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
High school internships have become increasingly popular in recent years. Whether during the school year or through a summer internship for high schoolers, these opportunities help students gain real-world experience, develop valuable skills, and explore potential career paths.
Looking for programs near you? See our lists of business internships in Boston, business internships in Chicago, business internships in Los Angeles, and business internships in New York.
Why Do Internships in High School?
Before jumping 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 consultancy PRISM, 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.
High school internships help you enter college with a clearer idea of the professional environments you enjoy or don’t enjoy, which makes it easier for you to pursue a job you love after graduation. Students who have completed at least one internship in high school also typically have an easier time securing college internships and pre-professional organizations, such as finance or pre-law clubs.
How to Find Business Internships for High School Students
Are you wondering, where I can find high school internships near me? 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 for high school students, you should also prepare a cold outreach strategy. You can learn 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 business internship opportunities below have an acceptance rate of 20% or lower, given that there are many more high school students looking for internships than 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!
1. StandOut Connect
Ages: 15-19
Location: Virtual
Timeline: Summer, Spring, Fall, or Winter
Deadline: November 23, 2026 (Winter cohort)
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.
2. NYC Ladders for Leaders
Ages: Rising Seniors
Location: New York City, New York
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced (January 16 in 2026)
Part of New York City’s Summer Youth Employment Program, Ladders for Leaders matches students with professional internships at companies, nonprofits, and government agencies. Most recently, internships lasted six weeks at 25 to 40 hours a week and paid at least $16.50 an hour.
Selection happens in three stages: an online application, pre-employment workshops with mock interviews, and interviews with employers. High school applicants must be rising seniors who live in the five boroughs and have some paid or volunteer work experience.
3. Meta Summer Academy (formerly Facebook Summer Academy)
Ages: 15-16
Location: Menlo Park, California
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: February 14, 2027
Externs of Meta Summer Academy (also known as Facebook Summer Academy or the Facebook High School Internship) 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. Check out our Definitive Guide to the Facebook High School Internship to learn more about this fantastic summer internship for high school students.
The Microsoft Discovery Program is another excellent summer internship opportunity for students interested in a tech career.
4. Emma Bowen Foundation Internship
Ages: 17-18
Location: Locations Across the US
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Rolling
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: 13-21
Location: New York City, New York
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced (May 1 in 2026)
BALI believes that all youth, including female-identifying and gender expansive-youth, are destined for greatness. This summer leadership program’s 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. The program provides the skill set and the social-emotional learning needed by the current generation of young women to gain the knowledge and confidence required to become leaders in all circles of life.
6. U.S. Department of State Pathways Internship Program
Ages: 16-18
Location: Locations across the U.S. and remote
Timeline: School Year or Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced
Students hoping to start a federal career can earn a paycheck at the U.S. Department of State through its Pathways Internship Program, which welcomes U.S. citizens at every level from high school up through graduate and professional school. It runs on two tracks. Internship Experience Program (IEP) appointments are designed to last as long as the intern's academic program, while the Internship Temporary Program (ITEP) offers temporary roles of up to a year that can fit school breaks or run year-round. Positions are spread across the country, and some entry-level openings suit students enrolled in a GED program or in high school. Every applicant must be at least 16, hold a GPA of 2.0 or higher and be able to obtain a security clearance.
7. 1435 Capital Management High School Internship (Venture Analyst)
Ages: 16-18
Location: Skillman (near Princeton), New Jersey
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: April 4, 2027
This high school business internship is aimed at juniors and seniors interested in gaining a deeper understanding of fields like finance and entrepreneurship. Interns work for a specialized venture capital firm located about an hour outside of New York City. The position is a full-time, fully in-person internship, and the applicant must be able to commute to the firm’s Skillman (Princeton), NJ office.
This summer business internship is looking for talented individuals with a strong desire to learn and an entrepreneurial mindset.
8. The City and County of San Francisco High School Internships
Ages: Sophomores-Seniors
Location: San Francisco, California
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline: Not yet announced (February 13 in 2026)
The City and County of San Francisco offers various internships and summer programs for high school students through several departments and programs. Project Pull internships are open to current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors who live or go to school in San Francisco and earned at least a 2.75 GPA in their last finished semester. Over the course of the eight-week summer internship, students will work 20 hours a week and are paid $19.25 per hour.
