12 Video Game Internships for High School Students
If you’re interested in gaming, coding, storytelling, animation, or digital art, exploring video game internships for high school students can help you understand how the industry works beyond simply playing games. These opportunities allow you to build technical and creative skills while working on real projects, prototypes, or collaborative game design challenges. Many programs also introduce you to tools such as Unity, Unreal Engine, C#, Blender, and interactive storytelling software used across the gaming industry.
If you’re interested in learning about the online programs in other subjects, check out some science internships here & find economic internships here.
Why should I do a video game internship as a high school student?
Participating in video game internships for high school students can strengthen your college applications and resume by showing initiative, technical experience, and teamwork. Several internships and pre-college game development programs also provide mentorship from professional developers, designers, and artists. There are affordable or fully funded opportunities available through universities, nonprofits, and technology organizations.
To help you explore the field, we’ve narrowed down some of the best video game internships for high school students available across the US and internationally.
Key takeaways
This list gathers 12 video game development programs for high school students, most structured as intensive courses or pre-college camps rather than traditional workplace internships, with standout hosts including MIT, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, and UCLA.
Cost varies enormously here, from fully tuition-free options like MIT's Beaver Works Institute and Urban Arts' community-based programs, up to several thousand dollars for university-run residential courses, so budget is worth weighing carefully depending on which type of program you choose.
This list leans heavily toward structured, curriculum-based game development courses rather than internships with a studio or company, so pairing one of these with a separate internship search is worth considering if hands-on placement at an actual game company is your goal.
Several of these are held in person at a specific university campus, while a handful, including Ladder, MIT's Beaver Works Institute, and DigiPen Academy, are fully virtual and don't require travel.
A couple of the earliest deadlines fall in early February for two of the most competitive university-run programs, so it's worth starting applications well before spring if a residential program interests you.
1. UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute
Location: Los Angeles, California, CA (Residential Program) | Virtual (Live Online)
Cost: Virtual: $3,591 | Residential: $6,541 (International students pay an additional $1,025 in health insurance and service fees)
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Virtual: June 22 - July 9; Residential: July 12 - July 29
Application Deadline: Virtual: June 15, Residential: June 30
Eligibility: High school students aged 15–18 by June 22 who are not enrolled full-time in college; Applicants must submit a high school transcript. No prior game design or programming experience is required
The UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute is a three-week pre-college program that introduces high school students to game development as both a technical and artistic discipline. You’ll complete four hands-on courses covering game design, character animation, world-building, and game programming using industry tools such as Unity and C#. Throughout the program, you’ll create original tabletop and digital games while building foundational skills in design, storytelling, animation, and coding. Faculty and teaching assistants are practicing game designers and artists affiliated with the UCLA Game Lab, providing you with feedback on their creative work. Students who successfully complete the institute earn four units of UC pass/no-pass college credit and graduate with portfolio-ready game projects that can support future college applications in game design, computer science, or digital arts.
2. Ladder Internship Program
Cost: Starting at $2,490 (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. You can explore all the options here on their application form. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average, raising over a million dollars. In the program, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company. Here is the application form. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
3. NYU Coding for Game Design
Location: New York University, New York City, New York, NY
Cost: $3,045 tuition and fees; optional housing: $376/week; mandatory meal plan (with housing): $206; $50 non-refundable application fee
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Session 1: July 7 - 17, Session 2: July 2 - August 7
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions (recommended to apply by May 31, 2026); Scholarship application deadline: April 30
Eligibility: High school students currently enrolled in grades 9, 10, or 11 with a basic understanding of computer coding and programming
NYU's Coding for Game Design program is a two-week summer course that introduces high school students to the fundamentals of game development using C# and the Unity game engine. You’ll learn professional game design concepts, including Agile development practices, interactive media design, production planning, and feature implementation, while working on collaborative and individual projects. The curriculum is taught by experienced game designers and developers from NYU Steinhardt's Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education (CREATE). You will develop your own 3D Unity games, practice pitching game concepts, and gain experience working in teams, mirroring real-world game development workflows. The program is non-credit and also includes student activities and networking opportunities through NYU's University Programs Office, with optional on-campus housing available for in-person participants.
4. Clark University Summer Game Studio
Location: Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, MA
Cost: Cost not publicly listed
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Summer Game Studio: July 5 - 18; Next Level: July 19 - August 1
Application Deadline: Not publicly disclosed
Eligibility: High school students and recent high school graduates; No prior game design experience is required
Clark University's Summer Game Studio is a two-week residential pre-college program that introduces high school students to game design and interactive media through hands-on project work. You’ll create an original playable game while exploring areas such as concept art, programming, animation, motion capture, sound design, and playtesting. You will work in collaborative studio teams, receive instruction from Becker School of Design & Technology faculty, and interact with guest speakers from companies including Riot Games, Epic Games, WB Games, and Demiurge. The program also offers opportunities to specialize in various aspects of game development and culminates in a showcase where you will present your completed games to faculty, families, and industry professionals. Those interested in advancing further can continue into the Summer Game Studio: Next Level program, which builds on foundational game development skills.
