Virtual & Online Internships Programs for High School Students

These internships programs are fully online, so students in any town — not just near a major university — can participate.

Virtual programs remove geography from the equation; selectivity and follow-through are all that separate you from applicants in Boston or the Bay Area.

11 verified programs match this page; 9 of the featured listings are completely free.

Featured programs

Browse 11+ curated programs for high school students:

  • CodeDay Labs Internship Program — CodeDay: Build real open-source software in this free virtual internship for high schoolers. Gain hands-on coding experience, boost college apps, and learn fro
  • Palantir Women in Technology Scholarship — Palantir Technologies: Empower your future in computer science with this free scholarship and mentorship opportunity for high school women. Boost skills, gain experience, an
  • TurnUp Pre-College Program — TurnUp: Pre-college program at TurnUp for high school students focusing on youth activism remote internship.
  • Ladder Internships — Ladder Internships: Virtual internship program connecting high school students with startup and organizational work experiences.
  • AIMI Summer Research Internship — Stanford Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine & Imaging: Two-week fully virtual Stanford AIMI internship where high schoolers do mentored, small-team AI-in-healthcare research with lectures from Stanford exp
  • Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills and Education Summer Internship — Stanford Medicine Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills and Education Center: Stanford Medicine's two-week virtual surgical internship for high schoolers: morning lectures plus live-coached suturing, knot tying, and simulated ca
  • Youth Journalism International — Youth Journalism International: Free global online newsroom (since 1994) where students 19 and under report real stories with coaching from experienced editors, publish international
  • Youthcast Media Group Journalism Boot Camps and Workshops — Youthcast Media Group: Virtual journalism boot camps and reporting workshops where high schoolers nationwide cover health and safety issues with veteran-journalist mentors;
  • STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer Intern Program — University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research / NASA: NASA-sponsored UT Austin summer internship where rising juniors and seniors analyze real NASA Earth-science data with scientist mentors. Free virtual
  • MediaWise Teen Fact-Checking Network — The Poynter Institute: Poynter MediaWise's virtual newsroom where US middle and high schoolers debunk viral misinformation, publishing fact-checks and 'Is This Legit?' media
  • Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Internships — Smithsonian Institution: Smithsonian internships in folklife research, the Folklife Festival, Folkways Recordings, archives, and education - explicitly open to high school stu

Frequently asked questions

How many virtual internships programs are listed for high school students?

ExtracurricularHub currently lists 11 verified virtual internships opportunities for high school students, each with cost, eligibility, deadline, and an official application link.

Are any of these virtual internships programs free?

Yes — 9 of the programs featured on this page charge no participation fee. Free programs are often funded and can be more selective, so apply early.

Which deadlines are coming up soonest?

The next deadlines: Ladder Internships (August 23, 2026); Palantir Women in Technology Scholarship (January 15, 2027); Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Internships (March 1, 2027). Deadlines change every cycle — always confirm on the program's official site.

Do colleges value virtual programs as much as in-person ones?

Colleges care about what you did and what came of it, not the mailing address. A virtual research project or online internship with real output carries the same weight — and shows initiative if in-person options weren't available where you live.