Internships and Programs!

Internships and programs are great ways to develop your passion and gain experience. Internships and programs can be year-long or only during the summer. These are great ways to gain experience and develop your passion.

Note: $= The program costs money, Stipend= Interns are paid, Free= The program is free, Minimum Wage= Interns are paid minimum wage

Family House: Summer High School Volunteer Program

Summer Program

Location: San Francisco, CA

Family House serves as a home away from home for families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses by providing physical comfort and emotional support, free from financial concerns.

Every summer Family House seeks a group of motivated high school students that want to make a difference in the lives of the families that stay with us while receiving treatment at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.

Boston University – Research in Science & Engineering (RISE)

Summer Program $

Location: Boston

If you’re passionate about the sciences and are a domestic student currently in your junior year of high school, we invite you to apply for the Research in Science & Engineering (RISE) program. You will spend six weeks at BU conducting university laboratory research with some of the nation’s brightest scientific minds while advancing your STEM knowledge and skills. RISE offers an internship and practicum. Interns tackle research projects under the mentorship of distinguished faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students. Students in the practicum path conduct group research in a university setting under the guidance of a BU instructor. Ideal for students who prefer a structured research environment, the Practicum track is focused on computational neurobiology.

Requirements: Only open to Juniors in high school

Application Deadline: February

Canada/USA Mathcamp

Summer Program $

Canada/USA Mathcamp is an intensive 5-week-long summer program for mathematically talented high school students, designed to expose these students to the beauty of advanced mathematical ideas and to new ways of thinking.

More than just a summer camp, Mathcamp is a vibrant community, made up of a wide variety of people who share a common love of learning and passion for mathematics. At Mathcamp, students can explore undergraduate and even graduate-level topics while building problem-solving skills that will help them in any field they choose to study.

Requirements: Students must be ages 13-18 and comfortable with high school algebra, geometry, trig, exponents and logarithms. Students from anywhere in the world are encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline: March

Carnegie Mellon – Summer Academy for Math + Science (SAMS) Summer Program

Summer Program $

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Summer Academy for Math and Science (SAMS) provides opportunities for students from underrepresented communities to explore STEM-related fields and earn college credit. As SAMS Scholars, students engage in a rigorous curriculum taught by our renowned faculty and staff who are deeply committed to student success. The program allows students to develop deeper understanding in areas such as mathematics, biology, physics and computer programming via traditional classroom instruction, hands-on projects and engagement activities. In addition to their academic experiences, students also have the opportunity to collaborate, and develop meaningful relationships with peers from across the country. Participants can live on campus.

Requirements: Participants must be at least 16 years old by the program start date, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and current sophomore or junior in high school. Students from anywhere in the world are encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline: March

The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)

Summer Program Stipend

Location: 28 laboratories in various states

The Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP) provides an opportunity for high school students to participate in research at a Department of Navy (DoN) laboratory during the summer.

The goals of SEAP are to encourage participating high school students to pursue science and engineering careers, to further their education via mentoring by laboratory personnel and their participation in research, and to make them aware of DoN research and technology efforts, which can lead to employment within the DoN.

SEAP provides competitive research internships to 250 high school students per year. Participating students spend eight weeks during the summer doing research at 28 DoN laboratories.

Requirements: 16 years old

Application Deadline: November

New York Academy of Science 1,000 Girls, 1,000 Futures

Year-long Program Free

Location: Virtual

1000 Girls, 1000 Futures connects STEM-focused high school girls to dynamic, motivated female mentors during a year-long virtual science education program. Participants gain access to innovative programming focused on developing essential 21st century skills and become part of a strong network of female STEM leaders from around the world! Students must be female identifying in order to participate in this program.

Requirements: Girls aged 13-17

Application Deadline: July

New York Academy of Science Junior Academy

Year-long Program Free

Location: Virtual

Each year, the New York Academy of Sciences selects 1,000 of the worlds brightest high school students (ages 13-17) to become part of The Junior Academy, joining a dynamic global network of like-minded peers and mentors. Students work together on Launchpad, the Academy’s unique, online platform. Launchpad enables students and STEM professionals to collaborate virtually as they compete in project-based challenges focused on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition to competing in global challenges, students develop STEM and research experience while advancing vital 21st-century skills such as leadership, communication, and collaboration.

Junior Academy students work together on challenges in self-selected, international teams of up to 6 members. Each team is paired with a STEM professional who serves as a mentor for the duration of the 10-week challenge period. Our mentors are all highly motivated STEM leaders from academia, industry, and research.

