20 Engineering Internships for High School Students
If you're a determined high school student who is considering pursuing engineering, you might be looking for an internship.
Gaining real-world experience in a field as diverse as engineering is important as it will help you narrow down your potential areas of interest. However, it is important to note that internships can be difficult to get and they often require prior knowledge and experience in the field.
To help make things easier, we have listed out 20 engineering internships in various domains, from aerospace engineering to environmental engineering, that we think can be a good fit for high school students!
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 and have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.
NASA’s Office of STEM Engagements offer internships in their locations all around America. You can choose an internship in a research facility near you, or take advantage of their virtual internships.
While each internship offers a different experience and is in different domains, you will have the opportunity to explore the real-world applications of aerospace engineering. For example, an internship offered for Summer 2024 is in the geophysics field where you will aid with studies on urban environments through data collection (from geostationary satellites, cameras and temperature measuring devices). If you are interested in geophysics, aerospace engineering, or environmental engineering, we recommend you consider this internship.
Moreover, NASA internships are highly prestigious owing to the reputation of this program and the host organization. Therefore, it is a great value-add for college applications as well!
2. Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars Program
Cost: No Cost + stipend provided ($468.80/week)
Location: Varies based on program
Application Deadline: January (based on previous years)
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.
Another internship if you’re interested in aerospace engineering is the AFRL program. This is a paid-internship opportunity for upper-level high school students where you will receive guidance from AFRL scientists and work on cutting-edge research!
Each mentor in the program is highly knowledgeable and you can find a list of mentors here. The topics in the AFRL program are centered around aerospace/ mechanical design, complex electromagnetic structures, and more.
For example, some research projects for Summer 2023 were research on cold atom sources and their use in navigation and technology, and the development of a personalized chatbox with natural communication.
Cost: No cost; salary of $16.20 provided.
Location: Fermilab site, Illinois.
Application Deadline: January 15th, 2024
Program Dates: June 17, 2024 – July 26, 2024
Eligibility: Illinois high school enrollment. Must be a sophomore or junior at the time of application with a minimum of a 3.0-grade average and eligible to work in the United States.
Fermi National Accelerator Lab is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Sciences and this lab offers multiple research and internship opportunities for high school students. One of these is the TARGET program which is a six-week summer internship opportunity for Illinois high school sophomores and juniors who have an interest in engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science. Each TARGET program cohort consists of approximately 15-25 interns.
In this internship, you will work with Fermilab scientists and engineers to conduct research and create content on Fermilab research. An example of a Fermilab project is Kentandu Cheidu who interviewed her mentor (Lauren Biron) on the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
4. Ladder Internships (Tech Track)
Cost: $1490 (Financial Aid Available)
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world
Application Deadline: Upcoming deadline - October 15, Winter cohort deadline - November 26
Program Dates: Upcoming start date - October 29, Winter cohort start date - December 11
Selection Rate: Selective
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is a selective program for high school students to work with startups. There are startups that work in a variety of fields including computer science, technology, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and more. You can check out all the available options here on their application form.
As part of Ladder Internships, students will work on real-world projects in the field of computer science and technology. At the end of the program, they present their work to showcase tangible outcomes on their CVs. As part of engineering internships, students can work on biotech projects like formulating and refining generative AI products with the capability to simplify complex medical information, and software engineering projects that require you to use low code stack and work in a SWE team to add metrics, measure performance, and user research.
In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship, who is like a second mentor and a sounding board who guides you through working with a startup.
5. Sandia National Laboratories
Cost: No cost; stipend provided.
Location: Varies from location to location.
Application Deadline: Rolling admission.
Program Dates: Varies based on internship: Summer Interns - 40 hours (Throughout summer months); Year-round Interns - 25 hours/week (Throughout the year).
Eligibility:
- Attending a local high school.
- Enrolled full-time.
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.
- Ability to work 25 hours/ week during the term or 40 hours/week during summer.
- Minimum 16 years of age.
- Be either a U.S. citizen, a legal permanent resident, or an asylee or refugee in the U.S.
Sandia National Laboratories is a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy’s ‘National Nuclear Security Administration’ (NNSA) and they offer internships for students all across America and even year-round.
