15 Prestigious Public Health Internships for High School Students

If you’re a high school student interested in public health, internships are a great way to explore the field, gain practical experience, and network with professionals. Public health internships, typically offered by top institutions like the CDC, NIH, and major universities, allow you to explore various facets of the field, such as epidemiology, health policy, global health, biostatistics, community health, and health education. As a public health intern, you might work on tasks such as data collection and analysis, policy review, and research projects. 

You’ll also gain practical experience through community outreach across healthcare centers, hospitals, and elder care centers. The opportunity to work alongside professionals builds connections that can be valuable for college recommendations and future career guidance. Many of these opportunities, especially those from government agencies and non-profits, provide a stipend or other compensation.

In the blog below, we’ve narrowed down the top 15 prestigious public health internships for high school students. We’ve chosen these internships taking into account their acceptance rate, reputation of the organizing body, offerings, mentorship opportunities, and eligibility requirements.

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Pathways Internship Program

Location: Various locations across the U.S.
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Extremely competitive; cohort size varies based on the needs of individual CDC offices
Dates: Internships happen year-round
Application Deadline: Varies by internship
Eligibility: Students enrolled in an accredited high school who are U.S. citizens/permanent residents who meet the minimum age required by federal, state, or local laws regarding the employment of minors | Age 16+ | Specific positions may require a minimum GPA (often 2.0 or higher)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers a pathways internship experience designed for high school students interested in exploring public health. During the internship, you’ll have the opportunity to shadow professionals such as epidemiologists, health scientists, and data analysts, and explore various career paths. As an intern, your tasks will vary based on your role, but will include things like public education, literature review, collecting data, and preparing educational material. Working on your tasks will also help you work on skills such as data literacy, scientific communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.

2. Ladder Internship Program

Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application Deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November). 
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!

Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries, from tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average, raising over a million dollars. Interns work closely with their manager at the startup on real-world projects and present their work to the company. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.

3. The High School Bioethics Project Internship

Location: Primarily Remote/Virtual, often with opportunities to visit the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Health, in New York, NY
Stipend: $320 - $640
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; 2 – 10 students
Dates: 2-week summer program and 8-week spring program
Application Deadline: Spring: late January; Summer: early to mid-May
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors

NYU Grossman School of Medicine offers an internship opportunity for high school students interested in exploring the intersection of bioethics, public health, healthcare, and biotechnology. Over 2 weeks, you’ll learn about bioethics by working on projects involving research ethics, clinical-ethics consultation, resource allocation, and receive mentorship from professionals at the intersection of medicine, public health, patient advocacy, law, and biotechnology. You’ll attend sessions, engage in discussions, and write reflection papers about the things you learn. At the end of the program, you’ll have to submit a paper discussing a bioethical topic of your interest. 

4. KP LAUNCH High School Internship

Location: Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, CA
Stipend: Up to $24/hour
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; 20 – 50 students
Dates: June 15 – July 31
Application Deadline: January 9
Eligibility: High school students aged 16–19 with work eligibility in the U.S. and permanent residence in a Northern California Kaiser Permanente designated service area

Kaiser Permanente (KP) Launch offers a summer internship experience for high school students within a healthcare-focused organization. You can choose the Research & Development track to focus on public health-related research in areas such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, and drug safety. You’ll receive mentorship from professional physicians and researchers and work alongside them, assisting in conducting clinical trials of drugs, medical devices, and therapies. Interns can also have the opportunity to engage in community-based and population health research work. 

5. Teen Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) Internship Program

Location: Chinatown Public Health Center, San Francisco Health Network, San Francisco, CA
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; approximately 20 interns per term
Dates: Year-long internship cycle with multiple cohorts
Application Deadline: Varies as per cohort
Eligibility: High school students who live in Oakland or are enrolled in an OUSD school/charter

Teen Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) is an internship experience for students that engages them in public health through community-based education programs. As an intern at HEAL, you’ll work on public education in nutrition at your local high school, college, and community-based agencies. You will also gain hands-on healthcare exposure through department rotations at clinical sites, such as shadowing doctors and nurses in areas like the Emergency Department or Pediatrics, and engaging in simulation lab experiences to practice skills like taking vitals or CPR. You’ll get to develop your communication, collaboration, and leadership skills by working alongside peers, working on educational material, and engaging with people of all ages. 