5. Girls Make Games Summer Camp
Location: Multiple locations in the United States (Redmond, WA; Bay Area, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Elizabeth City, NC; Wilmington, NC)
Cost: $2,300 for the three-week program at most locations; the Los Angeles camp is free through the Girls Make Games Scholarship Fund.
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: July 6 - 24 (Most locations); North Carolina camps run July 6 - 23 or July 13 - 31, depending on location.
Application Deadline: Registration for the 2026 program has closed (future application dates to be announced).
Eligibility: Girls and non-binary students aged 13–18 (Teen program); No prior coding or game development experience is required
Girls Make Games Summer Camp is a three-week program that introduces high school students to the fundamentals of game design and development through collaborative, project-based learning. You’ll work in teams to design, program, and build a fully functional video game while learning core concepts such as game design, programming, and teamwork. The curriculum is designed for beginners and does not require previous coding experience. Camps are hosted at industry and university venues, including DigiPen Institute of Technology, Crystal Dynamics, Zynga, and Arizona State University's Los Angeles campus. Financial aid and scholarships are available to help make the program accessible, and you will complete the camp with an original game developed alongside your peers.
6. iD Tech – Game Development 101 with Unreal Engine 5
Location: Multiple university campuses across the United States (75+ locations)
Cost: Starting at $1,099 (scholarships available at select locations)
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Weeklong sessions offered throughout the summer (Monday–Friday; dates vary by location)
Application Deadline: Rolling enrollment until sessions fill
Eligibility: Students aged 13–17. Open to beginners as well as students with prior game development experience.
Game Development 101 with Unreal Engine 5 is a weeklong summer camp where high school students learn the fundamentals of professional game development using Unreal Engine 5. You will build your own 3D game by creating landscapes, implementing gameplay mechanics with Blueprint Visual Scripting, and designing interactive levels. The curriculum also introduces you to game design planning, playtesting, and iterative development practices used in the game industry. Classes are taught in small groups on university campuses by experienced instructors, with opportunities for collaboration and hands-on learning throughout the week. At the end of the program, you’ll receive an iD Tech diploma and course transcript and leave with a completed game project that can be included in a portfolio.
7. MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute (BWSI) – Serious Games Development with Artificial Intelligence
Location: Virtual summer program (Online); administered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, MA
Cost: Tuition-free for most students. Families with a household income and assets exceeding $200,000 are required to pay a program fee
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Four-week summer program in July (following completion of the required online prerequisite course; final event held in early August)
Application Deadline: Applications typically close before enrollment decisions are released in May (exact deadline varies annually).
Eligibility: High school students residing and attending high school in the United States who are entering grades 9–11 (current seniors and college students are not eligible); Completion of the required online prerequisite course and prior knowledge of Python are required
The Serious Games Development with Artificial Intelligence course at MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute introduces high school students to the intersection of game development, artificial intelligence, and systems modeling. You’ll use Python to build and extend a serious game while studying topics such as AI ethics, game mechanics, user interface design, and data analysis, among others. The program centers on a collaborative software development project in which you’ll work in teams to design game features, analyze gameplay data, and evaluate real-world policy and technology challenges through simulation. You will also gain experience with professional development practices, including version control, project management, playtesting, and technical presentations. The program begins with a self-paced online prerequisite course, followed by a selective four-week summer experience that emphasizes teamwork, coding, and applied research.
8. Carnegie Mellon University National High School Game Academy (NHSGA)
Location: Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PA
Cost: Tuition-based program (cost not specified on the program page); scholarships available for eligible applicants. No stipend.
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: June 20 - August 1
Application Deadline: Early Deadline: February 1; Final Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school students who will be between 10th–11th grade or 11th–12th grade during the summer of 2026 and are at least 16 years old by June 20
The National High School Game Academy (NHSGA) is a six-week residential pre-college program in which high school students learn video game development using collaborative workflows modeled after Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center. During the first two weeks, you will complete intensive coursework in game design, programming, art, audio, and production before transitioning into multidisciplinary teams to build original game prototypes. The curriculum emphasizes hands-on learning, teamwork, presentations, and iterative design, with students contributing to multiple aspects of game development while specializing in a faculty-assigned role. Throughout the program, you will complete assignments, receive feedback from instructors, and develop communication and project management skills commonly used in professional game studios. The program concludes with team presentations and portfolio-quality game prototypes that you can use when applying to colleges or pursuing further studies in game development.
