10 Best Computer Science Summer Internships for High School Students

If you are a high school student looking to gain knowledge and experience in Computer Science, a summer internship is an opportunity to do both. As an intern, you will work on projects, learn from professionals, and build a network of peers from various parts of the country and the world. 

These internships help you develop valuable skills in coding, data analysis, machine learning, software development, and more. Many programs provide mentorship, access to industry tools, and an understanding of the ethical and societal implications of technology. These internships can help you prepare for future academic or professional endeavors in the tech field.

To help you get started, here is a list of the 10 best computer science summer internships for high school students you can explore!

1. Meta Summer Academy

Location: Meta headquarters, CA

Dates: June 16 – July 25

Application Deadline: February 14

Eligibility: High school sophomores; minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA; residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, or Redwood City

Stipend: Paid

The Meta Summer Academy offers students an internship opportunity to learn what it takes to manage the world's largest social media platform. As an intern, you'll gain practical experience in areas like product development, UX design, digital marketing, and business strategy. Each day, you engage in company activities, develop workplace skills, and learn from Meta professionals. The program provides transportation, meals, and sessions with guest speakers.

2. Ladder Internships

Location: Remote

Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).

Eligibility: High school students, undergraduates, and gap year students (able to commit 10-20 hours per week for 8-12 weeks)

Cost: Varies depending on program type (financial aid available)

Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries, from tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. You can explore all the options here on their application form. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. In the program, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company. Here is the application form. 

3. New York Historical Society Tech Scholars

Location: New-York Historical Society Museum, Manhattan, NYC

Dates: Tech Scholars: Podcasting  (Cohort 1): July 7 – 11 | Tech Scholars: Podcasting   (Cohort 2): August 18 – 22 | Tech Scholars: Web Design  (Summer): July 21 – 25

Application Deadline:Tech Scholars: Podcasting  –  May 19 | Tech Scholars: Web Design (Summer)  – May 26

Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12 who live in and attend school in the NYC metro area (including NYC’s five boroughs, as well as parts of NY, NJ, and CT)

Cost: Free

The Tech Scholars program at the New-York Historical Society invites high school students to explore digital tools in the humanities. Held in the museum’s Tech Commons, the program focuses on creating digital media projects that are connected to art, history, and social justice. Participants can develop skills in historical research and acquire essential technical abilities, including HTML/CSS coding, podcast production, and digital design. The program also provides opportunities to interact with museum professionals, offering insights into careers in both history and technology. For computer science students, it presents a chance to apply coding and design skills in a multidisciplinary setting, combining technology with the humanities.

4. Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE)

Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY

Acceptance Rate/ Cohort Size: 50-75 students per year

Dates: June 2 – August 8

Application Deadline: February 17

Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors who are New York residents

Stipend: Interns receive a stipend of at least $1,000

This 10-week internship offers you an opportunity to gain guidance from NYC faculty and graduate researchers. Throughout the program, you'll engage in research ethics seminars, practical lab work, and technical training in data analysis and scientific inquiry. You will be paired with a research lab in a field of your choice, such as engineering, computer science, neuroscience, environmental studies, or another STEM discipline, where you will actively participate in ongoing research. After completing training in lab safety and academic writing, you’ll join the lab aligned with your interests. Guided by faculty and graduate student mentors, you’ll present your work at a colloquium and a poster symposium at the American Museum of Natural History.

5. Stanford AI4ALL

Location: Virtual 

Dates: June 18 – July 2

Application Deadline: January 24

Eligibility: 9th graders or rising 10th graders who are over 14 years at the start of the program

Cost: $4,000 (Financial aid available).

This three-week online program combines lectures and practical research projects to delve into AI. Participants will work with professionals on topics like Robotics, Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, and Medical AI. The program provides valuable insights into how AI can benefit society. While not a traditional internship, it features mentorship sessions with professionals from Stanford AI Lab, giving you the chance to engage in meaningful research. In addition to engaging in technical topics, you will participate in career development workshops and network with peers and professionals.