6. Health Equity Institute of Delaware (HEIDE)  Summer Training in Equity Program for Secondary Students (STEPS)

Location: Delaware Division of Public Health, Dover, DE
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; typically limited cohorts
Dates: 4 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Rising high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors 

The Health Equity Institute of Delaware (HEIDE) is a 4-week-long public health-based internship for high school students. In the internship, you’ll learn about various social factors related to health through sessions, receive mentorship from professionals at the Division of Public Health (DPH), and learn impactful ways to promote health and safety. You’ll observe various public health programs in places like water treatment plants, restaurants, and complete 20 hours of public health-based community services. At the end of the program, you’ll present what you learn and how you helped your community to an audience of health professionals and peers.

7. UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences: Summer Researchers in Global Health

Location: UCSF Mission Bay campus, San Francisco, CA
Cost/Stipend: No cost /  Interns with financial need may qualify for a stipend of $2,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size/cohort size: Highly selective; approximately 30 interns per term
Dates: June 9 – July 18
Application Deadline: April 20
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors in Northern California (Bay Area high schools) (within about 1 hour of a Northern CA UC campus)

The UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences (IGHS): Summer Researchers in Global Health (SRGH) is a highly selective, six-week, hybrid research internship based at the UCSF Mission Bay Campus in San Francisco, California. In this internship, you’ll learn about various public and global health challenges such as health inequities, global health policy, environmental impact, and chronic disease prevention. You’ll work alongside professional global health researchers at the Institute for Global Health Sciences and gain practical experience by working on real-life global health projects. 

8. National Institutes of Health (NIH): High School Summer Internship Program (HS-SIP)

Location: Multiple NIH campuses across the U.S., with the majority of positions at the main campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
Stipend: Before graduation: $2,530; After graduation: $2,840
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; cohort size varies by year and available PI funding
Dates: 8 weeks in summer between mid-June and mid-August
Application Deadline: Typically mid-February
Eligibility: Currently enrolled high school seniors who will be 18 years old by June 1 and are U.S. citizens and permanent residents

The National Institutes of Health offers a summer internship program for students interested in exploring careers in research and healthcare. It places you in a research group where you work full-time in one of the research institutes within NIH. You can engage in research in the field of your choice in healthcare-related areas such as biology, engineering, epidemiology, psychology, chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, nursing, physics, and bioinformatics. Likewise, you’ll also have access to professional development programs, career exploration for healthcare careers, and mentorship support. 

9. University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Summer Internship Program

Location: Virtual/University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Portland, OR
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; 8 interns
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: High school students who live in Oregon and are 16 years or older

This public health internship offers high school students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience across the intersection of disability studies and healthcare. Over the course of several weeks, you will contribute to ongoing initiatives in research, clinical service, and community involvement, observing how practitioners support individuals with developmental disabilities. You also attend specialized workshops and site visits at OHSU, deepening your understanding of various roles in public health and allied health services. Crucially, dedicated networking sessions with prominent researchers and clinicians are integrated to cultivate essential professional skills in communication and collaboration.

10. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS): Student Internship Program

Location: Washington, D.C.; might vary based on placement
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; no single, unified cohort size for the entire department
Dates: Vary; internships can be temporary (summer) or indefinite (year-round); summer positions typically last 8–12 weeks between May and September
Application Deadline: Varies by internship
Eligibility: Must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a degree-seeking student in an accredited high school | U.S. Citizens, national, or permanent resident | At least 16 years of age

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services offers a pathway internship program for students interested in public and global health, health technology, and biomedical research. The program includes placements at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where you’ll engage with public health policy, electronic health record systems, and biomedical research. You’ll gain exposure to how the federal government manages healthcare through technology, data systems, and scientific innovation. As an intern, you’ll engage in tasks such as research support, data analysis, communications, and administrative work. You’ll work alongside health professionals, receive mentorship, and build skill sets in data management, research, and public health communication.

