8 Tech Internships for High School Students
8 Tech Internships for High School Students
Written by
Written by
George Gatsios, Founder of Delta Institute
George Gatsios, Founder of Delta Institute
Created on
Created on
Mar 3, 2026
Mar 3, 2026
Tech internships can be one of the fastest ways to understand what working in technology actually looks like. Instead of only engaging in theoretical concepts, you spend time working on real-world, industry relevant projects.
Here are 8 tech internships for high school students that help them gain exposure, build new skills, network with industry professionals, and add value to their college portfolio.
Delve is a guided virtual work-experience program where high school students work in teams on real-world projects with global companies like AWS, Adobe, Ferrari, and more. Over 4-week, students collaborate on a defined, industry relevant project, join structured sessions, and build a portfolio-ready outcome that they can reference in college applications.
It includes team-based problem-solving, mentor feedback, and a final presentation-style deliverable (often a slide deck, a written proposal, or a product plan) that simulates how project teams work in real roles. This is a practical option if you want a structured internship-like experience without needing to be local to a lab or company site. By the end of the progrm, you receive a certificate of completion and reference letter.
Cost: $4,900
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: Varies by company/project (general early decision summer deadline is on March 29)
Program Dates: Varies by company/project. You can check the complete list of companies here.
Eligibility: Open to high school students globally
PRISM is a four-week summer program built for high school seniors and recent graduates who want a structured way to explore research and technology careers. The program cycles through themes such as particle physics, quantum science, engineering design, and artificial intelligence through hands-on activities, lectures led by experts, and tours of Fermilab facilities.
Students finish PRISM with professional-style deliverables that mirror how technical work is communicated in labs and engineering teams. The program’s outcomes include a research abstract, a research poster, and a final presentation, which are useful pieces to reference later in college applications and interviews because they demonstrate both technical learning and clear communication.
Cost: No cost; $500 weekly stipend
Location: Fermilab (on-site and off-site work schedule)
Application Deadline: March 1, 2026
Program Dates: July 13 – August 7, 2026
Eligibility: High school senior (2026 – 27) or 2026 graduate; U.S. citizen; proof of medical insurance; Illinois high school enrollment
This internship places students in the NJ Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC), where the work reflects how public-sector cybersecurity teams operate. Interns follow a full-time weekday schedule, work in person, and get exposure to cybersecurity and preparedness work through structured tasks and professional development opportunities.
The program is designed around concrete outcomes and communication practice. Interns will receive training and career development, interact with staff across government, and end the internship with a capstone presentation.
Cost: No cost; paid $20/hour
Location: In-person (Hamilton, West Trenton, or Newark, NJ)
Application Deadline: March 12, 2026
Program Dates: June 8 – August 28, 2026 (NJCCIC track is 12 weeks)
Eligibility: High school seniors may apply to NJCCIC; in-person only; weekday business hours; up to 35 hours/week
This 8-week internship is built around mentor-driven research projects tied to active Institute for Systems Biology work. Internship topics span areas that often involve computational tools, such as computational biology in health or the environment, microbiology, technology development, infectious disease, cancer-related work, and engineering lab systems.
Interns will interview ISB professionals to explore career paths, build a website describing their project and experience, and may contribute to school-based curriculum development when relevant. The internship runs up to 40 hours per week, with unpaid service-learning and paid positions available depending on placement.
Cost: No cost; unpaid service-learning and paid positions available (role-dependent)
Location: Institute for Systems Biology (Seattle area), in-person internship
Application Deadline: March 11, 2026
Program Dates: June 29 – August 21, 2026 (excluding July 4)
Eligibility: Current 11th graders (rising seniors); internship is ~300 hours; up to 40 hours/week
MetroTech Institute runs a virtual internship model that functions like joining a research group rather than taking a single class. The program offers tracks in IT and computational science, and the site lists technical project areas such as AI-focused work and hands-on applications of Python, Java, and C++ in topics like cryptography, cybersecurity, and disease data trend analysis.
Students will join research groups led by professors or industry professionals, meet live multiple times per week, and maintain consistent progress through regular uploads. Students receive completion and presenter certificates, and when a project leads to publication, students may be listed as co-authors.
Cost: $750 tuition (MTI Research Scholars); scholarships and a Project Seed pathway are listed
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: April 1 (early); April 11 (late)
Program Dates: June 18 – July 30, 2026 (Mon – Thu)
Eligibility: Open to high school and undergraduate students
LANL’s high school internship program is a structured entry point into real workplace projects inside a national lab environment. Students apply during defined hiring windows (fall, spring, summer) and can use LANL’s project description books to understand the range of internship opportunities before selecting where to apply.
LANL provides project description books so you can see what kinds of internships are available and match your interests to a mentor/project area, then apply with a transcript, resume, and a personal statement (with an optional recommendation letter).
