13 Internships for High School Students in Indiana
If you're a high school student who wants clarity about which field you want to work in, an internship is worth serious consideration. You could be working in medicine, engineering, finance, environmental science, or technology; the range is wide, and there are programs designed specifically for students your age. What makes internships particularly useful is the combination of skills, exposure, and connections you pick up in a relatively short time. Some of the strongest opportunities come from universities and established organizations that have set up formal programs, meaning you're contributing to real work rather than just sitting in on meetings.
Why should you intern in Indiana?
Indiana has a solid concentration of institutions, including Purdue University and Indiana University, as well as several healthcare and research organizations across the state that run programs throughout the summer and sometimes beyond. The kind of work varies considerably by program; some are clinical and biomedical, others involve computer science, environmental research, or public health, often placing you alongside college students and faculty mentors. Students who live or study in Indiana and want to build a local professional network early will find this a natural fit, and out-of-state students looking for structured experiences with real academic credibility have solid options here, too.
To help you get started, we've narrowed down 13 internships for high school students in Indiana.
If you’re looking for programs in Indiana, check out our blog here.
Key takeaways
These internships span biomedical research, conservation, healthcare, and technology, with several paid options in Indiana, including IU Simon Cancer Center's Future Scientist Program and Indiana CTSI SEED/STEM Program (up to a $4,000 stipend).
A few programs are designed for specific populations, including the Future Deaf Scientist Program for students at the Indiana School for the Deaf and Indiana Landmarks' Black Heritage Preservation Program for Black or African American students.
Several virtual internships, such as the Ladder Internship Program, ASSIP, EnergyMag, and the UNC NRI Virtual Internship, are open to Indiana students regardless of location and don't require travel.
Application deadlines range from January (Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program) to May (Indiana Landmarks), with several programs, such as Parkview FutureREADY and CLD Internship Program, accepting rolling applications.
1. IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Future Scientist Program
Location: IU School of Medicine, IU Indianapolis campus, Indianapolis, IN
Cost/Stipend: Paid, stipend provided
Program Dates: 8 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Check the program page for the next cycle; applications are typically open in winter
Eligibility: Must be a junior at a Marion County public high school with a minimum 3.0 GPA; students 16 or under must obtain a work permit through their school system before the program begins
The Future Scientist Program matches you with a university researcher who mentors you through an independent research project, and the expectation is real, accountable engagement. The program was built specifically to address the declining number of high school graduates choosing science careers, so the experience is designed to be both an extracurricular and an employment experience. You’ll work under your mentor throughout the summer, with your performance and attendance held to a professional standard. A stipend is included, which distinguishes this from most high school science programs at this level.
2. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary by cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November). Apply now.
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 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. Ladder’s startups are, on average, high-growth companies that raise over a million dollars. Interns work closely with their manager at the startup on real-world projects and present their work to the company. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
3. Indiana CTSI SEED/STEM Program
Location: IU School of Medicine, IU Indianapolis, and Indiana Bioscience Research Institute (IBRI), Indianapolis, IN
Cost/Stipend: Stipends up to $4,000
Program Dates: June 8 – July 30
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Current Indiana high school sophomore, junior, or senior; must have completed at least one high school chemistry course
Indiana CTSI SEED/STEM Program, through a competitive application and interview process, matches you with a research faculty mentor and places you in a lab at one of three institutions: IU School of Medicine, IU Indianapolis, or the Indiana Bioscience Research Institute. Depending on your placement, you could be working in areas like medicine, dentistry, computer science, life sciences, chemistry, or biomedical engineering. At the end of the summer, you'll put together a research poster to present your findings, which is a tangible outcome you can reference in college applications.
4. IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Future Deaf Scientist Program
Location: IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN
Stipend: $1,500 stipend
Program Dates: 4 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Check the website for the next cycle
Eligibility: Open exclusively to students currently enrolled at the Indiana School for the Deaf
IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Future Deaf Scientist Program lets you shadow clinicians at IU Simon Cancer Center, get hands-on time in a pathology lab, and observe real surgical techniques. Daily science and medicine lessons run alongside clinical exposure, and each day also includes a "fireside chat" via video call with deaf physicians and interns from other program sites across the country. The program concludes with a formal presentation in which you share what you've learned with family, peers, and instructors.
