12 Machine Learning Internships for High School Students in Massachusetts
If you are a high school student who wants to understand how intelligent systems work, a machine learning internship can be a worthwhile way to explore the field. As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to shape industries and the world around us, gaining early exposure can provide a meaningful academic and career advantage. Through an ML internship, you can apply concepts to problems, develop technical and analytical skills, and gain insight into how technology is used in a professional environment. Machine learning internships help you build a strong STEM foundation, collaborate with mentors and industry professionals, and explore potential career paths early.
What machine learning internships are available for high schoolers in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts is a great location for high school students interested in machine learning, as it is home to a large network of world-class universities, research institutions, and technology companies. The presence of institutions such as MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern, along with a thriving startup ecosystem and established tech firms in the Greater Boston and Cambridge areas, offers many opportunities for mentorship and research-driven learning.
To help you get started, we’ve put together 12 machine learning internships for high school students in Massachusetts.
1. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute–CogWorks
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA (virtual options are available)
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Early July - early August
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Applicants must be U.S. high school students from grades 9 - 11.
The CogWorks program at the MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute offers an immersive introduction to artificial intelligence and machine learning through hands-on, project-based learning. You will explore core concepts such as neural networks, natural language processing, audio and visual recognition, and pattern learning, while working in teams to design and build your own cognitive assistant. The program helps you develop practical skills in Python programming, data analysis, and machine learning model development, while also strengthening collaboration and problem-solving skills. By working with real AI systems that integrate speech, text, and vision, CogWorks helps you build a strong foundation for future studies and careers in computer science, machine learning, and intelligent systems.
2. Ladder Internships (Tech Track)
Location: Virtual (you can work from anywhere in the world)
Cost/Stipend: Varies; financial assistance is available.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: 8-week programs with multiple cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year.
Eligibility: Open to all high school students, undergraduates, and gap-year students who can work for 8-12 weeks, devoting 10-20 hours/week
Ladder Internships is a selective virtual program founded by Harvard alumni that connects high school students with startups and nonprofits worldwide. You can choose from a wide range of industries, including technology, machine learning, AI, computer science, finance, environmental science, sustainability, business, marketing, healthcare, medicine, media, journalism, and more. As an intern, you will work on real-world projects that contribute to the startup or nonprofit’s long-term mission. This internship program includes one-on-one training in communication and time management, among other skills, and group training sessions with fellow interns. You will be paired with a manager at the startup and with a ladder coach, who serves as your second mentor. The program concludes with a formal presentation of your work. Apply now!
3. MIT’s Research Science Institute
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive
Dates: June 22 - August 2 (tentative)
Application Deadline: December 10
Eligibility: High school juniors
The Research Science Institute (RSI) is a highly selective, fully funded six-week summer program that allows high school juniors to combine advanced academic study with hands-on research under the mentorship of leading scientists and engineers. Each summer, 100 high school students from around the world participate in an intensive week of STEM lectures, followed by five weeks of independent research at laboratories in and around MIT. Many projects span across areas such as computational modeling, statistical analysis, or data science, giving you the opportunity to engage in authentic research using modern analytical tools. Beyond the lab, RSI offers lectures by world-renowned researchers, including Nobel laureates, along with cultural experiences around Boston, creating a rigorous and inspiring academic environment. The program concludes in formal written and oral presentations, modeled after professional scientific conferences.
4. Northeastern University’s Young Scholars Program (YSP)
Location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 22 - July 30
Application Deadline: March 2
Eligibility: Current high school juniors who are permanent residents of Massachusetts and attend school in the state
The Young Scholars Program (YSP) is a six-week summer research experience where you work with faculty mentors and conduct research in university laboratories. Depending on your placement, you may explore areas such as data science, engineering, health sciences, or robotics, gaining experience in coding, experimental design, and data analysis. The program includes weekly seminars on science communication, college preparation, and STEM careers, as well as field trips to organizations such as Biogen and the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, showing how scientific principles are applied in the real-world. The program concludes with a poster session where you present your research findings to faculty and peers, giving you a complete experience of scientific discovery.
5. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) High School Apprenticeship
Location: U.S. Army research laboratories and affiliated university research labs across the United States, sites in Cambridge and Lowell
Cost/Stipend: Free (participants receive a stipend)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Vary
Application Deadline: Vary
Eligibility: High school students
The AEOP High School Apprenticeship gives high school students the opportunity to engage in real-world laboratory environments, mentored by professional scientists and engineers. You will contribute to army-sponsored research projects, gaining experience with advanced scientific methods, high-tech tools, and machine learning techniques. In addition to technical training, the program provides one-on-one mentorship, career guidance, and exposure to a diverse network of STEM professionals, helping you better understand academic and industry pathways. Through this immersive experience, you strengthen your research skills, build confidence in problem-solving, and explore future careers in biomedical research, environmental engineering, defense technology, and AI-driven innovation, building a strong foundation for college and beyond.
6. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute — Medlytics
Location: MIT, Cambridge, MA (virtual options are available)
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: Early July - early August
Application Deadline: March 31
Eligibility: Applicants must be U.S. high school students from grades 9 - 11
MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute allows you to explore how machine learning is applied to medical challenges. You work with real datasets to address problems such as disease prediction, physiological signal analysis, and medical image classification. The course introduces key machine-learning techniques, including decision trees, support vector machines, and neural networks, while strengthening your data science and Python skills through hands-on projects connected to healthcare and medical research.
7. Omdena AI Projects
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: 2 to 6-week projects throughout the year
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines as per the project
Eligibility: Ages 15+ years; basic coding knowledge and motivation required, and individual projects may require additional qualifications
Omdena is a global collaborative AI platform that gives you the opportunity to work on real-world projects with a global community of changemakers. You will join teams to tackle challenges, such as developing AI-based traffic management systems in Bangkok, building conflict resolution tools for herders in Nigeria, analyzing import and export data in Peru, or detecting plastic debris in the oceans using satellite imagery. Through these projects, you gain hands-on experience while contributing to solutions that have social and global impact.
8. STEM-Away Virtual Internships
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not selective
Dates: Multiple sessions throughout the year
Application Deadline: Rolling deadlines
Eligibility: High school students with some programming experience
STEM-Away offers structured virtual internships focused on experiential learning. You can choose research tracks aligned with your interests and work on supervised projects involving data preprocessing, model building, and evaluation. Throughout the program, you participate in mentor-led sessions, collaborate with peers, and present your work at the end of the internship. In addition to technical skills, you also build professional skills such as communication, documentation, and using GitHub, preparing you for future STEM opportunities.
9. Lockheed Martin High School Internship Program
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None; these are paid internships
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive
Dates: 9+ weeks in the summer, dates vary depending on the specific positions
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the position
Eligibility: High schoolers aged at least 16 years
Lockheed Martin offers summer internships lasting nine or more weeks, allowing you to work alongside experienced aerospace scientists and engineers on innovative projects and cutting-edge defense technology. Whether on-site at Lockheed Martin facilities or remotely, you will gain experience through on-the-job training, mentorship, and shadowing. The program also provides professional development workshops and networking opportunities, helping you build skills, grow your STEM knowledge, and prepare for future career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and aerospace fields.
10. UMass Turing Summer Program
Location: UMass Amherst, MA (commuter program)
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not selective
Dates: July 7 - 25
Application Deadline: To be announced
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors from Western Massachusetts
The UMass Turing Summer Program focuses on using computing for social good. Over the course of the program, you will explore topics such as signal processing, machine learning, and health-sensing technologies through a combination of classroom instruction and lab experiences. You build practical skills in Python programming and app development while working on real-world projects that address challenges in healthcare, energy, and other critical sectors. By the end of the program, you will not only develop strong technical expertise but also build the creative and problem-solving mindset required to design meaningful, technology-driven solutions that can make a tangible impact on the world.
11. Virtual Machine Learning Solutions Intern
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Less selective
Dates: 5 weeks
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Beginners; no experience required; exposure to ML-Python course helpful
The Virtual Machine Learning Solutions Intern program by YuvaIntern is a five-week, fully virtual internship that helps you gain hands-on experience with machine learning in a structured and beginner-friendly format. Through weekly, guided tasks, you will work through the process of covering researching a problem, preparing and analyzing data, selecting and evaluating models, and planning deployment. You strengthen your practical skills using Python-based machine learning tools while learning how to document and present your work professionally. By the end of the program, you earn a certificate of completion, giving you a solid foundation in machine learning and a valuable addition to your academic or project portfolio.
12. Stanford AIMI High School Summer Research Internship
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: $850 plus $40 application fee
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive
Dates: Session A: June 15 - 26 | Session B: July 6 - 17
Application Deadline: February 20
Eligibility: High school students entering grades 9 - 12 and over the age of 14 years
Through the Stanford AIMI Virtual Internship, you get a hands-on introduction to how artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare and medical imaging. Over two weeks, you will attend technical lectures on AI and medical imaging, collaborate in small teams on research projects, and receive guidance from Stanford researchers and student mentors. The program also offers interactive sessions with guest speakers, giving you an insight into real-world AI applications in medicine. High-performing participants may have the chance to continue their work through an extended research opportunity with senior Stanford researchers, allowing them to further develop skills and contribute to cutting-edge projects.
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