Cost: No cost (compensation varies by role)
Location: Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
Application Deadline: Summer hiring window closes April 15, 2026
Program Dates: Varies by placement (LANL runs seasonal internship cycles)
Eligibility: NM high school seniors; age 16+; minimum 2.75 GPA; NM high school attendance; drug test requirement
This internship sits inside Caterpillar’s Product Support & Logistics Division, where tech work supports how parts, logistics, and internal systems run at scale. Depending on the team, you could spend your summer building dashboards in Power BI, pulling and cleaning data from tools like Snowflake, or using Python to automate recurring reporting and data checks.
Some roles are more infrastructure-focused, like supporting AI video analytics for facility CCTV systems, setting up monitoring alerts, and writing lightweight Python scripts that push data into event-management tools through REST APIs. Other tracks lean into business systems work such as Salesforce permission audits, data cleanup, and access support.
Cost: Paid internship; $15.00–$17.50/hour
Location: Morton, Illinois (on-site)
Application Deadline: March 16
Program Dates: Starts in May (full-time 40 hours/week during the summer; end date varies by team)
Eligibility: Current high school junior or senior; minimum 3.0 GPA; Microsoft Office experience; some tracks prefer/require a programming course and familiarity with concepts like SQL, Python, REST APIs, or similar tools
SEAP places students into Department of Navy labs where the day-to-day work is tied to real science and engineering activity, guided by lab scientists and engineers. The program is built to expose students to research and development environments, and lab placements vary – so one student might support a more engineering-focused workflow while another works in a research-heavy setting.
SEAP’s outcomes are tied to immersion and mentorship rather than classroom completion. The program runs eight weeks (with a listed option to extend up to two additional weeks), and it is paid with a stipend structure based on prior participation. If your goal is to understand how lab-based teams work and build professional stamina for longer technical projects, the structure is closer to a real internship schedule than a short camp format.
Cost: No cost; stipend $4,000 (new) / $4,500 (returning)
Location: Department of Navy laboratories (varies by lab)
Application Deadline: November 1, 2026 (application period Aug 1 – Nov 1)
Program Dates: Eight weeks in summer (some labs may extend up to two weeks)
Eligibility: Completed at least Grade 9; enrolled in high school; typically age 16+ by start date; U.S. citizens (lab-specific exceptions may apply)
Tech internships can be one of the fastest ways to understand what working in technology actually looks like. Instead of only engaging in theoretical concepts, you spend time working on real-world, industry relevant projects.
Here are 8 tech internships for high school students that help them gain exposure, build new skills, network with industry professionals, and add value to their college portfolio.
Delve is a guided virtual work-experience program where high school students work in teams on real-world projects with global companies like AWS, Adobe, Ferrari, and more. Over 4-week, students collaborate on a defined, industry relevant project, join structured sessions, and build a portfolio-ready outcome that they can reference in college applications.
It includes team-based problem-solving, mentor feedback, and a final presentation-style deliverable (often a slide deck, a written proposal, or a product plan) that simulates how project teams work in real roles. This is a practical option if you want a structured internship-like experience without needing to be local to a lab or company site. By the end of the progrm, you receive a certificate of completion and reference letter.
Cost: $4,900
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: Varies by company/project (general early decision summer deadline is on March 29)
Program Dates: Varies by company/project. You can check the complete list of companies here.
Eligibility: Open to high school students globally
PRISM is a four-week summer program built for high school seniors and recent graduates who want a structured way to explore research and technology careers. The program cycles through themes such as particle physics, quantum science, engineering design, and artificial intelligence through hands-on activities, lectures led by experts, and tours of Fermilab facilities.
Students finish PRISM with professional-style deliverables that mirror how technical work is communicated in labs and engineering teams. The program’s outcomes include a research abstract, a research poster, and a final presentation, which are useful pieces to reference later in college applications and interviews because they demonstrate both technical learning and clear communication.
Cost: No cost; $500 weekly stipend
Location: Fermilab (on-site and off-site work schedule)
Application Deadline: March 1, 2026
Program Dates: July 13 – August 7, 2026
Eligibility: High school senior (2026 – 27) or 2026 graduate; U.S. citizen; proof of medical insurance; Illinois high school enrollment
This internship places students in the NJ Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell (NJCCIC), where the work reflects how public-sector cybersecurity teams operate. Interns follow a full-time weekday schedule, work in person, and get exposure to cybersecurity and preparedness work through structured tasks and professional development opportunities.
The program is designed around concrete outcomes and communication practice. Interns will receive training and career development, interact with staff across government, and end the internship with a capstone presentation.
Cost: No cost; paid $20/hour
Location: In-person (Hamilton, West Trenton, or Newark, NJ)
Application Deadline: March 12, 2026
Program Dates: June 8 – August 28, 2026 (NJCCIC track is 12 weeks)
Eligibility: High school seniors may apply to NJCCIC; in-person only; weekday business hours; up to 35 hours/week
This 8-week internship is built around mentor-driven research projects tied to active Institute for Systems Biology work. Internship topics span areas that often involve computational tools, such as computational biology in health or the environment, microbiology, technology development, infectious disease, cancer-related work, and engineering lab systems.