5. Parkview Health FutureREADY
Location: Parkview Health facilities, northeast Indiana
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid
Program Dates: 15 weeks; available year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students with an interest in healthcare; both clinical and non-clinical tracks available
Parkview's FutureREADY is built around a simple idea: if you're interested in healthcare but don't know which direction to go, rotating through multiple departments before committing to any one path makes more sense than locking in early. Once enrolled, you select areas of interest from a provided list, and the Parkview Education Services team places you in six one-week observations. After those rotations, you identify where you'd like to spend the remaining weeks of the semester. The departments span both clinical and non-clinical roles, everything from nursing and physical therapy to medical administration and technology, so the range of what you can explore is broader than most hospital-based programs.
6. Newton County Student Conservation Internship
Location: Newton County, IN
Stipend: Paid
Program Dates: Summer session and school-year session available
Application Deadline: Contact the Jasper Newton Foundation directly for details
Eligibility: Juniors and seniors currently enrolled at North Newton or South Newton High Schools in Newton County only
In the Newton County Student Conservation Internship, you’ll work directly with professionals from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, the Newton County Soil and Water Conservation District, and The Nature Conservancy. The work spans conservation agriculture, wildlife management, habitat restoration, eco-journalism, and marketing. You'll also complete Purdue Extension Leadership Training and receive coaching in career development skills such as resume writing, interviewing, and networking, which adds practical professional grounding to the fieldwork.
7. Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program
Location: In-person, placed within a 45-minute commute of your home, including Indiana
Stipend: $3,000 stipend
Program Dates: 8 weeks, June through August
Deadline: January 25
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors or rising college freshmen; must be 16 years old by the internship start date
The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program is an eight-week paid summer internship run by the American Fisheries Society, and it's one of the few programs that place you with a local mentor, meaning that if you're based in Indiana, your internship takes place in Indiana. What you actually do day-to-day depends on your mentor's work, but past Hutton Scholars have gone out in the field to conduct fish population surveys, done electrofishing, tested water quality, worked in labs examining specimens, and processed data, sometimes going on multi-day overnight trips as part of fieldwork. The program focuses on reaching students from underrepresented groups in fisheries and aquatic science.
8. Notre Dame Center for Broader Impacts’ High School Research Internship
Location: University of Notre Dame campus and South Bend Technology Resource Center, South Bend, IN
Cost/Stipend: Not specified
Program Dates: Academic year, fall through spring semesters
Application Deadline: Check the website for the next application cycle
Eligibility: Local high school juniors and seniors; priority given to students in the South Bend area; U.S. STEM focus required; program accepts students into Notre Dame faculty research labs across disciplines
The Notre Dame Center for Broader Impacts High School Research Internship places high school juniors and seniors in active university research labs twice a week throughout the academic year, where you’ll work directly with a graduate or postdoctoral student mentor on an ongoing STEM research project. You're working in a real lab, on real research, with the people who actually run those projects day-to-day. Beyond the lab sessions, you’ll also attend classes at the South Bend Technology Resource Center, where the Program Director leads discussions on research topics and college preparation. The program wraps up in May with a formal poster presentation where you share the work you've built over the full academic year.
9. Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program
Location: Indiana Landmarks, Indianapolis, IN
Stipend: Paid
Program Dates: May through August
Application Deadline: May 9
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors, undergraduates, graduate students, or post-graduates who identify as Black or African American; must be an Indiana resident attending or planning to attend an accredited college or university; preference given to students with backgrounds or interest in African/African American studies, archaeology/anthropology, architecture, city planning, history, journalism, landscape architecture, preservation, or public history
Indiana Landmarks' Black Heritage Preservation Program centers specifically on Black heritage and history across Indiana, and the range of disciplines prioritized in the selection process is history, archaeology, architecture, city planning, journalism, landscape architecture, and public history. Only two positions are offered each summer, so the application is genuinely competitive. The program asks for alignment with its preservation mission, so if Black history, architecture, journalism, or public history is a genuine interest, this is worth looking into seriously.
