15 Online Internships for High School Students in 2025
- Estelle Reardon
- Jun 1
- 10 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Topics We Cover:
Why Do Internships in High School?
How to Find Remote Internships for High School Students
15 Online Internships for High School Students
Cold Outreach Strategy for Remote High School Internships
Email Template for Finding a High School Internship
High school internships offer students a chance to gain real-world experience, develop skills, and begin building their resumes. Online internships provide all the same benefits without ever having to leave the house.
Why Do Internships in High School?
Before diving into a list of online internships for high school students, it’s important to understand why these opportunities matter. According to consultancy PRISM, 70% of students at Top 50 U.S. News-ranked universities completed at least one internship during high school.
High school internships can help set you apart in the college admissions process by showing initiative and a commitment to exploring your interests. Internships also give you a clearer sense of which professional environments you enjoy, making it easier to choose a career path you’ll love. Furthermore, students with internship experience in high school often find it easier to land college internships and join competitive pre-professional organizations like finance or pre-law clubs.
How to Find Remote Internships for High School Students
Online search tools and lists are a fantastic resource for discovering internships and programs. The StandOutSearch database is a great starting point—it’s the largest free resource listing almost every internship program available to high schoolers and is searchable via numerous filters like interest and location.
MIT Admissions also provides a helpful list of both in-person and online high school internships. The CollegeVine blog is another reliable source of information about on-site and virtual internships for high schoolers.
One downside of official programs is that they’re typically very competitive, and few are offered remotely, so if you are serious about finding an online 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 remote high school internship at the end of this article. We also include email templates to make finding an internship or research position through cold outreach less daunting.
15 Online 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 (especially when it comes to remote high school internships). 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 that helps match gifted high school students with online internships in their industry of interest. Potential sectors include finance, STEM, medicine, law, arts, and more. StandOut Connect is funded by StandOutSearch, the largest free database for high school internships. The program has been featured in Forbes and was created with the help of investment from the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Ages: 16-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: School Year or Summer
Deadline: Various
What do cutting-edge research, state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, and unparalleled access to professional scientists and engineers have in common? The AEOP High School Apprenticeship. Spend your summer in a university research lab or one of the U.S. Army Research Laboratories and Centers through this unique apprenticeship opportunity. All participants must be current high school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents. Additional eligibility requirements vary by location.
Ages: 13-17
Location: Remote
Timeline: School Year
Deadline: July
Each year, the New York Academy of Sciences selects an international cohort of passionate high school students (ages 13-17) to become part of The Junior Academy and join a dynamic global network of like-minded peers and mentors. Students work together on Launchpad, the Academy’s unique online platform. Launchpad enables students and STEM professionals to collaborate virtually as they compete in project-based challenges focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Ages: 16-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline: Varies by Position
The Smithsonian Office of Internships provides high school students the opportunity to gain experience in the world’s largest museum, education, and research institution. There are various virtual, hybrid, and in-person internship opportunities across a number of different museums, such as the National Museum of Natural History, the National Portrait Museum, the National Museum of the American Indian, and a variety of others.
Ages: 16-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline: Varies by Position
FPRI offers in-person and remote internships for students during the summer, fall, and spring terms. Interns have the opportunity to connect with members of the foreign relations community and gain experience working for a prestigious think tank. Each intern is paired with a scholar or professional in the field who will work with them to develop industry-specific skills as well as sharpen general skills that are built from working in a professional environment, such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and time management.
Summer interns have the opportunity to attend weekly foreign policy and career-focused seminars with guest speakers. Additionally, interns have the chance to work on a research paper to be considered for publication on FPRI’s Intern Corner.
Ages: 14-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline: Rolling
Medicine Encompassed is a completely student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that accepts high school students (grades 9-12) from all backgrounds—on a national and international scale—to be a member! They seek members with a zeal for STEAM, biology, and the branches of medicine, as they believe that it is critical to grant opportunities for every student with a prospective career in these fields.
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 an online 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.
Ages: 16-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline: Rolling
EnergyMag offers a limited number of virtual internships to both college and high school students who want to make the world a better place by increasing the share of renewable energy in the world, learning about the energy storage industry, and getting work experience in an exciting and fast-moving environment.
Ages: 14-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: April 11
Although not technically an internship, high schoolers interested in STEM and building their network of like-minded peers will want to check out this free virtual program. Students gain the computer science skills they need to make an impact and prepare for tech careers in a free, virtual summer program. Participants also gain exposure to tech jobs, meet leaders in tech careers, and find community in a supportive sisterhood.
Ages: 15-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Various Deadlines
While not a remote internship per se, high schoolers can get a jump on college over the summer in this program provided by Cornell. Students can select from more than 100 regular undergraduate Cornell courses in Architecture and the Arts, Business and Hospitality, Health and Humanities, International Relations, Science and Technology, Social Change, Veterinary Medicine, and more.
Online courses are also offered during the winter, spring, and fall. The grades and credits you earn will be recorded on an official Cornell transcript and are generally transferable toward a degree at Cornell or elsewhere.