Note that they currently don’t have any open positions for high school students, however, you can expect their summer internships applications to open in the spring!
In SNL, your role will vary based on your job description; however, one position for Summer 2023 was the digital engineering solutions where interns had to:
- Implement scripting and computer programming.
- Assist in the development of new software solutions.
- Maintain and debug multi-language software projects.
Sandia internships are a great opportunity to work with researchers and engineers who are at the top of their field. Moreover, you can take advantage of the excellent research facilities and benefit from their additional career advancement and enrichment opportunities offered to interns!
6. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) - Department of Navy
Cost: No Cost + stipend of $4,000 (new participants) or $4,500 (for returning participants)
Location: Varies depending on lab choice
Application Deadline: November 1st, 2023
Program Dates: Varies from lab to lab (expect it to be conducted in the summer months).
Eligibility:
- Open to rising Juniors and Seniors (at the time of the program).
- Must have turned 16 years old by the start date of the program.
- Must be a U.S. Citizen
Note: Eligibility changes based on lab to lab (with some labs changing the grade and age minimum and others opening the program for permanent residents and dual citizens).
If you are interested in conducting naval research and technology, you should look at the SEAP program by the Department of Navy (DoN). You can choose between the 30 labs spread over the country and will have the opportunity to conduct research of your choice while simultaneously being mentored by current DoN scientists and engineers! You can view the mentor list over here!
Your lab choice is based on your subject of interest. Engineering is a popular area of research, so you will have the flexibility to choose labs all over the country. Some research topics that have been covered are development of Ansys fluent workflow for axial fan simulation and flow around object, and analysis of CSS Georgia bones and various consolidants.
7. SEES Summer High School Intern Program by NASA and UT Austin
Cost: No cost
Location: National Institute of Health Campus (Bethesda, Maryland)
Application Deadline: 20th February, 2024 (tentatively, based on previous years deadline)
Program Dates (tentatively, based on previous years deadline): June 25th-July 7th, 2024 (remote); July 8th - July 22nd, 2024 (onsite).
Eligibility: Open to rising Juniors and Seniors (at the time of the program). Must be a U.S. Citizen
The SEES program is collaborative between NASA, the Texas Space Grant Consortium, and UT Austin. In the internship, you will concentrate on earth and space research and your role as an intern is primarily to help with analyzing and visualizing data in your respective area of research.
The subject areas for this internship are earth and space research (either through astronaut photography or galaxy classification), climate research, mission design (through satellite design or Mars Rover resource utilization), and more!
This internship is also split into 2 components, with the first being a virtual, learning component, which is followed by an onsite experience on campus at the University of Texas, Austin. Your internship will conclude with a presentation of your research at the concluding symposium!
8. Los Alamos National Laboratory Internship
Cost: No cost; stipend provided ($14/hour)
Location: Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
Application Deadline: Fall 2023/Spring 2024 - December 31st, 2023; Summer 2024 (tentative) - April 11th, 2024
Program Dates (tentatively, based on previous years deadline): Fall 2023/ Spring 2024 - They will intern during the fall/spring academic year for a maximum of 20 hours a week; Summer 2024 - While the dates are not specific, expect it to be during the summer months.
Eligibility: Have senior status and be at least 16 years of age at the time the internship begins.
Note. For the Fall/Spring cohort, you must have senior standing to apply. However, for the summer cohorts, you will be interning in the summer between your junior and senior year (therefore, you will apply as a junior).
- Have and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
- Attend a high school located in northern New Mexico
- Pass a new employment drug test: The laboratory requires successful applicants to complete a new employment drug test and maintains a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing.
Los Alamos’s High School Internship Program offers internships to northern New Mexico high school seniors, where they can develop skills/ gain work experience and be mentored by current Los Alamos researchers. In the internship, you will spend your summer months working on one project alongside a LANL mentor.
The internship is held across various disciplines from business to biological sciences. They also offer a variety of engineering internships in all disciplines, where some students have studied non-invasive fluid level sensing in pipelines using ultrasound techniques, while others have researched The GLP-805 power supply interface. You can view the projects for 2023 here!
