15 Economics Internships for High School Students in Boston
Explore 15 top economics internships in Boston for high school students. Enhance your skills and gain hands-on experience in a vibrant economic environment.
If you are a high school student from Boston considering economics as a subject to study or work in later life, it helps to gain some early experience through an internship. These internships teach you how economics connects with real decisions, systems, and people.
You may be asked to help organize data, assist with research, review local economic reports, or support teams working on budgeting or public policy initiatives. Some internships are based in finance firms. Others may be offered through city departments, nonprofits, or university labs. Doing this kind of work during high school can help you learn basic tools like Excel, research methods, or data visualization.
To help you get started, here’s a list of 15 economics internships for high school students in Boston!
15 Economics Internships for High School Students in Boston
1. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: Full financial aid is available
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is an 8-week online program for high school students who want to work with real startups. You get matched with a company based on your interests—these companies work in areas like AI, health tech, marketing, journalism, and more. Many have raised millions in funding and are led by founders with experience at places like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. During the internship, you’ll work on actual projects with guidance from both your startup manager and a Ladder Coach. You’ll learn how to manage tasks, communicate clearly, and take ownership of your work. At the end, you present your final project to the company.
2. Bank of America Student Leaders® Program
Cost: Free; includes a paid internship and all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C.
Location: Nationwide program available in nearly 100 communities across the US, including Boston and other major cities
Dates: 8-week program during Summer (Summit: July 21–26)
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: Open to high school juniors and seniors who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and legally authorized to work in the U.S.; students must reside in one of the eligible locations.
The Student Leaders Program is a paid 8-week summer internship for high school juniors and seniors in the U.S. You’ll work at a nonprofit in your community, helping with real projects like youth programs, housing support, or community outreach. You also get to attend a weeklong summit in Washington, D.C., where you’ll connect with other students and learn how nonprofits, businesses, and government work together. Around 300 students are selected nationwide each year, and Bank of America covers all travel costs for the summit.
3. Young Founders Lab
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Cost: The total cost to attend the 4-week program is $2900. Need-based financial aid is available
Dates: Vary according to cohort
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can access the application link here!
Eligibility: All high school students can apply
The Young Founder’s Lab is a real-world start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. You will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a real-world problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X. Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideation, workshops, skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. While this isn’t a traditional internship, it follows the same work-learn structure as the other programs on this list. You can check out the brochure for the program here.
4. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – TIP (Today’s Interns, Tomorrow’s Professionals)
Cost: Paid
Location: Boston, MA (in-person or hybrid)
Dates: Late June – Mid August (with potential year-round extensions for up to 3 years)
Application Deadline: Typically opens in early spring
Eligibility: Students in Boston Public Schools who have completed their sophomore year
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – TIP (Today’s Interns, Tomorrow’s Professionals) is a paid internship program for income-eligible high school students in Greater Boston who’ve completed their sophomore year. You’ll work at the Boston Fed during the summer, placed in departments like communications, technology, or finance. The program includes job coaching, workshops on financial literacy and workplace skills, and mentoring. If you do well, you might be invited to continue during the school year and even beyond. Students apply through the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC).
5. Get Girls Going – Summer Incubator Program
Cost: Free
Location: Boston, MA (in-person)
Dates: July 9 – August 16
Application Deadline: June 18
Eligibility: Upcoming high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; strongly prefers applicants who identify as Black teen girls
Get Girls Going – Summer Incubator Program is a free 6-week entrepreneurship program for Black high school girls in Boston. You’ll build a business idea focused on social issues that matter to you, like housing, education, or access to healthcare. You’ll learn how businesses affect the economy and help solve problems in communities. Workshops include startup planning, market research, budgeting, and pitching. You’ll present your idea at a final pitch night, and some students receive funding to keep building their ventures.
6. CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) High School Internship Program
Cost: Paid internship
Location: Quincy, MA (Greater Boston area)
Dates: June 16 – July 17
Application Deadline: March 28
Eligibility: High school students aged 16–18 (juniors & seniors)
CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) High School Internship Program is a paid, four-week summer internship for students aged 16–18. You’ll work at CLA’s Quincy office and get hands-on experience in accounting, tax, consulting, and wealth management. You’ll learn how businesses manage money, track financial data, and make decisions using real client case studies. Interns help with audit prep, financial documentation, and budgeting tasks. You’ll also attend workshops on financial literacy and career readiness, and shadow professionals who work in economics-related roles like tax strategy and financial planning.
7. Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) – Northeastern University
Cost: Paid
Location: Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Dates: June 25 – August 8
Application Deadline: April 27
Eligibility: Boston residents ages 14–18; rising juniors and seniors preferred; younger students need a teacher recommendation
Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) – Northeastern University is a paid 6-week summer program for Boston high school students aged 14–18. The program includes daily math instruction through Bridge to Calculus, plus enrichment sessions in economics and financial literacy. Economics sessions focus on how money moves through communities, how businesses and governments make financial decisions, and how economic policies affect people’s lives. You’ll also learn budgeting, saving, and how to understand basic financial data. The program is led in part by Alicia Sasser Modestino, an economics professor at Northeastern, who also researches how summer jobs impact youth employment and wages.
