13 Computer Science Internships for High Schoolers in NYC
If you're a high school student looking to pursue a computer science internship, New York City's tech scene offers compelling opportunities to explore the dynamic world of technology and gain hands-on experience. These internships can be an opportunity to learn how to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios, develop practical skills, and network with professionals in the field.
Whether you're passionate about coding, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, web development, UX/UI design, or software development, an internship will enhance your college applications and help you kickstart your journey in the rapidly evolving field of computer science. In NYC, you'll be able to sharpen your technical skills and gain early practical experience in your chosen field that will help you in your future career endeavors.
Here's our curated list of 13 computer science internships for high school students in New York City.
Location: Virtual! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Eligibility: Open to all high school students, who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. These internships are also open to undergraduates and gap-year students.
Application Deadline: Multiple deadlines throughout the year. Summer cohort: April 14, 2024 (Regular Admission 1) | May 12, 2024 (Regular Admission 2).
Dates: 8-week programs with multiple cohorts throughout the year, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Cost: Starting at $1,990. Financial assistance is available.
Ladder Internships pairs high school students with startups and nonprofits around the world for virtual internships. You can choose to intern in any field, from a wide range of industries, including technology, machine learning, AI, computer science, finance, environmental science, sustainability, business, marketing, healthcare, medicine, media, journalism, and more. The program includes 1-on-1 training in professional skills, and group training sessions with fellow interns. As an intern, you will work on projects and make a contribution to the startup or nonprofit’s larger mission, and present your work at the end of the program. You will be paired with a manager at the startup and with a Ladder coach, who serves as a second mentor.
The internship opportunities in this program span the globe, with a concentration in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and the UK. You can explore all the options here on their application form.
2. Army Educational Outreach Program (AEOP) High School Internships
Location: There are AEOP locations in almost every state. Students may select their preferred location. The program is intended for commuters and transportation, meals, and housing are not provided. (Opportunities are available in New York City).
Eligibility: Those applying must be current high school students who are U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents. Additional eligibility requirements vary by location. Check details here.
Application deadline: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Check AEOP’s Summer 2024 opportunities here for the application dates.
Dates: This is a summer internship program, specific dates vary from location to location.
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Stipend is provided but varies from location to location.
This program is a chance to work one-on-one with a university researcher or Department of Defense (DoD) scientist mentor on research projects. As an intern, you will be exposed to high-tech equipment and cutting-edge techniques in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, and have access to professional scientists and engineers. Additionally, you will learn from other STEM practitioners during the internship. The Army-sponsored research that you will be a part of addresses the USA’s biggest challenges. The program aims to hone critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills to prepare you for a career in STEM.
If you’re interested in computer science, you can select research opportunities like the ones offered by New York University where you’ll get to research single qubits, familiarize yourself with key concepts of quantum mechanics, and learn to transpose them in terms of circuits using Qiskit. In the second half of the summer program, you’ll focus on experimental realizations of basic quantum tools. You can check AEOP’s Summer 2024 opportunities here.
Location: The program is conducted in a hybrid format, in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. The summer internship program will take place in New York.
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors enrolled in a New York City, Los Angeles, or Miami high school are eligible.
Application Deadline: The application cycle for Tech Flex Leaders 2024-2025 will open in May 2024 and close in August 2024.
Dates: 9 months starting in September
Cost/Stipend: No cost; a $1,000 stipend is provided to the interns.
The Tech Flex Leaders program is a perfect fit for students looking to make their own way in the technology sector. This program delves deeper than basic concepts, offering insights into the complexities of emerging technologies.
Designed to nurture future leaders in technology, the program offers a variety of tracks, including UX Design, Data Science, and Web Development, among others. Throughout the program, students engage in workshops and hackathons designed to test their problem-solving abilities and learn various programming languages. With a structured approach that emphasizes both theoretical understanding and the development of practical skills relevant to the fast-paced tech industry, this program offers a comprehensive learning experience. Additionally, it provides opportunities for students to connect with and gain knowledge from industry experts, helping to build a valuable professional network.
