20 Engineering Internships for High School Students in 2023
High school students who excel in STEM courses and enjoy creative problem solving are often a natural fit for careers in engineering. And though it may seem like there are few opportunities to explore engineering as a high schooler, there are in fact many ways for students to experience what a career in engineering might be like during high school.
In this blog post, we break down 20 different engineering internships available to high school students in 2023. Previously, we have covered engineering summer programs for high schoolers as well as high school internships in computer science, biology, and medicine. Students interested in conducting their own research or submitting their work to science competitions can also find information on these topics at the respective linked blogs.
For an interdisciplinary approach to STEM using artificial intelligence, high school students can also explore InspiritAI’s programs taught and mentored by Stanford and MIT researchers such as the popular AI Scholars Program and the 1:1 AI + X Individual Research Mentorship. In conjunction with one of the internships elaborated in this article, these programs can be an invaluable resource for high schoolers to develop skills that will unlock new methods of scientific inquiry and conduct research that will stand out on their college applications.
20 Engineering Internships for High School Students
1. Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Aspire Program
Location: 30-mile radius of APL for in-person/hybrid; 50-mile radius for virtual
Dates: Sept-May for academic year session; Jun-Aug for summer session
Application timeline: 4/12-6/13 for academic year; 1/1-2/16 for summer
Eligibility: 11th-12th grades, 15+
Selectivity: 1-in-5 chance
Cost: Free
Compensation: None
High school juniors and seniors work at the applied physics lab at Johns Hopkins to experience and explore STEM careers before committing to a major in college. During their internship, students have access to APL’s technical and professional resources for the duration of their summer or academic year internship. The ASPIRE Program invites students to apply under one of the following main categories:
Aerospace Engineering & Planetary Science
Applied Physics
Biology & Chemistry
Computer Science
Engineering
Information Technology & Cybersecurity
Mathematics & Data Analysis
2. Fermilab Quarknet Summer Research Program
Location: Dupage County, IL
Dates: 6/19-8/4
Application timeline: 12/15-1/31
Eligibility: 10th-12th grades, 16+ or work authorization
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: Free
Compensation: $15/hr
Fermilab is America’s national particle physics and accelerator laboratory. Interns in the QuarkNet Summer Research Program work with scientists for seven weeks on projects related to Fermilab research, with prospective students encouraged to express preferences for areas of research in their applications.
The internship is a commuter program with no housing provided, though high schoolers can reach out to the internship team to request a list of local hotels with discounted rates. For a better idea of the research offered at Fermilab, visit the lab webpage.
3. Inspirit AI Scholars Program
Location: Remote
Dates: 2-week sessions in winter/summer; 10-week sessions in spring/fall; see website for specific dates
Application timeline: Rolling year-round
Eligibility: 9th-12th grade
Selectivity: Application-based
Cost: $900
Compensation: None
The AI Scholars Program at Inspirit AI is a unique offering that empowers high school students around the world to apply artificial intelligence and computer science to their work across disciplines. The program emphasizes project-based learning and encourages high schoolers to seize on their interests and conduct socially-impactful research in their field of choice. Previous students have covered topics ranging from transportation and energy to healthcare and epidemiology, from business and finance to art and literature.
Program instructors hail from premier universities such as Stanford, Harvard, and MIT and are available as mentors to participating students. By interacting with their instructors as well as peers of similar interests, high school students develop an understanding of how to make an impact in their field of choice using powerful tools such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
4. SPARK Summer Internship Program
Location: Seattle, WA
Dates: Jun-Aug
Application timeline: Mar-Apr
Eligibility: 9th-12th grades
Selectivity: Top 5-6 students selected
Cost: Free
Compensation: Varies
The mission of the SPARK Summer Internship Program (SIP) is to provide opportunities for motivated high school students in the greater Seattle area by connecting them with industry experts in engineering, science, and business. Previous internship projects have included microfluidic technology for disease detection, DNA sequence classification based on electronic signatures, and extreme weather event modeling.
5. University of Texas Welch Summer Scholar Program
Location: Austin, TX; Arlington, TX; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Lubbock, TX
Dates: Five weeks in summer
Application timeline: opens in December
Eligibility: 10th-11th grades, student in TX
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: Free
Compensation: None
To date, the WSSP has provided nearly 2,000 Texas high school students with unique opportunities to participate in hands-on, college-level projects using state-of-the-art equipment and modern technology typically absent from high school classrooms. Participating institutions include The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas at Arlington, The University of Texas at Dallas, The University of Houston, and Texas Tech University.
