Internships for high school students offer a structured way to explore academic interests in a real-world environment. For those interested in robotics, such internships allow students to apply engineering and programming skills firsthand. Instead of classroom-style learning, these robotics internships for high school students typically involve contributing to research projects, testing prototypes, or working with automation systems.
These internships also introduce you to technical workflows used in engineering teams. You may work with programming languages like Python or C++, develop CAD models, or test sensors and embedded systems. Many robotics internships for high school students also emphasize documentation, debugging, and iterative design.
What do robotics internships for high schoolers include?
Robotics internships for high school students typically combine software, hardware, and systems engineering tasks. Depending on the organization, you may contribute to coding autonomous behaviors, testing sensors, or assembling robotic components. On the software side, you may work with Python, C++, or ROS (Robot Operating System) to build navigation or perception pipelines. Some internships also involve machine learning workflows using libraries like TensorFlow or PyTorch. Hardware tasks often include CAD modeling in tools like SolidWorks or Fusion 360, PCB assembly, soldering, and testing embedded systems using Arduino or Raspberry Pi. You may also work with sensors such as LiDAR, IMUs, or depth cameras.
If you’re interested in gaining hands-on experience in automation, hardware, and autonomous systems, below is a curated list of 15 robotics internships for high school students that can help you explore these fields early while building practical technical skills. If you are specifically looking for paid opportunities, you can also check out our guide on paid robotics programs for high school students.
15 Robotics Internships for High School Students
1. NIST Summer High School Internship Program (SHIP)
Location: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO/Gaithersburg, MD
Cost | Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: June 22–August 7
Application Deadline: January 26
Eligibility: U.S. high school juniors or seniors with a minimum GPA of 3.0 who live within 50 miles of NIST Boulder or NIST Gaithersburg
This robotics internship for high school students takes place within a broader scientific research setting, where you work on an individual project under the guidance of professional scientists and engineers. Depending on your placement, your work may involve robotics, automation systems, or intelligent manufacturing within the Engineering Laboratory. You’ll engage with measurement systems, testing methods, and data-driven approaches used in real-world engineering research. The program is structured around independent investigation, so you are expected to define problems, test solutions, and analyze results.
2. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Program: Local Intelligent Networked Collaborative Satellites Lab
Location: Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland, OH
Stipend: $506.80/week
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: Typically 10-12 weeks
Application Deadline: January 10
Eligibility: U.S. citizens (16+) enrolled in an educational institution taking at least a half-time academic course load leading to a degree or certificate for the semester immediately preceding the internship session | A grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is preferred
The AFRL Scholars Program offers a robotics internship for high school students that places you in a research lab focused on robotic systems, specifically in the context of satellite collaboration. You work in a team to develop and test algorithms that enable autonomous coordination between robotic platforms. The experience includes building and modifying hardware components and integrating sensors for experimentation. You also gain exposure to embedded systems programming and learn how software interacts with physical systems in real time.
3. Evodyne Robotics Internship Program
Location: Evodyne, Mountain View, CA
Cost | Stipend: Not specified
Acceptance rate/cohort size: The previous cohort had 8 students
Dates: Summer
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school juniors (16+) who have completed the Emergence Track and are proficient in CAD, advanced Python, soldering and electronics, web development, or AI/deep learning
This robotics internship places you in a research lab environment where you contribute directly to the development and improvement of robotic systems. You work on both refining existing designs and building new robots, which may involve CAD modeling, electronics integration, or programming. The structure allows you to take ownership of technical projects, such as developing mechanical components or writing control algorithms. In addition to research, you support instructional activities by assisting younger students, which requires explaining technical concepts and troubleshooting common issues.