Note. One great way to get a LANL internship is by reaching out to a prospective mentor and working on projects that align with your subject area. You can view the prospective projects in their high school intern project description book!
9. QuarkNet Summer Research Program
Cost: A salary ($16.20/hour) will be provided.
Location: Varies depending on lab choice.
Application Deadline: January 15th 2024
Program Dates: June 17, 2024 – August 2, 2024
Eligibility: Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Must be a U.S. Citizen or have permanent resident status with Illinois high school enrollment. Proof of medical insurance is required.
Quarknet offers a 7-week summer internship program where students interested in engineering physics can contribute to Fermilab research. Similar to Saadia internships, Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) operates under the U.S Department of Energy’s Office of Science and is America’s premier lab for particle physics research.
The area of interest is particle physics and accelerator research, and as an intern you will work on projects involving particle physics, particle accelerators and detectors, computer and quantum science to analyze data that is used for understanding the fundamental nature of the universe. Additional responsibilities will include data collection through entrance and exit surveys, writing the team’s research abstract and giving oral presentations!
10. SPARK Summer Internship Program
Cost: No Cost; Stipend provided ($500)
Location: Greater Seattle Area
Application Deadline: Varies based on the project, but expect it to be between the months of March-May.
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.
SparkSIP is an internship program where you can select 5-6 projects you would like to work on, and then, you will be assigned a sponsor for your project. Apart from the internship itself, SPARK provides opportunities that can be used during and after college applications!
For Summer 2023, the research projects/roles list included the following topics (among topics in other disciplines):
- Engineering sales and marketing
- Interfacing and visualizing data WVU
- Preparing python script for crossbar architecture and exploring its various non-idealities.)
- Software internships for a company in Bellevue.
The program allows you to explore real-world scenarios for engineering. For example, the software internship in Bellevue asked students to work on frontend web development, infrastructure and content management, native mobile development, customer usage analysis and more!
11. California Academy of Sciences - Careers in Science (CiS) Intern Program
Cost: No Cost, Stipend provided
Location: California Academy of Sciences
Application Deadline: April 3rd, 2024 (tentatively, based on previous year’s deadline)
Program Dates: Multi-year, year-round participation
Eligibility: Open to freshman or sophomores enrolled in San Francisco Unified School District schools. Maintain a GPA of 2.5 (Grade of C or higher in science and math)
The CiS Intern Program is targeted towards San Francisco students from underrepresented communities in the field of STEM. Through this internship, you can explore science and sustainability, while also benefiting from the mentorship opportunities and guidance with the college admission processes!
Your role in this program will include conducting fieldwork outdoors, and facilitating learning experiences for Academy visitors. As you advance through the program, you will also gain the opportunity to conduct research on environmental action!
Topics that have been previously covered are python for scientific programming, astronomy, science communication, biomimicry, environmental justice, and California conservation. If you are interested in environmental engineering, the CiS program is a great opportunity!
12. National Institute of Standards and Technology Internships
Cost: No participation cost (but students must cover housing and transportation costs)
Location: Varies from lab to lab.
Application Deadline: February 13th, 2024 (tentative)
Program Dates: June 18th, 2024, to August 9th, 2024 (tentative)
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 Summer High School Intern Program by NIST is a program for rising seniors or graduated seniors who are interested in scientific research.
In the internship, you will work on cutting-edge research in a NIST lab under the guidance of NIST staff scientists and engineers. Currently, 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: While you can apply for the Engineering lab, the Information Technology lab is also a great option for those interested in software engineering. In this lab, you will work on networking and communications, computer security, software engineering, and human interaction with computers. Some examples of area research can include computer network modeling, biometrics for computer access and security, cryptography, and digital data retrieval, just to name a few. You can look at the full list here!
13. Idaho National Laboratory Internship
Cost: No Cost, Stipend provided
Location: Idaho National Laboratory
Application Deadline: Not specified, but expect it to end a month or two before the internship begins.
Program Dates: During summer, for 10-16 weeks.
Eligibility: Open to high school students above the age of 16. Students who hold a U.S Citizenship or permanent resident status (only exceptions are foreign nationals who attend an accredited U.S. college or university).
