14 Summer Internships for High School Students in Utah

Internships give high school students a chance to build practical skills, understand workplace expectations, and explore academic or career interests before making long-term decisions. Through professional work, you can see how classroom learning applies in industry settings while developing communication, time management, and problem-solving skills. Doing a competitive internship can also make your college applications stand out by demonstrating your interest and ability in your field.

What summer internships are available for high school students in Utah?

Utah offers a wide range of opportunities for high school interns, from university-led research and healthcare programs to public service, environmental science, and community-based programs. These programs emphasize skill development, guided learning, and industry exposure. To make the process of choosing a program easier, we have put together a list of 14 summer internships for high school students in Utah.

1. Salt Lake County Internships

Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Stipend: Hourly wage provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Varies by internship
Application Deadline: Varies by internship
Eligibility: High school students

These summer internships for high school students in Utah introduce you to the day-to-day operations of local government through placements across city departments within Salt Lake City. Through the internship, you will gain exposure to how public policy decisions translate into administrative, legal, and operational work. Early on, you’ll help define learning objectives with supervisors, which shapes the responsibilities you take on during the term. You’ll rotate or work alongside teams handling municipal functions in the real world rather than simulated tasks. The experience emphasizes professional collaboration, documentation, and communication within a public-sector setting. 

2. Ladder Internships

Location: Virtual
Cost: Varies by program (full financial aid available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Several cohorts year-round
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students

Ladder Internships is a structured internship program that matches you with a startup or small organization project where you work on real deliverables over an eight-week period. Placement depends on your interests, and you typically spend several hours each week contributing to meaningful tasks like market research, strategic analyses, product support, or communications, as guided by company mentors. The experience emphasizes applying classroom knowledge to practical work challenges and learning how early-stage companies operate. Regular check-ins with your host manager help you refine skills in professional communication, project planning, and independent problem-solving. These internships are delivered in a virtual format, letting you interact with teams and complete project outcomes remotely rather than in a traditional office or campus setting. 

3. PathMaker Scholars Summer Research Program

Location: Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, UT
Stipend: Up to $4,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: May 25 – July 30
Application Deadline: February 1
Eligibility: Advanced high school seniors and undergraduates

This summer internship places you in a university laboratory where you’ll work on a biomedical research project under a principal investigator at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. You will spend the summer learning core lab techniques and research workflows while contributing to an active cancer research environment. The residential format means your workdays mirror how full-time research teams operate, with regular meetings and structured activities built in. You are expected to manage a consistent weekly schedule and document your progress across the program. The experience ends with a formal research presentation, giving you practice translating technical work for an academic audience. 

4. Natural History Museum of Utah Teen Explainers Program

Location: Natural History Museum of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Stipend: $13.00/hr
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June – August
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students who are 14–18 years old

As a Teen Explainer at the Natural History Museum of Utah, you will focus on communicating ideas to public audiences in an informal learning setting. Your work involves interacting with museum visitors and guiding hands-on activities related to exhibits. During your training, you will be taught how to clearly explain concepts, ask effective questions, and tailor explanations for different age groups. Depending on the cohort, you will either spend more time developing new activities or evaluating how existing ones work in practice. You’ll also gain exposure to how museums design and refine educational experiences behind the scenes. 

5. Salt Lake County Library Teen Summer Internship

Location: Various branches across Salt Lake County, UT
Stipend: $13.75/hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 1-2 interns per branch
Dates: June 1 – August 30
Application Deadline: Applications open in March
Eligibility: Teens aged 16–19

This summer internship places you inside day-to-day library operations across branches and system-level departments at The County Library. Your responsibilities will vary by placement but generally involve supporting programs, organizing materials, and assisting with public events. You will learn how libraries manage collections, plan community programming, and coordinate large-scale initiatives like reading programs. The work requires attention to detail, time management, and collaboration with staff serving different age groups. Some roles focus more on behind-the-scenes preparation, while others involve direct interaction with patrons. 

6. USU Uintah Basin Research Internships

Location: USU Uintah Basin, Vernal, UT
Stipend: Provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 6 students
Dates: 8–9 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: March 21
Eligibility: Rising seniors who are at least 16 years old

This research internship connects you with a faculty mentor at USU Uintah Basin to work on a focused research question over the summer. Rather than following a preset curriculum, you will help shape a project by designing methods and refining questions alongside your mentor. The available topics span ecology, chemistry, neuroscience, and society, giving you flexibility in how technical or interdisciplinary your work becomes. You’ll also interact with researchers beyond your immediate project, which broadens your view of how research communities operate. The program concludes with a formal presentation of your findings to a local research audience. 

7. Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program

Location: Nationwide
Stipend: $3,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: 8 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: January 25
Eligibility: Rising or graduating high school seniors who are at least 16 years old

This summer internship for high school students places you with a fisheries or aquatic science professional for field and research work coordinated by the American Fisheries Society. You will gain direct exposure to how fisheries scientists collect data, monitor ecosystems, and apply scientific methods in real environments. The experience combines mentorship with structured reporting, requiring you to track your work and reflect on your progress. The projects may involve freshwater or marine systems, depending on placement. You will learn how scientific research translates into conservation and resource management decisions. 

8. Bank of America Student Leaders Program

Location: Nationwide
Stipend: Provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 300 students annually
Dates: 6 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who are legally authorized to work in the U.S.

The Bank of America Student Leaders Program connects you with an eight-week internship at a local nonprofit, giving you work experience in community service and organizational operations. During the internship, you will learn how nonprofit teams address real community needs while developing workplace skills such as teamwork, communication, and project management. You’ll also participate in a national leadership summit where you engage with diverse leaders to explore how sectors like government, business, and nonprofits intersect. The internship structure exposes you to varied roles and expectations within nonprofit settings rather than a single task or rotation. 

9. Upward Bound Summer Program

Location: Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT
Stipend: Provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 103 students/year; top students are invited for the summer program
Dates: 6 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Typically April/May
Eligibility: Potential first-generation college students whose family qualifies as low-income

Hosted on the campus of Southern Utah University, this summer program blends academics, structured volunteering, and independent study time into a residential experience. Your mornings are spent in college-style classes, while afternoons introduce you to workplace environments through local volunteer placements. Academic support is built into the schedule, giving you time to develop study strategies and manage coursework expectations. Outside of classes, the program includes planned recreational and group activities that mirror campus life. The experience concludes with an off-campus urban immersion focused on exploring educational and cultural institutions. 

10. University of Utah High School Summer Research Internship

Location: University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 8 – July 31
Application Deadline: January 31
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors

Hosted by the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering, this internship focuses on how academic engineering research is planned, executed, and communicated. You will explore multiple engineering fields while learning how researchers define questions, test ideas, and evaluate results. Much of your work centers on synthesizing what you learn into a structured poster project, reinforcing technical communication skills. You’ll come away with a clearer understanding of research methods across engineering disciplines. 

11. Intermountain Health IHealth Summer Program

Location: Intermountain facilities across Utah
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 20-30 students
Dates: June – July
Application Deadline: Enrollment opens in March
Eligibility: High school sophomores to seniors aged 16–18

The IHealth Summer Program introduces you to healthcare careers through structured learning experiences coordinated by Intermountain Health. Instead of focusing on a single role, it exposes you to multiple areas of healthcare through observation and interactive activities. The sessions are cohort-based, allowing you to learn alongside peers while engaging directly with professionals in clinical and support settings. The program’s emphasis is on understanding how healthcare teams function and how different roles intersect. You will build familiarity with real-world healthcare environments without committing to one specialty. 

12. Thanksgiving Point Growing Leaders Program

Location: Thanksgiving Point Institute, Lehi, UT
Cost: $25 (scholarships available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Year-round
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Teens aged 13–17

The Growing Leaders Program places you in roles across education, events, and visitor-facing operations at Thanksgiving Point, where you’ll support daily activities alongside staff and volunteers. The structure emphasizes teamwork, communication, and problem-solving through real responsibilities rather than classroom-style instruction. You will rotate through different functions, which helps you understand how a large public-facing organization operates. Leadership training is integrated into your work, not treated as a separate workshop. 

13. Rowland Hall’s Summer Internships

Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Stipend: May be provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Summer
Application Deadline: Varies by internship
Eligibility: Rowland Hall sophomores, juniors, and seniors

Rowland Hall’s summer internship program connects you with community-based workplaces where your role extends beyond job shadowing. You will work directly with professionals on projects that require applying classroom skills to practical tasks. The placements vary widely, ranging from media and marketing to public service and nonprofit work. The program emphasizes navigating real workplace expectations, including collaboration, deadlines, and problem-solving. Your experience is shaped by the mentor relationship rather than a fixed curriculum. 

14. Stanford AIMI Summer Research Internship

Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,400 (financial aid available)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Around 50 students
Dates: Session A: June 15 – 26; Session B: July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: February 20
Eligibility: U.S. high school students who are 14 or older

The Stanford AIMI Summer Research Internship is a two-week virtual program focused on how the fundamentals of artificial intelligence are applied to healthcare. Each day blends technical lectures on AI concepts with mentoring sessions and group project work that explores research questions in machine learning and medical data applications. You will engage with Stanford student leads and research professionals, gaining exposure to how research teams define problems, test methods, and discuss findings. The curriculum also includes structured speaker sessions where you hear from experts across academic and industry backgrounds. The virtual format means you’ll build these skills online while still participating in a defined research cycle with regular deadlines and deliverables.

Image Source - University of Utah, Huntsman Cancer Institute Logo