4. NYU’s Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE)
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, NYC
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Students will receive a stipend of at least $750
Application Deadline: March 6, 2024
Dates: June 3, 2024 - August 9, 2024 (10 weeks).
Eligibility: Students residing in New York City, who will complete 10th or 11th grade in June 2024, are eligible to apply.
NYU's ARISE program offers a rich summer learning experience for those drawn to engineering and its many branches. Its interdisciplinary approach encompasses a wide array of subjects, including chemical engineering, robotics, computer science, bio- and molecular engineering, machine learning, anthropology, biology, aerospace engineering, and artificial intelligence.
Designed to cultivate a breadth of STEM skills, ARISE provides hands-on laboratory experiences, alongside classroom sessions, and workshops focusing on ethics, lab safety, data collection, and even college admissions preparation. A standout element of the program is the mentorship from NYU's esteemed research faculty, which encourages a culture of teamwork, guidance, and creative inquiry, enabling students to engage in significant research endeavors within their chosen STEM domains. The program culminates with students showcasing their research outcomes at a colloquium. If you’re interested in computer science, you can choose to work in the Responsible Data Science Lab, the Privacy and Security Automation Lab (PSAL), or the Visualization and Data Analytics Research Center.
For its 2024 session, ARISE is set to accept 76 to 80 students into the program. You can view Research Opportunities for this summer's participating professors and their labs.
5. Stanford’s SHTEM: Summer Internship
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: Applicants must:
- Be currently a high school junior or senior in the 2023-2024 school year (i.e. 11th or 12th grade at the time of application) OR a full-time CC student (within first three years of CC)
- Be at least 14 by June 17 (if you are a high school junior or senior).
- Be between the ages of 17 and 21 (inclusive) by June 17 (if you are a full-time CC student).
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February.
Dates: June 17, 2024 - August 9, 2024
Cost/Stipend: None
This program offers high school and community college students early exposure to cutting-edge research in an academic environment, while introducing students to the diversity of research topics pursued in engineering. Conducted by a highly esteemed institution during the summer, this internship offers a unique chance for students to explore diverse subjects remotely. You will spend most of the time conducting research from where you are located (if you are working on hardware projects, materials will be sent to you) while maintaining regular communication with your mentors and group members. You can anticipate a commitment of 30-40 hours per week, guided by Stanford's renowned faculty and industry experts who provide valuable insights into the evolving tech landscape.
Themes cover the science of information and communication, engineering, the arts, linguistics, psychology, biology, neuroscience, computer science, technology, philosophy, and design, among other areas. This program will help you develop technical skills and foster a success-oriented mindset.
6. Computer Science for Cyber Security (CS4CS)
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, NYC
Eligibility: NYC residents who are currently in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade can apply.
Application Deadline: April 14, 2024
Dates: July 15, 2024 - August 9, 2024
Cost/Stipend: None
CS4CS is an introduction to the fundamentals of cybersecurity and computer science for high school students with any or no background experience in cybersecurity or computer programming. During the program, you will attend lessons focused on a spectrum of topics such as “white-hat” hacking, cryptography, steganography, digital forensics, privacy, data usage, and other issues relevant to the fast-growing cyber industry.
You’ll get to learn various software tools and techniques used to detect cyber threats and investigate their origins and purposes, and cover topics such as the use of ciphers in protecting computer networks and developing coding skills. You’ll also get to explore some of the behavioral science that helps us understand and mitigate threats like phishing scams, identity theft, and more. Additionally, CS4CS students get to participate in Irondale, a mandatory program led by theater-teaching artists who use improv to boost communication and public speaking skills.
7. Girls Who Code Summer Programs
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: 9th-11th grade girls (Virtual Summer Immersion Program) / 9th-12th grade girls (Self-Paced Summer Program) and non-binary high school students, with or without prior coding experience, including alums.
Application Deadline: March 22, 2024
Dates: Girls Who Code offers two free programs in the summer:
- Virtual Summer Immersion Program (June 14 - June 28, 2024 | July 8 - July 19, 2024 | July 29 - August 9, 2024)
- Self-Paced Summer Program (July 1 - August 9, 2024)
Cost/Stipend: None (For the Summer Immersion Program, there is a $300 needs-based grant for eligible students in the United States).
