12 Hospital Internships for High School Students
Interning at a hospital can be quite beneficial if you’re considering a career in medicine and related fields. Starting early, while in high school, can help you stand out when you apply to college, while also allowing you to build practical knowledge in the field. Even if you’re not interested in medicine or medical research, you can still benefit from a hospital internship! There are adjacent and supporting careers, such as nursing, business, finance, and administration, all of which are necessary for keeping a hospital functional and efficient.
An internship demonstrates your dedication to both academic and hands-on learning. It also helps you network with professionals who are at the top of their fields. It takes a village to run a hospital, and an internship will give you a glimpse of its inner workings. Additionally, completing a hospital internship can offer you a chance to explore various medical fields and determine the career path you want to pursue.
Here’s a list of 12 of the best hospital internships for high school students to help you get started. An added benefit is that most of these internships are fully funded and provide stipends!
1. High School Summer Internship Program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Location: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors residing in the Cincinnati metropolitan area
Application Deadline: The 2024 applications closed in February and will reopen for 2025 in November 2024.
Dates: June-July (8 weeks)
Stipend: $13 per hour
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital runs a highly selective summer internship program, allowing high school students to work with mentors from any pediatric specialty. Interns will work for 20 hours a week and gain more knowledge about pursuing a career in the biomedical sciences.
Interns will get the rare opportunity to shadow their mentors in the facility. Make sure to clearly state mentor preferences and specialties of interest in the application form. Apart from shadowing and observations, interns will also be able to assist mentors on clinical or research projects.
Group luncheons, workshops, group training, and seminars are also held.
2. Health Careers Summer Internship at Hawaii Pacific Health
Location: Hawaii Pacific Health and its network of medical centers in Oahu and Kauai, HI
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
Application Deadline: Applications are closed for 2024 and will reopen for the 2025 program in late 2024.
Dates: June 17, 2024 - July 25, 2024 (Kauai) | June 17, 2024 - July 25, 2024 (Oahu)
Stipend: Paid (amount not specified)
The Health Careers Summer Internship is a six-week program geared to provide a hands-on experience to students interested in pursuing careers in health care. Selected interns will be able to learn about the workings of hospital systems, interact with and shadow healthcare professionals, and gain exposure to the variety of careers available in hospitals.
These internships are offered at multiple hospitals and medical centers in Hawai’i, including Hawai’i Pacific Health, Pali Momi Medical Center, Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children, Straub Medical Center, Kauai Medical Clinic, and Wilcox Medical Center.
Interns can work in departments like the Intensive Care Unit, Respiratory Care, Physical Therapy, Patient Services, and more.
Location: Anschutz Medical Campus (Children’s Hospital Colorado), Aurora, CO
Eligibility: High school seniors at least 18 years old by the start of the internship can apply. Undergraduates and graduates are also eligible.
Application Deadline: Applications are closed for 2024 and will reopen for the 2025 internship in December 2024.
Dates: June 3, 2024 - August 2, 2024 (9 weeks)
Stipend: $3,500 to help with housing and travel
Through a collaboration between the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado and the Child Health Research Enterprise at Children's Hospital Colorado, high school students can apply for a summer research internship with the faculty of both institutions. Students will primarily work in the hospital’s lab, assisting their mentors with research on child health. Interns can provide preferences for their mentors while applying.
Students will attend weekly workshops and, at the end, they will provide written reports and oral or poster/PowerPoint presentations on their projects while also writing abstracts for submission to local, regional, and national meetings.
4. Kaiser Permanente (KP) Launch High School Program
Location: Kaiser Permanente medical centers close to you
Eligibility: Current high school students aged 16-19 with U.S. work eligibility and permanent residence in a Northern California Kaiser Permanente designated service area. Students will need to commute to the location.
Application Deadline: Applications for 2024 are closed and will reopen later in the year for the 2025 program.
Dates: June 17, 2024 - August 2, 2024 (7 weeks)
Stipend: $15.50 - $18 per hour
For students keen on working on the administrative and business side of things in a healthcare environment, the KP Launch High School Program is an excellent opportunity to learn what it takes to support hospitals and clinics. Selected interns will attend weekly workshops to develop their skills, work and interact with supervisors and mentors, work on collaborative community service projects with peers, and build a network.
Departments and projects keep changing on an annual basis, with some past departments including nursing, administration, internal medicine, and patient care.
5. Seacole Scholars Program by Lifespan
Location: Providence, RI
Eligibility: High school students aged 16-19 with valid Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) licenses
Application Deadline: Applications for 2024 closed in January and will reopen in late 2024.
Dates: June-August (7-8 weeks)
Stipend: Paid (amount not specified)
Lifespan is a not-for-profit health system that includes 3 teaching hospitals—Rhode Island Hospital, Miriam Hospital, and Bradley Hospital—as well as other community hospitals and medical practices. Lifespan’s Seacole Scholars Program selects around 80 scholars with CNA licenses and gives them a chance to work on the nursing units for 4 days a week while spending one day a week in development training.
Interns will also receive career guidance from experts and will get to build a network with their peers. Some may even receive an offer of further employment at Lifespan.
6. High School Summer Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center
Location: MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Eligibility: Current Texas high school seniors age 18+ by the program start date
Application Deadline: Applications typically open in November and close in January.
