A New York-focused list of paid internships, museum programs, STEM, and leadership opportunities for NYC high schoolers.
Programs in this collection (12)
Junior Academy: New York Academy of Sciences. Fellowship, Worldwide. A free online program of the New York Academy of Sciences in which students ages 13 to 17 join international teams and work with STEM expert mentors to solve real-world challenges. Each challenge is a 10-week virtual competition, held from mid-September to mid-November in the fall or mid-February to mid-April in the spring. Students who complete a challenge receive a certificate and a Young Membership to the Academy, and there is no travel.
Applied Research Innovation in Science & Engineering (ARISE): New York University. Research, Brooklyn, New York, USA. A free seven-week summer research program at NYU Tandon for New York City high school students in 10th and 11th grade who show interest in STEM. Students spend five weeks in a participating NYU faculty lab with mentoring from a graduate or postdoctoral student, plus two weeks of workshops and college advising, and receive a stipend. Applicants must live in one of the five boroughs and apply to the program as a whole rather than to a specific lab.
Free Summer STEM & Innovation Camp: Civic Hall. Summer Program, Manhattan, New York, USA. A free four-week summer camp at Civic Hall's Bernard Goldstein Center near Union Square where high school students build projects in vibe coding, AI, natural language processing, prompt engineering, and emerging technologies. The camp runs on weekdays in July, and students commit to the full four weeks to complete a capstone project. The top five high school capstone projects each earn a $1,000 scholarship, and free meals and transportation are included.
Summer Youth Employment Program: NYC DYCD. Internship, New York, USA. A six-week paid summer program run by the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development for New York City residents ages 14 to 24 who are legally allowed to work in the U.S. It takes place in July and August. Teens ages 14 and 15 do paid project-based activities and receive a stipend, while those ages 16 to 24 work in paid summer jobs at minimum wage. There is no fee to apply or participate.
NYC Ladders for Leaders: NYC DYCD. Internship, New York, USA. A paid summer internship program within NYC's Summer Youth Employment Program, run by the Department of Youth and Community Development, that places participants with corporations, nonprofits and government agencies in New York City. It is open to rising high school seniors and college students ages 16 to 24 with prior paid or volunteer experience who live in the five boroughs. Internships last 6 weeks at 25 to 40 hours per week and pay at least $16.50 an hour.
SYEP CareerREADY: NYC DYCD. Internship, New York, USA. A school-based track of the New York City Summer Youth Employment Program, run by the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), for students ages 14 to 21 at select NYC public schools. Students explore careers through work-readiness training and paid work experience, with paid project-based activities for ages 14 to 15 and summer jobs for older teens. Schools select participants instead of the SYEP lottery, and the program runs for six weeks in July and August.
Industry Scholars Program: NYC Public Schools. Internship, New York, USA. A paid internship program funded by the New York City Public Schools Office of Student Pathways for students at FutureReadyNYC and Career and Technical Education (CTE) high schools. Students spend six weeks during the school year interning at a company in their academic field, in sectors such as healthcare, IT, and construction. Interns attend a pre-internship orientation, submit regular timesheets, and are paid the New York State minimum hourly wage every two weeks.
Science Research Mentoring Program: American Museum of Natural History. Research, Manhattan, New York, USA. NYC 10th and 11th graders who live and attend school in the city do a year-long research project with an AMNH-affiliated scientist, meeting after school twice a week. Participants earn a free CUNY Lehman College credit and a $2,500 stipend on completion.
MoMA Teens Programs: Museum of Modern Art. Summer Program, Manhattan, New York, USA. Free programs at the Museum of Modern Art for New York City teens interested in art. In the Making offers free summer studio art classes for high school students ages 15 to 18 that meet three times a week for six weeks, with no experience needed. Other options include Open Art Space, a weekly after-school program for LGBTQ+ students and allies, drop-in More Art Mondays studio sessions, and the paid Teens-in-Residence program.
Teen Night Out Branch Council: Brooklyn Public Library. Internship, Brooklyn, New York, USA. Brooklyn Public Library interns ages 16 to 19 plan, promote, and host after-hours events for other teens, with training in event planning, budgeting, and promotion. Interns meet weekly during the school year and receive a stipend and volunteer service hours.
Teen Center Ambassadors: New York Public Library. Internship, Bronx / Manhattan / Staten Island, New York, USA. A paid internship at The New York Public Library where teens build job readiness and leadership skills, with a focus on library resources and peer-to-peer engagement. Interns are paid to create events and resources for other teens. The program was formerly called Teen Civics Ambassadors, and a recent cohort worked in small groups to identify community issues, research solutions, and present them to local officials.
Science Leadership Program: Hudson River Park. Internship, Manhattan, New York, USA. A paid six-week summer research program at Hudson River Park for New York City high school students from communities underrepresented in STEM. Students do field science, such as studying plastic in gull droppings, work with mentors from CUNY City College, and present research posters at the American Museum of Natural History. The program mixes remote days with in-person field days.