20+ Computer Science Internships for High School Students in 2026

TL;DR

Computer science internships for high schoolers come in three kinds: placements at tech companies and startups, federal and national lab internships, and research internships in university labs. Your address narrows the field faster than your coding level, since 9 of the 24 internships only take students from a specific city, county or commuting radius. Federal labs add age and citizenship rules, but they also include some of the best-paid options, like SEAP's $4,000 summer stipend. Ladder Internships is fully remote, so you can join a startup's software or AI project from anywhere in the country.

Computer science is one of the few fields where a high schooler can contribute to work people actually use, from a Python mission-planning tool on a NASA-supported team to test software for a networking lab. The internships here range from paid summer placements in Navy research labs to remote AI projects on cancer pathology data, grouped by where you'd work: a company or startup, a federal lab, or a university research group.

If none of these internships are within commuting distance, our lists ofonline computer science internships for high school students andfree online computer science internships cover programs you can do from home. And if cost matters more than location, thesefree computer science internships for high school students are worth a look too.

Which Computer Science Internship Should You Apply For: Company vs Federal Lab vs University Lab

Pick a company or startup if you want to see how software gets built at work: Microsoft's Discovery Program and startup placements put you on a team with a manager and deadlines, which is closer to a job than a class. If you haven't coded much yet, these routes into a tech internship without coding experience are a good place to start.

Pick a federal lab if you want pay and a defense or science mission: SEAP, AEOP and the Berkeley Lab apprenticeship pay you to work beside government scientists and engineers on software, data or cybersecurity projects. Most of them require U.S. citizenship and a commute to the lab.

Pick a university lab if you want to own a research question: RSI, Simons and ARISE put you in a faculty lab on one project for five to ten weeks, and you finish with a poster or a conference-style report. Most take juniors, and the most selective admit fewer than 5% of applicants.

Online vs in-person STEM internships for high school students

In-person internships usually come with an address rule: 9 internships on the list only take students from a specific city, county or commuting radius, from NIST's 50-mile limit around Gaithersburg and Boulder to ASPIRE's listed Maryland, Virginia and D.C. areas. Read the Eligibility line before you spend time on essays, and if you live in California, these California computer science internships add more local options.

Federal labs add age and citizenship gates: SEAP, NIST, ASPIRE and SEES require U.S. citizenship, and SEAP, SEES and the Berkeley Lab apprenticeship require you to be 16 by the start date. If you're 14 or 15, AEOP, ASPIRE and ASSIP's remote projects are open to you, though federal youth employment rules limit the hours you can work in a paid job.

Remote internships take the address out of the equation: EDIT AI and StandOut Connect run fully online, and ASSIP and CS@Mines offer remote projects. For more remote options, see these free online computer science internships.

Factor	Remote	In person
Who can apply	Students anywhere in the U.S., and some programs take international students	Often limited to a set city, county or commuting distance
Cost	Free to $3,950	Free to $10,735
Pay	Rare; most remote internships are unpaid or charge tuition	SEAP pays $4,000, ARISE $2,000 and Berkeley Lab $500 a week
What you do	Remote projects with a mentor or startup team	Lab placements, on-site teams and daily contact with a mentor

Paid or Unpaid: What Does a Computer Science Internship Pay, or Cost?

Internships that pay you: SEAP pays new interns $4,000, ARISE pays $2,000 and the Berkeley Lab apprenticeship pays $500 a week, while AEOP, Microsoft, HighTech Bound and Boston's Tech Apprentice also pay. Nearly all of them are in person, so the money comes with a commute.

Internships that cost nothing: RSI, NIST, ASPIRE, Northeastern's Young Scholars Program and Simons charge no tuition, and RSI and Clark cover your housing too. For-profit companies generally have to pay interns unless the role passes the Department of Labor's primary beneficiary test, which is part of why most of the unpaid internships on the list are run by universities and federal labs.

Internships you pay for: BU RISE charged $10,735 for residential students in 2026, UC Santa Cruz's Scholar Immersion Program charged $4,250 in tuition, StandOut Connect charges $2,950 to $3,950 and ASSIP charges $1,299. Each of them offers need-based aid or a waiver, so ask before you rule one out on price.

Will a Computer Science Internship Help Your College Application?

Selective internships say something on their own: RSI admits fewer than 2.5% of applicants and Simons fewer than 5%, so getting in signals ability before you've written a line of code there. When you describe it, name the project and the tools you used.

Work you can show carries the most weight: In a self-reported survey of 85 Ladder Internships alumni who applied in the 2024 to 2025 cycle, 64% had a manager write them a recommendation letter and 50% wrote about the internship in their main college essay. The same survey found 14.29% were admitted to an Ivy League or top 20 university, which the admissions report puts at 1.66 times the general rate.

An early internship tests whether you want the career: A summer of real work shows you whether you'd rather build software, analyze data or do research, before you pick a major.

How We Selected These Internships

Open to high school students right now: Every internship takes current high school students under its own published rules, and each one either ran in 2026 or has 2027 dates posted.