Ages: 16-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: March 1
In this free virtual internship for high school juniors and seniors, participants engage in a variety of science-related activities. Students attend educational presentations, take part in professional development training, learn basic lab techniques, and conduct experiments. Interns also receive mentorship and learn about potential career paths. At the end of the five-week program, students receive a certificate of completion.
Ages: 15-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: N/A
While this isn’t exactly a remote internship for high schoolers, it is an excellent virtual opportunity for female freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in cutting-edge research in physics. The free, three-week online program covers topics like quantum physics, quantum computing, astrophysics, and cosmology, as well as coding in Python.
The program is led by Stanford professors, researchers, and undergraduates—providing a superb opportunity for mentorship, building a network, and learning firsthand about academic and career paths.
Ages: 15-18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Rolling
Deadline: Rolling
By definition, this 11-week self-paced free online program isn’t an internship; however, it does provide many of the same benefits. Offered by Harvard University, this virtual program is an excellent opportunity to develop real-world programming skills and familiarize yourself with college-level coursework.
Participants are exposed to a number of programming languages and explore concepts like algorithms, data structures, software engineering, and web development while engaging with like-minded learners. Students who earn a satisfactory score—and pay a small fee—can receive a certificate of completion.
Ages: 18
Location: Remote
Timeline: Spring, Summer, or Fall
Deadline: April 8
GSoC is a great way for high school students (18 or older) interested in coding to gain real-world experience by working on open-source projects with innovative technologies. Over 12+ weeks, participants collaborate with experienced mentors and learn how to write professional-level code and contribute to global software projects. Ultimately, it’s an exciting chance to build skills, grow your portfolio, and join a worldwide community of developers.
While not a remote internship, high schoolers interested in tech will want to explore the Microsoft Discovery Internship—a paid position that offers insight into a variety of potential tech career pathways.
Ages: 15-18
Location: Remote, Hybrid, and In-person
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: February 2
Students in this eight-week program have the chance to work one-on-one with researchers at Geoetge Mason University. Participants gain firsthand experience with cutting technologies, develop their scientific writing and communication skills, and explore careers in STEM. Past participants have even had their names published in scientific journals and presented at scientific conferences.
The format of the program is at the discretion of the mentor, and opportunities range from in-person to online to hybrid internships.
Cold Outreach Strategy for Remote High School Internships
Another way to secure a remote high school internship is to develop a cold outreach strategy—that is, contacting a potential internship provider you’ve never interacted with in the hope of sparking interest in providing you an opportunity. The prospect of contacting someone you have no prior relationship with can be intimidating, but the guide below should simplify the process.
Just remember to be conservative when reaching out to professionals you don’t know—meeting virtually is always the safest option.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for a Virtual High School Internship
LinkedIn is an excellent platform for discovering potential remote internship opportunities. Small companies are a great target for aspiring interns. Small companies are often operating at full capacity and are grateful for any assistance, making them more likely to hire a high schooler. When reaching out to professional contacts, try to find a common area to connect over—whether it’s being from the same hometown or a passion for a particular sports team.
How to Find Professors to Reach Out to for a High School Research Position
Online university directories are a great place to find professors to contact for research positions. Online research positions are rare, as typically high schoolers assist with manual lab tasks like washing beakers and running equipment, both of which require in-person interns.
Computational research is the exception, and virtual internships are more commonplace in this field. Computational research internships generally require a basic knowledge of Python or R, both of which you can learn on your own for free via resources like Coursera’s R Programming Course or Python for Everybody.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
For an effective cold outreach strategy, aim to send at least 50 emails to potential internship hosts. Be sure to include a link to your resume, which, while you’re in high school, should be no longer than one page. UChicago offers a helpful, free resume template and guide you can use.
StandOut Connects recommends sharing your resume as a Google Drive link rather than attaching a PDF. Attachments can sometimes reduce the chances of your email reaching the recipient’s inbox. Just make sure your sharing settings allow anyone with the link to view the file.
You can also strengthen your resume by including links to work samples, such as a website you’ve built, a social media account you manage, or your GitHub profile.
Email Template for Finding a High School Internship
If you are unsure how to structure your outreach emails to potential internship providers, here are some basic templates 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]
Template for Finding a Research Position
Subject: Student Reaching Out
Dear Professor/Dr. ____,
I hope you are having a great day! My name is [your name], and I am a rising [grade] at [your school]. I recently read your paper on [restate the abstract] in [name of publication] and was quite intrigued by [part you found interesting]. I was wondering if I might be able to intern remotely for you over this summer. [Elaborate on your relevant skills and experience and why you are passionate about the field].
I have included my resume here. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Conclusion
No matter if you’re aiming to land an in-person established internship or trying to convince a company to offer you a remote internship, tenacity is essential. These opportunities are challenging to secure, but most high schoolers find the time and effort worthwhile when they land one of these sought-after spots and begin building real work experience, valuable skills, and insight into potential careers.
If this article has been helpful to you, don’t forget to bookmark it for reference or share it with a friend who also might find it beneficial. Good luck on your internship journey!
