15 Design Internships in Boston for High School Students
If you’re thinking about design as more than just a class or hobby, an internship is where things start to feel real. You’re no longer working on hypothetical prompts – you’re contributing to projects, using tools designers actually rely on, and seeing how ideas evolve through feedback, constraints, and collaboration. Boston stands out in this space, with its mix of design firms, museums, universities, and creative nonprofits offering opportunities that are both accessible and hands-on. At the same time, not every program offers the same level of depth or mentorship.
If you’re looking for summer-specific programs, you can find a list in our blog here!
Why should I participate in a design internship in high school?
A design internship helps you move from “interested in design” to actually doing it in a structured, professional setting. You get to build practical skills – whether that’s sketching, digital tools, fabrication, or visual storytelling, while also learning how designers think through problems and refine ideas over time. This experience can strengthen your college applications by showing clear direction and initiative, especially if you’re applying to architecture, design, or creative programs. Many internships also give you portfolio-ready work, which can make a significant difference when applying to selective schools. You also gain exposure to mentors and working professionals, helping you understand different design pathways before committing to one.
We’ve narrowed down the top 15 design internships in Boston for high school students that provide a balance of skill-building, mentorship, and applied experience.
1. Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) by Sasaki Foundation
Location: Sasaki Foundation, Boston, MA (Metro North region option)
Stipend: Paid hourly, rate not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; ~45–50 interns
Dates: Six weeks, early July to mid-August
Application Deadline: Mid-to-late April
Eligibility: Current high school students (grades 9–12), residents of Boston or Metro North region (prioritizing Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Revere, Somerville)
This design internship in Boston for high school students introduces you to collaborative project work that reflects how architecture, planning, and landscape teams often operate in practice. You spend the program moving through charrettes, sketching exercises, and digital drawing sessions while learning how designers frame a problem before developing solutions. The work is organized around shared discussion and revision, so feedback becomes part of the design process rather than something added at the end. Projects are grounded in real places and community issues, which helps you connect design decisions to context and public use. You also interact with professionals across architecture, interior design, urban design, and planning.
2. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world
Cost/Stipend: Cost varies depending on the program type; financial aid is available / No stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10–25%; 70–100 students per cohort
Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter
Application Deadline: Varies 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 10–20 hours/week for 8–12 weeks
The Ladder Internship Program offers you an eight-week virtual placement where you work on real design projects for fast-growing startups. Through the design track, you cover practical topics like user experience, visual branding, and web design. As part of your daily activities, you will build high-fidelity wireframes, update responsive web pages, create interactive prototypes, and produce digital media clips. The program features a unique fully remote model that pairs you directly with experienced startup founders and a dedicated Ladder Coach who provide weekly inputs. By completing these tasks, you will learn essential skills in creative direction, user interface design, and professional communication. Apply now!
3. Designing Environmental and Social Impact (DESI) – Sasaki Foundation
Location: Boston and Metro North region, MA
Stipend: Paid, amount not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; approximately 12 students
Dates: Semester-long program during the school year
Application Deadline: Late fall
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors in the Boston or Metro North area
DESI centers on an independent design project, giving you more ownership over the direction of your work than a typical group-based program. You begin by identifying a social or environmental issue connected to your community, then develop a response using design software, drawing, and visual communication tools. As the project evolves, you learn how to connect design ideas to real conditions, local organizations, and the people affected by the issue you are studying. Mentorship is built into the structure, so you receive ongoing feedback while still shaping the work around your own observations and priorities. Workshops and critiques help you refine both your concept and your presentation.
4. Boston Private Industry Council (PIC) Internship Program
Location: Boston area, MA
Stipend: $15–$18 based on employer
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; hundreds of students each summer
Dates: 6–7 weeks between July – August
Application Deadline: Late March
Eligibility: High school students between grades 9–12 attending Boston Public Schools who are 16 years old by July 1; have work authorization in the U.S.
The Boston PIC Internship Program places you in a professional work setting where design-related responsibilities vary based on the employer and placement. Depending on the role, you may contribute to projects involving web design, graphics, architecture, planning, or other areas connected to visual and digital work. Placements are done across different organizations, so the experience also gives you a broader view of how design functions within larger teams and industries. You build workplace skills while learning how deadlines, communication, and collaboration shape project outcomes in a professional environment. Some placements also expose you to technical tools and workflows that are directly relevant to design and digital production.
