15 Business Internships for High School Students in Utah
Students interested in business can benefit from internships, as they offer a worthwhile way to explore the field in depth. These transformative opportunities allow you to gain real-world experience and develop professional competencies before entering college or the workforce. You apply theoretical knowledge to practical business situations, building meaningful professional networks with industry experts and mentors. Furthermore, participating in business internships will enhance your resume, improve your employability, and give you the opportunity to explore specific career fields before making long-term educational commitments.
What business internships are available for high school students in Utah?
For high school students specifically in Utah, the landscape of business internships has expanded significantly, offering both in-person opportunities throughout the state and virtual options accessible from anywhere. This provides you with local connections and community engagement through in-state programs, while virtual internships deliver flexibility and access to prestigious national organizations without geographic constraints.
Whether you prefer the structured environment of in-person placements or the flexibility of online programs, this curated selection ensures that every Utah high school student can find a meaningful internship experience to advance your professional development and academic credentials.
Check out other business internships available for high-school students here,
1. Deloitte Discovery Internship
Location: Multiple locations
Cost/Stipend: Paid internship
Dates: Summer or winter sessions; typically 10-12 weeks
Application Deadline: Rolling basis; typically autumn for summer programs
Eligibility: Currently pursuing an undergraduate degree; sophomore or junior level; minimum GPA typically 3.0 or above; demonstrated interest in professional services
Deloitte offers Discovery Internship programs designed for early college students to gain insight into professional services and Deloitte's client-facing business operations. The program provides comprehensive training and engaging projects that enhance your professional skills while you work on real client assignments or internal service projects. You will receive valuable mentorship from experienced Deloitte professionals, helping you build a strong foundation for your future career while developing technical and leadership competencies. Multiple business specialties are available, allowing you to explore audit, tax, advisory, consulting, or internal services, helping you identify the career path that best matches your interests. The internship emphasizes learning and development, meaning your progress and growth are as important to Deloitte as your project contributions. This program is particularly valuable for sophomores and juniors exploring professional services careers before committing to full-time roles.
2. Ladder Internships
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: Varies by program; full financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly Selective
Application deadline: Varies by cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September) and Winter (November).
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Through this highly selective virtual program, you will work on real-world projects that address genuine organizational needs. You will receive one-on-one mentorship from a dedicated Ladder Coach throughout your 8-week experience. Your internship involves 8 structured sessions in which you work directly with your host company's manager, during which you will develop business acumen and learn industry-specific skills. You will contribute meaningfully to organizational objectives and gain professional presentation experience. The program culminates in a formal presentation of your completed project to company leadership, providing you with tangible deliverables for your portfolio. Through structured mentorship, group training sessions, and collaborative learning, you will build essential business competencies, including strategic thinking and communication.
3. CLA High School Internship Program
Location: Various CLA offices nationwide, with a Utah location
Cost/Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Typically June through July (specific dates vary by office location).
Application Deadline: Rolling basis; typically accepts applications from February through April for summer internships.
Eligibility: High school students ages 16-18
You will develop new business skills, understand your professional strengths, and gain practical exposure to client service work. This program will immerse you in professional business environments at CLA, a major accounting and professional services firm. Your internship involves actual client project work, supervised by experienced accounting and consulting professionals. These professionals will provide mentorship and support your skill development. Through this internship, you will explore whether accounting or professional services represent appealing career pathways. Simultaneously, you will develop marketable professional competencies. For students considering business internships in accounting or business advisory services, CLA provides authentic professional services experience.
4. Babson Summer Study for High School Students - Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: $6,295
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 8 - 28
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors; Must be 15 or older by the start of the program
You will complete an intensive three-week course titled "Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Experience," earning four college credits from Babson College. You will explore how to address real-world challenges through entrepreneurial thinking, integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into your projects. This requires you to frame business problems within broader contexts of social, economic, and environmental impact while developing viable solutions. Through virtual instruction in the online format, you will collaborate with ambitious peers from around the globe. You will participate in workshops on business fundamentals, including marketing, finance, and business communication.