6. UCLA’s Computer Science Summer Institute

Location: University of California, Los Angeles, CA

Dates: June 23 – July 11

Application Deadline: June 13

Eligibility: 9th–12th grade students (must be at least 15 years old by June 23)

Cost: $3,291; Scholarships are available for students in California

CSSI at UCLA is a three-week commuter program offering a college-level introduction to computer science. You’ll learn to write Python programs while developing essential skills in logic, algorithms, data types, and control structures. The course follows UCLA’s CS 30 curriculum and emphasizes solving problems and building projects through coding. Although this isn’t a conventional internship, each day features lectures, labs, and team projects. The program concludes with a capstone project that demonstrates what you’ve learned.

7. ASPIRE Program by Johns Hopkins University

Location: Virtual or in-person at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD

Dates: June 24 – August 21

Application Deadline: February 15

Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors (15+ years old) with a minimum GPA of 2.8. Must be a permanent resident of the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan region.

Cost/Stipend: None

ASPIRE pairs students with APL mentors to participate in active research and development projects across various fields, including cybersecurity, data science, aerospace engineering, and systems analysis. Over a period of six to nine weeks, you will dedicate at least 190 hours in the lab to conducting research and preparing a digital poster. The program offers both remote and on-site options, ensuring flexibility. You may be able to continue your work during the academic year if your mentor is available.

8. NASA OSTEM Internships

Location: Virtual or in-person at NASA centers across the country

Dates: Fall: September – December | Spring: January – May | Summer: May/June – August

Application Deadline: Fall: May 16 | Spring: September 12 | Summer: February 27
Eligibility: Full-time students, high school through graduate level, aged 16 at the time of application, with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale; applicants must be U.S. citizens
Cost/Stipend: Free; paid and unpaid internships available

NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement provides students with opportunities to engage directly in NASA’s science and engineering projects with teams at NASA centers. You will collaborate with NASA’s skilled scientists, engineers, and mentors, potentially assisting in software development for spacecraft, analyzing satellite atmospheric data, or contributing to the design of robotic system components. You will also participate in professional development workshops that cover scientific writing, technical presentations, and teamwork skills.

9. MIT’s Women’s Technology Program

Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Acceptance Rate/ Cohort Size: 20 participants

Dates: June 28 – July 26

Application Deadline: January 15

Eligibility: Rising high school seniors (11th grade) with strong math/science skills but little to no prior engineering experience

Cost: Families with an adjusted gross income of $120,000 or less can access the program for free. For those earning more, fees vary from $2,000 to $8,000. Scholarships are available.

In the MIT Women’s Technology Program, students reside on the MIT campus and learn topics such as fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, statics, and materials through classes, labs, and projects. The program offers two tracks: Mechanical Engineering (ME) and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). The program typically includes capstone projects where pairs investigate open-ended topics and create a poster for the MIT community, possibly incorporating other disciplines, such as art. While not a traditional internship, the program offers an intensive experience that allows you to delve into various aspects of engineering and computer science.

10. EDIT AI Summer Internship Program

Location: Virtual

Dates: Not specified

Application Deadline: April 15

Eligibility: High school students with an Interest in artificial intelligence, programming, and healthcare

Cost/Stipend: No cost

The EDIT AI Internship Program at Dartmouth Cancer Center offers a chance to learn how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare. Throughout the summer, you'll engage in projects related to cancer detection, pathology text prediction, and multi-omics data analysis. Depending on your experience, you'll join one of three tracks: Skills, Advanced, or Peer Mentor. For each track, you'll leverage R, Python, and high-performance computing resources to analyze large, complex datasets. You'll also gain access to IRB-approved data and cutting-edge virtual lab tools alongside mentorship and lectures.

If you’re looking to build a project/research paper in the field of AI & ML, consider applying to Veritas AI! 

With Veritas AI, which was founded by Harvard graduate students, you can work 1-on-1 with mentors from universities like Harvard, Stanford, MIT, and more to create unique, personalized projects. In the past year, we had over 1000 students learn AI & ML with us. You can apply here!