As part of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) offers six-week internships for high school students to apply traditional STEM concepts to real-world problems. The internship is split in an 80/20 format where 80% of your time will be spent in the lab with your mentor while the other 20% will be centered around enrichment and skill-building activities.
Some areas you can work on are advanced transportation technology, clear energy, critical infrastructure protection and Cyber security. There are also research topics which include the implementation and analysis of zero-trust architecture, the evolution of cybersecurity on critical infrastructure and thermal constraints violations as a result of ambient adjusted transmission line ratings! You can view projects in all the fields through their ‘Intern Poster’ sessions!
If you are interested in software engineering, or even environmental engineering, INL’s internships are a good option!
14. University of New Hampshire’s High Tech Bound
Cost: No Cost, Stipend provided
Location: University of New Hampshire Campus
Application Deadline: February 29th, 2024
Program Dates: During summer, for 4-6 weeks.
Eligibility: Open to rising seniors who are U.S. residents.
High Tech Bounce by the University of New Hampshire is a 4-6 week summer internship for rising seniors to experience network technologies in a real world environment.
As an intern, you will work in the computer laboratory with mentors on software and hardware projects from companies such as Apple, Dell and Cisco. Apart from the internship itself, you will also benefit from field trips to high-tech companies where you can see first-hand how engineers develop their latest products and software, while benefiting from their expertise.
While the actual projects you will work on are not specified, you will work with technology used in smart cars, internet decides and concert stadiums! Some projects by previous interns include rebuilding a Java-based test tool (IOL INTERACT) on Python, creating CnC validation tests in the EmBase working group and creating a License Tracking Software. If you are interested in software engineering and interacting with experts in the field, you should consider applying to High Tech Bound.
15. Syracuse University Engineering and Computer Science Research Internship
Cost: No cost; stipend provided
Location: Greater Syracuse Area, New York
Application Deadline: While the dates for the next cohort have not been announced, expect the deadline to be 2 months before the internship.
Program Dates: 6 weeks during the summer months
Eligibility: Be a rising senior in the Greater Syracuse area and be in good academic standing
Syracuse University offers a 6-week, non-residential summer internship for rising seniors in the greater Syracuse area. As an intern, you will participate in a university-level research project while receiving mentoring from SU research faculty,graduate, and undergraduate students. Through your hands-on research project, you will learn how to:
- Participate in laboratory safety training.
- Learn laboratory and college-level library research techniques.
- Develop a research plan.
- Maintain a laboratory notebook or its equivalent.
- Analyze data for your research project.
- Display and present data in a poster format for the research symposium.
16. HiStep - High School Scientific Training and Enrichment Program
Cost: No Cost + stipend ($2150) and Public transport benefits provided
Location: National Institute of Health Campus (Bethesda, Maryland)
Application Deadline (Summer 2024): 1st February 2024
Program Dates (2023): July 1th - August 2nd, 2024
Eligibility:
- Must be a high school sophomores or juniors/ rising sophomore (turn 17 by June 15th 2024 for Summer 2024 program)
- Must be a U.S. citizen or hold permanent resident status.
- Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- Attend a school where 30% or more of the student body participated in the Federal Free/ Reduced Lunch Program.
- Have their primary residence in Virginia, Maryland or Washington DC (within 40 miles of the main NIH campus in Bethesda, MD).
If you are interested in biomedical engineering and healthcare, the HiSTEP internship is a great option to consider! Conducted by the National Institute of Health, this internship is for rising seniors to learn and research about healthcare careers through lectures, research group visits, networking events, small group discussions and group projects.
Previous sessions in the HiSTEP program have previously included:
- Basic science skills used in laboratory settings through hands-on science experiments.
- Current topics in health science through case studies and group projects.
- Exploring STEM careers through learning the roles played by scientists, healthcare workers, and public health experts.
- Career readiness and leadership development through improving skills such as self-awareness, assertiveness and interpersonal/ resiliency skills.
- College and career advising through resources that improve understanding of the college application process, aid in scholarship and mentor finding, and help with the transition to college.
This is a learning centric internship and is a great option for beginners with a keen interest in biomedical engineering and healthcare!
