12 Data Science Internships for High School Students
If you're an ambitious high school student considering a trajectory in data science, you may want to consider data science internships before applying to college. An internship showcases your passion and determination to go beyond your classroom curriculum, and learn and engage with the subject!
In this blog, we have compiled a comprehensive list of 12 data science internships for high school students. While some of these programs are not internships, we chose to include them as these programs are an opportunity to gain real-world experience in data science and data science research.
Ladder Internship is a selective program for high school students to work with start-ups on data science related topics. The program is run by Harvard alumni and you get a chance to work with companies from places like the YCombinator and Stanford.
Ladder Startups work in fields including machine learning and AI, technology, finance, environmental science and sustainability, business and marketing, healthcare and medicine, media and journalism, and more. You can explore all the options here on their application form.
As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project and present their work at the end of their internship. Throughout the duration of the program, you will receive guidance and support from your managers who will either work with you 1-on-1 or in a group (depending on a project). They’ll help you navigate the ins and outs of your internship!
Note that as a Ladder Intern, you will engage in a coaching and work-based model - a component that sets it apart from most internships in this list. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long. To know more about Ladder Internships and whether it’s a good fit for you, check out this blog post!
Cost: $1990 (Financial Aid Available)
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application Deadline: Applications for cohorts in June, September, December, and February (4 cohorts throughout the year). The upcoming application deadline is January 14, 2024.
Program Dates: 8 weeks, June to August, cohorts run year round
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates and gap year students.
The Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging’s Summer Research Internship
This 2-week virtual internship by the Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Imaging is a solid opportunity if you’re interested in exploring the technical and clinical aspect of AI in healthcare.
The program is a combination of lectures on AI in healthcare fundamentals, hands-on research projects and mentoring activities with Stanford researchers. If you’re interested, you can even opt for an extended independent research internship opportunity.
While you can apply as a regular intern, you can additionally apply for the ’Student Lead’ role where you can also assist with project leadership along with an AIMI mentor!
Cost: No Cost
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: March 31, 2024
Program Dates: June 17 - June 28, 2024
Eligibility:
Summer Research interns must be high school students over the age of 14 by the start of the program.
Student leads must be California residents. Student interns must reside in the U.S.
Student leads must also be students over the age of 14 and may also be undergraduate students with a computer science background.
National Institute of Standards and Technology Internships
The Summer High School Intern Program by NIST is a program for students who have finished their junior or senior year of high school (by the start of the program) and demonstrate an interest in scientific research.
In this program, you gain the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research at NIST and work closely with NIST staff scientists and engineers on a specific research topic. 6 NIST laboratories participate in the SHIP program, and they include:
Communications Technology Lab
Engineering Lab
Information Technology Lab
Material Measurement Lab
NIST Center for Neutron Research
Physical Measurement Lab
Note. If you are interested in data science, we recommend opting for the Information Technology Laboratory where you will help conduct research to support the development and advancement of measurement science, standards infrastructure and computer technology. Your examples of research activities will include digital data retrieval and preservation, bioinformatics, data mining,machine learning, information visualization and image analysis!
Cost: No participation cost (but students must cover housing and transportation costs)
Location: Varies from lab to lab.
Application Deadline: February 13, 2024
Program Dates: June 18, 2024, to August 9, 2024 (tentatively, based on previous year’s dates)
Eligibility:
Rising senior or recent graduate.
Must be eligible to work in the U.S.
A minimum of a 3.0 GPA should be maintained.
The DSI Summer Lab by the University of Chicago is a 10-week, paid summer research opportunity for high school and undergraduate students that focuses on applied, interdisciplinary data science research.
In this program, you will be paired with a data science mentor in various domains, including - data science, computer science, climate and energy policy, and more! Your research mentor will engage and hone your skills in research methodologies, practices, and teamwork. You will develop an understanding of fundamental data science methodologies and be given specialized training within the application areas.
The program culminates with a presentation of your final videos - a video created by you that outlines your research findings throughout the summer. These videos will be presented in a professional conference format where you can interact with your peers and field questions on their projects and vice versa.