Dates: June 3, 2024 - August 9, 2024 (10 weeks)
Stipend: $6,800
The MD Anderson Cancer Center is the University of Texas’ cancer research and treatment hospital. It provides internship opportunities to only 10 skilled high school students interested in Allied Health careers in a biomedical discipline. Selected interns will work on research projects with MD Anderson faculty, with an emphasis on scientific investigation.
Students will mainly work in the hospital’s laboratories but will also get to attend seminars and social and development activities, including abstract, poster, and elevator speech competitions. At the end of the internship, participants will give presentations at a celebratory luncheon.
7. Johns Hopkins Internship in Brain Sciences (JHIBS)
Location: John Hopkins Department of Medicine, Baltimore, MD / Virtual
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors can apply, with in-person internship applicants attending a high school in Baltimore City to facilitate an easy commute.
Application Deadline: March 1 every year
Dates: June-August (8 weeks in person) | July-August (virtual 5 weeks)
Stipend: Hourly wages and transportation funds are paid to in-person interns while virtual interns are paid a fixed stipend of $500.
The Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Hospital share the same campus, giving 8 highly qualified high school students a chance to blend their learning and working opportunities in neurological science during the JHIBS. Students may also opt for a virtual program for educational presentations, development training, mentorship training, and learning basic lab techniques and experiments.
The in-person internship is a lot more comprehensive and includes the chance to attend scientific seminars, 1-1 meetings with mentors, professional and educational training, and final oral or poster presentations.
Students can go through past intern projects here.
8. Eugene and Ruth Roberts Summer Student Academy at City of Hope
Location: City of Hope, Duarte, CA
Eligibility: High school students at least 16 years old with U.S. citizenship or permanent residence
Application Deadline: March 13, 2024
Dates: June 3, 2024 - August 9, 2024 (10 weeks)
Stipend: $4,000
City of Hope Hospital’s Eugene and Ruth Roberts Summer Student Academy is a highly competitive program. Last year, they accepted only 82 students from 2,100 applicants.
As part of the internship, students will work in a biomedical research team with accomplished physicians and scientists (including post-doctorates, graduate students, and lab personnel) in an area of their interest. Additionally, interns will attend weekly seminars to present research findings and will participate in workshops on creating posters, biomedical ethics, and more. The program will also highlight the importance of scientific writing and communication.
Students will also get to attend field trips and social events.
9. Future Scientist Program at IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
Location: Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN
Eligibility: High school juniors at Indianapolis and all Marion County public schools with a minimum 3.0 GPA
Application Deadline: March 1, 2024
Dates: June 3, 2024 - July 26, 2024
Stipend: Paid (amount not specified)
Indiana University’s Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center (providing both research and treatment services) runs an annual Future Scientist Program for high school juniors to work on a research project under the mentorship of a university researcher. Interns will be able to work independently and develop their biomedical research projects through the course of the program and, in doing so, will receive access to the cancer center’s state-of-the-art laboratories and clinics.
Several extracurricular educational opportunities are included in the programming, as well as a chance for students to interact and network with like-minded peers and professionals.
10. Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP) at Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Location: South Lake Union, Seattle, WA
Eligibility: Students between 11th and 12th grades from underrepresented backgrounds
Application Deadline: March 31, 2024
Dates: June 24, 2024 - August 16, 2024 (8 weeks)
Stipend: Paid (details revealed in the interview) + free ORCA card provided for commuting
Fred Hutch Cancer Center is a treatment and research facility that provides a high school internship program—a comprehensive opportunity that first provides selected interns with practical training in laboratory safety techniques and skills and then pairs them with a fellow intern, both of whom work under mentors to conduct research projects and activities as part of a research group.
Interns will conduct various activities, including data entry, attending laboratory meetings, creating culture plates, making solutions or dilutions, and more. Further, students will participate in talks, research seminars, and workshops on ethics, health disparities research, Big Data visualization, lab techniques, essay writing, and biostatistics. They will conclude the program with presentations.
Location: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors nominated by partner schools or community-based agencies
Application Deadline: Not mentioned
Dates: 6-8 weeks in the summer (conducted over two consecutive summers)
Stipend: Paid (amount not specified) + travel awards + daily lunch
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia conducts the CHOP-RISES program to encourage interest and science confidence, particularly in terms of contribution to child health research and development. It hosts the following two iterations of the program:
CHOP-RISES I: This 6-week internship for rising juniors trains selected interns in host labs, teaching them basic lab techniques and the usage of research in improving child health and wellness. Mentoring, career exposure, and interactive curriculum are included. Interns are expected to give final presentations as well.
CHOP-RISES II: This is an 8-week internship for rising seniors to train them in research and lab techniques, using which they complete independent research projects. Mentorship training, career seminars, clinical shadowing, and final presentations are part of the programming.
Both programs run Monday-Thursday and occur on two consecutive summers during students' rising junior and senior years.
12. Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center
Location: Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Boston, MA
Eligibility: Massachusetts high school sophomore, junior, or senior at least 16 years old and from an underrepresented/financially disadvantaged background
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in February each year. Applications for 2025 will open in the fall of 2024.
Dates: 8-12 weeks starting June 17, 2024
Stipend: Paid (amount not specified)
The CURE program encourages high school students to conduct cancer research by placing them in real-world research settings of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and other local cancer research institutions. Students will work on research projects while learning from and working with experts in preventing, curing, and treating cancer.
Interns will also attend scientific and professional development seminars and journal clubs and will further prepare and present an abstract and a poster or a PowerPoint presentation at the end.
Looking for an immersive internship experience in healthcare and medicine?
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, with a large number of them in tech. 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.