8. Fidelity Job Shadow Program
Cost: Free
Location: Boston, MA
Dates: Registration opens Spring; event typically held over 1–2 days in the summer
Application Deadline: Spring; exact dates to be announced
Eligibility: Open to high school students; part of Fidelity’s Boundless initiative for female students
The Fidelity Job Shadow Program is a one-day experience for high school students in Boston who want to explore careers in finance and economics. You’ll visit Fidelity’s office, meet employees, and learn how teams work in areas like investment services, financial planning, and client strategy. You’ll see how economic decisions are made inside a major financial firm and get a feel for what it’s like to work in that environment.
9. City of Boston Youth Employment & Opportunity
Cost: Paid (hourly wage)
Location: Boston, MA
Dates: Summer (Typically June to August)
Application Deadline: Opens in spring
Eligibility: High school students aged 14–18 residing in Boston
City of Boston – SuccessLink Youth Employment Program is a paid summer job program for Boston residents aged 14 to 18. You’ll work with local nonprofits or city departments in roles like arts, childcare, government, or STEM. The program includes financial literacy workshops that teach you how to budget, understand credit, and manage banking basics, giving you practical tools to handle money. You’ll also see how city-funded jobs support Boston’s economy by creating income for youth, helping nonprofits run programs, and building early career pathways in public service and local business.
10. STEM@Work Internship Program
Cost: Paid (minimum $12/hour)
Location: Boston, MA, and across Massachusetts
Dates: Summer (100 hours recommended, varies by placement)
Application Deadline: Varies by local MassHire Workforce Board
Eligibility: High school students under 18 enrolled in a Massachusetts high school
STEM@Work is a paid internship program that connects high school students in Massachusetts with local employers for hands-on, STEM-focused internships. You’ll intern with a Massachusetts employer in a STEM field, earning hourly pay while supporting business operations, data analysis, or budgeting. Depending on your placement, you might contribute to financial planning, observe how organizations allocate resources, or analyze data used in business decisions.
11. Connecting Activities – MassHire Internship Network
Cost: Free; paid and unpaid internships available
Location: Boston, MA, and across Massachusetts (via local MassHire Workforce Boards)
Dates: Varies; most internships occur in the summer
Application Deadline: Varies by region; contact local MassHire board
Eligibility: High school students enrolled in Massachusetts public schools
Connecting Activities is a statewide initiative that places you in a paid or credit-bearing internship through your local MassHire Workforce Board. You’ll work in sectors like finance, healthcare, government, or STEM, supporting budgeting, data analysis, and operations planning. You’ll see how organizations manage costs, allocate resources, and make financial decisions. Internships focus on how economic systems function in real workplaces, and you’ll connect your experience to long-term goals through MyCAP (My Career and Academic Plan).
12. Massachusetts Clean Energy Center – Vocational Internship Program
Cost: Paid
Location: Boston, MA, and other parts of Massachusetts
Dates: October 28 – August 21
Application Deadline: Rolling, begins October 28
Eligibility: Rising seniors in and recent grads of vocational high schools, After Dark, or CTI programs in MA
Massachusetts Clean Energy Center – Vocational Internship Program is a paid, year-long internship that places you with employers in the state’s clean energy sector. You’ll work in roles like customer service, logistics, and infrastructure support, gaining experience in high-performance building, clean transportation, and net-zero grid development. You might coordinate installation schedules, assist with energy audits, or manage service operations. Internships offer early exposure to how clean energy businesses plan projects, allocate resources, and operate within broader economic systems.
13. PHC Group’s Mary Miller Summer Program
Cost: Free; Students will be paid, but the amount is not specified.
Application deadline: None. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Program dates: Summer (exact dates not specified)
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors
Mary Miller Summer Program is a paid internship offered by PHC Group for high school juniors and seniors interested in public health and business operations. You’ll work directly with the Public Health Director and senior leadership, supporting projects in social media, online community engagement, and technical assistance. You’ll attend planning meetings, conduct market research, analyze data, and report findings. You’ll also help develop content and implement feedback to improve outreach strategies. The internship emphasizes research, analysis, and exposure to economic decision-making in a public health business setting.
14. George Mason University’s Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program
Cost: No tuition fee; a $25 application fee is charged, with a fee waiver available for eligible candidates.
Location: Remote
Application deadline: Typically February
Program dates: June – August
Eligibility: Students who are 15 years or older
The Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) is a competitive research internship hosted by George Mason University. You’ll work one-on-one with a faculty mentor on a full-time research project, with placements available in economics, finance, and business-related fields. You might study topics like market structure, corporate finance, fintech, or the economics of AI, using current tools and methods in academic research. You’ll develop skills in data analysis, problem-solving, and scientific writing, and your work may be published or presented at conferences.
15. Economics for Leaders (EFL) by the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE)
Cost: $900 (virtual); scholarships are available.
Location: Remote
Application deadline: April 9
Program dates: June — August (multiple weeklong sessions)
Eligibility: High school sophomores and juniors can apply.
Economics for Leaders (EFL) is a selective summer program offered by the Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE). You’ll learn how economic principles shape public policy decisions through lectures, simulations, and team-based activities. Topics include opportunity cost, incentives, property rights, labor markets, international trade, and innovation. You’ll work on leadership development while applying economic reasoning to policy challenges. The program includes social events, field trips, and a final award ceremony.