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Editor's note: We've done our best to confirm this information as of the publish date, though some of these summer internships in NYC haven't released 2024 application info. Please click the links to the individual internships below for full details and updated deadlines.

Best Summer Internships in NYC for Teens

1. Artslife at the Museum of Arts and Design – Columbus Circle

Ages: Rising 10th and 11th graders
Application due: Saturday, April 27, 2024
Interns are introduced to a range of museum careers, from behind-the-scenes to public-facing activities. Over six weeks, students engage in collaborative work with museum staff, local designers, and other arts professionals. Interns are paid $16 per hour and receive a MetroCard.​ Program dates for 2024 are Tuesday, July 9-Friday, August 16.

RELATED: Best Teen Activities in New York City

Teens have the opportunity to explore careers in the arts and entertainment industries at the Apollo Theater.

2. Apollo Theater Academy High School Internship Program – Harlem

Ages: Rising 12th graders
Application due: Friday, January 19, 2024
The renowned Apollo Theater offers high school seniors summer internships in technical theater production and arts administration. These summer internships are paid and take place for six weeks in July and August. Students experience hands-on training in a real-world work environment and attend career development workshops. There is also the opportunity to connect with industry professionals in the arts and entertainment fields.

3. DOROT – Multiple Locations

Ages: Rising 10th to 12th graders
Application due: Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until spots are filled.
During four-week sessions, summer interns work together to give back to the community by volunteering with older adults, delivering meals, helping with technology, and socializing with homebound senior citizens. The internship is unpaid but offers 100+ hours of community service credit. Stipends are available for travel costs. Manhattan, Long Island, and Brighton Beach programs are available.

4. Futures and Options – Multiple Locations

Ages: 16-19 years old
Application due: Friday, February 9, 2024
The Futures and Options Internship Program provides New York City students with critical work-readiness training and the opportunity to gain first-hand experience as interns with a dynamic range of business partners. Futures and Options interns work in paid, mentored summer internships that best match their skills and interests. Interns must attend two orientations and six work-readiness workshops. The program takes place over six weeks in July and August. Summer interns are expected to work 20-30 hours per week.

RELATED: Summer Jobs for Teens: How to Help Your Kid Find a Summer Gig

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai offers a summer internship for science-minded teens.

5. Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai – Upper East Side

Ages: High school students who attend a public or charter school
Application due: Sunday, March 3, 2024
The Center for Excellence in Youth Education High School Summer Program offers courses for low-income and underrepresented minority students in the fields of medicine and science. For summer 2024, the program offers courses in bioinformatics and medical and scientific exploration.

6. Go Getter – Citywide

Ages: Ages 16+
Application due: TBA; 2023 applications were due on April 21.
Interns work as teaching assistants in an early childhood classroom under the supervision of a head teacher. Interns may manage small groups or work with students one-on-one to help with academic skills and model good behavior. Interns also participate in professional development to hone community leadership skills. The internship is unpaid, but service learning credits are offered. Interns demonstrating financial need may apply for a stipend.

7. Manhattan District Attorney’s High School Internship Program – Multiple Manhattan Locations

Ages: Current 10th to 12th graders who live in or attend school in Manhattan
Application due: Friday, March 8, 2024
Interns help out in one of three different district attorney’s offices and participate in special presentations and field trips while taking part in mock trial competitions. Applicants must commit to attending all five weeks of the program in person.

8. The Met Summer High School Internships – Upper East Side

Ages: Rising 11th or 12th grades
Application due: TBA; deadline was early March in 2023
The Met High School Internship Program offers paid opportunities for students who either reside in or attend a high school or home school in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. The program allows students to connect with arts, museum, and creative professionals as they develop professional skills, network, and gain work experience. Interns are paid a stipend. Programming usually runs from mid-July through mid-August. Students attend Career Labs and have bi-weekly mentor check-ins.