17. National Security Agency’s High School Work Study
Cost: No Cost; wage provided
Location: NSA-Fort Meade, Maryland
Application Deadline: Rolling Admissions
Program Dates: Throughout the year, September-June (20-32 hours a week)
Eligibility:
- Must be eligible to be granted a security clearance.
- Must be a U.S. citizenAn unweighted GPA of 2.5 or higher is preferred.
- Must have an interest and aptitude in business computing and office technology, or Chinese language.
- Must be a high school junior enrolled in either business, technical computer classes, printing/graphic arts or manufacturing classes, or Chinese language classes with plans to participate in a school-sponsored work experience program throughout your senior year.
- Must be 16 years of age by December 31st of your junior year.
- Must have reliable transportation for getting to and from work.
The National Security Agency in Maryland offers a high school work study program for students who are enrolled in technical computer classes. The NSA offers on-the-job training specific to your skill set, and you will gain work experience with the NSA, which is valuable for any college application!
While they offer positions for students interested in business or language, if you’re interested in engineering - you should opt for the Computer Aide position. As a computer aide intern, you will operate the NSA’s data processing equipment for data collection.
18. George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists Internship Program
Cost: $25 registration fee (can be waived off)
Location: George Mason University, Virginia
Application Deadlines: Not mentioned for 2024 (although applications are processed during February, so expect it to be December 2023 - January 2024). Note that applications open mid-November 2023.
Program Dates: June 20th - August 10th, 2024 (tentatively, based on previous years deadline)
Eligibility:
- Interns for remote internships must be 15 years or older by June 20, 2023.
- Internships for in-person or hybrid internships in computer labs must be 15 years or older by June 20, 2024.
- Interns for "wet-lab" in-person or hybrid internships must be 16 or older by June 20, 2024.
- There is no maximum age limit, as long as the applicant has not graduated from university before or during their internship.
The Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program by George Mason university allows students to work one-on-one with faculty researchers at George Mason University. As a part of the 8-week internship, you will gain hands-on experience using cutting-edge sophisticated equipment and technologies, explore STEM careers, and develop and exercise scientific writing and communication skills.
Some of the interns have published their research in the Mason Journal of Student Scientists Research and projects include Analysis of Neutrophil Viability and Activation State in LPS Treated Cultured Blood Clots, Grouping Songs Using String-Matching and Lloyd's Algorithm and Occupancy and Direction Estimation Based on Thermal Sensor Data.
If you are looking for a research internship where you will have the flexibility to explore a research topic of your choice, the ASSIP program is a great option.
19. Johns Hopkins’ Biophysics Research for Baltimore Teens
Cost: No cost
Location: George Mason University
Application Deadlines: April 7th (tentative, based on previous year’s deadline)
Program Dates: June to mid-August
Eligibility: Open to high school students in the Baltimore City area.
The Biophysics Research for Baltimore Teens (BRBT) program is an internship for Baltimore City high school students to experience biomedical research at Johns Hopkins University.
In the internship, you will focus on biophysics and biomedical research through preparing reagents and materials for biophysical students, and learning microbiology techniques and DNA, and protein engineering.
Apart from the internship itself, you will attend classes where you learn the scientific concepts core of the experiments you perform. Moreover, you will also connect with graduate students, post-doctoral researchers and faculty and you can benefit from their expertise.
20. Textron Aviation High School Internship Program
Cost: No cost; stipend provided
Location: Wichita, KS and Columbus, GA
Application Deadline: Varies from internship to internship, see their website for openings
Program Dates:
- Summer Program - 6-weeks during the summer.
- Fall Program - During the spring semester.
- Spring Program - During the spring semester.
Eligibility: High school students between the ages of 16-19 who are U.S.citizens
Textron Aviation is an aviation company catering to the aviation needs of government, military, and commercial clientele. While they primarily deal with engineering and manufacturing, they also have internships in other domains such as finance, sales or military!
In an engineering internship, your role will vary based on the job, however, you will gain real-world experience working in aviation engineering. For example, one internship current open for 2023 Fall is the ‘Engineering - Experimental Assembly’. In this role, you will be a support engineer in performing complex lab procedures, reviewing technical reports and gaining experience in CATIA programming.
If you’re interested in software engineering, you can also look at the Information Technology role where you will support software and database development and analytics!
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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