A real placement, not a class: Each one puts you on a project with a company, lab or research group under a supervisor or mentor, rather than in a course or camp.

Computer science is part of the work: Each internship offers coding, data science, AI, cybersecurity or computational research as a track or a named lab placement, rather than a general science label.

Section	Top programs	Cost	Best for
Computer Science Internships at Tech Companies and Startups	Microsoft Discovery Program, Boston PIC Tech Apprentice, SPARK	Free to $3,950	Students who want to work on a team inside a company
Computer Science Internships at National Labs and Government Agencies	SEAP, NIST SHIP, Berkeley Lab apprenticeship	Free to $2,000	U.S. citizens who want a paid or federal lab placement near home
Computer Science Research Internships at Universities	RSI, NYU ARISE, HighTech Bound	Free to $10,735	Juniors and seniors who want a mentor and a research project of their own

Computer Science Internships at Tech Companies and Startups

These put you on a working team, from a Microsoft product group to a remote startup, with a manager and deadlines. The company-run internships have the tightest residency rules, while the placement programs charge tuition and take students from anywhere.

1. Ladder Internships

Location: Remote, fully online
Cost/Stipend: $3,190 for the basic startup internship program, paid in two installments starting with a $200 deposit; full and partial financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10% for the Summer 2023 cohort, with 700 applicants for 70 spots
Dates: Four 8-week cohorts a year (spring, summer, fall and winter); the next winter cohort starts December 7, 2026
Application deadline: November 15, 2026 for the winter cohort
Eligibility: High school students who can commit about 5 to 10 hours a week; a separate program serves university and gap year students

Ladder Internships was founded by Harvard entrepreneurs and places high school students with startups for an 8-week remote project, in fields that include machine learning and AI, software engineering, tech and deep tech, health tech, and finance. Ladder suggests a project based on each applicant's interests and interview, and the student has the final say on the match. The internship follows a set timeline: you define the project with a company coach in week one, present a first deliverable to the company in week four, and present the finished project in week eight. Interns leave with a letter of completion from the host company, and students from families earning $50,000 or less a year can apply for full or partial financial aid.

Who it's best for: A student who wants startup work experience rather than a classroom program and is comfortable being embedded on a real team.

2. Microsoft Discovery Program

Location: Microsoft offices in Redmond, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia (full-time, on site)
Cost/Stipend: Paid internship; ask Microsoft about the current hourly rate
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective, with interviews
Dates: Summer 2026 ran July 6 to July 31, 2026 in Atlanta and July 13 to August 7, 2026 in Redmond; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: No fixed deadline; applications open in early February and are reviewed on a rolling basis, with interviews starting in March.
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors who live and attend high school within 50 miles of Redmond, Washington, or attend Atlanta Public Schools, DeKalb, Fulton, Cobb or Gwinnett County schools. Applicants must have completed precalculus or an equivalent by the start date and plan to start a bachelor's degree; Redmond applicants must also be members of a Microsoft-sponsored organization such as Computing for All, Washington MESA or Rainier Scholars.

The Microsoft Discovery Program is a paid four-week summer internship for graduating high school seniors in the Seattle and Atlanta areas. You join a Microsoft product team full time and on site, learning how software engineering, product management and UX design work together on a real project from the design phase onward. No prior technical background is required, though you need precalculus done before the program starts. Seats go to students tied to specific places: Redmond applicants must belong to a Microsoft-sponsored partner organization, and Atlanta applicants must attend one of five named school districts. Applications open in early February and are reviewed on a rolling basis, so apply early.

Who it's best for: A graduating senior near Redmond or in metro Atlanta who wants a paid month inside a Microsoft product team before starting college.

3. SPARK Summer Mentorship Program

Location: Greater Seattle area, Washington; most projects are in person with the mentor's organization, and some may allow remote work.
Cost/Stipend: A program fee applies, paid when you apply, and it is not refunded if you cancel. Any stipend is at the sole discretion of the project mentor.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; SPARK calls matching "a very competitive process," and hundreds of students have been matched over the past decade.
Dates: Summer 2026: projects posted in March, applications in April, selection in May to June with status updates by June 1, 2026, then projects ran over the summer. 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: Applications for summer 2026 were due in April 2026; the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 to 12 during the current school year in the Greater Seattle area; US citizens or permanent residents only (H4 and F1 visa holders are not eligible).

SPARK Summer Mentorship Program is a volunteer-run nonprofit that has matched Greater Seattle high school students with professional mentors for more than 10 years. Mentors post their projects each March, and you write a separate essay for every project you apply to. Projects change each year; the 2026 list included an AI and software project helping solar and battery systems connect to the power grid. You contribute to your mentor's project through the summer, and some past mentees co-authored IEEE research papers. A program fee applies and is not refunded if you cancel, while any stipend is up to the individual mentor.

Who it's best for: A Seattle-area high school student who is a US citizen or permanent resident and wants a summer project under one working engineer or researcher rather than a classroom course.