RELATED: Mission Trips for Teens: 7 Summer Service Programs to Help Kids Give Back

The Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program is designed for high school students interested in biomedical science careers.

9. Summer Human Oncology & Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – Upper East Side

Ages: Rising 10th to 12th graders
Application due: Friday, February 9, 2024
This eight-week program gives motivated, self-directed students a chance to conduct their research in a state-of-the-art lab under the guidance of a grad student, post-doc fellow, or research technician, and then publicly present their results. A stipend is awarded upon completion.

10. The Paley Center for Media Teen Transmitters – Midtown East

Ages: Rising 11th and 12 Graders
Application due: TBA; applications were due at the end of April in 2023
Teen Transmitters at The Paley Museum is a paid 100-hour summer internship for rising 11th and 12th grade students who attend New York City public high schools and who want to explore the impact media has on society. Interns take a deep dive on media literacy and produce a podcast.

11. New-York Historical Society Student Historian Internship Program – Upper West Side

Ages: Rising 10th, 11th, and 12th Graders
Application due: TBA in February 2024
Students in this internship program work collaboratively with professional historians to conduct their research in American history. The theme of the internship is Frederick Douglass' America. Students develop public speaking and leadership skills, learn about careers in museum, library, and history fieldwork, and share their scholarship through digital projects.

12. NYU Tandon School of Engineering ARISE High School Program – Downtown Brooklyn and Greenwich Village

Ages: Rising 11th or 12th graders
Application due: Friday, March 1, 2024
The Applied Research Innovations in Science and Engineering (ARISE) program is geared toward academically motivated New York City students with a demonstrated interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. The new 10-week structure includes four weeks of remote after-school workshops followed by six weeks of in-person labs.

13. The Sotomayor Program – Multiple Locations

Ages: Rising 12th Graders
Application due: February 7, 2024
The High School Division of the Sonia & Celina Sotomayor Judicial Internship Program aims to recruit a diverse group of high school students from across NYC to pursue law careers. A select group of high school students participate in four weeks of judicial internships in state and federal courts and take educational workshops. Students intern with a state or federal judge located in one of the five New York City boroughs. Students also attend professional development workshops.

14. The Pencil Fellows

Ages: 16-21
Application due: Sunday, January 21, 2024
This program prepares NYC students ages 16-21 for the future by teaching them various career-ready, hard and soft skills, then placing them in a paid, six-week internship with a local business.

High School students are placed in law internships for the summer with the Thurgood Marshall Summer Law Internship Program. 

15. Thurgood Marshall Summer Law Internship Program – Multiple Locations

Ages: 16+ and must attend a public high school
Application due: Tuesday, January 30, 2024
The Thurgood Marshall Summer Law Internship Program places diverse New York City public high school students with legal employers for the summer. This program runs annually from April through August and interns are paid.

16. WCS Internships – Citywide

Ages: Rising 10th and 11th Graders
Application due: Varies
The Wildlife Conservation Society offers various internships to high school students at each of NYC's WCS zoos and the aquarium. Internships include Field Research Assistant and Youth Engagement Assistant Coordinator. Interns receive a stipend and a MetroCard.

17. FBI Teen Academy – Downtown Manhattan

Ages: 14-17
Application due: TBA
The FBI Teen Academy program provides an excellent opportunity for high school students to learn about exciting careers in law enforcement within and beyond the FBI. Interns will actively engage with FBI agents and leaders in the Bureau to learn about case studies, crime prevention, evidence gathering, and investigative techniques related to criminal activity. The program is held for two weeks in July.

18. Brooklyn Navy Yard Internship Program – Multiple Locations

Ages: Rising 12th graders
Application due: TBA; applications were due mid-March in 2023
The Brooklyn Navy Yard Internship Program connects college-bound high school seniors to a wide range of paid internship opportunities with businesses within the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Over the course of an 8-week session, students are connected to Yard-based businesses and departments according to their future career interests, skill sets, and educational background.

Photos courtesy of the organizations

Originally published in 2016.