If you’re a high school student interested in engineering, internships can give you early exposure to how technical ideas move from theory to real-world application. Depending on the program, you might assist with lab research, test code, analyze data, support design projects, or observe how engineering teams approach problem-solving. Many internships also involve documentation, presentations, and collaborative work, helping you understand how engineers communicate results and manage projects in professional environments.
Why Should You Do an Internship in Oregon?
Oregon offers a practical setting for this kind of experience. The state hosts a mix of research universities, clean energy companies, healthcare institutions, and technology organizations that run structured internship programs for students. Many opportunities are project-based and mentor-driven, allowing you to contribute meaningfully rather than simply observe. For students already living in the state, local programs can be especially convenient, while virtual options may also provide access to national opportunities.
To help get you started, we’ve put together a list of 11 engineering internships for high school students in Oregon. If you want to explore more options beyond this list, you can also check out our guides to 15 Biotechnology Programs for High School Students and 11 AI Summer Research Programs for High School Students for additional pathways.
11 Engineering Internships for High School Students in Oregon
1. Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE) Internships
Location: Partner sites across Portland and the Pacific Northwest
Stipend: $500 – $1,500
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Under 100 positions each year
Dates: Mid-June – August (4-8 weeks)
Application Deadline: March 6
Eligibility: High school students in Oregon and Southwest Washington; must be at least 15 years old by the internship start date and have completed 9th grade
The Apprenticeships in Science & Engineering (ASE) Program offers part- or full-time summer internships centered on practical STEM experiences. You’re matched with research labs, technology companies, or public agencies where you contribute to ongoing engineering or scientific projects. Past mentor sites have included Oregon Health & Science University, Intel, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Alongside daily project work, you attend career development workshops, draft a formal scientific paper, and prepare a research presentation. The experience ends with a public symposium where you present your findings, giving you early exposure to professional research communication.
2. Summer Internship Program – Port of Portland
Location: Port of Portland offices and facilities, Portland, OR
Cost/Stipend: Free to participate; paid hourly wage (rate not publicly specified)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Competitive; varies annually
Dates: Typically 12-month internship; full-time in the summer and part-time during the school year
Application Deadline: Recruitment begins in the spring; opportunities available throughout the year
Eligibility: Students enrolled in school with a minimum 2.5 GPA
The Port of Portland Summer Internship Program places you inside one of the region’s major public infrastructure systems, where engineering and operations intersect daily. You may support teams working at Portland International Airport, marine terminals, or administrative offices, contributing to projects in engineering, environmental services, IT, or planning. Interns assist with technical documentation, data tracking, site visits, and project coordination tasks that keep large-scale facilities running. The experience can give you exposure to how public-sector engineering projects are planned, funded, and executed within a complex transportation network.
3. Stanford AIMI Summer Research Internship
Location: Virtual
Cost: $2,400 + $45 application fee
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: ~50 students per session
Dates: Session A: June 15 – 26 | Session B: July 6 – 17
Application Deadline: February 20
Eligibility: U.S.-based high school students entering grades 9–12 (age 14+ by program start); strong math and/or programming background preferred
For two weeks, you work at the intersection of artificial intelligence and healthcare, learning how machine learning models are developed and evaluated in clinical contexts. Lectures by Stanford researchers cover topics such as medical imaging AI, datasets, model validation, and responsible AI. You’re placed into a small team with a student lead and research mentor, where you frame a health-focused research question, analyze data, and present findings. Guest speakers from academia, healthcare systems, and industry add perspective on how AI tools move from research to implementation.
4. Ted R. Lilley CURE Program
Location: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Portland, OR
Stipend: $4,000
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Small cohort (exact number not publicly specified)
Dates: June 22 – August 14
Application Deadline: Typically January
Eligibility: Oregon high school sophomores, juniors, or seniors who have a 3.0 GPA or higher, who are 16 years old or older; must have taken at least one lab science class, preferably biology, and have an interest in research
In this program, you spend eight weeks immersed in biomedical research at Oregon Health & Science University, working directly in active labs focused on cancer science. You’ll contribute to ongoing projects, learn how experimental design and lab protocols function in real research environments, and build technical skills under the guidance of faculty mentors. Weekly seminars expose you to topics in oncology, public health, and healthcare disparities, while reinforcing scientific communication skills. The program culminates in a formal poster presentation, where you share your findings with researchers and peers. If you’re interested in engineering pathways that intersect with medicine, such as bioengineering, medical devices, or translational research, this experience grounds you in the lab-based foundations of the field.
5. The U.S Department of State’s Pathway Internship Program
Location: U.S. Department of State offices in Washington, D.C., and various locations across the U.S.
Stipend: Paid; compensation varies by federal GS level and position
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Competitive; varies by posting
Dates: Varies depending on position
Application Deadline: Rolling; positions posted year-round on USAJobs.gov
Eligibility: U.S. citizens enrolled in high school at least half-time
Through the Pathways Internship Program (IEP or ITEP tracks), you work in federal offices supporting large-scale operations tied to policy, infrastructure, technology systems, and public administration. While not exclusively an engineering internship, some placements involve technical fields such as IT systems, facilities management, and infrastructure operations that overlap with engineering-related work. You learn how government projects are structured, documented, and executed within regulated systems. For Oregon students aiming for engineering internships, this experience builds systems thinking, technical professionalism, and familiarity with federal infrastructure.
6. NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) Internship
Location: NASA centers across the U.S. (virtual options available)
Stipend: Paid (stipend varies by location and session length)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective; cohort size varies by center
Dates: Spring (Mid-January – Early May), Summer (Late May – August), Fall (Late August – Mid-December)
Application Deadline: September 12 (Spring), February 27 (Summer), May 16 (Fall)
Eligibility: U.S. citizens, at least 16 years old, enrolled in high school with a minimum 3.0 GPA
Through NASA’s OSTEM Internship, you work alongside scientists and engineers on active research and mission-driven projects in areas such as aerospace engineering, robotics, environmental science, computer science, and space technology. Depending on your placement, you might help analyze mission data, support prototype development, assist with simulations, or contribute to research documentation. Whether onsite at a NASA center or working remotely, you gain hands-on technical exposure, mentorship, and structured career development in high-level engineering environments.
7. Partnership for Scientific Inquiry (PSI) Program – OHSU
Location: Oregon Health & Science University (virtual spring sessions; in-person summer component in Portland, OR)
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Highly selective; small cohort
Dates: January – May (weekly virtual seminars); optional summer internship June – August
Application Deadline: December 1
Eligibility: Oregon high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; must be at least 16 years old by June 1 to participate in the summer internship
The PSI Program begins with a structured spring seminar series where you learn to read and critique scientific literature, explore biomedical research areas, and draft a research proposal with feedback from working scientists. If selected for the summer component, you spend eight weeks conducting hands-on research in an OHSU lab under faculty mentorship. For Oregon students interested in engineering, especially bioengineering, biomedical devices, or health technology, this program can build core skills in experimental design, data interpretation, and scientific communication before stepping into a lab environment. The hybrid format makes it accessible during the school year while still offering an in-person research experience in Portland.
8. Fluorescence Molecular Imaging Internship Program – Gibbs Laboratory
Location: Gibbs Laboratory, Portland, OR
Cost/Stipend: None (first year unpaid); paid opportunities available for returning participants
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective; small research-focused cohort
Dates: 10 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: March 15
Eligibility: High school and college students interested in scientific research careers
Hosted at the Gibbs Laboratory, this ten-week summer program immerses you in biomedical lab techniques used in molecular imaging and disease detection research. During your first summer, you train in cell culture, fluorescence microscopy, spectroscopy, organic synthesis, immunostaining, antibody conjugation, and introductory programming for image analysis. While centered on biomedical imaging research, this program introduces students to laboratory techniques and analytical tools commonly used in biomedical and chemical engineering research. If you’re interested in biomedical, chemical, or materials engineering pathways, this internship offers direct exposure to applied lab research and instrumentation. Students who demonstrate strong performance may be invited back for a paid research role the following summer.
9. EDIT ML Summer Internship Program – Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective; small virtual cohort
Dates: Summer; onboarding April 15 – June 15
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: High school students with a background in computer science
This two-month virtual internship focuses on applying machine learning to real healthcare problems. You build and test ML models aimed at improving clinical decision-making, working on projects that may involve medical imaging analysis, natural language processing (NLP), or structured healthcare datasets. Using tools like Python and R, you gain hands-on experience in data preprocessing, model training, evaluation metrics, and basic research documentation. If you are interested in software engineering, AI, or computational engineering pathways, this program strengthens technical coding skills while exposing you to applied research workflows. The experience concludes with a formal research presentation where you share your findings with professionals in healthcare and technology.
10. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) – George Mason University
Location: Virtual or in-person at George Mason University
Cost/Stipend: $25 application fee (fee waivers available)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective; research-based placements vary by lab
Dates: June 18 – August 12
Application Deadline: February 2
Eligibility: Age 15+ for virtual or in-person computer lab internships; Age 16+ for in-person wet-lab internships
Over eight weeks, you join a faculty-led research team and work on an active STEM project rather than completing pre-designed coursework. Depending on your placement, you might focus on cybersecurity systems, computational modeling, biological research, or engineering analysis. Many students use tools such as Python, R, or MATLAB to run simulations, process datasets, or build models tied to real research questions, while also learning to document and present technical findings clearly. Because virtual placements are available, you can participate from Oregon without relocating. The program ends with a formal research presentation, giving you experience explaining complex technical work in a university-style setting.
11. Computing For Good (C4G) – Colorado School of Mines
Location: Virtual
Cost: $200 per student
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Selective; cohort size varies by format
Dates: June 22 – July 28
Application Deadline: April 18
Eligibility: High school students with a strong interest in computer science or mathematics; no prior experience required
The Computing For Good (C4G) program, supported by the CS@Mines department, is a five-week summer internship that challenges students to use their technical skills to solve various problems. Participants follow a professional software development lifecycle, learning both Agile and Waterfall methodologies. You will select or be assigned a project, with past examples including carbon footprint calculators, mental health trackers, and cybersecurity games. You will also work with various programming languages, including JavaScript, Python, and C++. If you’re exploring software engineering, data science, or applied math pathways, this internship helps you strengthen foundational technical skills before moving into more specialized engineering roles.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you’re looking for a competitive mentored research program in engineering, consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! This is a selective virtual research program that lets you engage in advanced research and develop a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1000+ high school students so far and offers 600+ research specializations for you to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image Source – NASA