4. Boston Private Industry Council Tech Apprentice

Location: Employer worksites across Boston, Massachusetts, including tech companies and tech departments at banks, hospitals, hotels and community organizations
Cost/Stipend: Free to join and paid. PIC summer internships pay $15 to $18 an hour depending on the employer, for 25 to 40 hours a week.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: In summer 2025, 70 students worked as Tech Apprentices at private companies and another 30 held technology roles at community organizations.
Dates: The 2027 PIC Summer Internship cycle is announced (applicants must be 16 by July 1, 2027) and runs six to seven weeks in July and August, Monday to Friday; exact 2027 dates aren't posted yet. Summer 2025 placed 70 Tech Apprentices at companies such as ABCorp, Red Hat and SmartBear.
Application deadline: The 2027 deadline isn't posted yet. You apply through application.bostonpic.org, then interview with a PIC Career Specialist before employers make offers.
Eligibility: Boston Public Schools students in grades 9 to 12 who are 16 years old by July 1, 2027 and authorized to work in the United States.

Tech Apprentice is the technology track of the summer jobs program that the Boston Private Industry Council runs with the City of Boston and Boston Public Schools. You're hired by a Boston employer and work under a staff supervisor on website development, database creation, software development, data analysis or help desk support, using skills like HTML, CSS, Python and SQL. Placements last six to seven weeks, and PIC Career Specialists run job readiness workshops with you before summer starts. Openings are only for Boston Public Schools students, so talk to your school's PIC Career Specialist before you apply.

Who it's best for: A Boston Public Schools student, 16 or older, who wants a paid summer job doing web, data or IT work at a Boston company rather than a campus research lab.

5. StandOut Connect Summer Internship Program

Location: Remote; all partner companies offer remote internships, so students anywhere in the US can join.
Cost/Stipend: Tuition is $2,950 for early-deadline applicants and $3,950 for regular-deadline applicants; scholarships are offered to US students with family income of $50,000 or less. Any internship pay is negotiated between you and the company.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; more than 1,000 students have been matched with over 500 companies.
Dates: Summer 2027: a month of weekend training workshops in June, then a two-month remote internship from June 28 to August 27, 2027.
Application deadline: For summer 2027, the early deadline is January 18, the regular deadline is March 22 and the final deadline is April 12.
Eligibility: Open to any student who will be 15 or older by June 2027; international students need English fluency and must work US time zones.

StandOut Connect is a paid placement program that matches high school students with remote internships at startups founded by alumni of top universities and firms. You first spend about a month in weekend workshops on resumes, interviewing and the software tools startups use, including large language models, then interview with partner companies. Every student who finishes the training receives an internship offer and works up to 30 hours a week for two months. Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Video Game Design are among the interest areas you can request. Tuition is $2,950 by the early deadline, and any pay is set by the company, so ask about compensation before you accept.

Who it's best for: A student 15 or older anywhere in the US who is willing to pay tuition for a guaranteed remote startup internship and wants to request a computer science or AI placement.

Computer Science Internships at National Labs and Government Agencies

Federal labs and the agencies that fund them run some of the best-paid internships open to high schoolers, with working scientists and engineers as mentors. Most require U.S. citizenship, and nearly all expect you to commute to the lab.

6. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)

Location: About 38 Navy laboratories nationwide, including Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic sites in Charleston, South Carolina, Norfolk, Virginia, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and Naval Air Warfare Center sites in Maryland, New Jersey and Florida. You cover your own transportation.
Cost/Stipend: $4,000 stipend for new interns and $4,500 for returning interns, paid every two weeks by direct deposit.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 300 placements across 38 laboratories
Dates: The summer 2027 cycle is open. Internships run eight weeks in summer 2027, with a possible extension of up to two weeks; each lab sets its own start date. Award and non-award letters go out January to March.
Application deadline: November 30, 2026 for summer 2027. Applications opened September 15, 2026.
Eligibility: Currently enrolled in high school and finished at least 9th grade (graduating seniors can apply); at least 16 by the internship start date; U.S. citizen. Individual labs can grant exceptions to grade, age and citizenship rules, and some labs require a security clearance.

SEAP is the Office of Naval Research's paid summer internship that places high school students in Navy research labs for eight weeks with a scientist or engineer mentor. Several labs list computer science work: NIWC Atlantic names software engineering, data science and analytics, and cyber testing, while Naval Air Warfare Center sites list programming, AI and machine learning, and cybersecurity. You join an active lab project and help your mentor with guided research. With about 300 placements nationwide, pick labs whose listed disciplines match your coding interests and apply before November 30, 2026. If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!

Who it's best for: A high school student 16 or older who lives near a Navy lab and wants a paid $4,000 summer placement on a software, data or cyber project.

7. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) High School Internships

Location: Army-funded university labs and U.S. Army research laboratories. High school sites span 22 states, including Alabama, California, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia. Housing and transportation aren't provided, so you need to live within commuting distance of the lab.
Cost/Stipend: Free to apply. Interns receive an educational stipend; the amount varies by lab, location, education level and field.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; openings are posted lab by lab on the AEOP portal.
Dates: Summer 2026 placements ran at host labs, for example June 22 to August 7, 2026 at Penn Engineering and June 29 to July 24, 2026 at UNC Charlotte. Most summer placements run 6 to 10 weeks between May and August; 2027 openings aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary by opening, and some labs review on a rolling basis. Check each listing's closing date on the AEOP portal; 2027 deadlines aren't posted yet.
Eligibility: Currently enrolled in high school (grades 9 to 12 on the AEOP program listing); at least 14 years old; U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Individual labs can add requirements, and several host sites take only rising juniors and seniors. Applicants under 18 need parent or guardian approval.

AEOP High School Internships are paid summer research placements in Army-funded university labs and U.S. Army research laboratories, coordinated by the Army Educational Outreach Program. You apply once through a central portal, then pick openings by state and lab; cybersecurity is one of the Army's fields of interest, and robotics labs such as Penn's GRASP Lab host high school interns. Most placements are full time, about 40 hours a week for 6 to 10 weeks, with a lab mentor guiding one research project. There's no housing or transportation provided, so filter openings to labs you can commute to and read each project description for coding work before you apply.

Who it's best for: A high school student near an Army-funded university lab who wants a paid summer placement and is willing to search lab-by-lab listings for a cybersecurity or robotics project.

8. NIST Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP)

Location: NIST campuses in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Boulder, Colorado. You must live within 50 miles of your host campus.
Cost/Stipend: Free to attend; SHIP is an unpaid educational internship. You provide your own housing and transportation.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; applications go through USAJOBS
Dates: Summer 2027 dates aren't posted yet; SHIP runs seven weeks, from mid-June to early August.
Application deadline: End of January 2027 for summer 2027. The vacancy announcement is expected on USAJOBS in mid-October 2026.
Eligibility: U.S. citizen; high school junior or senior at the time you apply; minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0; permanent residence within 50 miles of the Gaithersburg or Boulder campus; able to commit to all seven weeks.

SHIP places high school juniors and seniors in National Institute of Standards and Technology labs for a seven-week summer research project with a staff scientist or engineer. The Information Technology Laboratory is one of the host labs, and Python, Java, AI and programming skills strengthen your application. You work on your own research problem inside a federal lab instead of a classroom course. It's unpaid and limited to local students, so confirm you live within 50 miles of a campus before you start the USAJOBS application.

Who it's best for: A junior or senior living near Gaithersburg or Boulder who can work unpaid for seven weeks and wants a research project in a federal computing or measurement lab.

9. ASPIRE at Johns Hopkins APL

Location: Johns Hopkins APL campus, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, Maryland. APL isn't reachable by public transit, so you need your own transportation.
Cost/Stipend: Free to attend; ASPIRE is an unpaid internship.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Fewer than 10% of new applicants are accepted
Dates: Summer 2026 ran from mandatory onboarding June 23 to 25 through a last day of August 21, with the student showcase on August 20. Students can continue into an academic-year session starting September 15. 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: February 15, 2026 for summer 2026, with recommendations due March 1. APL's timeline opens the application each January 1; the 2027 deadline isn't posted with a year yet.
Eligibility: High school junior or senior during the program (rising juniors and seniors apply); at least 15 by June 1; minimum 2.8 GPA; U.S. citizen (green card holders aren't eligible); permanent residence in Anne Arundel, Baltimore County or City, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery or Prince George's County in Maryland, in Alexandria, Arlington or Fairfax in Virginia, or in Washington, D.C.; reliable transportation; no criminal record.

ASPIRE places high school juniors and seniors with staff mentors at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. Past placements include testing AI and machine learning models that flag cyberspace anomalies, hunting for hidden threats on a network, and using Python or C++ to build mapping, analysis and trajectory tools. You're on site 30 to 40 hours a week all summer, and the session ends with a poster at the ASPIRE Student Showcase. The internship is unpaid, fewer than 10% of new applicants get in, and only residents of the listed Maryland and Virginia areas and D.C. can apply.

Who it's best for: A junior or senior in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area who can commit to unpaid full-time summer hours and wants a mentored AI, cybersecurity or software project.

10. Berkeley Lab Director's Apprenticeship Program in Machine Learning and Data Science

Location: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California (in person, non-residential)
Cost/Stipend: Free to attend; apprentices receive a $500 per week stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective, with interviews
Dates: Summer 2026 ran June 16 to July 24, 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: March 22, 2026 for summer 2026 (applications opened February 2, 2026); the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: Students in grades 10 or 11 who are at least 16 by the program start date (June 16 in 2026). Applicants should live within 20 miles of Berkeley Lab, and public school students in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties get priority.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory runs this summer apprenticeship for Bay Area sophomores and juniors, built around machine learning and data science. You start with an introductory Python course, then use data science methods alongside bioscience experiments and group science projects, with weekly conversations with Department of Energy lab researchers. The program runs about six weeks on site in Berkeley, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and every apprentice gives a final presentation at the closing session. It also pays a $500 per week stipend, so plan on full-time attendance and check the commute before you apply.

