but each NIST lab covers a broad range of topics to suit a variety of student interests. For more information on the specifics of each lab, check out the above link.
2. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program
This eight-week program places students in a Department of Navy laboratory to take part in real Naval research and receive first-class mentoring by top scientists and engineers. There are about 300 available placements for more than 30 laboratories across the country, each selected for based upon academic achievement and research interests.
One bonus of this program is that it comes with a biweekly stipend for the student’s participation, allowing successful applicants to earn some money while gaining valuable coding and research experience.
3. Army Educational Outreach Program Apprenticeship
Other than the Navy, the Army also offers a stipended apprenticeship, which offers high school students access to U.S. Army Research Laboratories and Centers. The program is also open to graduating seniors and stipend amounts vary based on apprenticeship location and duration.
4. Civic Digital Fellowship and Civic Innovation Corps
Per their website, Coding it Forward is “empowering the next generation of technology leaders to innovate at the intersections of technology and public service.” To accomplish this goal, the nonprofit offers two 10-week coding internship programs for high school students, the Civic Digital Fellowship and Civic Innovation Corps.
Since their launch in 2017, Coding it Forward reports that over 400 fellows have served at 12 different federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Census Bureau. The organization has “big updates” forthcoming in 2023 and plans to open its applications for the upcoming summer in January.
5. Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program
Like the Army and Navy, the Air Force offers internships to upper-level high school students at sites across the U.S. including Eglin Air Force Base in Valparaiso, Florida, and the Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing Site in Maui, Hawaii.
Selected students are awarded with a stipend as well as degree-relevant research experience in engineering and computer science.
6. Computer Science for Cyber Security (CS4CS)
The CS4CS program at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering is a three-week full-day summer program targeting the underrepresentation of women and minorities in STEM. Accepted students will investigate topics including digital forensics, steganography, “white-hat” hacking, and cryptography.
No background experience in programming is necessary and the program is free to attend at 2 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.
7. Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) at UCLA
For more beginner students interested in learning how to code, the four-week computer science introductory track at UCLA provides a combination of coding boot camp and lab touring experiences to inform high school students about potential careers in computer science and related fields.
No prior computer science knowledge is required to participate, and courses are taught in-person with housing optional and scholarships available. The program also offers college course credit.
8. Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) Research Internship Program
Syracuse University’s ECS Research Internship Program is a six-week summer research internship for rising high school seniors. Geared toward high-achieving STEM-oriented students, the program enables high schoolers to participate in a university level research project with faculty and graduate-level mentors.
SU’s campus boasts state-of-the-art research facilities and hosts a research symposium at the program’s conclusion to familiarize students with presentation skills. Selected students are awarded a competitive stipend upon program completion.
9. Anson L. Clark Scholars Program
Run at Texas Tech University, the Scholars Program offers hands-on research experience with university faculty, free of charge. Scholars receive a $500 meal card as well as room and board and a stipend at the end of the seven-week summer research program.
Applicants must be 17 years or older by the program start date, meaning that the program is primarily targeted at high school juniors and seniors. Potential research areas include chemistry, classical and modern languages, education, energy, medicine and psychology, among others.
10. Inspirit AI Scholars Program
Inspirit AI offers year-round courses in artificial intelligence for high school students seeking to learn and apply coding skills to socially impactful projects. Students are taught and mentored by leading researchers from Stanford, Harvard, and MIT, among other top universities and can tackle problems ranging from sustainability to healthcare.
The courses are taught both in-person and remotely, allowing Inspirit AI to reach high school students across the country. Additionally, Inspirit AI has programs geared toward more advanced students so that high school students with a head start can engage in deeper learning and even fashion their own research projects.
Looking for more high school internship opportunities? Be sure to take a look at our list of 10 online internships for high school students!