5. Lassonde Startup Academy
Location: University of Utah campus
Cost/Stipend: $4,860
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 15-26
Application Deadline: Early deadline: December 1 | Regular deadline: February 1
Eligibility: High school students ages 14-18
You will live, learn, and build alongside ambitious peers during an intensive two-week summer program at the University of Utah's Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. You will gain hands-on experience withprinters and laser cutters, enabling you to transform ideas into tangible prototypes. The curriculum encompasses entrepreneurial mindset development, design thinking, market research, and financial modeling. Each concept is reinforced through hands-on application and real-world projects, enhancing your practical skills. You will attend presentations from successful local entrepreneurs and participate in field trips to working in startups. The program culminates in a Demo Day, where you present your developed business concept or prototype to an audience that includes investors and mentors.
6. U.S. Department of State Pathways Internship Program
Location: Locations across the US
Cost/Stipend: Paid (pay scales vary)
Acceptance rate: Selective
Dates: School year or summer
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary
Eligibility: Must be a minimum of 16 years of age with a cumulative GPA of 2.0
The U.S. Department of State’s Pathways Internship Programs offer you practical exposure to federal government roles while contributing to its diplomatic objectives. These opportunities connect academic study with on-the-job application, revealing the inner workings of public administration and global policy. You can opt for the Internship Experience Program, which spans your academic career, or the shorter Internship Temporary Program for breaks like summer. Working alongside seasoned diplomats and staff, you develop real-world skills and witness how large-scale organizations manage initiatives, regulations, and logistics. Completing the internship bolsters your professional profile, clarifies career paths in the civil service, and equips you with versatile experience for public- or private-sector pursuits.
7. YouthCity Summer Internship Program
Location: Salt Lake City government offices and affiliated city departments
Cost/Stipend: Paid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Moderately selective program
Dates: Typically mid-June through July or early August
Application Deadline: Typically February through March
Eligibility: High school students ages 16-18; must be attending secondary school within Salt Lake City School District
You will work directly with Salt Lake City government staff across various municipal departments, including planning, public services, and communications. You will gain practical experience understanding how local government operates while contributing meaningfully to city initiatives. This schedule allows you to balance other summer commitments while gaining substantial professional experience. Your experience includes participation in professional development workshops and networking opportunities with city employees. You will receive mentorship from government professionals and participate in field trips to local projects. You will develop competencies in public administration, community engagement, and policy implementation. This program offers a distinctive opportunity for those interested in public sector careers.
8. edX - Foundations of Finance by University of Cambridge
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free without a certificate and $199 with a certificate (financial aid available)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open
Dates: Self paced
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students can participate
The University of Cambridge's Foundations of Finance course on edX gives you a solid grounding in how the financial world works. You'll work through six modules covering money and capital, cash flow forecasting, financial reporting, interest and return, risk management, and business ethics. Learning is reinforced through real-world case studies, practitioner interviews, and knowledge checks that help you apply what you're studying to practical, everyday financial situations. It's a strong starting point if you're looking to build credible finance knowledge and strengthen your academic profile before college.
9. Wharton Global High School Investment Competition
Location: Virtual through most stages; global finals at the Wharton School in Philadelphia
Cost/Stipend: Free to participate
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Open competition
Dates: September - April
Application Deadline: September 12
Eligibility: High school students from 9-12 and teachers
You'll team up with four to six classmates under your teacher's guidance to manage a virtual $500,000 portfolio using the Wharton Investment Simulator (WInS) over 10 weeks of trading. You'll start by analyzing a case study of a real Wharton graduate client and develop a tailored long-term investment strategy to meet their goals, focusing on industry and company analysis, risk, and diversification. Throughout the competition, you'll submit a midterm and a final report detailing your approach, and judges will evaluate teams based on the clarity and strength of your strategy rather than on portfolio performance alone. Top performers advance to virtual semifinals, where you'll present to expert judges, and the best 10 teams compete in the Global Finale at the Wharton School in Philadelphia during April. The program can help you build skills in teamwork, communication, leadership, and finance that strengthen college applications.
10. Building-U High School Internship
Location: Online program
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Approximately 20-40 interns across cohorts.
Dates: 3-month internship; available year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Currently enrolled high school students (grades 9-12)
You will work supporting business teams within the Building-U organization itself, contributing to operations, resource development, and marketing campaigns. You will gain exposure to various business roles, including business development, marketing, social media management, and coding, selecting focus areas aligned with your interests. Through this internship experience, you will participate in data organization, partnership development for Building-U initiatives, and funding stream development. This will give you a practical understanding of how nonprofits or mission-driven organizations operate. Your work will be supervised by experienced team leads who provide mentorship, while cross-team meetings facilitate critical skill development. This program offers an accessible opportunity for students exploring business internships with a nonprofit or social-impact focus.