Interns will interview ISB professionals to explore career paths, build a website describing their project and experience, and may contribute to school-based curriculum development when relevant. The internship runs up to 40 hours per week, with unpaid service-learning and paid positions available depending on placement.
Cost: No cost; unpaid service-learning and paid positions available (role-dependent)
Location: Institute for Systems Biology (Seattle area), in-person internship
Application Deadline: March 11, 2026
Program Dates: June 29 – August 21, 2026 (excluding July 4)
Eligibility: Current 11th graders (rising seniors); internship is ~300 hours; up to 40 hours/week
MetroTech Institute runs a virtual internship model that functions like joining a research group rather than taking a single class. The program offers tracks in IT and computational science, and the site lists technical project areas such as AI-focused work and hands-on applications of Python, Java, and C++ in topics like cryptography, cybersecurity, and disease data trend analysis.
Students will join research groups led by professors or industry professionals, meet live multiple times per week, and maintain consistent progress through regular uploads. Students receive completion and presenter certificates, and when a project leads to publication, students may be listed as co-authors.
Cost: $750 tuition (MTI Research Scholars); scholarships and a Project Seed pathway are listed
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: April 1 (early); April 11 (late)
Program Dates: June 18 – July 30, 2026 (Mon – Thu)
Eligibility: Open to high school and undergraduate students
LANL’s high school internship program is a structured entry point into real workplace projects inside a national lab environment. Students apply during defined hiring windows (fall, spring, summer) and can use LANL’s project description books to understand the range of internship opportunities before selecting where to apply.
LANL provides project description books so you can see what kinds of internships are available and match your interests to a mentor/project area, then apply with a transcript, resume, and a personal statement (with an optional recommendation letter).
Cost: No cost (compensation varies by role)
Location: Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
Application Deadline: Summer hiring window closes April 15, 2026
Program Dates: Varies by placement (LANL runs seasonal internship cycles)
Eligibility: NM high school seniors; age 16+; minimum 2.75 GPA; NM high school attendance; drug test requirement
This internship sits inside Caterpillar’s Product Support & Logistics Division, where tech work supports how parts, logistics, and internal systems run at scale. Depending on the team, you could spend your summer building dashboards in Power BI, pulling and cleaning data from tools like Snowflake, or using Python to automate recurring reporting and data checks.
Some roles are more infrastructure-focused, like supporting AI video analytics for facility CCTV systems, setting up monitoring alerts, and writing lightweight Python scripts that push data into event-management tools through REST APIs. Other tracks lean into business systems work such as Salesforce permission audits, data cleanup, and access support.
Cost: Paid internship; $15.00–$17.50/hour
Location: Morton, Illinois (on-site)
Application Deadline: March 16
Program Dates: Starts in May (full-time 40 hours/week during the summer; end date varies by team)
Eligibility: Current high school junior or senior; minimum 3.0 GPA; Microsoft Office experience; some tracks prefer/require a programming course and familiarity with concepts like SQL, Python, REST APIs, or similar tools
SEAP places students into Department of Navy labs where the day-to-day work is tied to real science and engineering activity, guided by lab scientists and engineers. The program is built to expose students to research and development environments, and lab placements vary – so one student might support a more engineering-focused workflow while another works in a research-heavy setting.
SEAP’s outcomes are tied to immersion and mentorship rather than classroom completion. The program runs eight weeks (with a listed option to extend up to two additional weeks), and it is paid with a stipend structure based on prior participation. If your goal is to understand how lab-based teams work and build professional stamina for longer technical projects, the structure is closer to a real internship schedule than a short camp format.
Cost: No cost; stipend $4,000 (new) / $4,500 (returning)
Location: Department of Navy laboratories (varies by lab)
Application Deadline: November 1, 2026 (application period Aug 1 – Nov 1)
Program Dates: Eight weeks in summer (some labs may extend up to two weeks)
Eligibility: Completed at least Grade 9; enrolled in high school; typically age 16+ by start date; U.S. citizens (lab-specific exceptions may apply)
About the Author
George Gatsios holds a BA and MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and is the founder of Delta Institute. He leads the organisation’s global strategy, overseeing programme design, partnerships, operations, and product innovation across education, career development, and technology. His work centers on building scalable, hands-on learning experiences that connect students with real-world industry exposure and future-ready skills. Alongside his leadership at Delta Institute, George serves as a Research Assistant in Economics at the University of Cambridge and London Business School, contributing to research at the intersection of economic theory, empirical analysis, and policy. He is an active member of the International Baccalaureate Educator Network (IBEN) and a strong advocate for lifelong learning and internationally minded education.
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