Who it's best for: An East Bay or San Francisco public school sophomore or junior who wants a paid, in-person first Python and machine learning experience at a national lab.

11. STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES)

Location: Virtual project work, then a two-week on-site session at The University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research in Austin, Texas. Open to U.S. students nationwide.
Cost/Stipend: On-site participation costs $2,000 tuition, covering meals, dorm housing, tours and local travel. Scholarship recipients have tuition, meals and housing covered, and virtual participation is free. A limited number of travel scholarships to Texas may be available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: In 2024, about 2,000 students applied and 215 were accepted, roughly 11%.
Dates: Summer 2026 ran with online modules from May 15 to July 1, remote mentor work in June and July, the on-site internship from July 5 to July 18, 2026, and a virtual symposium July 20 to 21, 2026. 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: February 22, 2026 for summer 2026, with recommendation forms due March 1, 2026. The 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: Current high school sophomores or juniors only; at least 16 by the on-site start (July 5 for 2026, no exceptions); U.S. citizen; no prior SEES internship; must finish the online work before the on-site program.

SEES is a NASA-supported summer internship run by the Center for Space Research at The University of Texas at Austin, where you join a mission-based team project with NASA and aerospace mentors. Several 2026 project themes centered on code, including a Python mission planning tool, machine learning to scan Mars images for microbial structures, coding-based analysis of satellite land data, and Arduino or Raspberry Pi programming for a planetary glider. The summer starts with online Earth and space science and Python modules, moves to remote work with mentors, and ends with two weeks on campus in Austin and a virtual symposium. The 2027 session depends on future funding, so check back in winter for dates.

Who it's best for: A sophomore or junior anywhere in the U.S. who wants a short space science project with a coding or machine learning angle and can do most of the work online.

Computer Science Research Internships at Universities

Each of these places you in a university lab or research group on one computing project, usually for five to twelve weeks. Most are built for juniors, and the most selective admit fewer than 1 in 20 applicants. If you want a lab in biology, medicine or engineering instead, see these STEM internships for high school students.

12. Research Science Institute (RSI) at MIT

Location: Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts (residential).
Cost/Stipend: Free; educational, housing, and dining expenses are covered.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 100 students each summer; fewer than 2.5% of applicants get in.
Dates: Summer 2026 ran June 28 to August 8, 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: Applications for RSI 2027 open October 1, 2026 and close December 11, 2026.
Eligibility: High school juniors (seniors are not eligible); must be 16 by July 1 of the program year; US citizens and permanent residents, plus international students from participating countries.

The Research Science Institute is a six-week summer research program run by the Center for Excellence in Education and hosted at MIT. The first week is intensive STEM classes, and the next five weeks are an individual research internship under a scientist or researcher, with computer science listed among the fields alongside mathematics, physics, and engineering. You finish by giving conference-style oral and written reports on your project. It is free to attend, and it admits fewer than 2.5% of applicants, so give your essays and recommendations time before the December 11, 2026 deadline.

Who it's best for: A junior who wants a free, fully residential individual research project at MIT and is ready to compete in a pool where fewer than 1 in 40 applicants get in.

13. Stony Brook Simons Summer Research Program

Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York; on-campus housing available, or you can commute
Cost/Stipend: No tuition or fees; you cover your own transportation and meals as a commuter, or residential costs if you live on campus. A stipend award is presented at the closing poster symposium.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Acceptance rate under 5%
Dates: Summer 2026 ran June 29 to August 7, 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: February 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern for summer 2026, with teacher recommendations due February 13, 2026; the 2027 application is scheduled to post in late November.
Eligibility: Current 11th graders at the time of applying, at least 16 years old by the program start, and U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Stony Brook University's Simons Summer Research Program places rising seniors with faculty mentors for about six weeks of research across science, math, and engineering. The 2026 mentor list included Computer Science faculty working on computer architecture, quantum software analysis, and web scams and honeypots, plus machine learning projects in Applied Mathematics & Statistics and Biomedical Informatics. You join a research group, take ownership of a project, attend weekly faculty talks, and finish with a written abstract and a poster at the closing symposium. Admission is very selective, with an acceptance rate under 5%, and you must pick three preferred mentors on the application, so read the mentor list first.

Who it's best for: A U.S. citizen or permanent resident in 11th grade who wants to choose a specific Stony Brook computer science or machine learning faculty mentor by name.

14. NYU Tandon Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE)

Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering research labs in New York City; the first weeks are remote workshops, then in-person lab work
Cost/Stipend: Free; participants receive a $2,000 stipend.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; students are placed across more than 80 NYU research labs.
Dates: Summer 2026 ran June 1 to August 14, 2026, with remote workshops from June 1 and in-person lab work from July 6, 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: February 27, 2026 at 5 PM for summer 2026; the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who are full-time New York City residents attending New York City schools.