9. University of Tennessee, Knoxville Women Empowered Through Business (WEB) Institute
Ages: Rising Juniors
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: March 31, 2027
Rising high school juniors drawn to technology and business spend six days at UT Knoxville's Haslam College of Business during the Women Empowered Through Business (WEB) Institute. University faculty and staff lead workshops on entrepreneurship, business analytics, supply chain management, coding, personal branding and professional growth, and women working in tech and business speak to the group. Students meet corporate professionals and undergraduate women in business, take part in leadership and team-building activities, and attend college readiness sessions on the ACT, campus life and admissions. The 2027 institute runs July 11 to 16 on campus at no cost, and it is designed for talented young women who can attend all six days in person.
10. Kansas City Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP)
Ages: 16-18
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: February 1, 2027
Built around entrepreneurship, YEP places high school students in summer internships at fast-growing companies in the Midwest, aiming to inspire young people who hope to make an impact on their communities through business. Interns learn from working professionals in roles spanning sales, marketing, product management, analytics, finance and engineering. Eligibility goes to students who are wrapping up 11th or 12th grade. While a few placements can be done remotely, the majority take place on site at partner companies around Kansas City, and every Friday the group tours companies together in person.
11. Urban Alliance High School Internship Program
Ages: Rising Seniors
Location: Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, and Washington, D.C.
Timeline: School Year and Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced
Running in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit and Washington, D.C., Urban Alliance's High School Internship Program hires rising seniors for a paid role that continues across their final year of high school. Placements come from public, private and nonprofit employers. Students first go through roughly six weeks of training in job skills before starting work, then keep attending weekly workshops on professional skills, life skills and post-graduation planning. Hours are part-time during the school year, up to 12 a week from Monday to Thursday, and rise to as many as 32 a week in summer, for a total of up to 500 paid hours at minimum wage or more. Every intern has a mentor at the job site plus an Urban Alliance program lead.
12. Barnard College Athena Summer Innovation Institute
Ages: 14-18
Location: New York City, New York
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced
The Athena Institute—a business internship for high school students in NYC—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, three-week boot camp that provides young women with the practical skills and knowledge essential to developing ideas that will make a difference in the world.
13. The Japanese Community Youth Council SF YouthWorks & MYEEP
Ages: 14-18
Location: San Francisco, California
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced (April 10 in 2026)
SF YouthWorks provides job readiness workshops, training, and internships at different SF City Departments like the Public Utilities Commission, the Public Library, and the SF International Airport. Interns are paid a wage of $19.61 per hour and are paired with a city department employee mentor. SFYW provides professional training to equip participants with the skills necessary to enter the workforce and leadership development through their Youth Leadership Team (YLT) program.
14. Chicago Summer Business Institute Internship (CSBI) Program
Ages: Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced (March 31 in 2026)
CSBI is a summer business internship that pairs students with leading companies in Chicago, giving them the skills and connections to begin careers as working professionals. Its sponsors lean toward financial services, and students meet industry experts in fields like finance, law, government, and more. Interns are paid and spend six weeks at a sponsoring company, where a supervisor helps them set goals, and they attend Friday afternoon workshops. The 2027 program is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors who live in the City of Chicago, have at least a B or 3.0 average, and come from households earning under $80,000 a year.
15. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Internship Program
Ages: Rising Juniors
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline: Not yet announced
Today's Interns, Tomorrow's Professionals (TIP) gives Boston Public Schools students a paid first job at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston once they have completed sophomore year. Run jointly by the Bank and the Boston Private Industry Council for income-eligible teens, this work-and-learning program opens with a summer of employment paired with job coaching and workshops that sharpen interpersonal skills such as resolving conflicts and solving complex problems. Interns who do well can move into a year-round role at the Bank, chosen according to open positions plus how much interest, effort and performance each student shows. That extended phase may continue for as long as three years, following interns from junior year into their first year after high school.
16. Family Service Paid Summer Internship Program
Ages: 14-17
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced (April 3 in 2026)
This summer internship program provides paid, part-time internships for middle and high school students across San Antonio, helping participants build career opportunities and goals. Getting a placement works much like a real hiring process: after a day of professional development training, students interview with employers at a job fair before being matched. Family Service partners with organizations in a variety of industries, and interns complete 120 hours over six to seven weeks at sites such as museums, libraries and law firms, receiving a stipend from Family Service. Applicants must be ages 14 to 17, live in San Antonio council districts 1 to 10 and attend a participating district or a private, charter or home school.