11. NIAID Summer Internship Program

Location: NIAID Labs in Maryland (Bethesda/Rockville) and Montana (Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton)
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; more than 1,000 interns across all student levels
Dates: Eight consecutive weeks between May and September
Application Deadline: Typically, early March
Eligibility: Current high school seniors in an accredited school | At least 17 years old by June 1 | U.S. citizens/permanent residents

The NIAID Summer Internship Program offers high school students a unique opportunity to join the research community at the National Institutes of Health. You collaborate with scientists focused on infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases, key areas in public health today. This experience blends hands-on research with exposure to the administrative aspects of public health, highlighting how data and discoveries shape national health policies. You support studies that advance our understanding of disease transmission and improve treatments. The internship bridges classroom knowledge with real-world disease research, making it ideal for students interested in public health careers.

12. Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) Program

Location: Several institutes in Boston, MA
Cost/Stipend: No cost / Weekly stipend paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; 20 – 50 students
Dates: 7 – 11 weeks between June and August
Application Deadline: February 3
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, or seniors who reside in or attend school in MA and commute to Boston | At least 16 years old

The CURE Program introduces students to biomedical research, matching them with experienced mentors to guide cancer research projects. You enhance your critical thinking and communication skills by engaging in journal clubs, seminars, and focused workshops on interpreting and presenting scientific literature. Throughout the program, you draft abstracts and present your research at a culminating event, replicating the process of scientific dissemination. Beyond laboratory experience, CURE emphasizes professional development through networking sessions, career exploration, and collaborative team-building, giving students practical insight into how academic research contributes to progress in public health.

13. Children’s Hospital Colorado Child Health Research Internship

Location: Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO
Stipend: $4,400
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; typically exclusive cohorts
Dates: June 2 – August 1
Application Deadline: Typically, early February
Eligibility: High school seniors who live in Colorado and are aged 18 years or older

This internship at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado offers high school students a hands-on introduction to pediatric research. You will collaborate with faculty mentors who specialize in various aspects of child health and development, gaining experience that connects medical research with care and prevention. The program may involve lab work, attendance at weekly seminars, and a final presentation of research results. Designed for those interested in public health and children’s well-being, it builds both scientific understanding and communication skills essential for future studies in healthcare or related fields.

14. The Workforce Development High School Summer Internship Program

Location: Parkland Health & Hospital System, Dallas, TX
Stipend: Paid, amount not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective; cohort size not specified
Dates: 8 weeks in the summer (second week of June – first week of August)
Application Deadline:  March 14
Eligibility: Junior or Senior in a public high school in the Dallas-Fort Worth area who are 16 years or older and have a minimum 3.0 GPA

The Parkland Health & Hospital Systems Workforce Development High School Summer Internship Program is a structured, paid opportunity specifically designed to introduce students to careers within the healthcare industry at one of the largest public academic health systems in the country. As an intern, you’ll gain exposure to non-clinical and administrative roles within healthcare. You’ll work alongside and understand the role of professionals such as public health coordinators, healthcare administrators, patient educators, and communications specialists. Through engaging in different tasks, you’ll develop skills in health communication, data organization, and teamwork, and prepare for roles in healthcare management. 

15. Stanford Medicine Clinical Summer Internship

Location: Stanford University, Stanford, CA (virtual option available)
Cost/Stipend: Summer: On-campus session fee: $6,580 | Virtual session fee: US$4,580 + $95 application fee | Fall: $2,480 + $75 application fee; fee waivers are available for summer sessions / No stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive; around 24 students
Dates: Summer: In person: July 13 – 24; Virtual: July 27 – August 7  | Fall: (Virtual): September 10 – November 12 (tentative)
Application Deadline: Summer: February 2; Fall: June 1
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors, seniors who are 16 or older and have completed a high school biology course

Stanford Medicine Clinical Summer Internship offers an immersive healthcare internship experience for high school students. Although the internship is healthcare-focused, you’ll also learn about public health through education on non-clinical factors related to health. You’ll learn skills such as interviewing patients, taking a history, and assessing risk factors, which are integral to public health screening. The curriculum also includes clinical public health training through learning skills such as training in trauma, emergency care, injections, and vital signs. This internship will help you explore and prepare you for career paths in the clinical side of public health. 

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