10 Business Internships for High School Students in Arkansas
If you are a high school student interested in business, an internship can be a worthwhile way to explore this field. Internships allow you to strengthen your resume, improve employability prospects, and gain early exposure to professional expectations in a field of your interest. Through structured assignments, project support, and supervised participation, you will become familiar with basic professional communication, time management, and organizational workflows. Business internships for high school students provide insight into operations, marketing, finance, logistics, and customer engagement.
What business internships are available for high school students in Arkansas?
High school students in Arkansas can find business-focused internships through local companies, nonprofit organizations, government offices, small businesses, and regional economic development programs. Your responsibilities may include administrative support, data organization, marketing assistance, inventory tracking, event coordination, or basic financial documentation. These experiences connect you with professional mentors who can guide your future academic and career decisions.
To help you get started, we’ve put together a list of 10 business internships for high school students in Arkansas based on program accessibility, consistency of supervision, and the relevance of work experience to business.
1. SAU: The Work Internship Program
Location: Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, AR
Stipend: $300 as stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Varies each year
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Current upward bound participant who has completed the 11th grade and has at least a cumulative GPA of 2.5
The Southern Arkansas University Work Internship Program is an in-person opportunity that places high school and college students with local employers to perform business-related work tasks. You will work on administrative support, project coordination, data entry, customer communication, or operational tasks based on your organizational needs. You work under the supervision of a faculty or site supervisor who provides feedback and helps you to connect tasks with workplace expectations. You document your activities and outcomes through reports aligned with specific internship objectives. The program requires you to interact with team members, attend meetings, and complete assigned workplace deliverables.
2. Ladder Internships
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Varies depending on the program type | financial aid is available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Approximately 25% | around 100 students per cohort
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 who can work for 8 - 12 weeks, devoting 10 - 20 hours/weekLadder Internships is a fully virtual program where high school students are placed with a startup to complete a defined project over an eight-week period. You spend approximately 5 - 10 hours per week, completing assigned tasks aligned with the business needs of the host company. Depending on the placement, you may conduct background research, organize datasets, draft written materials, support product documentation, or assist with operational planning. You communicate with your host team remotely using standard collaboration platforms and submit work according to agreed timelines. Your project scope and deliverables are defined by the company at the start of the internship. At the end of the program, you receive a completion letter from the host organization.
3. Bank of America Student Leaders Program
Location: Multiple locations across the U.S.
Stipend: Stipend available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; highly selective
Dates: Typically in summer
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: Current high school juniors and seniors
Bank of America Student Leaders is a summer program that places high school students in a paid internship with a local nonprofit organization. You will support daily operations through administrative processing, data tracking, document preparation, and coordination of activities. You work under the guidance of nonprofit staff and align with established workplace procedures and timelines. You communicate with team members, attend scheduled meetings, and contribute to ongoing projects within the organization. The program also includes a week-long summit in Washington, D.C., where you participate in scheduled sessions and group activities.
4. NASA OSTEM High School Internships
Location: Remote or in-person at NASA centers across the U.S.
Cost/Stipend: Varies depending on the project
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Spring/Fall: 16 weeks | summer: 10 weeks (May - August)
Application Deadline: Spring: September 12 | Summer: February 27 | Fall: May 16
Eligibility: U.S. citizens aged 16+ years with a GPA of 3.0+ who are full-time students
NASA Internship Programs are paid, semester-based internships administered by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement across multiple NASA centers and partner facilities in the United States. You are placed within a functional team where your work supports business and operational functions such as budgeting processes, procurement coordination, contracts documentation, communications planning, human resources processes, program tracking, and internal data management. Your responsibilities may include preparing internal reports, organizing project materials, supporting compliance documentation, and assisting staff with ongoing administrative workflows. You work within established government office structures, interacting with supervisors and team members who manage approvals, timelines, and cross-department coordination.
5. Arkansas Broadcasters Association Station Intern Program
Location: In-person (ABA member radio and television stations across Arkansas)
Stipend: Stipend offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited; one intern per broadcast cluster per semester
Dates: Varies depending on the semester
Application Deadline: Varies depending on the station and semester
Eligibility: High school and college students (minimum age requirement applies)
The Arkansas Broadcasters Association Station Intern Program is a structured internship conducted at participating radio and television stations under a training plan approved by the Association. Your work focuses on daily station operations, including scheduling coordination, equipment use, and on-air support activities within established workflows. You observe and assist with sales-related tasks such as preparing promotional materials, organizing client information, and supporting basic account coordination activities. As the internship progresses, exposure expands to production scheduling, traffic coordination, and foundational news operations, offering insight into multi-department business functions. The program operates over an eight- to ten-week period with a defined weekly schedule that may include evenings or weekends. Completion is documented by the host station and formally reviewed by the association at the conclusion of the program.