10. Center for Leadership Development (CLD) Internship Program
Location: Partner businesses across Central Indiana, the Indianapolis area
Cost/Stipend: Free to participate; compensation varies by employer placement
Program Dates: Short-term; varies by placement
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Must be a current high school or college student and a CLD alumnus who has completed the Self Discovery/Career Exploration project
CLD's internship program connects you with partner businesses across Central Indiana for short-term, career-building work experience. If you meet the eligibility bar, you're enrolled in CLD's five-session Internship and Career Readiness Program first, which walks you through what internships are, how to build a resume and cover letter, interview preparation, professional branding, and workplace decorum. Placements are with CLD's established network of Central Indiana business partners, and the program is entirely free.
11. George Mason University Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: Virtual
Cost: $1,299
Program Dates: June 18 – August 12
Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: High school students 15 years or older by the program start date; undergraduate students are also eligible; applicants must not have graduated from university before or during the internship
ASSIP places each student one-on-one with a faculty researcher for eight full-time weeks of original scientific work. The remote track makes this accessible to Indiana students: you apply, get matched with a mentor in your area of interest, and complete the internship entirely online. Research projects span dozens of disciplines, including machine learning, cybersecurity, neuroscience, climate science, robotics, forensic science, exoplanet discovery, disease diagnostics, data science, renewable energy, and more, with your specific focus depending on which mentor selects you during the review process. Over the summer, you'll use the tools and technologies relevant to your project, develop scientific writing and communication skills, and join discussion forums with STEM professionals exploring different career paths. The program closes with a final poster session in August, and strong research may be submitted for publication in the Mason Journal of Student Scientists Research or presented at scientific conferences.
12. EnergyMag Virtual Internship
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid
Program Dates: Half-time (summer): 2–8 weeks; Quarter-time (year-round): 1–9 months
Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; GPA above 3.25; at least one honors science or honors English class
EnergyMag is a publication dedicated to renewable energy storage, offering a virtual internship that involves hands-on research and writing in that field. Depending on your level, you'll be assigned a specific company, technology, or market segment within renewable energy to research in depth, reaching out to professionals in the field, synthesizing information from multiple sources, and producing an analysis report that gets published on EnergyMag under your name. Your mentor briefs you on the topic at the start, answers your questions, and supervises the work throughout.
13. UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) Virtual Internship Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: $25 registration fee for accepted students; limited scholarships available
Program Dates: Four weeks in June
Deadline: March 23
Eligibility: High school students, from rising freshmen through rising college freshmen
The UNC Nutrition Research Institute's Virtual Internship Program is a four-week, fully online experience that connects you from across the country with NRI faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and staff through live lectures, interactive sessions, and small-group mentoring. You'll learn how scientists think through research questions and communicate complex ideas in professional settings, a skill that matters far beyond nutrition science. A major focus of the program is scientific poster development, which is one of the main ways researchers present their work in academic and professional settings. By the end of the four weeks, you'll have built a poster of your own to present during the final week, with the top three selected for poster awards.
Frequently asked questions
1. What internships are available for high school students in Indiana?
Options include biomedical and cancer research internships, such as IU Simon Cancer Center's Future Scientist Program and Indiana CTSI SEED/STEM Program; healthcare exploration programs, such as Parkview Health FutureREADY; conservation and fisheries internships, such as Newton County Student Conservation Internship and Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program; and virtual options, such as Ladder Internship Program and ASSIP.
2. Are there paid internships for high school students in Indiana?
Yes, several internships offer stipends, including IU Simon Cancer Center's Future Scientist Program, Indiana CTSI SEED/STEM Program (up to $4,000), Future Deaf Scientist Program ($1,500), Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program ($3,000), Newton County Student Conservation Internship, and Indiana Landmarks' Black Heritage Preservation Program.
3. Which Indiana internships are designed for specific student populations?
The Future Deaf Scientist Program is open exclusively to students at the Indiana School for the Deaf, and Indiana Landmarks' Black Heritage Preservation Program is designed for Black or African American students interested in fields like history, architecture, and public history. Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program also prioritizes students from underrepresented groups in fisheries science.
4. When should I apply to internships for high school students in Indiana?
The earliest deadline is Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program (January 25), followed by Indiana CTSI SEED/STEM Program (March 1) and ASSIP (February 15). Indiana Landmarks' Black Heritage Preservation Program closes May 9, while several programs, such as Parkview FutureREADY and CLD Internship Program, accept rolling applications year-round.
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