Remote Internships for High School Students
- Estelle Reardon
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
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Remote internships are an easily accessible opportunity for high school students—from the comfort of home, you can explore interests, build a professional network, develop skills, and gain real-world experience.
Why Do Remote Internships in High School?
Remote internships—and internships in general—offer a range of benefits for high school students. They allow students to explore fields of interest and begin building the skills required to succeed in those fields. Completing a virtual high school internship helps students stand out—whether in competitive college admissions or crowded job applicant pools.
To illustrate the value that high school internships can have on students’ prospects, consider that it’s estimated that between just 2% and 5% of high schoolers engage in an internship, while according to the consultancy PRISM, just under three-quarters of students at U.S. News Top 50 universities completed at least one internship while in high school.
It’s not just in college admissions where a high school internship can offer an advantage. Engaging in a high school internship can also make it easier to secure internships in college and admission to pre-college groups and organizations.
Other Benefits of Virtual Internships
Completing an online internship also demonstrates a variety of skills that transfer both to academics and careers. For example:
Self-motivation:Â your ability to work without someone physically keeping you on track
Communication: remote internships rely heavily on clear, professional communication—both written and verbal
Tech literacy:Â comfort using email, video calls, and tools like Slack or Teams
Focus:Â ability to deliver results outside of the traditional structure of an office
Reliability:Â meeting deadlines, completing projects, and being accountable without direct supervision
Another great thing about remote internships is that they aren’t limited by geographic location or the need for transportation. This is especially valuable for high schoolers who live in areas with few internship opportunities or limited access to transit.
How to Find Online High School Internships
Online search tools and lists are an excellent resource for discovering remote internships. One valuable resource is StandOutSearch—the largest free online directory of internships for high school students. StandOutSearch features a number of filters allowing students to refine their search and target everything from specific fields of interest to remote opportunities.
The downside of official internship programs, like those most easily found online, is that they’re normally ultra-competitive. Consequently, students committed to securing an internship will want to create a cold outreach plan—a strategy for contacting potential internship providers about possible opportunities.
Further below, we include some tips and templates to help jumpstart the cold outreach process.
10 Remote Internships for High School Students
Ages: 15–19
Location:Â Remote
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: 13–17
Location:Â Remote
Timeline: Varies
Deadline: Various Deadlines
The Junior Academy is a free, online project-based learning program. Students are paired with STEM experts and participate in Innovation Challenges—working in teams to design solutions to real-world problems while building research, design thinking, and data analysis skills. Students also engage in in-depth discussions, expert talks, and connect with similarly interested peers and STEM professionals.
Participants in The Junior Program should plan to commit between three and four hours to the program during challenge periods.
Ages: Freshmen–Seniors
Location:Â Remote
Timeline: Summer
Deadline: April 10
Girls Who Code Pathways is a free self-paced summer program for girls and non-binary students. Participants gain computer science experience while building problem-solving skills—learning to code while exploring five tracks:
Data Science + AI
Game Design
Web Development
Cybersecurity
AI + Society
In addition to the formal programming, students can connect with their peers in the program’s private Discord community and participate in virtual events with leading tech organizations—ultimately bolstering their personal and professional networks.
Ages: Freshmen–Seniors
Location:Â Remote
Timeline: Summer and School Year
Deadline:Â Rolling
Students interested in STEAM, biology, and medicine will want to explore Medicine Encompassed. The student-led nonprofit accepts writers, editors, and resource creators to contribute to its medical curriculum and other initiatives. Depending on the role, tasks can include:
Crafting slideshows
Creating study guides
Ensuring content is scientifically accurate
Writing articles
Revising articles
This remote internship offers a great chance to build your portfolio.
Ages:Â Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Location: Remote
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline:Â Rolling
This virtual internship is an excellent opportunity for high school students interested in renewable energy, research, and writing. Participants work under the guidance of a mentor to research a specific company, technology, or market to produce a publishable report.
Students will gain firsthand research experience, learn how to collect, analyze, and synthesize information, and how to communicate professionally in writing. They’ll also have an excellent addition to their portfolio.