ARISE is a 10-week summer research program run by NYU Tandon's Center for K12 STEM Education for New York City high schoolers. The first four weeks are remote workshops on lab safety, research skills, and college-level writing, and then you spend about six weeks in an NYU lab, logging roughly 150 hours of research. Computing placements on the lab list include the ECE Machine Learning Laboratory, the System and AI (SAI) Lab, and NYU's Center for Cybersecurity. The program is free and pays a $2,000 stipend, but only some placements involve programming, so read the lab list before you apply.

Who it's best for: A New York City rising junior or senior who wants a paid, 10-week placement in an NYU machine learning, AI systems, or cybersecurity lab.

15. Young Scholars Program (YSP) at Northeastern University

Location: Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts (commuter; you must live within commuting distance).
Cost/Stipend: Free. Students have historically received a stipend and an MBTA pass, though that isn't guaranteed every year.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; open only to Massachusetts juniors who can commute to campus
Dates: The 2026 program ran six weeks, Mondays through Thursdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm; 2027 program dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: Applications for 2027 open December 14, 2026 and close at the end of February 28, 2027. The 2026 deadline was March 2, 2026.
Eligibility: Current juniors (rising seniors) who live and attend school in Massachusetts within commuting distance of Northeastern; US citizens or permanent residents only; a 3.5 unweighted GPA is expected.

The Young Scholars Program is a free six-week summer research program at Northeastern University for Massachusetts high school juniors. You join a faculty lab in engineering, science, or health sciences, and 2026 placements included AI projects such as video language models for task assistance and low-latency AI systems for small devices. Alongside lab work, the program runs a seminar series, field trips to company and government sites, and career counseling, and you close with a final presentation. It is only open to permanent Massachusetts residents who can commute daily, and absences aren't allowed outside documented emergencies, so check both rules before you apply.

Who it's best for: A Massachusetts junior near Boston who wants a free summer placement in a Northeastern AI or computing lab without paying for housing.

16. Boston University RISE Internship Track

Location: Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts; residential or commuter.
Cost/Stipend: Summer 2026 cost $10,735 residential (tuition, housing, dining, and fees) or $6,415 commuter; summer 2027 rates post December 17, 2026. Limited need-based aid is available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 190 students attended in 2026, out of thousands of applicants
Dates: The tentative 2027 calendar runs June 27 to August 6, 2027 for residential students and June 28 to August 6, 2027 for commuters.
Application deadline: The 2027 application opens December 17, 2026; the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: Current high school juniors entering senior year in fall 2027; US citizens and legal permanent residents only.

The RISE Internship track at Boston University places students in campus research groups for six weeks under a faculty member, postdoctoral fellow or graduate student mentor. Computer science and electrical and computer engineering are among the listed research areas, alongside fields such as physics, neuroscience and public health, so say clearly that you want a computing project when you apply. Interns put in 40 hours a week on their research, with workshops on research ethics, reading papers and building a poster. The summer ends with a Poster Symposium, and some interns go on to submit their work to the Regeneron Science Talent Search. RISE is open only to domestic students in junior year, and 2027 application details post on December 17.

Who it's best for: A US junior who wants a full-time, six-week Boston University lab placement in computer science or engineering that ends in a public poster session.

17. Anson L. Clark Scholars Program

Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas (residential; research on the main academic campus and the Health Sciences Center).
Cost/Stipend: Free on-campus room and board, plus a $750 stipend after a successful research project report.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 12 participants each summer
Dates: Summer 2026 ran June 21 to August 6, 2026 (seven weeks); 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: February 16, 2026 for summer 2026; the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: At least 17 by the program start date (no exceptions); for 2026, students graduating high school in 2026 or 2027; US citizens or permanent residents.

The Clark Scholars Program is a seven-week summer research program at Texas Tech University that takes only 12 students each year. Each scholar completes a research project and report, and computer science is one of the listed research areas alongside the sciences, humanities, and fine arts. Weekly seminars, discussions, and field trips fill out the schedule, and housing and meals on campus are covered. The hard gate is age: you must be at least 17 by the start date, with no exceptions, so check your birthday before you apply.

Who it's best for: A 17-year-old junior or senior who wants a 12-person cohort with free housing and a small stipend, and who may want to pair computer science with a non-STEM interest.

18. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)

Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia; each mentor offers in-person, remote, or hybrid placements.
Cost/Stipend: $1,299 tuition (3 undergraduate credits) plus a $25 application fee; both can be waived for financial need.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; mentors choose their own interns after March interviews.
Dates: Summer 2026 ran June 18 to August 12, 2026 (eight weeks, full-time); 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: February 15, 2026 for summer 2026 (the application opened December 8, 2025); the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: High school and undergraduate students; at least 15 by the first day for remote internships and 16 for in-person or hybrid wet-lab internships; no minimum GPA; no maximum age if you haven't graduated from university.