6. Goddard Space Flight Center High School Internship Program
Location: Greenbelt, MD; Wallops Island, VA; New York City, NY; Fairmont, WV
Dates: Varies
Application timeline: Varies
Eligibility: Varies
Selectivity: High
Cost: Free
Compensation: Varies
Just outside Washington DC, the Goddard Space Flight Center is home to Hubble operations and a proving ground for the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope. NASA internships at Goddard leverage the site’s unique missions and programs to provide high school students with the opportunity to participate in engineering research and experiential learning under the guidance of a NASA mentor.
7. Cooper Union STEM Scholars Internship
Location: New York City, NY
Dates: 7/11-8/17
Application timeline: opens in January
Eligibility: 9th-11th grades, student in NYC
Selectivity: 264 total students accepted (20-24 per class)
Cost: $3850
Compensation: None
Summer STEM at the Cooper Union Albert Nerken School of Engineering offers high schoolers the chance to take college-level courses on topics such as machine learning, racecar research, design and drawing for engineering, and biomaterials design. Cooper Union offers both virtual four-week and in-person six-week programs for 10th and 11th graders, as well as a three-week in-person program for 9th and 10th graders. The STEM Scholars Internship is specifically for sophomores and juniors.
8. Fermilab TARGET Program
Location: Dupage County, IL
Dates: 6/26-8/1
Application timeline: 12/13-2/1
Eligibility: 10th-11th grade, Illinois student
Selectivity: 15-25 interns selected
Cost: Free
Compensation: Unknown
Distinct from the QuarkNet Summer Research Program, TARGET is a highly competitive six-week summer internship opportunity for Illinois high school sophomores and juniors with a strong interest and aptitude in math, computer science, and/or engineering. The program’s design combines both work and experiential learning.
9. University of New Hampshire Interoperability Laboratory HighTech Bound
Location: Durham, NH
Dates: 4-6 weeks in summer
Application timeline: Opens January 1
Eligibility: rising 12th grade
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: Free
Compensation: Competitive
The flagship high school program at the UNH-IOL, HighTech Bound is a paid four to six-week summer internship program for high school students entering their senior year. Students accepted to the program are given an opportunity to experience network technologies in a real world technology. The internship helps high schoolers prepare for an education or career in engineering by allowing them to encounter the latest technologies and software projects from companies around the world including Fortune 500’s like Apple, Dell and Cisco.
10. University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) Summer High School Research Program
Location: Rochester, NY
Dates: 8 weeks in Jul-Aug
Application timeline: Deadline in March
Eligibility: rising 12th grade, Rochester-area high school student
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: Free
Compensation: Competitive
The LLE is a national investigative center of the interaction of intense radiation with matter. The lab’s annual summer research program provides an exceptional opportunity for highly motivated high schoolers to experience scientific research in a realistic environment. Accepted students are assigned to a research project and supervised by a staff scientist at the LLE. Students work 40-hour weeks and are paid.
11. Sandia National Laboratories Pre-College Internship Program
Location: Albuquerque, NM; Livermore, CA
Dates: Varies based on program: summer or year-round/co-op
Application timeline: Varies
Eligibility: 16+, full-time student
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: Free
Compensation: Competitive
Internships at Sandia come in three different varieties: summer internships, year-round internships, and co-op internships. All internships provide high school students with opportunities to work on challenging projects at competitive pay, research mentoring from top scientists and engineers, and practical work experience using state-of-the-art equipment. Some co-op internships additionally offer academic credit.
12. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) High School Apprenticeship
Location: Adelphi, MD; White Sands, NM; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Austin/San Antonio/College Station, TX; Los Angeles, CA
Dates: 5-8 weeks during summer (specific dates determined by location)
Application timeline: 12/15-2/28
Eligibility: 9th-12th grade
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: Free
Compensation: $2,000-3000 stipend
In AEOP, high school students aspiring to be engineers spend their time in one of several Army Research Laboratories and Centers across the United States learning from professional engineers and participating in their research. High schoolers additionally receive mentorship and a monthly stipend, while connecting with a community of like-minded peers.
13. Princeton University Laboratory Learning Program
Location: Princeton, NJ
Dates: 5-6 weeks over summer
Application timeline: 2/15-3/15
Eligibility: Age 16-18 by 6/15
Selectivity: High
Cost: Free
Compensation: None
The Laboratory Learning Program at Princeton University is a full-time, free research experience in science or engineering for high school students. Students participate in ongoing research projects closely supervised by Princeton faculty and research staff. Participation dates are customized according to the schedules of research personnel and the specifics of the student’s chosen project.
14. Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program
Location: Las Vegas, NV; Maui, HI; Austin, TX; Rome, NY; Wright-Patterson AFB, OH; Eflin AFB, FL; more
Dates: 8-12 weeks over summer
Application timeline: Varies based on location and/or project
Eligibility: 16+
Selectivity: Varies
Cost: Free
Compensation: $450/week
Projects in the AFRL Scholars Program vary according to the site at which high schoolers elect to work. Included on the program website are links to each participating location and descriptions of the logistics at each of these sites. Some of these locations include AFWERX in Nevada and Texas, AMOS in Hawaii, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and Catalyst Campus in Colorado.
15. University of Texas at Austin My Introduction to Engineering (MITE)
Location: Austin, TX
Dates: 5-day camp in June
Application timeline: Early March-Late April
Eligibility: 11th grade
Selectivity: 100 students selected (50 for each session) from about 500 applications
Cost: $80 application fee
Compensation: None
The Equal Opportunity in Engineering Program at UT Austin hosts the MITE Program every summer. MITE is a five-day camp for current high school juniors to discover engineering through participation in an engineering team project and interactions with engineering students, faculty, staff and alumni. Student participants are housed in a campus dorm.
16. Stony Brook University Simons Summer Research Program
Location: Stony Brook, NY
Dates: 6/26-8/11
Application timeline: 12/1-2/10
Eligibility: 11th grade, 16+, nominated by high school
Selectivity: About 8%
Cost: Free
Compensation: None
Upon nomination by their high schools, rising high school seniors are invited to apply to the selective Simons Summer Research Program. Within the program, academically talented, motivated high schoolers engage in hands-on research in science, math, and engineering. Simons Fellows work with distinguished faculty, learn laboratory techniques and tools, and experience life at a research university.
17. Engineering Summer Academy at University of Pennsylvania (ESAP)
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Dates: 3 weeks in July
Application timeline: Deadline in early April
Eligibility: 9th-11th grade, 15+
Selectivity: 35 students selected per class
Cost: $7785
Compensation: None
Hosted by the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania, the Engineering Summer Academy welcomes highly motivated and talented high school students to Penn campus to explore college-level engineering. ESAP’s intensive, three-week program combines sophisticated theory with hands-on practical experience, while allowing high schoolers to interact with leading faculty, earn college credit, and experience campus life with like-minded peers.
18. Columbia University Summer High School Academic Program for Engineers (SHAPE)
Location: New York City, NY
Dates: 7/5-7/25 or 7/26-8/15
Application timeline: 12/15-1/15 priority deadline; rolling until 5/31
Eligibility: 9th-12th grade
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: $4900
Compensation: None
In SHAPE, high school students choose a subject and participate in one introductory college-level engineering course for the duration of their session. Course titles include “Electrical Engineering: Harnessing the Energy of the Sun,” “Robotics and Autonomous Driving,” “Biomedical Engineering: Where Biology, Medicine & Design Meet,” and “Intro to Chemical Engineering: Material and Energy Balance.”
19. California Academy of Sciences Careers in Science (CIS) Intern Program
Location: San Francisco, CA
Dates: multi-year, year-round
Application timeline: 2/3-4/3
Eligibility: 9th-10th grade; student in SFUSD school
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: None
Compensation: Competitive
CiS interns get paid to learn, teach, and do science in and around the California Academy of Sciences. High schoolers enter the program in June as rising sophomores or juniors and continue through high school graduation. By demonstrating achievement and reliability, interns may earn positions of increased leadership and responsibility. Interns also conduct outdoor fieldwork, attend interactive trainings, learn about careers from STEM professionals, and present at STEM conferences and festivals.
20. SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Youth Opportunity Program (YOP)
Location: San Mateo County, CA
Dates: ten weeks in summer
Application timeline: rolling through end of May
Eligibility: First-generation, low-income college student, local Bay Area resident, 18+
Selectivity: Unknown
Cost: Free
Compensation: Varies
YOP at SLAC is a ten-week employment program designed to give local entry-level students from low-income background exposure to the workplace in science and engineering fields. SLAC partners with nonprofits such as Students Rising Above and the Peninsula College Fund to hire applicants over the summer. Contact information for both of these organizations is available at the above website.