5. Architecture / Design Thinking Week at Boston Society for Architecture
Location: BSA Space, Boston, MA
Stipend: Paid, amount not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; approximately 20–45 students
Dates: February 17 – 20
Application Deadline: January – February (via Boston Private Industry Council)
Eligibility: Boston Public School students in grades 9–12
This short-term design internship in Boston for high school students gives you an intensive introduction to architectural thinking through a shared studio-style design prompt. Over several days, you work through sketching, discussion, model-making, and iterative problem-solving in a setting that mirrors a compact design studio. The workshop is led by practicing architects, so you also see how professionals explain ideas, guide critiques, and approach creative constraints. The program emphasizes process – how you test ideas, respond to feedback, and communicate decisions clearly. The group setting also encourages discussion, which helps you compare different ways of solving the same design problem. The final share-out gives you practice presenting your work and explaining the reasoning behind it.
6. Boston Society for Architecture (BSA)/PIC Arch/Design High School Internships
Location: Local architecture firms, Boston, MA
Stipend: Paid, amount not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; about 15 students
Dates: July 6 – August 14
Application Deadline: Rolling basis till June
Eligibility: Boston Public Schools high school students, grades 9–12
This internship places you inside a Boston architecture firm, giving you direct exposure to the routines and expectations of professional design practice. Placements differ by host firm, so the work can vary, but you still gain experience with how studios organize projects, communicate ideas, and move work forward over time. The program also includes Friday programming, which adds tours, group activities, and conversations about design and architecture beyond your own placement site. The paid design internship in Boston for high school students ends with presentations, giving you a concrete way to reflect on and share what you learned.
7. MFA Boston Teen Programs
Location: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Stipend: $15/hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; cohort size not specified
Dates: 12-month program
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are Boston residents and/or attend a Boston Public School
The MFA’s Teen Programs give you sustained exposure to museum work, creative practice, and youth leadership within a major cultural institution. Depending on the track, you may help shape teen programming, contribute to exhibition-related work, or take part in interdisciplinary workshops that connect art with science, technology, and public engagement. Workshops, discussions, and project-based activities help you build communication and collaboration skills in a professional arts setting. Some roles in this design internship in Boston for high school students also involve direct interaction with visitors, which adds a public-facing dimension to the experience.
8. Youth Design Boston
Location: Boston-area professional design studios and firms
Stipend: Paid, amount not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; 25 students
Dates: Summer Immersion Program (typically spanning 7–8 weeks in July and August), supplemented by continuing School Year Workshops
Application Deadline: Early to mid-Spring
Eligibility: Students currently completing their sophomore year at a Boston public school
Youth Design places you in a professional studio environment where you learn by working alongside practicing designers. The experience is organised around mentorship, so much of your growth comes through direct interaction with professionals and exposure to their workflows. The program shows you how creative work is discussed, revised, and delivered in real workplaces. You also take part in workshops and events that broaden the experience beyond a single internship site. A distinctive aspect of Youth Design is its emphasis on one-on-one mentorship with working designers across the Boston design community.
9. Artists For Humanity Teen Jobs
Location: Artists For Humanity, Boston, MA
Stipend: Paid hourly, rate not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; approximately 175 teens during the School Year cohort and 250 teens during the Summer cohort
Dates: School Year (Fall/Spring) and Summer
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Enrolled in and regularly attending a Boston Public School or and/or a Resident of Boston (including night, day, homeschool, or G.E.D program); have U.S. work authorization
Artists For Humanity places you in a mentored studio environment where creative work is tied to real client projects rather than isolated practice assignments. Depending on your studio, you may work in graphic design, 3D design, animation, creative technology, video production, or another visual medium, with guidance from professional artists and designers. Across studios, the work is centered on collaboration, revision, and professional communication in addition to making. Some tracks focus more heavily on fabrication and prototyping, while others involve digital tools, motion work, interface design, or visual branding. The foundation period before paid placement also gives you a comprehensive introduction to the organization’s artistic and professional expectations.
