Software engineering and development is a fast-growing domain, and if this is something that interests you, you do not have to wait till college to dip your feet in. There are many opportunities for high school students in the form of pre-college programs, summer immersions, and research programs. These programs generally combine hands-on work, mentorship, and skill-building opportunities to help you explore software development in depth. If you are interested in exploring what a career in software engineering could look like, consider an internship. Many tech companies, research labs, and nonprofits now offer paid internships that allow students to explore software development without financial constraints.
Why should you choose a software development internship?
Through a software development internship, you can get practical experience in coding, app development, cybersecurity, and systems engineering. Working on real systems also teaches you how software integrates with databases, user interfaces, APIs, and sometimes even hardware, giving you a broader understanding of how technology functions as a complete ecosystem. These programs give you the chance to work alongside professional developers, contribute to real-world projects, and build technical skills that go beyond the classroom.
To help you with your search, here we have listed 15 paid software development internships for high school students.
If you are interested in broader tech internships, check out our curated list here. If you are also looking for hands-on software engineering programs, check out these opportunities.
1. Department of the Navy’s Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)
Location: 38 labs across the country
Stipend: $4,000 for new participants | $4,500 for returning participants
Dates: Eight weeks during the summer; exact dates vary with each lab
Application deadline: November 1
Eligibility: High school students who are U.S. citizens, at least 16 years of age, and have at least completed grade 9; individual labs may have additional eligibility criteria.
SEAP is a paid apprenticeship for high school students that allows them to conduct advanced STEM research while learning about Naval research and technology. During this eight-week program, you will be placed at one of the U.S. Navy’s laboratories and work on a STEM project alongside a professional scientist or engineer. Previous students have worked on topics like oceanography, undersea vehicle machinery, space systems, aircraft maintenance, naval warfare, and more. While the labs focus on several different STEM areas, you can filter through the labs by discipline and look for work that focuses on software engineering.
2. Ohio Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation’s High School Tech Internship
Location: Various locations in Ohio
Stipend: $12/hour up to a maximum of $5,000 total stipend (for working a minimum of 120 hours)
Dates: Vary by opportunity; internships must be completed between January 2 and September 30
Application deadline: June 12
Eligibility: Ohio high school students who are 19 years of age or younger
Through this program, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation in Ohio allows the state’s organizations to employ high school interns in technology-based roles. Placements can be in areas like software development, IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, broadband/5G, advanced mobility, and more. Employers can be private businesses, non-profits, educational entities, or local governments. As an intern, you may take on the duties of an entry-level job and learn the basics of the relevant field. Previous interns have created computer applications, resolved electrical circuit issues, configured navigation systems, and more. You can go through the full job descriptions here.
3. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Program
Location: Multiple sites in the U.S.
Stipend: $506.80 – $813.60/week; check details here.
Dates: Varies with each location; minimum commitment of eight weeks
Application deadline: January 10
Eligibility: Upper-level high school students who are at least 16 years of age and preferably have a minimum GPA of 3.0
The AFRL Scholars Program offers high school and college students the opportunity to contribute to the development of tech, systems, and concepts that assist the U.S. Air Force. During the program, you will work closely with AFRL professionals, engage in advanced research, and contribute to the organization’s ongoing projects. The research spans various STEM fields, including software engineering placements within areas like Spacecraft Mission Planning Software Development, Machine Learning Reliability Studies, and Cold Atom Experimental Control and Data Acquisition. These options allow you to work with elements of software engineering like programming, software tool development, machine learning experimentation, embedded systems work, and real-world software integration.
4. Meta Summer Academy
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Stipend: Paid (amount not specified)
Dates: June 15 – July 24
Application deadline: February 14
Eligibility: High school sophomores who are year-round residents of Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, East Palo Alto, or Redwood City and have a minimum of 2.0 cumulative GPA
The Meta Summer Academy is a paid internship that allows you to explore the technical and professional environment of a large tech company. You will attend workshops, work on projects, and learn about coding fundamentals, digital media, and teamwork. Alongside instruction, the program offers opportunities for collaboration and career exploration. You will see how various teams within a tech company work on product development and user engagement. Mentorship sessions with Meta employees will offer you insights into technology-focused career paths and daily work routines.
5. The American Museum of Natural History’s Science Research Mentoring Program (SRMP)
Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY
Stipend: $2,500
Dates: Summer institute in August + school-year meetings twice a week
Application deadline: March 1
Eligibility: Students in grades 10 and 11 who have either completed the required list of courses or have attended a partner program; find more details here.