6. The Pathways Internship Program
Location: Various locations across the U.S., including the USDA Whitten Building, Washington, D.C and NRCS field offices
Cost: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Varies based on internship
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Open to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students
USDA Internship and Career Opportunities include federal placements where you work on business-related functions within the U.S. Department of Agriculture offices and partner agencies. You support day-to-day functions such as administrative processes, data tracking, record management, reporting, and coordination across internal teams. Your tasks may include organizing program documentation, maintaining spreadsheets or databases, preparing routine correspondence, and helping track budgets, schedules, or project materials. Work is conducted under established federal procedures and timelines and is supervised by departmental staff. Depending on the placement, you may be based in a regional office, research center, or field location, with some opportunities offering remote components.
7. Arkansas STEM Venture Academy Company Engagements
Location: Multiple Arkansas-based companies
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Approximately 25 students per cohort
Dates: Program schedule varies depending on the school and region
Application Deadline: Varies depending on the school and region
Eligibility: 9th and 10th grade students
Arkansas STEM Venture Academy Company Engagements is a cohort-based program that introduces students to STEM-related careers through direct engagement with companies across Arkansas. The experience focuses on scheduled visits to multiple businesses and includes guided tours and structured, company-led activities on-site. During these visits, professionals explain how technical knowledge supports daily operations, project execution, and infrastructure management. You will observe workplace environments, review typical job responsibilities, and discuss the training pathways associated with different roles. The program is coordinated through participating schools and counselors, with selection determined at the school level rather than through an open application process. The program concludes with a graduation event that documents participation and engagement with industry partners.
8. Forage Virtual Internships
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly specified
Dates: Self-paced
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
The Forage offers free, online virtual job simulations designed to provide high school students with practical exposure to real workplace tasks from leading global employers. You complete self-paced projects that reflect responsibilities you might encounter in areas such as consulting, finance, marketing, or technology. Tasks are created or endorsed by companies such as JPMorgan, BCG, Walmart, and others. These simulations combine written tasks, case-based assignments, and guided activities that reflect the nature of work professional teams perform in entry-level roles. As you work through each simulation, you receive model answers to compare with your own work and downloadable certificates upon completion. The platform operates asynchronously, allowing you to accommodate simulations into your schedule rather than follow a fixed deadline.
9. Ignite Global Business Internship
Location: In-person, virtual, or hybrid (Northwest Arkansas-based organizations)
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Limited cohort
Dates: January - April
Application Deadline: Varies depending on the school and placement cycle
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
The Ignite Global Business Internship is a semester-long program focused on business projects with regional businesses and nonprofit organizations. Project work may involve research, marketing support, operations planning, analytics, or financial analysis, depending on organizational priorities. The internship runs for approximately 12 to 15 weeks and is completed during scheduled class periods rather than after-school hours. Direct interaction with organizational staff, combined with instructional guidance from an Ignite instructor throughout the placement. Depending on project requirements, work may be conducted on-site, remotely, or through a hybrid arrangement using standard collaboration tools. The program emphasizes structured, goal-driven deliverables aligned with organizational objectives rather than repetitive administrative tasks.
10. Future School of Fort Smith Student-Designed Internships
Location: Fort Smith community
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly specified
Dates: Ongoing during the academic year
Application Deadline: Coordinated through the school
Eligibility: Future School of Fort Smith students
The Future School of Fort Smith Student-Designed Internships program allows you to design and complete an internship within the local community with guidance from a school advisor. You work with your advisor to define a project that aligns with organizational needs and operational goals. You then develop a structured work plan and carry out assigned responsibilities over time, with regular check-ins from both the advisor and internship mentor. Your responsibilities include submitting weekly progress updates that document completed tasks, project development, and ongoing adjustments. Advisors conduct periodic site visits to review progress, verify task alignment, and gather feedback from host organizations. Each semester concludes with a formal presentation of project outcomes to the learning team during the future school exhibition week, documenting applied project management and organizational engagement.