ASSIP is an eight-week, full-time summer research internship at George Mason University for high school and undergraduate students. You apply to work with specific faculty mentors, and listed computing project areas include computer simulations, machine learning, cybersecurity, data mining, and data science for social good. Mentors review applications in late February, interview in March, and make offers by early April, and the summer ends with a poster session. Remote projects accept students 15 or older, so a younger student can still take a computing project, but check each mentor's in-person, remote, or hybrid setting before you apply. If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!

Who it's best for: A student who wants to pick a specific Mason faculty mentor's machine learning or cybersecurity project, including remotely from outside Virginia.

19. HighTech Bound Internship at the UNH InterOperability Laboratory

Location: UNH InterOperability Laboratory, Durham, New Hampshire (in person, day program; no housing in 2026)
Cost/Stipend: Paid at an hourly rate. UNH Youth Programs charges a $10 nonrefundable registration fee on enrollment.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; interns work in small teams of two or three per project.
Dates: Summer 2026 ran July 6 to August 7, 2026, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: The 2026 application was open January 5 to February 28, 2026; the 2027 application opens January 1, 2027.
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors (students who have just finished junior year) who are US residents; must commute to Durham, New Hampshire, since housing was not provided in 2026. A completed application with an essay is required.

HighTech Bound is a paid summer internship at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory, a networking test lab in Durham. You'll join a small team in the lab's computer room, take an assigned project, and work it through with IOL engineers as one-on-one mentors. Recent intern teams rebuilt an NVMe test tool in Python, built a license tracking web app in Vue.js and GraphQL, and wrote Verilog and Python for an FPGA Ethernet tester. The program runs five weeks at full-time hours and is open only to rising high school seniors. Housing was not offered in 2026, so plan on commuting.

Who it's best for: A rising senior within driving distance of Durham, New Hampshire who wants a paid, full-time job writing test software next to networking engineers.

20. EDIT AI Summer Internship Program

Location: Fully remote; hosted by Dartmouth Health, the Dartmouth Cancer Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Cost/Stipend: Email the program directors about costs and any stipend before you apply.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Nearly 90 participants a year, and nearly 300 students from 25 states so far
Dates: Summer 2026 interns interviewed in winter 2026, onboarded April 15 to June 15, then worked through the summer on a 12 to 14 week virtual schedule; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: April 15 was the final application date in the 2026 cycle, with early decisions on March 27; the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet. The program also accepts students on an ongoing basis outside the summer internship.
Eligibility: High school students anywhere in the US; the program is fully remote and draws interns from across the country.

The EDIT AI Program is a fully remote research internship founded in Dartmouth Health's Department of Pathology and now run with the Dartmouth Cancer Center and Cedars-Sinai. You'll join a lab project team that builds algorithms on medical data such as whole slide images, pathology text reports and electronic health records, and Dr. Levy meets with each team weekly about the technical side of its work. The summer runs about 12 to 14 weeks, starting with preparatory workshops and a formal project proposal and ending with a virtual symposium. More than 30 students have authored peer-reviewed manuscripts, so expect a heavier research load than a typical summer program. Ask the directors about costs and any stipend before you apply.

Who it's best for: A high school student anywhere in the US who wants a long, remote AI research placement on cancer pathology data with a shot at a co-authored paper.

21. Scholar Immersion Program (SIP) at UC Santa Cruz

Location: UC Santa Cruz campus in Santa Cruz, California, after one online research week; on-campus housing or weekly commuter options
Cost/Stipend: No stipend; you pay tuition. Summer 2026 tuition was $4,250 plus a $750 nonrefundable deposit and a $68 application fee, with housing extra ($7,350 full week or $5,250 weekly commuter). 2027 costs will be posted by December 2026. Need-based scholarships cover 25% to 100% of tuition and program fees, and application fee waivers are available on request.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; a few thousand students apply, and 47 research projects were offered in 2026.
Dates: SIP 2027 runs June 14 to 17, 2027 (online research week) and June 21 to August 6, 2027 (in person), with Final Presentation Day on August 7, 2027. SIP 2026 ended August 8, 2026.
Application deadline: February 26, 2027 at 12:00 noon PST for SIP 2027; the application portal opens January 15, 2027, and academic references are due March 5, 2027.
Eligibility: High school students aged 14 to 17 for the whole program; some projects require age 16 or older. Students who expect to have graduated high school by the summer are generally ineligible. Students from outside the Bay Area may apply and live on campus; international students have separate visa requirements.

UC Santa Cruz runs this summer research program, which was renamed from the Science Internship Program to the Scholar Immersion Program in August 2026. You're placed into an existing research project and paired one-on-one with a UCSC faculty member, graduate student or postdoc. Computing projects in 2026 included Python simulations of language model serving, ROS 2 robot navigation, Verilog chip design and GitHub data mining in the Computer Science and Engineering department. After an online week, you spend about seven weeks working with your lab and present at a final symposium. The program is tuition-based rather than paid, so check the 2027 cost sheet and scholarship options, and watch for the 2027 project list, before you apply.

Who it's best for: A high schooler aged 14 to 17 from anywhere in the US who wants a one-on-one mentored computer science lab placement at a UC campus and can pay tuition or qualify for a need-based scholarship.

