13 Prestigious Artificial Intelligence Internships for High School Students
Internships are one of the most effective ways for you, as a high school student, to explore workplace environments and apply what you’ve learned in meaningful ways. They allow you to develop practical skills, see how professionals work day to day, and build connections that can support your future goals. If you’re drawn to fields like AI, machine learning, robotics, or data science, consider participating in a prestigious AI-focused internship.
Why choose a prestigious artificial intelligence internship as a high schooler?
Many prestigious AI-focused internships give you the chance to work with concepts and tools that most students don’t encounter until college. You might experiment with basic model building, explore data analysis, or assist with small research tasks that teach you how AI systems are designed and tested. This kind of exposure helps you understand the field’s applications and gives you a head start when you pursue higher education or a first role in the tech industry.
Prestigious AI internships offer training on small models, preparing datasets, exploring robotics applications, or studying how AI systems make decisions. Participating in a selective internship can also boost your college applications, especially if you want to major in computer science or a field related to AI.
With that, here are 13 prestigious artificial intelligence internships for high school students, each offering a meaningful experience and professional guidance.
13 Prestigious Artificial Intelligence Internships for High School Students
1. Ladder Internships
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies; Financial aid offered
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: Multiple cohorts in a year
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students
Ladder Internships offers a virtual eight-week internship program designed just for high school students. During the program, you’ll be matched with early-stage startups across a variety of industries, including health tech, AI/ML, consulting, marketing, and more. As an intern interested in AI, you will be expected to work 10-20 hours a week on projects like building machine learning models or cleaning and analyzing data. Throughout the program, you’ll be mentored by both your company manager and a dedicated Ladder coach. You’ll also participate in regular check-ins and peer sessions, and end the program by presenting your final work directly to your host company.
2. Carnegie Mellon University: AI Scholars (AIS)
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: June 20 – July 18
Application Deadline: February 1
Eligibility: U.S. rising high school seniors (16+)
In CMU’s AI Scholars program, you’ll spend four weeks living on campus with other rising high school seniors. You’ll start with a virtual Python course before arriving, then get started on the core curriculum led by CMU faculty, covering data, algorithms, and machine learning. You’ll also work on research-style group projects under the guidance of professors and grad students and present your work at a closing symposium. Outside class, there are mentorship sessions, college prep workshops, and talks on admissions, financial aid, and career paths. You’ll get a chance to meet AI industry leaders through field trips and build real connections with peers who share your passion for technology.
3. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI): CogWorks
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free (if your family income is < $150,000); $2,350 (if your family income is > $150,000)
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: July 7 – August 3
Application Deadline: March 31 (tentative)
Eligibility: U.S. high school students with a strong STEM interest
At the MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI), you’ll get to dive into a rigorous, project-based AI track through their CogWorks (“Build Your Own Cognitive Assistant”) course. First, you’ll complete a spring pre-course online learning in Python, Git, basic neural networks, and natural language processing. Then, during the four-week summer session, you’ll team up with other students to build cognitive assistants using open-source tools and professional platforms like Alexa/Echo. Throughout the course, you’ll explore machine learning applied to audio, vision, and language, working through hands-on projects and weekly milestone challenges.
4. Princeton AI4ALL
Location: Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance Rate: Competitive
Dates: July 9 – 30
Application Deadline: April 9
Eligibility: Rising 11th graders who meet one of these socioeconomic conditions and are from the U.S. or Puerto Rico
In the Princeton AI4ALL program, you’ll spend three weeks living on Princeton’s campus and take a two-day field trip to Washington, D.C. During the program, you’ll attend daily lectures by Princeton AI faculty, work on research projects led by graduate students, and explore the social, ethical, and policy implications of artificial intelligence. You’ll also receive career coaching, participate in small-group mentoring, and build close connections through workshops and communal activities. By the end of the program, you’ll present your project in a group showcase and join a community dedicated to making AI more inclusive and responsible.
5. University of Chicago Data Science Institute (DSI) Summer Lab
Location: University of Chicago, Hyde Park, IL
Stipend: $5,600
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: Chicago-area high school students who are familiar with at least one programming language, as well as computer science, statistics, and math
In UChicago’s DSI Summer Lab, you’ll spend eight weeks doing paid research under a data science mentor. You’ll work on projects in fields like computer science, climate or energy policy, public policy, biomedicine, or social science. While you don’t need prior research experience, having some familiarity with programming helps. Over the summer, you’ll learn research methodologies, build predictive models, and collaborate with a cohort of peers. You’ll also get professional development, attend a weekly speaker series, and present your work via a video at a symposium that mimics a conference.
6. Anson L. Clark Scholars Program
Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Cost/Stipend: $25 application fee; $750
Cohort Size: 12 students per year
Dates: June 21 – August 6
Application Deadline: January 2 – February 16
Eligibility: U.S. high school juniors and seniors (17+)
Texas Tech University’s Anson L. Clark Scholars Program gives you a seven-week, residential summer research experience alongside distinguished faculty. You’ll live on campus, take part in weekly seminars and field trips, and work on your own project in nearly any academic discipline, from computer science or engineering to the humanities. If you complete your research successfully, you’ll also receive a $750 tax-free stipend.
7. Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research (SIMR)
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost/Stipend: $50 application fee, which can be waived; Limited need-based stipends offered
Cohort Size: 50 students per year
Dates: June 8 – July 30
Application Deadline: December 19 – February 21
Eligibility: U.S. current high school juniors and seniors (16+); Strong preference for applicants from the Bay Area
The Stanford Institutes of Medicine Summer Research Program (SIMR) gives you the chance to work with Stanford researchers on biomedical projects, including in computational biology, bioinformatics, and AI-driven medical research. Depending on your interests, you may join labs that use machine learning to analyze genetic data, model diseases, or develop predictive tools for healthcare. Alongside your lab work, you’ll attend lectures and workshops that introduce you to real-world applications of AI in medicine, like diagnostics, imaging, and personalized treatment. Throughout the program, you’ll gain hands-on experience with data analysis, coding, and research methods used in modern AI-driven science. The experience ends with a poster presentation where you’ll share your computational or AI-supported findings with Stanford faculty, mentors, and peers.
8. School of Good AI: Agentic AI & Governance
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: 4 weeks in summer
Application Deadline: July 25
Eligibility: High school students interested in AI, ML, and ethics
At School of Good AI, you’ll take part in a free, four-week virtual summer program designed for high school students who want to dive into agentic AI. You’ll work with frameworks like OpenAI Agents SDK and CrewAI, building real demos. You’ll also learn to assess governance risks through red teaming, testing for privacy, bias, and security, and even get familiar with ISO/IEC 42001 compliance. Alongside that, you’ll do data analysis, explore key metrics like margin of error and confusion matrices, and write a technical report. By the end, you’ll have a portfolio-ready project and a certificate of completion.
9. SHTEM (Science, Humanities, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) Program
Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Cost: $95 non-refundable application fee; Small stipends may be available
Acceptance Rate: Highly selective
Dates: June 22 – August 14
Application Deadline: January 25
Eligibility: High school juniors or seniors (14+); U.S. citizens or permanent residents only
The SHTEM Program at Stanford University provides early exposure to interdisciplinary research that integrates STEM disciplines with the humanities. As an intern, you will collaborate in small groups on mentored research projects guided by Stanford faculty, students, and staff. Research areas include engineering, computer science, neuroscience, linguistics, design, philosophy, biology, and more, and past projects have explored the intersection of AI with other STEM fields. The program highlights the human and ethical considerations inherent in scientific inquiry.
10. AFRL Scholars Program
Location: Multiple AFRL sites across the U.S.
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance Rate: Competitive
Dates: 8-10 weeks, depending on the location
Application Deadline: October 10 – January 10
Eligibility: U.S. high school students (upper-level); Minimum age: 16 (18 for California locations)
The AFRL Scholars Program offers paid summer research internships for students pursuing careers in STEM within the U.S. Air Force research community. During the internship, you’ll collaborate with experienced scientists and engineers on research projects. Areas of focus include aerospace, materials science, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering. The program also provides comprehensive exposure to federal research environments and insight into long-term career opportunities in defense science.
11. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program
Location: Various Department of the Navy laboratories across the U.S.
Stipend: Paid
Cohort Size: ~300 students selected nationwide
Dates: 8 weeks, with a possible 2-week extension
Application Deadline: August 1 – November 1
Eligibility: High school students (16+) who have completed Grade 9 (graduating seniors eligible); U.S. Citizens only (some labs allow exceptions)
During SEAP, you will be placed in one of several U.S. Navy research laboratories, where you will participate in hands-on STEM research during the summer. As an intern, you’ll work with Navy scientists and engineers on naval technology and research projects. Research areas include AI, robotics, math, biology, computer science, and so much more. The program is highly competitive and emphasizes academic achievement, research interest, and career goals. You’ll gain exposure to defense research, mentoring, and professional lab environments, and may go on to a STEM or DoN-related career.
12. Stanford AIMI’s Summer Research Internship
Location: Virtual
Cost: $45 application fee + $2,400 program fee; Scholarships available
Cohort Size: 50 students/year (tentative)
Dates: Session A: June 15 – 26; Session B: July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: December 15 – February 20
Eligibility: U.S. rising 9th-12th graders (14+) with math or computer programming skills or experience with a healthcare project
In Stanford AIMI’s two-week virtual Summer Research Internship, you’ll dive into how AI is used in medical imaging and healthcare. You’ll attend daily lectures on the fundamentals of machine learning in medicine, and you’ll work in small teams on research projects with Stanford mentors. Alongside that, you’ll take part in “Meet the Expert” sessions where industry and academic experts share their career insights into the field and current research. By the end of the program, you’ll earn a Certificate of Completion.
13. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: George Mason University, Fairfax, VA (remote and hybrid options available)
Cost/Stipend: $25 application fee + $1,299; Unpaid
Acceptance Rate: Competitive
Dates: June 18 – August 12
Application Deadline: December 8 – February 15
Eligibility: High school students (15+ for remote and 16+ for in-person)
At the ASSIP at George Mason University, you’ll spend eight weeks doing research alongside a faculty mentor. You’ll work on hypothesis-driven science or computing projects using cutting-edge equipment. Some of the areas of focus you can choose from include data science, computer science, AI, bioengineering, robotics, and more. Along the way, you’ll hone your scientific writing and communication skills while exploring different STEM careers and meeting role models through discussion forums. You can choose a remote, in-person, or hybrid internship, depending on your mentor’s setup. At the end of your internship, you’ll present your research at a final poster symposium.
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