Cost: No cost; stipend provided ($4,800)
Location: University of Chicago Campus, IL
Application Deadline: January 16, 2024
Program Dates: June 10 - August 5 , 2024
Eligibility:
Open to all high school students.
Familiarity with at least one programming language and relevant coursework (e.g., computer science, statistics, and math) is preferred.
Note: International students are welcome to apply but are responsible for gaining authorization to work in the U.S. and providing all the necessary documentation to earn their stipend.
NASA’s Office of STEM Engagements provides internship opportunities at all their locations around America. If you’re located near a NASA facility, you can opt for an internship in a research facility near you. However, if you live away from one, NASA now conducts virtual internships as well! You can filter through their database for opportunities open to high school students.
One internship we recommend if you’re interested in data science is the Antarctic Study with Satellite Observations internship where you will utilize big data analysis and machine learning techniques to study the properties of Antarctic clouds and blowing snow, and their interaction with the surface using the long term observations from NASA satellites!
Cost: No cost; stipend provided
Location: Varies, different for each internship offered
Application Deadline: Varies from internship to internship
Program Dates: Varies from internship to internship, but should be in one of these three cohorts -
Fall - from late August/early September to mid-December (16 weeks)
Spring - from mid-January to early May (16 weeks)
Summer - from late May/early June to August (10 weeks)
Eligibility:
High School Students
Must be a U.S. Citizen
Have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.
NLM Data Science and Informatics (DSI) Scholars Program
The National Library of Medicine offers an internship to students who are interested in the applications of data science innovation in the medical industry. This 8-12 week internship is an opportunity where you will train one-on-one with a research mentor and create a computational research project in the biological sciences.
Apart from your training, you will also have the chance to participate in seminars and professional development workshops that will allow you to develop scientific communication skills.
The program culminates with your presentation at NLM’s Summer Poster Day, and you might have an opportunity to present your poster at the NIH-wide Summer Poster Day as well.
Cost: No Cost
Location: NIH Campus, Bethesda, MD
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Program Dates: Starts in June and runs for 8-12 weeks. Start dates and internship durations are flexible.
Eligibility:
Be at least 17 years of age by June 15, 2024.
Note: If your start date is before June 15, you must be 17 years of age by the internship start date.Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Be enrolled at least half-time in an accredited U.S. college (including community college), university, or professional school (e.g., medical, dental, pharmacy)
OR
Be accepted into an accredited college, university, or professional program for fall 2024.Have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale
Simons Summer Research Program
Stony Brook University’s Simons Summer Research Program is a chance to engage in hands-on research in STEM alongside faculty mentors. In this program, you will be matched with a faculty mentor, join a research group or team and be responsible for a project. By the end of the program, you would have had to produce a written research abstract and a research poster.
If you’re looking at conducting research in data science, you can opt for working alongside Dr.Yuefan Deng in the Applied Mathematics & Statistics Department. In this project, you will develop algorithms in high-performance computing, machine learning, and multiscale modeling for simulations of biological and medical processes. You can view the other projects for Summer 2024 here!
Cost: No participation cost, however, you are expected to cover transportation/dining costs if you commute and residential costs if you choose to dorm on campus.
Location: Stony Brook University, NY
Application Deadline: February 7, 2024
Program Dates: July 1 - August 9, 2024
Eligibility:
Must currently be in your junior year of high school.
Must be U.S. Citizens or hold permanent residency.
Must be 16 years of age by the start of the program.
Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program (AFRL)
The AFRL program is a paid-internship opportunity for upper-level high school students who are interested in aerospace engineering.
Post-selection, you will receive guidance from full-time AFRL scientists and engineers, touring AFRL laboratories and working on cutting-edge research and technology. Each mentor in the program is highly knowledgeable and you can find a list of mentors here.
While AFRL research topics are mainly centered around aerospace engineering, research projects such as the ‘Electrical Engineer’ offer an element of data analysis where you will have to process and control data to design, develop and operate a system that uses electrical waveforms.
Cost: No Cost. Stipend is provided ($468.80/week)
Location: Varies based on program
Application Deadline: January 10, 2024
Program Dates: Varies from internship to internship, but should be in one of these three cohorts -
Fall - from late August/early September to mid-December (16 weeks)
Spring - from mid-January to early May (16 weeks)
Summer - from late May/early June to August (10 weeks)
Eligibility:
Upper High School Student (Over 16 years old)
Must be a U.S. Citizen
Have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.