In the 2-week Summer Immersion Program (SIP), you’ll get a chance to attend live, virtual classes sponsored by industry-leading companies like MetLife, Bank of America, Logitech, and Synchrony. You’ll get to dive into the tech world and game design, covering beginner to intermediate CS concepts, the step-by-step design process, and the basics of UX design.
In the Self-Paced Program, you’ll get an opportunity to explore web development, cyber security, data science, and artificial intelligence. You’ll get to work at your own pace to learn coding languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python and have the opportunity to build community through live events.
8. NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) Internships
Location: These internships are offered across NASA facilities. Depending on the project, interns will work either remotely or on-site at any of NASA’s 10 field centers across the country. Opportunities are available in New York at CUNY New York City College of Technology, Brooklyn.
Eligibility: Applicants must:
- Be a U.S. citizen.
- Have a cumulative 3.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale).
- Be a full-time student (high school through graduate level) or a part-time college-level student enrolled in a minimum of 6 semester hours.
- Be a minimum of 16 years of age at the time of application (no exceptions).
Application Deadline: Varies from internship to internship. July (Fall session) | November (Spring session) | April (Summer session).
Dates: These internships are offered in 3 sessions –
- Fall (16-week program, from late August or early September to mid-December)
- Spring (16-week program, from mid-January to early May)
- Summer (10-week program, from late May or early June to August).
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Interns may receive a stipend based on academic level and session duration.
NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) offers paid internships to high school and college-level students based in its various sites across the country.
These internships provide training, mentorship, and career development to over 2000+ students annually alongside exposure to leading experts in science, engineering, finance, IT, and business. The internships are offered in a range of subjects and disciplines, including space science, engineering, aeronautics, technology, space microbiology, ecology, and even outreach and communications. You will get to design experiments, analyze mission data, and develop innovative technologies.
If you’re looking for computer science research opportunities in New York, you can opt to work with CCRI where you’ll study land surface temperature via satellite and remote sensing technologies and learn to measure and monitor the dynamics and environmental consequences of the urban ecosystem. You can explore different internship opportunities here by using the ‘Filter’ option to view the options open to high school students.
9. CUNY’s STEM Research Academy (RA)
Location: City College campus, NY
Eligibility: Applicants must be New York City Public High School 10th or 11th-graders during spring semester 2024. Check here for additional qualification requirements.
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in January.
Dates: Spring Course 2024 (February 6 - May 23, 2024) | Summer Session 2024 (July 1 - August 2, 2024
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Students who complete the campus-based research mentorship/internship project, participate in the weekly seminar and workshop, and the poster presentation may be eligible for a $1,575 stipend.
STEM RA, housed within CUNY K-16, is a two-semester program consisting of a pre-college science course and summer experience. During the spring, students participate in a course that introduces the concept and practice of scientific research. It is followed by a six-week summer experience designed to build scientific literacy and numeracy skills while engaging in hands-on research in an academic research laboratory. STEM RA students are encouraged to continue their research following the program’s completion and to apply to participate in the New York City Science & Engineering Fair (NYCSEF).
For the Spring Course, 25 students will be enrolled in a 45-hour hands-on science research science course. For the Summer Session, 10 of the original 25 students will participate in a five-week structured internship program where they will be matched with a City University of New York (CUNY) or City College of New York (CCNY) faculty member, based as much as possible on the student’s area of interest. Research topics include computer science, data analysis, engineering, and more. You will be required to work in a research lab four to five days a week and/or Saturdays and complete a research project and presentation. The presentation will be on the CCNY campus and at the New York Science Center for Research and Mentoring (NYSCRM) and the poster presentation will be held at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH).
10. Simons Summer Research Program
Location: Stony Brook University, NY
Eligibility: Applicants must:
- Be in their junior year (11th grade) of high school at the time of applying
- Be US citizens and/or permanent residents.
- Be at least 16 years of age by the start of the program.
Application Deadline: The applications typically close in February.
Dates: July 1, 2024 - August 9, 2024
Cost/Stipend: No participation cost; Stipend is provided.