The SRMP is a year-long program that allows high school students to conduct research alongside the American Museum of Natural History scientists and earn a stipend. During the program, you will work on a unique project under the guidance of your assigned mentor. The broad research topics generally span fields like ecology, biology, genetics, conservation, and astrophysics. You will also gain hands-on exposure to various aspects of software development, such as programming in Python or R, data analysis, algorithm development, modeling and simulation, machine learning applications, and managing large scientific datasets. Alongside research, you will also attend workshops, advisory sessions, and the museum’s special events.
6. Yale ITS High School Internship Program
Location: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Stipend: Paid; amount not specified
Dates: Not specified
Application deadline: Not specified; applications to be submitted via schools.
Eligibility: Students from participating high schools who reside in New Haven, West Haven, or Orange, CT
This Yale University program is a paid opportunity for high school students who want to explore professional environments in information technology. For eight weeks during the summer, you will work at Yale’s Information Technology Services and contribute to the organization’s overall goals. You will work closely with the manager and understand what a career in IT could look like. Additionally, the program includes career-building workshops and other on-campus events. To join the program, you will need to apply through your school.
7. Berkeley Lab’s Experiences in Research Internships
Location: Berkeley Lab, Berkeley, CA (hybrid or virtual opportunities available)
Stipend: $500/week
Dates: June 15 – July 24
Application deadline: March 22
Eligibility: Students in grades 10 – 12 who are at least 16 years of age, live within a 20-mile radius of Berkeley Lab, and have a minimum 3.0 GPA
Berkeley Lab’s Experiences in research program gives high school students the opportunity to work on a research project with mentorship from a Berkeley Lab scientist. Projects are available in the following areas: administration and communications, data science, coding, and experimental research and data collection. You will work in teams of two and commit to 30 hours of hands-on work per week, with half of that time spent on independent work. Previous students have worked on projects like building workflow automation systems for green technology companies, designing optimization algorithms to reduce home energy costs, and creating software solutions to analyze and visualize complex engineering data. The programs also include workshops and career talks, and end with a final presentation.
8. Sandia National Laboratory’s Internships
Location: The program runs at two locations: Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA
Stipend: $17.5 – $19/hour
Dates: Vary with each internship
Application deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school, undergraduate, and graduate students who are at least 16 years of age; high schoolers must have a minimum 3.0 GPA for R&D, technical, and business positions, and a minimum of 2.5 GPA for clerical and laborer positions.
Sandia National Laboratory runs paid internship programs for a wide range of students, from high schoolers to Ph.D. researchers, allowing them to work on real-world challenges at the lab under the direction of a mentor. While there are limited positions for high school students, opportunities here span fields like computer science, physics, and various subfields of engineering. You can choose a software engineering-focused project. For example, in this internship, you will help develop data-processing software, test and deliver remote sensing and verification systems, and collaborate with engineers towards improving national security.
9. Los Alamos National Laboratory Internship
Location: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
Stipend: $16.50/hour
Dates: 10 – 20 hours/week during the spring and fall sessions | Up to 40 hours/week during the summer sessions; exact dates vary with each internship
Application deadline: Spring: February 13 | Summer: April 15 | Fall: September 30
Eligibility: High school students who are seniors at the time of the internship, 16 years of age, attend a NM high school, and have a minimum 2.75 GPA
Los Alamos National Laboratory offers internship opportunities in STEM and business fields for high school students. During the internship, you will work on a research project, guided by a mentor and a co-mentor. While the projects span several different fields, previous students have worked on software engineering projects like optimizing high-performance computing codes, building automated data extraction and search systems, and developing secure network architectures. The program ends with a symposium during which you will have the chance to present your research and make professional connections.
10. Microsoft’s High School Discovery Program
Location: Microsoft’s offices in Redmond, WA, or Atlanta, GA
Stipend: Paid; amount varies with location
Program dates: July 6 – 31 (Atlanta) | July 13 – August 7 (Redmond)
Application deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: Graduating seniors who are at least 16 years of age, have a legal right to work in the U.S., have completed pre-calculus or an equivalent course by the start of the program, and live within 50 miles of Redmond, WA, or Atlanta, GA; Redmond office applicants should be members/participants of Microsoft-sponsored organizations listed on the program website, and Atlanta applicants must attend schools within the Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, Atlanta Public Schools, and Gwinnett County School Districts
The Microsoft Discovery Program is a four-week internship that allows high school seniors to explore a career in tech through hands-on work at a leading tech company. As an intern, you and your group will be assigned to a specific product team and go through the whole product development process, from understanding pain points to designing the product. In the process, you will dive into the software engineering, product management, and UX design disciplines as well. There will also be additional sessions to help you build technical skills and network with professionals.