Must be available full-time (40 hours a week) and work in their physical offices over the summer
Young Scholars Research Program
The Young Scholars Research Program is a great opportunity if you are interested in data analytics from a biology or medical science perspective. In this program, you will work alongside George Mason University faculty on a specific team project alongside other high school or undergraduate students!
Your projects will be assigned to you based on your preference; however, you will be expected to produce a final paper (which will be published on the Center for Biomedical Science and Policy website, and a special issue of their online journal), and a team presentation at the symposium.
You can expect to use research methods using R or Stata, data visualization using QGIS or ArcGIS, and network visualization using Gephi.
Cost: The fees have not been mentioned (they have asked interested students to reach out to execed@gmu.edu for the free structure), however, they mention that need-based scholarships are available.
Location: Virtual + George Mason University, NY (Note. There is a 1-week site lab research at multiple locations such as the National Science Foundation, The Center for Applied Proteomics and Molecular Medicine, and more)
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (open to the first 35 students)
Program Dates: 6 weeks, June-August (tentatively, based on previous year’s dates)
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
SPARK Summer Internship Program
SparkSIP allows applicants to select 5-6 projects that they’d like to work on, and then assign sponsors to selected students. SPARK also provides opportunities and resources that can be used during and after college applications!
The program not only allows you to work on real-world applications of concepts in machine learning, artificial intelligence and data visualization, but also lets you interact and learn from industry leaders, university professors and mentors.
Topics that involved data science for the 2023 cohort include ‘understanding spike-timing and spike-rate impact on spiking neural network’ and ‘interfacing and visualizing data’.
Cost: No Cost, Stipend provided ($500)
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Application Deadline: May 1, 2024 (tentatively, based on past year's dates)
Note. The applications will open in March-April 2024.
Program Dates: 6-8 weeks, June to August
Eligibility:
Must be a U.S. Citizen or have permanent resident status.
Can commit to working for 40 hours/week for 8-12 weeks.
The Anson L. Clark Scholars Program at Texas Tech University is a 7-week comprehensive research program. It allows you to gain hands-on research experience under the mentorship of Texas Tech faculty. While not a traditional internship, this program does allow you to explore independent research. Additionally, you are offered a $750, tax-free stipend!
While Anson Clark Scholars does not have a specific sub-section for data science, you have the flexibility to involve data science and its core concepts with any of the main topics, such as computer science, business, economics, humanities, biology and more!
The Dean of Texas Tech has given advice on how to get into this very prestigious program which you can find here!
Cost/Stipend: No Cost
Location: Texas Tech University
Application Deadline: February (tentatively, based on previous year’s dates)
Program Dates: 6 weeks, June-August (tentatively, based on previous year’s dates)
Eligibility:
Applicants must be at least 17 years of age by the program start date and should graduate in 2023 or 2024 (U.S. and International)
The ASPIRE program by Johns Hopkins is an internship that allows high school juniors and seniors to experience STEM Careers in a supportive and holistic environment. Each intern is paired with APL staff and participates in workshops, problem-solving in groups, mentorship sessions with top faculty, and hands-on projects.
We recommend that data science enthusiasts apply for the Mathematics & Data Analysis area of placement. Do note that you will have to choose one area of interest and can either choose to participate in person, hybrid, or complete their program virtually.
Cost: No cost
Location: Johns Hopkins University Campus, Baltimore, MD
Application Deadline: February 15, 2024
Program Dates: June 27th to August 18th, 2024
Eligibility:
High-school juniors and seniors residing in the Washington-Baltimore Metro area.
A minimum GPA of 2.8 is required.
Must be 15 years by June 15th, 2024 (For Summer 2024 session)
Only U.S. Citizens are eligible to apply.
Looking for an immersive internship experience?
Check out Ladder Internships!
Ladder Internships is a selective, virtual internship program where students work with startups and nonprofits from around the world! The startups range across a variety of industries. As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the startup they are working with, and present their work at the end of their internship. In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship. Apply now!
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