22. Genomics Research Internship Program at Stanford (GRIPS)

Location: Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Genetics, Stanford, California (in person)
Cost/Stipend: Free to participate; $55 application fee, with fee waivers for financial need. There is no stipend.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; only a small cohort is accepted each summer
Dates: Summer 2026 ran June 15 to August 6, 2026; 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: February 28, 2026 for summer 2026, including letters of recommendation; the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: Bay Area high school students who are 16 or older by the start date, have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.0, some prior knowledge of biology, chemistry or computer programming, and live in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara or Santa Cruz County.

The Stanford Genetics Department runs GRIPS, a free eight-week summer research internship that places Bay Area high school students in genomics labs. You work 20 hours a week, four hours each weekday morning, on a project supervised by a lab mentor, plus weekly cohort sessions. Many genomics labs work in Python, R and Java, and some interns spend their summer on computational research rather than bench work. Coding is not required, but prior programming experience helps you get more done. Applicants must be 16 or older by the start date, so ask about computational projects if that is your goal.

Who it's best for: A Bay Area junior or senior who already codes in Python or R and wants to apply it to genomics data in a Stanford lab.

23. Stanford SHTEM Summer Internships

Location: Stanford University, Stanford, California (summer 2027 is expected to be in person)
Cost/Stipend: Unpaid; $95 nonrefundable application fee. Students who would face a financial burden can say so in the application.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; interns are mentored in groups of 2 to 5.
Dates: Summer 2027 runs eight weeks at 20 to 30 hours a week; exact 2027 dates will be announced in fall 2026.
Application deadline: Applications for summer 2027 are expected to open in December 2026; the deadline isn't posted yet, and decisions come in late March or early April 2027.
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors in the 2026 to 2027 school year who are at least 14 by June 20, 2027 and are US citizens or permanent residents.

SHTEM is an eight-week summer research internship at Stanford University for high school juniors and seniors. Projects mix information science and engineering with fields like neuroscience, linguistics and the arts, and computer science and technology are among the named themes. You work 20 to 30 hours a week in a small group of two to five students under a Stanford mentor, and the summer ends with a Presentation Day. The internship is unpaid and carries a $95 nonrefundable application fee, so read the project themes closely and pick an angle with real coding in it. If you're interested in learning more, check out our deep-dive here!

Who it's best for: A junior or senior who wants an interdisciplinary Stanford research project that blends computing with fields like neuroscience, linguistics or art.

24. CS@Mines High School and Community College Internships

Location: Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. Computing For Good is primarily virtual with no in-person attendance required; research roles may require you to get to campus.
Cost/Stipend: Computing For Good costs $200 per student. Research and DECTech internships are unpaid, though research interns can apply for scholarships paying $20 per hour.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: About 30 to 50 Computing For Good internships each summer
Dates: Summer 2026: Computing For Good ran June 22 to July 28, 2026, and research internships ran from late May to early August 2026. 2027 dates aren't posted yet.
Application deadline: April 10, 2026 for priority consideration for summer 2026, with decisions by May 15, 2026; the 2027 deadline isn't posted yet.
Eligibility: High school and community college students; no prior computer science training required. Research interns may need to work in person at Mines.

CS@Mines, the computer science department at Colorado School of Mines, runs three summer internship tracks for high school and community college students. In Computing For Good, you work on a team to finish a programming project over five weeks, mostly online, at about 5 to 10 hours a week. Research interns join a faculty team in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics or cybersecurity, and DECTech interns help run coding outreach for K to 8 students. No prior CS training is required, only interest in learning it. Research roles are unpaid, but scholarships of $20 per hour are available, so ask about them when you apply.

Who it's best for: A student new to coding who wants a mostly online team programming project, or a student near Golden, Colorado, who wants a spot on a university AI, robotics or cybersecurity research team without prior CS courses.

Commonly Asked Questions About Computer Science Internships for High School Students

1. Can a 16-year-old work at NASA?

Not through NASA's own internships, which now require college enrollment. At 16, your closest route is SEES, a NASA-supported program at UT Austin for sophomores and juniors, where 2026 teams built Python and machine learning tools for space science projects.

2. Can a 15-year-old do a computer science internship?

Yes. AEOP accepts students from age 14, ASPIRE and ASSIP's remote projects take 15-year-olds, and StandOut Connect takes students who turn 15 by June 2027. SEAP, SEES and the Berkeley Lab apprenticeship require you to be 16.

3. Is a 3.4 GPA good enough for these internships?

Yes, for nearly all of them. Most published GPA floors sit at or below 3.0, including NIST and GRIPS at 3.0 and ASPIRE at 2.8, though Northeastern's Young Scholars Program expects a 3.5 unweighted GPA.

4. What coding skills do you need before applying?

Less than you might expect. The Microsoft Discovery Program and CS@Mines take students with no prior technical background, while EDIT AI wants a strong computer science foundation. Ladder Internships matches you to a startup project based on your interests and interview.