Top 9 Paid Architecture Internships for High School Students

Jul 30

If you're considering a future in architecture or design and want to explore the field, a high school internship can be an excellent first step. These programs let you go beyond sketchbooks and theory to explore how buildings, cities, and public spaces are designed and constructed. Whether you're touring firms, learning professional design software, or collaborating on community projects, internships show you what life as an architect might be like.

In this blog, we’ve rounded up 9 paid architecture internships for high school students across the U.S. These opportunities offer professional experience, mentorship, and a deeper understanding of how the built environment is created. Plus, many of these opportunities are paid!

1. The Met High School Internship Program

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
Dates: School-year: October–March or November–April | Summer: Early July–Mid-August Application Deadline: School-year: October 28 | Summer: March 7
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors in NYC's five boroughs
Stipend: $1,100

If you're curious about architecture and how museums bring design to life, The Met's high school internship offers a rare behind-the-scenes view. As an intern, you'll explore museum departments like design, architecture, education, and conservation while gaining experience and mentorship. You'll complete 40 hours of work-based learning, including assisting museum staff, observing daily operations, and participating in 2-hour Career Labs led by professionals, ranging from curators to architects and exhibition designers. The experience wraps with a presentation where you'll reflect on your learning and share insights with peers and museum staff.

2. Chicago Architecture Center Teen Fellows

Location: Harold Washington College, Chicago, IL
Dates: Multi-semester 15-month program (June 23 – May 9)
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Incoming sophomores, juniors, and seniors who attend high school in Chicago and the surrounding area can commit to the program's entire duration.
Stipend: Stipend provided during the program; final summer internship is paid

The CAC Teen Fellows program is a multi-semester exploration of architecture. Through practical learning and professional exposure, you will learn about design, urban change, and the built environment. You'll earn college credit through courses at Harold Washington College while working on design projects—both physical and digital—using industry-standard tools like AutoCAD, Rhino, and Revit. Throughout the program, you'll build a portfolio, visit architectural landmarks, and participate in firm visits. The experience culminates in a paid summer internship at a local architecture or design firm, where you'll apply your skills in a professional setting.

3. Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED)

Location: Sasaki Foundation, Boston, MA
Dates: Six weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students who are residents of Boston or the Metro North region
Cost/Stipend: Paid

The SEED internship offers a six-week, paid summer experience that introduces high school students to the design professions, especially architecture, planning, and landscape architecture. You'll collaborate on projects for local communities, guided by practicing designers from the Sasaki Foundation. You’ll explore design concepts through team charrettes, fieldwork, and mentorship while gaining skills in hand sketching, digital drawing, and creative problem-solving. Interns also learn to think critically about the built environment and how designers shape spaces. The program combines project work with exposure to professional tools and conversations with architects and urban planners.

4. Designing Environmental and Social Impact (DESI)

Location: Boston and Metro North region (in partnership with local design professionals)
Dates: Semester-long during the academic year
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are residents of Boston or the Metro North region
Cost/Stipend: Paid

The DESI internship is a semester-long paid opportunity for high school juniors and seniors in the Boston area to explore how architecture and design can address local social and environmental challenges. You'll develop an independent design project based on your community, using drawing and digital tools to visualize solutions. With guidance from a mentor in the design industry, you’ll build technical skills while learning to communicate your ideas. The program combines creative exploration with social awareness, offering experience and exposure to careers in architecture, planning, and environmental design. Site visits round out this project-based experience.

5. Open Studio @ Miller Hull Internship

Location: Miller Hull Partnership, Seattle, WA
Cohort Size: 1 student selected for internship; 24 students for Open Studio
Dates: Internship: July 28 – August 22 | Open Studio Summer Intensive: August 1 – 8
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: Students who will have completed 11th or 12th grade
Stipend: Internship is paid ($20.76/hour); Open Studio is free

Miller Hull’s summer architecture internship allows one high school student to work alongside professional architects in a Seattle-based firm. Over four weeks, you'll engage in various design-related tasks, including research, conceptual thinking, and participation in project meetings and site visits. You'll gain exposure to the professional design process and develop problem-solving, critical thinking, and presentation skills. In addition, the internship includes office work, giving you a realistic look at day-to-day operations within an architecture firm. For students seeking a shorter, more exploratory experience, the firm also offers the Open Studio Summer Intensive, a one-week workshop focused on design thinking, drawing, collaboration, and a field trip tied to the week’s project.

6. Boston Private Industry Council Architecture Internship

Location: Various Boston architecture firms
Dates: July 7- August 15
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Boston Public Schools students (rising 10th graders through recent graduates)
Stipend: Paid

The Architecture/Design High School Internship connects Boston public high school students with local architecture firms for a six-week paid summer placement. Interns gain exposure to firm activities, ranging from design exploration to project work, while learning how architecture shapes the built environment. You will also participate in “Summer Fridays,” a supplemental series featuring neighborhood architecture tours, firm visits, and a culminating presentation event. Each intern is matched with a unique firm, allowing returning participants to explore different approaches and specialties within the field each year.

7. The NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) Summer Internship Program

The NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) Summer Internship Program places public high school students in six-week paid roles with departments across the SCA and its industry partners. Interns may be assigned to architecture, engineering, construction management, or related fields. You will shadow professionals, assist with projects, and explore career pathways in the built environment. One day each week is dedicated to workshops, panel discussions, and design challenges, including optional construction site tours and OSHA training. The program combines office experience with structured learning, and college supervisors will guide your progress and development throughout the summer.

8. Design Hive at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Location: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, NY (in-person)
Dates: November–May
Application Deadline: Late September
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors living in the NYC area
Stipend: $2,000 stipend (paid in two $1,000 installments)

Design Hive at Cooper Hewitt offers NYC-based high school juniors and seniors the chance to explore design through youth-led projects and weekly studio sessions. Over the school year, you’ll work collaboratively to create original designs while learning how professionals move from concept to execution. Sessions include portfolio development, exposure to museum collections, and conversations with design experts. You'll engage in creative problem-solving activities, visit off-site locations, and gain insight into careers in fields such as architecture, industrial design, and visual communication. You can check out previous intern work here.

9. Teen Pr

10. Ograms by Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Boston

Location: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (in-person)
Program Dates: 12-month program
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Boston-area high school students
Stipend: Paid $15/hour

The Museum of Fine Arts Boston offers three paid internship programs—STEAM Team, Curatorial Study Hall, and Teen Arts Council—each providing a behind-the-scenes look at museum careers and the design process through a creative and professional lens. Whether you're curating an exhibit, planning a public event, or exploring how technology intersects with the arts, you’ll work closely with MFA mentors. You will also participate in workshops led by artists, cultural leaders, and museum professionals. Architecture students might gravitate toward the Curatorial Study Hall for its emphasis on interpretation, exhibition design, and visual storytelling, or the STEAM Team, which links design thinking with STEM fields.

Looking for an immersive internship experience?
Check out Ladder Internships!
Ladder Internships is a selective, virtual internship program where students work with startups and nonprofits from around the world! The startups range across a variety of industries. As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the startup they are working with, and present their work at the end of their internship. In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship. Apply now!

Dhruva Bhat

Dhruva Bhat is one of the co-founders of Ladder, and a Harvard College graduate. Dhruva founded Ladder Internships as a DPhil candidate and Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, with a vision to bridge the gap between ambitious students and real-world startup experiences.