Stony Brook University’s Simons Summer Research Program is a chance to engage in hands-on research in STEM alongside faculty mentors. In this program, you will be matched with a faculty mentor, join a research group or team, and be responsible for a project. By the end of the program, you would have had to produce a written research abstract and a research poster. All participants in the Simons program should expect to commit a minimum of 4 hours per day working on their own and/or with their mentor/research group. Hours may vary and should be agreed upon by consultation with the assigned faculty mentor.
If you’re looking to conduct research in computer science, you can opt to work alongside Dr. Dongyoon Lee in the Computer Science Department where research projects are offered in the areas of computer systems, security, and software engineering. Possible topics include C/C++ memory safety, regular expression denial of service, and software testing. You can view the other projects for Summer 2024 here!
11. CCNY STEM Institute High School Program
Location: CCNY STEM Institute, New York, NY
Eligibility: NYC residents who are currently in 9th - 12th grades can apply.
Application Deadline: May 6, 2024
Dates: July 8, 2024 - August 8, 2024
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Students may be eligible to receive a stipend via STEM RA/SYEP upon meeting eligibility requirements, submission of requirement documentation, and successful completion of their Summer program.
The STEM Institute is offering 10 courses for high school students, including Advanced Algebra & Trig, Precalculus, Calculus 1, General Chemistry, General Physics, App Development & Startup Entrepreneurship, Game Development, Rocketry, Financial Management, and Creative Writing & Reading. The courses will not only provide students with subject-specific knowledge but also equip them with essential research skills, fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and effective communication.
During the program, you’ll be required to enroll in 2 courses; a morning and afternoon section. You will also be required to engage in a group research project in one of the courses. The program will run for 5-weeks, and culminate with a research symposium where you will present your research topic. You will receive one (1) HS Honors Elective credit for each course completed. Some courses also qualify for 1 - 4 College credits via College Now (CN) upon successful completion. You must complete a separate CN application and be accepted into CN to receive credit.
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: Candidates must:
- Be 18 years or older on the date they register for the program.
- Not be a resident of a United States embargoed country.
- Be eligible to work in the country in which they reside for the duration of the program.
Application Deadline: April 4, 2024
Dates: May 29 - September 4, 2024.
Cost/Stipend: No cost; Stipend is provided.
The Google Summer of Code (GSoC) program allows new contributors to be part of open-source projects and gain real-world experience by working on a 12+ week coding project with one of ~150 open-source organizations under the guidance of dedicated mentors.
Program Goals of the GSoC include motivating developers to begin participating in open-source software development, helping open-source projects bring in new developers into their communities, and giving new contributors exposure to real-world open-source software development scenarios (e.g., testing, version control, software licensing, etc.), and creating more open source code for everyone. After the program ends, the code GSoC contributors wrote will be available for all to use and will be easy for GSoC contributors to reference when applying for jobs and internships.
13. Veritas AI Internship
Location: Virtual
Eligibility: Open to high school students who have prior experience with AI/ML or have completed a Veritas AI program.
Application Deadline: October 20, 2024
Dates: The start date for the upcoming cohort is November 11, 2024.
Cost: $2,490 (some financial aid is available)
The AI Internship Program by Veritas AI is founded and run by Harvard graduate students. Through the 8-week internship, students have the opportunity to work with VC-backed startups on real-world AI/ML projects. Students work directly with mentors from Harvard, Wharton, Google, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, and more.
This program is a great opportunity for students who have prior experience with AI/ML and are looking to gain real-world exposure to a career in the field. Students get a chance to network with industry professionals, work closely with company leadership, and receive a letter of completion from the company at the end of the internship. You can learn more about the program here and apply here.
Looking for an immersive internship experience?
Check out Ladder Internships!
Ladder Internships is a selective, virtual internship program where students work with startups and nonprofits from around the world! The startups range across a variety of industries. As part of their internship, each student will work on a real-world project that is of genuine need to the startup they are working with, and present their work at the end of their internship. In addition to working closely with their manager from the startup, each intern will also work with a Ladder Coach throughout their internship. Apply now!
Stephen is one of the founders of Ladder Internships and a Harvard College graduate.