4. NeuroRobotics Summer Enrichment Training Program
Location: Utah NeuroRobotics Lab, Salt Lake City, UT
Cost: Starts at $4,000 (Tuition costs may increase depending on the specific start and end dates selected)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 1–2 high school students
Dates: June 1–August 1
Application Deadline: May 1
Eligibility: High school students
This research experience places you in an interdisciplinary lab environment where robotics intersects with neuroscience and biomedical engineering. You may work on projects such as building exoskeletons, developing virtual or augmented reality systems, or designing diagnostic tools. The work often involves both hardware and software components, as well as opportunities to participate in experimental design or human-subject research. You collaborate with researchers from multiple fields, which exposes you to diverse problem-solving approaches in robotics.
5. Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) ASPIRE
Location: Applied Physics Laboratory, Lauren, MD
Cost | Stipend: None
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 23–August 21 (190 hours)
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: U.S. high school juniors and seniors (15+) with a minimum 2.8 GPA who live in the eligible locations
ASPIRE is structured around project-based work, where you are matched with a mentor and contribute to ongoing technical or research initiatives. You might work with robotics hardware, develop software systems, or explore areas such as autonomous vehicles and defense technologies. The program requires you to manage your time across a full work week, communicate regularly with mentors, and troubleshoot challenges as they arise. You are expected to apply programming, engineering, or analytical skills in a professional setting, often with minimal step-by-step guidance.
6. George Mason Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)
Location: George Mason College of Science, Fairfax, VA/Virtual
Cost: $1,299 (for 3 credits) | Financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 18–August 12
Application Deadline: February 15
Eligibility: High school students (aged 15+ | 16+ for wet labs)
This research-based robotics internship for high school students emphasizes one-on-one mentorship and independent investigation. You work closely with a faculty researcher on a defined project, which may involve robotics, automation, or related computational methods. The program provides access to advanced equipment and research tools, and you develop skills in documenting your process, writing reports, and presenting findings. The experience concludes with a formal presentation in which you present your work in a structured academic format.
7. Evodyne Robotics Emergence Track
Location: Evodyne, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $1,592 or $199/month
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10 spots
Dates: Saturdays from late-August to May (8 months)
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students who have finished the Genesis Track and have a solid foundation in mathematics, CAD modeling, advanced Python programming, C++, AI/deep learning, soldering and electronics, or web development
This robotics program for high school students emphasizes independent project work and team-based development. You join a small group working on a humanoid robot, contributing to areas such as locomotion, perception, actuator design, or human-robot interaction. The program expects you to learn tools and frameworks as needed, including control systems such as PID and model predictive control, as well as technologies like SLAM and depth sensing. Your work is integrated into a larger system, so you gain experience with how different subsystems: mechanical, electrical, and software interact.
8. Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)
Location: Various Department of Navy (DoN) labs
Stipend: New participant: $4,000 | Returning participant: $4,500
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: 8 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: November 1
Eligibility: U.S. high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors (16+) | Check individual lab pages for any other prerequisites
SEAP places high school students in the Department of Navy laboratories, where they contribute to ongoing engineering and research projects. Your work may involve robotics, automation, or related systems, depending on the lab’s focus and current initiatives. You’ll be guided by professional scientists and engineers, but expected to actively participate in problem-solving and experimentation. You also gain experience interpreting data, refining methods, and understanding project constraints.
9. NYU Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE)
Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
Stipend: $2000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 1–August 14
Application Deadline: February 27
Eligibility: Rising juniors and seniors living and attending school in NYC
ARISE combines preparatory training with a longer-term research placement, where you work in a university lab on a defined project. During the research phase, you assist faculty and researchers, which may include robotics-related work depending on the lab you join. You engage in tasks such as data collection, experimentation, and analysis, while also learning how to document and present your findings. The program concludes with formal presentations at Colloquium and a showcase of your work at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Poster Symposium, reflecting the structure of a research-oriented robotics internship for high school students.