11. PNNL High School Business Internship
Location: Virtual for work-based learning component
Cost/Stipend: Free educational program
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Unavailable
Dates: Summer internships between June and August
Application Deadline: Typically February - March
Eligibility: High school students (all grades) interested in business and research
You will engage in year-long internships combining theoretical learning with authentic research laboratory experience. This will develop your business and research competencies through hands-on engagement. You will gain exposure to real-world projects, build professional skills in analysis and communication, and network with experienced research scientists. Your internship work allows you to complete assignments aligned with your specific interests, whether in research and development, marketing, or business development. Through this experience, you will develop critical skills in strategizing, decision-making, and professional communication.
12. EnergyMag Virtual Internship
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive program
Dates: Quarter-time (1-9 months, 8 hours/week) or half-time (2-8 weeks, 20 hours/week) available year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling applications accepted throughout the year
Eligibility: Sophomores, juniors, and seniors only, with a GPA of over 3.25
You will work on real-world research projects investigating emerging energy technologies, environmental policy, and sustainable business models. Your internship will develop critical research, writing, and analytical skills through working on substantive articles and reports. The program's competitive selection process reflects its rigor, with college students and high school students competing for limited positions. This makes selection a significant validation of your research and communication capabilities. You will contribute to published content on energy topics, developing your writing portfolio while researching key sustainability and energy-transition issues. For students seeking business internships with an environmental or sustainability business focus, EnergyMag provides valuable experience exploring green energy entrepreneurship.
13. Stevens Institute of Technology – Quantitative Finance
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: $2,500 tuition
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: Last year was July 6 – 31 (four weeks)
Application Deadline: Unavailable (Typically opens February-March for summer cohort)
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors entering the fall of the application year
Stevens Institute of Technology's Quantitative Finance is a virtual summer research experience designed for rising high school juniors and seniors with a strong interest in finance, statistics, and computer science. The curriculum takes you through financial analysis, data-driven decision-making, probability, and statistical methodologies, all grounded in real-world case studies from the finance industry. One of the program's standout features is its dual certification track, where you'll earn both a Bloomberg Market Concepts certification and a Capital IQ certification, industry-recognized credentials that can strengthen your college applications and early career profile. You'll also sharpen your coding skills and build on any prior coding experience you bring to the program.
14. Smithsonian Science Education Center Internship Program
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: Students are offered a modest (unspecified) stipend
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective
Dates: Typically from May - August
ApplicationDeadline: No specified but typically around the end of March
Eligibility: High school students ages 16 and up
The SSEC Internship Program invites you to help transform K-12 STEM education in collaboration with communities across the globe, with work areas spanning curriculumdevelopment, program evaluation and research, science writing, educational, technology, marketing, and strategic planning. You will be expected to commit between 25 and 40 hours per week over an 8- to 10-week period, with schedules offered in person, hybrid, or fully virtual, depending on the position. You will receive a modest stipend for your participation, and if your institution requires it, the SSEC will work with you to arrange academic credit or volunteer service hours. The SSEC is not a physical laboratory, so you will not be conducting scientific research or museum education work; instead, your role focuses on education strategy, content development, and organizational support.
15. Junior Economic Club (JEC) Internship Program
Location: Online
Cost/Stipend: Compensation arrangements depend on the partnering organization and internship placement type.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Varies by placement
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: High-performing high school students demonstrating strong academic achievement and leadership potential; demonstrated business or economics interest preferred.
In this 8-12 week internship, you will work on projects supporting business development, financial analysis, investment research, or operational challenges, depending on your placement organization. The JEC network comprises carefully vetted organizations committed to mentoring high school talent. This ensures quality internship experiences aligned with your professional development goals. Your internship will develop competencies in business analysis, financial evaluation, and entrepreneurial thinking, relevant to both business careers and economics-focused academic pursuits. Through direct exposure to startup operations or investment processes, you will gain an understanding of how capital flows through economic systems. You will also learn how entrepreneurs create business value. JEC is an excellent option for business interns seeking experience in venture capital, startup operations, or the investment industry.
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