11. Anson L. Clark Scholar Program @ Texas Tech University
Location: Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Cost/Stipend: $25 application fee; $750 stipend
Dates: June 21 – August 6
Application deadline: February 16
Eligibility: Rising seniors and recent high school graduates who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and are at least 17 years of age
The Anson L. Clark Scholar Program is a prestigious research program that gives high school students the opportunity to develop an independent research project. During the program, you will access the university’s advanced resources and gain hands-on research exposure under the supervision of faculty. You can choose from several research areas, of which computer science and electrical and computer engineering can help you explore questions within software development. In the past, students have explored project topics like “Exploring the Power–Performance Balance: GPU Frequency Scaling in AI Workloads” and “PCAlloy: An Interactive Visualization Tool for Uncovering Relationships between Alloy Properties and Sustainability Metrics”. At the end, you will submit a research report.
12. Stony Brook University’s Simons Summer Research Program
Location: Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
Stipend: Paid
Program dates: June 29 – August 7
Application deadline: February 5
Eligibility: High school juniors who are U.S. citizens/permanent residents and at least 16 years of age
Stony Brook University’s Simons Summer Research Program is an on-campus research program that allows high school students to join a professional research team and take on a project. Several available research areas focus on aspects of software development, particularly in fields such as computer science and electrical engineering. You may also gain exposure to interdisciplinary research that applies data analysis and machine learning to biomedical informatics or mechanical engineering. At the end of the program, you will compile your research into an abstract and a poster. You will also attend research talks, workshops, and a closing symposium where you will present your work.
13. University of Chicago’s DSI Summer Lab
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Stipend: $5,600
Dates: June 15 – August 7
Application deadline: January 12
Eligibility: High school students in the Chicago area and undergrads; familiarity with at least one programming language (Python, Java, C++, etc.) is preferred.
The University of Chicago’s Data Science Institute Summer Lab is a research mentorship program that allows you to engage in interdisciplinary data science research. You will be paired with a mentor from disciplines such as materials science, computer science, biomedical research, or climate change. You will work closely with your mentor to conduct research in the intersection of various fields and develop a project, learning advanced research methodologies and practices in the process. Projects in the field of software engineering could focus on topics like machine learning, data-intensive computing, or user interface technologies. The program culminates in a concluding symposium where you will present a final video of your findings.
14. University of New Hampshire’s HighTech Bound
Location: University of New Hampshire Campus, Durham, NH
Stipend: Competitive hourly rate provided
Dates: July 6 – August 7
Application deadline: February 28
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors
The University of New Hampshire’s HighTech Bound is a paid summer internship for high school students interested in learning about network technologies. As a participant, you will join a team and work on a challenge for which you will develop a technological solution. You can check out previous projects here. You will spend your time in a computer lab, working with technologies (software and hardware) used in companies like Apple and Dell, and interacting 1-on-1 with professional engineers. In addition to gaining exposure to computer networking and IT infrastructure and earning a stipend, you will also earn a 0.5 high school credit for your participation.
15. University of Nebraska’s Summer High School Internship Program
Location: University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE
Stipend: Paid
Dates: June 2 – July 11
Application deadline: April 6
Eligibility: Students, ages 16 and up, entering grades 10, 11, or 12 in the fall
Organized by the University of Nebraska, this internship allows high school students to gain hands-on experience in research within information science and technology in university labs. You will work alongside the college’s faculty and students in areas like software engineering, cybersecurity, bioinformatics, IT innovation, web/app development, robotics, or gaming. In the process, you will become familiar with scientific research while also exploring career pathways in IT. You will also submit a mid-internship report and deliver a final presentation.
One more option—Horizon Academic Research Program
If you are looking for a competitive mentored research program in an area of your choice, including software, AI, and engineering, you can consider applying to Horizon’s Research Seminars and Labs! It is a selective virtual research program that allows you to engage in advanced research and come up with a research paper on a subject of your choosing. Horizon has worked with 1,000+ high school students so far, offering 600+ research specializations to choose from. You can find the application link here!
Image Source – University of Nebraska