The Academy presents challenges twice per year. Challenges run from September through December and again from January through May.

Requirements: Students aged 13-17

Application Deadline: July

Cal Academy Careers in Science (CiS) Intern Program

Year-long Internship Stipend

Location: San Francisco, CA

Created in 1996, the Careers in Science (CiS) Intern Program provides San Francisco youth from communities traditionally underrepresented in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) fields with opportunities to immerse themselves in the sciences. Interns develop life and job skills, receive college and career mentorship, and learn science and sustainability concepts in an authentic, paid work environment. CiS provides hands-on science and youth development experiences at the Academy and outdoors while also exposing interns to professional role models and mentors who are leaders in their disciplines. The internship is 2-3 years long.

Requirements: Students must apply in the 9th or 10th grade, must attend all required events, and must be an SFUSD student.

Application Deadline: Spring

Exploratorium High School Explainers

School-year or Summer Program Minimum Wage

Location: San Francisco, CA

High School Explainers, the Exploratorium’s youngest employees, are a diverse group of students who engage visitors at exhibits, lead demonstrations, and run many museum operations. Some are interested in science; all have a spark for learning new things. In keeping with the Exploratorium’s philosophy, they build their own skills while learning to help others.

The High School Explainer Program makes students part of the museum staff, giving them the important responsibility of being the museum’s primary point of contact with visitors. The Explainers learn about exhibits and facilitate visitor-exhibit interactions; open and close the museum; run daily demonstrations (including cow’s eye, heart, and flower dissections); find lost children; evacuate the museum during emergencies; and more.

Three groups of High School Explainers fill over 130 paid positions a year. More than 3,500 students have participated in the program since its inception in 1969, when the Exploratorium first opened.

Explainers are trained in a variety of subjects and are given a lot of responsibility for handling complex interactions and museum operations. Two or three times a week, they meet with science educators, exhibit builders, and other staff. They’re trained in many subjects and are given a lot of responsibility for handling complex interactions and museum operations. The training is focused both on science content and exhibit facilitation. As part of museum operations, Explainers also learn how to effectively respond to visitors’ needs and safety.

Requirements: Students ages 15-18

Application Deadline: Summer= March

Galileo Summer Camp Internship

Summer Internship Paid

Location: Multiple locations including San Francisco, CA

Typically college or high school students, Summer Operations Interns are the Renaissance staff of our summer team.

They’re sign makers, attendance takers, office assistants, lesson helpers, game leaders, skit planners and all-around can-doers who work to keep camp running smoothly.

Requirements: 16+

Marine Mammal Center Youth Crew

Year-long Program

Location: Sausalito, CA

Youth Crew is an annual service-learning program at The Marine Mammal Center for high school aged students in the greater Bay Area. To participate in the program teens, apply online and interview in the fall, selected applicants are inducted into the program in January. The program commitment runs from January through August, in which a youth volunteer accumulates on average 120 hours of volunteer service in animal care and education.

Youth Crew volunteers first receive training to join an animal care crew during the Center’s busy season from January through May. During this time Youth Crew volunteers will assist and participate in animal husbandry tasks such as washing equipment, sorting fish, cleaning animal pens/pools, weighing animals, scribing observations, managing animals in pens and more as training permits. From June through August Youth Crew volunteers receive training to become youth counselors or youth interpreters for education programs at The Marine Mammal Center. Education volunteers may support our camp experiences for elementary students, or engage our visiting public on ocean conservation issues such as marine debris and climate change. The combined volunteer experiences will see participants through the work of rehabilitating marine mammals, engaging guests, and inspiring the next generation of ocean stewards.

Throughout the program, we apply best practices in service-learning to support the development of every program participant toward their full potential. Youth Crew participants who gain the most form the program are present for all scheduled shifts, attend trainings, participate in workshops, access unique learning resources, and reflect on their volunteer experience.

Requirements: Students ages 15-18

Application Deadline: Fall

San Francisco Health Investigators

Summer Program Free

Location: San Francisco, CA

Funded by a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Institutes of Health, San Francisco Health Investigators (SF HI) is a unique research program designed to leverage participating high school students’ cultural knowledge as they take on the role of Student Researchers and investigate the awareness, knowledge, and attitudes about current health issues in their communities. SF HI seeks to empower students to positively affect health in their home communities, and Student Researchers will use their research outcomes to design messaging campaigns to build awareness, counter misconceptions, and inform health behaviors.

Requirements: Rising high school juniors