17. Future Founders Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) Internship
Ages: 14-19
Location: Remote
Timeline: School Year
Deadline: Not yet announced
Future Founders' Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) Internship shows high school students how an idea becomes a business. Interns work in teams to develop and test a business concept through hands-on projects and group challenges, with mentoring from experienced professionals, and finish by pitching it in a competition that awards extra cash prizes. The internship is free, and participants can receive a stipend of as much as $250. The upcoming cohort is scheduled to meet on Zoom from mid-January to early February 2027, three evenings a week; other cohorts meet in person or in a hybrid format, and Chicago cohorts include in-person events. U.S. high school students interested in business, innovation or leadership can join the waitlist.
18. New York University Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities (ieSoSC)
Ages: 14-16
Location: New York City, New York
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced (May 15 in 2026)
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. Futures and Options Internship Program
Ages: 16-18
Location: New York, New York
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline: Not yet announced
Futures and Options matches New York City high school juniors and seniors with paid, mentored internships at employers ranging from small businesses and nonprofits to government agencies and large companies. Each intern is placed individually based on their goals, interests, and strengths, and gets help getting ready for interviews at the host site. On top of their work hours, students attend two mandatory orientations plus a set of workshops on career readiness, covering topics such as interviewing, résumé building, money management, and communication. Interns also visit employer partners on career-exploration outings, and a program coordinator coaches each student and meets with them and their supervisor. Applicants answer short questions and submit a resume, then interview with the organization's staff. The program gives students early, hands-on exposure to how businesses run.
20. Get Girls Going Teen Entrepreneur
Ages: 15-18
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: Not yet announced
Get Girls Going (GGG) empowers Black and Brown teen girls to create social enterprises that solve problems in the world, and in doing so equips them to be leaders who challenge racial and gender inequities that prevent them from success. Get Girls Going runs a six-week summer incubator for Black and Brown high school girls who are interested in entrepreneurship, innovation, and change-making.
For related fields, see our marketing internships for high school students.
Cold Outreach Strategy for Business High School Internships
If none of the opportunities listed above are a good fit, the next step to finding a high school business internship is to develop a cold outreach strategy. This might feel intimidating, but the guide below will help simplify the process. As a reminder, always use caution when contacting professionals you don’t know—virtual meetings or interviews are the safest option.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for a High School Internship
LinkedIn is a great resource for discovering small businesses that could benefit from your skills, such as social media, accounting, or website design. Smaller companies often need extra help and are more likely to consider hiring high school students. Try to find a personal connection with the person you reach out to, such as being from the same state or sharing a common interest, like a favorite sports team.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
When it comes to securing an internship in high school, the more attempts you make, the better your odds of success. Aim to send at least 50 emails to potential internship providers and make sure to include a link to your resume. High schoolers should limit their resumes to one page.
If you need to create or refine a resume, the University of Chicago provides a helpful free resume template and guide. StandOut Connect recommends including your resume as a Google Drive link—making sure its sharing settings allow anyone with the link to view its contents. Sending a resume as a Word doc or PDF can sometimes negatively impact the deliverability of your email.
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’re launching a cold outreach strategy or applying to established business internships, high school students need to remember that persistence is key. These coveted opportunities are often challenging to secure, however, most high school students find it worth the effort in the end to get a head start on building their careers.
If you found this article helpful, be sure to save it for later or share it with a friend. Best of luck with your internship search!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can high school students get a business internship?
Yes, and business is one of the more accessible fields for high schoolers. Large corporations rarely hire below the college level, but small businesses, startups, local companies, and nonprofits often welcome high school interns for roles in marketing, social media, operations, and administration. Structured programs and cold outreach to local businesses are both good ways in.
How do you get a business internship in high school?
Apply to established business programs and internships for high schoolers, then expand your search with cold outreach. Email local startups, small businesses, and nonprofits offering to help with social media, research, or operations, since smaller organizations are often short-staffed and more open to high school interns. Applying to several at once improves your odds.
Are there free or paid business internships for high school students?
Both exist. Some structured business programs charge tuition, while many internships at startups, small businesses, and nonprofits are free to join, and a few even pay a stipend. Always check the cost and any funding before applying.
Are there online business internships for high school students?
Many business and marketing roles can be done remotely, and online positions at startups and nonprofits are often easier to land than in-person ones. You can also get matched with an online business internship through StandOut Connect or filter for online options in databases like StandOutSearch.