9. National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) – Game Design
Location: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California, CA
Cost: $4,295 (Residential tuition); scholarships and payment plans available. No stipend.
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: June 23 - July 1, July 5 - July 13
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions until sessions are full
Eligibility: High school students interested in game design, interactive media, or related fields.
The National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC) Game Design program is a nine-day residential summer experience that introduces high school students to the creative and technical aspects of video game development. Through hands-on workshops, you will design original game concepts, explore storytelling and gameplay mechanics, build environments, and create playable prototypes using industry-standard design tools and workflows. You’ll also learn about playtesting, iterative design, and how game designers balance creativity with player experience. The program includes guest speakers from the gaming industry, educational field trips, and leadership development workshops focused on communication, teamwork, resilience, and problem-solving. You’ll live on a college campus throughout the program, gaining a pre-college residential experience while exploring careers in game design.
10. DigiPen Academy Pre-College Game Design
Location: Online
Cost: $2,995 tuition; no stipend
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: July 6 - 31
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students who are at least 16 years old, entering their junior or senior year of high school, or who have graduated from high school within the past 18 months; No prior game development experience is required
DigiPen Academy's Pre-College Game Design program is a four-week online summer course that introduces high school students to the core disciplines of game development. You’ll study game design principles, computer science for games, interactive narrative, and character creation while collaborating in a Game Project Lab to develop a complete game with students from other pre-college tracks. The curriculum combines lectures with hands-on labs, giving you experience in both the creative and technical aspects of game production. You’ll receive grades and an official transcript upon successful completion, which can be included in college applications. Those who later enroll at DigiPen Institute of Technology within three years may also receive a tuition credit equal to the cost of the pre-college program toward their first semester.
11. Urban Arts Game Academy – 2D Game Development Summer Intensive
Location: New York, New York, NY (In-person at the Urban Arts Learning Lab) or Remote (via Discord)
Cost: Tuition-free; no stipend. In-person students receive free meals and snacks, and eligible participants can access loaner laptops and MetroCards.
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: July 6 - August 16
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students entering 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in Fall. No prior experience in programming, art, music, or narrative writing is required, but applicants should have a strong interest in learning.
Urban Arts' 2D Game Development Summer Intensive is a six-week program that introduces high school students to game design and computer science through hands-on projects using Unity and C#. You’ll learn programming, pixel art, sprite animation, digital music and sound design, narrative writing, and character development while creating your own playable games. The curriculum begins with coding lessons and creative workshops before transitioning into an individual game project and a collaborative game jam during the final week. You can attend either in person or remotely and also receive access to college advising and an online learning community. Those who complete the summer intensive finish the first level of Urban Arts' three-stage Game Academy curriculum, allowing them to continue with the advanced 3D Game Development course during the academic year.
12. Urban Arts Game Academy – 3D Game Development (Level Two)
Location: New York, New York, NY (In-person at the Urban Arts Learning Lab) or Remote (via Discord)
Cost: Tuition-free; no stipend. In-person students receive food during classes, and eligible participants have access to loaner laptops and MetroCards.
Acceptance rate: Not publicly disclosed
Dates: Mid-October to mid-June (Academic year; approximately 6 hours per week)
Application Deadline: Applications open annually later in the year (exact deadline not publicly disclosed)
Eligibility: Students who have successfully completed Urban Arts' 2D Game Development course. Students with prior Unity experience may be considered for placement after contacting the program.
Urban Arts' 3D Game Development is the second level of the Game Academy program, designed for high school students who want to deepen their game development skills. Over the course of the academic year, you will build on your knowledge of Unity and C# while learning 3D modeling with Blender, version control using GitHub, and collaborative game development practices. You’ll work in teams to manage projects and create more advanced games while gaining experience with industry-standard tools and workflows. In addition to technical instruction, the program provides college access support, including guidance on college exploration, scholarships, and application preparation. You can participate either through after-school in-person classes or remotely via Discord, with all instruction offered at no cost.
Questions students often ask about these programs
1. Do I need coding experience already to apply to these programs?
No, most of these are designed for complete beginners and teach coding and game design concepts from scratch. A couple of the more advanced programs do expect some prior programming knowledge, so check eligibility closely before applying.
2. Most of these are camps or courses rather than internships. Does that still count for a college application?
Yes, a structured game development course still demonstrates initiative, technical skill-building, and sustained interest in the field, which matters for applications regardless of the exact format. Just describe the experience accurately rather than calling it an internship if it was a course.
3. Are any of these programs free, or should I expect to pay a tuition fee?
A few, including a couple of the New York-based community programs and one MIT-affiliated course, are tuition-free. Most others charge a program fee, though several offer scholarships or financial aid to help offset the cost.