10. Digital Ready – Architecture Pathway
Location: Future of Work Lab, Boston, MA
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; exact cohort size not stated by the program
Dates: Summer Studio followed by fall and spring work-based learning
Application Deadline: Applications accepted through the program's online form; no specific closing date or month is published by the program, and no exact prior-cycle date is publicly verifiable
Eligibility: Youngsters roughly ages 16–25 served by Digital Ready's Future of Work Lab
In this program, you join Digital Ready's Architecture Pathway as a paid participant who turns design concepts into real-world prototypes and community-focused spaces. You blend digital design, structural engineering, and hands-on building while collaborating on actual projects alongside industry professionals and clients in a team setting. You work toward Autodesk's Revit certification, earn the OSHA-10 credential, and assemble a digital design portfolio for college and career applications. Across the Summer Studio and the fall and spring terms, you also earn four college credits from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. You explore careers spanning architecture, construction management, and engineering while partnering with firms such as Utile and Studio Enée.
11. YouthBuild Boston – Design Programs
Location: YouthBuild Boston, Boston, MA
Stipend: Paid biweekly, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; cohort size not specified
Dates: 5 weeks during the school year and 7 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Boston-area youth ages 16-24
YouthBuild Boston introduces you to architecture and design through projects that connect creative work with social and community impact. The program explores how design can respond to local needs, with activities that help you think about space, use, and the role of the built environment in everyday life. You work through hands-on projects while learning about fields such as architecture, urban planning, interior design, and construction. Mentorship is central to the experience, so you are not only building ideas but also getting guidance on how designers approach problems and develop solutions. The program’s community-centered framing makes it especially useful if you are interested in design as a tool for change.
12. ICA Teens Boston – Teen Arts Council
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Stipend: Paid, amount not disclosed
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; 12 teens
Dates: School Year and summer cycle
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Boston-area high school teens, generally ages 14–17
As a Teen Arts Council member, you join 11 other Boston-area teens in a paid creative leadership program where design lives in how you shape experiences for your peers. You help design Teen Nights three times a year, developing themes and planning the art-making activities, performances, and overall flow of events that draw hundreds of teens into the museum. You also design The Current, an event built around social issues affecting Boston teens, and co-produce Artist Interviews and resources that translate contemporary art for other young people. Working alongside ICA staff and exhibiting artists, you build concrete skills in project management, community engagement, and innovative thinking.
13. SummerFAB at Wentworth Institute of Technology
Location: Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA
Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; cohort size not specified
Dates: July 6–31
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors who are Boston residents or attend Boston Public Schools
SummerFAB approaches design through a sequence that moves from concept development to fabrication and full-scale construction. Early parts of the program build your foundation in design, drawing, and building science, while later phases shift toward prototyping, model-making, and physical production. The projects are framed around local neighborhood challenges, which helps ground the work in actual community conditions rather than hypothetical prompts. As your ideas develop, you learn how design inquiry translates into materials, structure, and built form. Collaboration with faculty and current college students also gives the experience a more studio-and-workshop feel than a standard summer class. The process concludes with a completed construction and a public-facing celebration of the work.
14. City of Boston – SuccessLink Youth Employment Program
Location: Boston, Massachusetts (placements hosted at City agencies, nonprofits, and community-based organizations across the city)
Stipend: $15 per hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Broadly accessible; thousands of youth hired across roughly 200 partner organizations
Dates: June 23 – August 28
Application Deadline: July 17
Eligibility: Full-time resident of the City of Boston; ages 14–18 during the period of employment (youth leader roles available for ages 19–24); legally authorized to work in the U.S.
As a SuccessLink participant, you take a paid summer job through the City of Boston's Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity, choosing from fields that include the arts and creative media where hands-on design work happens. Through creative placements such as Artists for Humanity, a SuccessLink partner, you can work in graphic design, 3D design, photography, video production, or creative technology studios, producing real client commissions, murals, and exhibition pieces alongside professional artist-mentors. You build skills in composition, color theory, digital design tools, fabrication, and collaborative project workflows while learning workplace routines like timesheets and supervisor communication.