Ages:Â Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors
Location:Â Remote
Timeline:Â Summer
Deadline:Â May 1
SPINWIP is a free three-week online summer program aimed at getting girls excited about physics, particularly first-generation students and those from underrepresented backgrounds in the field. Participants explore fields including:
Astrophysics
Cosmology
Quantum Computing
Quantum Physics
Students also learn to code in Python, engage in college- and career-readiness workshops, and connect with Stanford students and professors.
Ages: Freshmen–Seniors
Location:Â Remote
Timeline:Â Summer
Deadline: February 13
This two-week virtual summer internship, provided by the Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI), introduces high schoolers to the intersection of AI and healthcare. Participants engage in lectures, receive mentorship, and are exposed to how AI is developed and applied in clinical and research settings.
Participants explore topics such as machine learning, datasets, and model evaluations while building skills like teamwork and problem-solving.
Ages: Freshmen–Seniors
Location:Â Remote
Timeline:Â Summer
Deadline: February 13
The Summer Health Bootcamp, provided by Stanford’s Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI), gives students foundational knowledge of machine learning and its applications in healthcare.
The two-week online program features lectures, discussions, and learning activities—exposing students to core concepts in AI, covering topics like machine learning principles and responsible AI. Students will also examine emerging areas like foundation models and generative AI in medicine.
Ages: Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Location:Â Remote
Timeline:Â Summer
Deadline: February 2
Explore careers in mental health in this free, two-week, online internship program. Participants meet in small groups and explore a range of healthcare careers while being led by professionals, including:
Licensed Clinical Social Workers
Neuropsychologists
Physician Assistants
Psychiatrists
Students learn about mental health services from professionals and hear directly from patients who have volunteered to share their stories and answer questions.
Ages: 16–18
Location:Â Remote
Timeline: Summer, School Year
Deadline:Â Varies by Position
High school students looking to gain experience at the world’s largest museum, education, and research institution need look no further than the Smithsonian Office of Internships. With placements spanning virtual, hybrid, and in-person formats, interns can find opportunities across a wide array of museums—from the National Museum of Natural History and the National Portrait Gallery to the National Museum of the American Indian and many more.
Cold Outreach Strategy for Remote High School Internships
An alternative to applying to official online internship programs is to develop a cold outreach strategy. Cold outreach is the process of reaching out to businesses and organizations with which you have no prior connection to create an opportunity. Cold outreach is intimidating for many high schoolers, but the guide and tips below will help simplify the process.
How to Find Companies to Reach Out to for an Online High School Internship
LinkedIn is a great place to discover potential internship hosts. Look for smaller businesses and organizations, which are more likely to hire a remote intern to assist with social media, data entry, design, customer service, or administrative support.
When reaching out to professionals, try to build a personal connection—whether it’s having attended the same school, a common cause you both care about, or a mutual love of the same sports team.
How to Find Professors to Reach Out to for a Virtual High School Research Position
Remote research positions for high schoolers are exceptionally rare, as most high schoolers assist with manual lab tasks like washing beakers and running equipment. Computational research is the exception, but it generally requires knowledge of Python or R. Luckily, you can learn these coding languages on your own, for free, with resources like Coursera’s Python for Everybody and R Programming.
Online university directories are a great resource for finding professors to contact about potential research positions. Some faculty pages will even list their current projects, making it easy to tailor your outreach and show genuine interest in their work.
How to Structure and Send Outreach Emails
We recommend reaching out to at least 50 potential internship providers—the more inquiries you make, the better your chances of landing a position. Just don’t sacrifice quality for quantity; your message should feel personal and purposeful.
When reaching out to professionals, include a link to your resume. Make sure your resume contains any relevant experience—whether it’s an after-school job, volunteering, or even a position in student government or a notable club. Also, add any pertinent work samples, like a website you built, a social media campaign you managed, or a newsletter you created.
Rather than attaching your resume as a Doc or PDF—which can negatively affect deliverability—include a Google Drive link instead. Just make sure the sharing settings allow anyone with the link to view it.
Check out our resume template and tips for help crafting an internship-earning resume.
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
Whether you’re pursuing an established online internship or pitching a company on a remote role, persistence is key. Securing an internship as a high schooler isn’t easy, but those who put in the work consistently say it’s worth it. The skills, experience, and career headstart you gain make the effort pay off in ways that extend well beyond the internship itself.
If you found this guide useful, save it for later or pass it along to a fellow high schooler who could use a head start. Best of luck on your internship search!