7 Online Engineering Internships for High School Students
Engineering is one of the most dynamic fields, offering vast opportunities for problem-solving and innovation. For high school students eager to explore this exciting domain, online internships provide a unique chance to gain practical experience without leaving home. These virtual internships allow students to develop valuable skills, work on real-world projects, and collaborate with professionals in the industry, all while exploring different engineering disciplines.
Whether you're interested in aerospace, biomedical, mechanical, or software engineering, this blog will highlight 10 online engineering internships perfect for high school students looking to jumpstart their careers.
1. Ladder Internships - Engineering Track
Location: Virtual
Cost: Starts at $2,490 (financial aid available)
Application Deadline: Winter cohort - November 24, 2024
Internship Dates: The exact dates vary depending on the cohort applied for.
Eligibility: High school students who can work for 5-15 hours/week for 8 weeks. The program is also open to gap-year students and college students!
Founded by Harvard alumni, Ladder Internships aims to match qualified students with leading startups and nonprofits across the globe. Organizations students have interned with include Billion Dollar Startup Ideas, JuneBrain, and Fair Opportunity Project. Ladder Internships are competitive: around 100 students get placed annually. Ladder offers internship opportunities in multiple fields, including mechanical engineering.
If selected, you work with your startup manager who will guide you while you work on a real-world project relevant to the company. You will present your work at the end of the internship. Engineering-related projects students have worked on include developing a machine learning model for an e-commerce startup that predicted customer loss. You will also participate in skill-building sessions and individual and group training sessions.
Check out our in-depth review of Ladder Internships here!
2. Veritas AI - AI Internships
Cost: $2,490
Application Deadline: Fall cohort - October 20, 2024
Internship Dates: Fall start date - November 11, 2024
Eligibility: Current high school students who have some prior experience in AI or have completed any Veritas AI program.
The Veritas AI Internships are geared towards high school students interested in working with start-ups on a real-world AI/ML project. Students are matched with VC backed start-ups, where they work with a company mentor for 8 weeks on a project relevant to their area of interest at the intersection of AI.
This internship opportunity is a great fit for students who already have some experience with AI/ML and are looking to gain real world experience in the field. Students get the chance to network with industry professionals and receive a letter of completion from the company which can help boost college applications.
You can find more information about the internship here.
3. Stanford SHTEM Summer Internship
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Unpaid
Application Deadline: Applications for 2024 have closed; TBA for 2025
Internship Dates: June 17 - August 9, 2024
Eligibility: Current high school juniors or seniors in the 2023-2024 school year
Stanford's SHTEM internship offers high school students a unique chance to collaborate with community college students on research projects under the mentorship of Stanford Compression Forum (SCF) faculty, students, and industry professionals. SCF focuses on innovative research in data compression, bringing together academic and industry expertise.
Throughout the program, interns engage in collaborative research while also participating in workshops, seminars, and virtual social events. The internship is conducted remotely, with any necessary materials for hardware projects sent directly to participants. Interns maintain regular contact with their mentors and teammates, ensuring continuous guidance. This full-time internship demands a commitment of 30-40 hours per week, providing a deep dive into research led by Stanford's distinguished faculty and experts.
Mechanical engineering research within the program includes fields like robotics, material science, biomechanics, and more. Previous projects offer a glimpse into the exciting research opportunities available to SHTEM interns.
4. Horizon Academic Research Program
Application Deadline: On a rolling basis
Program Dates: Fall seminar - October 23, 2024 - February 19, 2025. Lab dates are flexible, but you must apply 4 weeks in advance.
Eligibility: High school students with good academic standing (>3.67/4.0 GPA) can apply. Most accepted students are 10th/11th graders! Only a couple of tracks require formal prerequisites, more details of which can be found here.
While not a traditional internship, Horizon offers trimester-long research programs for high school students across subject areas such as data science, machine learning, political theory, biology, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and more! It is one of the very few research programs for high school students that offers a choice between quantitative and qualitative research.
Once you select a particular subject track and type of research you’ll be paired with a professor or Ph.D. scholar (from a top university) who will mentor you throughout your research journey. You’ll work to create a 20-page, university-level research paper that you can send to prestigious journals for publication as a high school student.
This program is a solid opportunity for you to pursue a research program in highly specialized fields, under the guidance of a top scholar. The program also provides a letter of recommendation for each student, as well as detailed project feedback that you can use to work on future projects and on college applications. Apply here!
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: This is an unpaid internship. Students will receive a certificate upon completion and a chance to extend their internship.
Application Deadline: Applications for the 2025 cohort will open in January
Internship Dates: June 17 - June 28, 2024
Eligibility: U.S. high school students over 14 years old with strong math and/or computer programming skills and/or experience with a healthcare project
For students passionate about utilizing computer science and technology to enhance healthcare and promote health equity, the Stanford Center for AIMI’s summer research internship offers a unique opportunity. This virtual program includes introductory and advanced lectures on artificial intelligence in healthcare, mentoring sessions with researchers, collaborative group projects, and social activities. Additionally, interns can participate in "Career Lunch and Learns," where they hear from guest speakers in the healthcare AI field.
The internship spans two weeks, but students may have the option to extend their research involvement beyond the program's duration. An AI in Medicine bootcamp is also available for those seeking a deeper dive. Due to the program’s competitive nature, only about 20 students are accepted each year.
6. Spark Summer Internship Program (Spark SIP)
Location: Various locations across the country, varies with the internship. Some may be remote.
Cost/Stipend: Stipend of $500 provided
Application Deadline: Applications for the 2025 cohort will open in March/April 2025
Internship Dates: 6-8 weeks, June to August
Eligibility: High school students who can work for 40 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks
Spark SIP is a highly selective internship program with an acceptance rate of less than 5%, making it a prestigious opportunity for aspiring computer science students. Open to high school students passionate about computer science and related fields, Spark SIP offers a platform for participants to dive into research projects, collaborate with experts, and gain hands-on experience through full-time summer internships.
Applicants select 5-6 projects of interest from a diverse range of topics. The 2024 mentorship topics included:
Spark SIP provides students with real-world exposure to machine learning, computer programming, neural networks, and more, equipping them with skills and knowledge that are valuable for both college applications and future career pursuits.
Note: These internships are offered across NASA facilities in the country. Some virtual options are also offered.
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Interns may receive a stipend based on academic level and session duration
Application Deadline: January (Fall session) | August (Spring session) | October (Summer session)
Internship Dates: These internships are offered in 3 sessions –
Fall (16-week program, from late August or early September to mid-December)
Spring (16-week program, from mid-January to early May)
Summer (10-week program, from late May or early June to August)
Eligibility: Open to high school students, who are U.S. citizens and have a cumulative 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). Students should be at least 16 years of age at the time of application.
NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) provides paid internship opportunities for high school and college students at NASA locations across the United States, with some virtual options available as well. These internships offer participants hands-on learning, mentorship, and professional development with over 2,000 students benefiting annually. Interns have the unique opportunity to collaborate with top experts in various fields, including science, engineering, IT, business, and finance.
Internships span a wide array of disciplines, such as space science, engineering, aeronautics, technology, microbiology, computer science, and communications. Participants engage in activities like designing experiments, analyzing mission data, and creating innovative technologies. You can explore different internship opportunities, including coding-focused projects, by using the filtering tool here to find those suitable for high school students.
Here is a complete guide to NASA’s internship programs!
Image Source - NASA Logo