15. BCYF Mildred Ave Community Center — Graphic/T-Shirt Design & Illustration Youth Employment
Location: BCYF Mildred Avenue Community Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Stipend: $15 per hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Non-selective; roughly 22–30 youth in summer and about 10–12 during the school year across programs
Dates: Summer and school year
Application Deadline: Summer: July 17
Eligibility: Full-time resident of the City of Boston; ages 14–18; legally permitted to work in the U.S.
In this program, you would join this opportunity as a Boston teen hired through SuccessLink, the City of Boston's youth jobs program, to work at the BCYF Mildred Avenue Community Center in Mattapan. The center's youth programming includes graphic and t-shirt design, illustration, and coding, so a design-oriented role would let you create artwork, develop t-shirt graphics, and support creative activities alongside center staff. You would also build core workplace skills such as reliability, communication, and teamwork while helping deliver programs in a busy community setting. You would also gain exposure to youth services and community program career paths.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Most of the BSA-hosted firm placements (Bergmeyer, Goody Clancy, HMFH, PAYETTE, RODE, and others) look very similar in structure. How do I choose between them?
While they share a common pipeline and pay range, each firm shapes the experience around its own specialty and culture, which is worth weighing carefully. PAYETTE and RODE both center on a focused pavilion design project, ideal if you want a clear, hands-on deliverable to build into your portfolio. Page (now Stantec) and Bergmeyer lean into a structured weekly rhythm that closely mirrors a professional studio, which suits students who want to feel like they're truly working inside a firm. Goody Clancy and HMFH stand out for breadth, exposing you to graphics, sustainability, and multiple firm functions beyond core design, which is valuable if you're still narrowing down your specific interest within architecture. Since acceptance is highly competitive across all of these and you apply through a single BSA pipeline, it's worth ranking your preferences based on which structure excites you most rather than assuming they're interchangeable.
2. I'm not a Boston Public School student. Are there still strong options for me on this list?
Yes, several. The Sasaki Foundation's SEED and DESI programs are open to a broader set of Boston and Metro North towns, including Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, and others, so you don't need to be a BPS student specifically. YouthBuild Boston's Designery and Artists For Humanity both welcome a wide range of Boston-area students, including those in homeschool or GED programs, making them some of the most accessible options here. The ACE Mentor Program is open to any high school student in the Greater Boston area regardless of which school you attend, and even offers a virtual option, broadening access further. Ladder Internships is the only fully remote option on this list with no Boston-area residency requirement at all.
3. None of these internships pay particularly high stipends, and a few don't pay at all. Is the experience still worth it without strong compensation?
For architecture specifically, yes, and often significantly so. The real value in these programs lies in the portfolio-ready work, mentorship from practicing architects, and the kind of access to professional studio environments that high school students rarely get otherwise. Programs like PAYETTE, RODE, and DESI give you a tangible design project you can carry directly into a college application portfolio, which is often worth more long-term than the hourly wage. The ACE Mentor Program, while unpaid, connects graduating seniors to college scholarships and partners with organizations like the National Organization of Minority Architects, adding real career value beyond the program itself. If a stipend matters most to you, Bergmeyer, Finegold Alexander, Goody Clancy, HMFH, Page, PAYETTE, and RODE all pay $15 to $18 per hour through the same BSA pipeline.
Key Takeaways
This list covers 15 architecture internships in Boston for high school students, anchored by a strong roster of firms participating in the BSA High School Internship Host Placement pipeline, including Bergmeyer, Goody Clancy, HMFH, PAYETTE, and RODE, alongside standout standalone programs like the Sasaki Foundation's SEED and DESI, YouthBuild Boston's Designery, and Artists For Humanity. The firm placements all pay $15 to $18 per hour over the same six-week window in July and August, giving students a consistent way to compare programs based on project structure and firm culture rather than pay, while DESI, ACE Mentor Program, and BosNOMA stand out for unpaid but high-value mentorship, scholarship access, and community-design experience. For students outside Boston Public Schools specifically, the Sasaki Foundation programs, YouthBuild Boston, Artists For Humanity, and the ACE Mentor Program offer the broadest eligibility, while Ladder Internships remains the only fully remote option for students who want design-adjacent business experience without needing to be based in Boston at all.