10. Columbia Engineering Summer High School Academic Program for Engineers (SHAPE)
Location: Columbia University, New York, NY
Cost: $6,241 (commuter) | $11,492 (residential) | Limited need-based scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 6–24 (Session 1) | July 27–August 14 (Session 2)
Application Deadline: December 22 (priority) | March 2 (final)
Eligibility: High school students (16+ for the residential option)
This program introduces high school students to robotics through structured, project-based engineering courses that simulate a college learning environment. In robotics-focused tracks, you design and build systems such as autonomous cars or quadruped robots, combining mechanical design with programming and sensor integration. You use tools like SOLIDWORKS for 3D modeling and Arduino for control systems, applying engineering concepts to real prototypes. You’ll also get access to a makerspace to fabricate and refine components using equipment like 3D printers and CNC machines.
11. Institute for Advanced Learning and Research Internships
Location: Institute for Advanced Learning and Research, Danville, VA
Stipend: Paid (amount varies)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: The previous cohort had 17 students
Dates: 8 weeks
Application Deadline: March 20
Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors planning to attend college in the fall
This program offers robotics internships within a broader applied research environment, where you may work on projects that combine coding, data analysis, and automation. In robotics-focused roles, you contribute to ongoing research by developing algorithms, processing datasets, or improving system accuracy through experimentation. Past work has included building neural network models for pattern detection and designing image processing pipelines for segmentation tasks. As a result, you gain exposure to how robotics intersects with fields like agriculture, manufacturing, and data science.
12. Evodyne Robotics Genesis Track
Location: Evodyne, Mountain View, CA
Cost: $1,849–$2,598
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: 3 weeks in June or July
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students (14+) with a basic knowledge of coding
This program focuses on building a quadruped robot from the ground up, giving you a structured introduction to applied robotics systems. You assemble and program a robot using components like Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and onboard sensors, while learning how hardware and software interact in real time. The curriculum progresses from basic construction to more advanced topics, including kinematics, computer vision with OpenCV, and robot control using ROS. You also explore how biological movement informs robotic design, especially when programming locomotion and behavior.
13. Fermilab Program for Research, Innovation, and STEM Mentorship (PRISM)
Location: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL
Stipend: $500/week
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 13–August 7
Application Deadline: March 1
Eligibility: U.S. high school seniors or recent graduates in Illinois
This program provides a broad introduction to STEM research, with exposure to areas that intersect with robotics, such as artificial intelligence and engineering design. You participate in hands-on activities, lectures, and discussions that explore how complex systems are modeled and developed. The structure includes guided projects where you analyze problems, develop solutions, and present your findings. While robotics is not the sole focus, the skills you build, such as working with data, understanding system design, and applying computational methods, are relevant to robotics careers.
14. Northeastern University Young Scholars Program (YSP)
Location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Stipend: Typically provided
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 22–July 30
Application Deadline: March 2
Eligibility: Rising seniors who live within commuting distance of Northeastern University who are U.S. residents/permanent residents
This research program allows high school students to work in university laboratories, where projects involve robotics, simulation, or hardware optimization. You contribute to ongoing research under faculty guidance, which may include tasks like modeling systems, developing algorithms, or testing engineering designs. The experience requires you to interpret research problems and apply technical methods within a lab setting. In addition to lab work, you attend seminars that introduce different engineering fields, including robotics and related technologies.
15. InterOperability Laboratory HighTech Bound
Location: University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Stipend: Paid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: July 6–August 7
Application Deadline: February 28
Eligibility: Rising high school seniors
This program introduces high school students to applied technology development through team-based projects, some of which involve systems related to robotics, like embedded devices and networked hardware. You work in a lab setting under mentorship, contributing to a project that may involve software development, hardware validation, or systems testing. Tasks can range from building interfaces and writing code to experimenting with tools used in areas like IoT and automation. While broader than a traditional robotics internship, it provides relevant exposure to the systems and technologies that support robotics applications.
One more option – Horizon Academic Research Program
If you are interested in conducting independent research in robotics, engineering, or related technical fields, 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: George Mason University