15 Marketing Internships for High School Students in California
If you’re a high school student thinking about careers that involve communication, creativity, and problem-solving, marketing internships are worth serious consideration.
What are marketing internships for high school students in California?
Marketing sits at the intersection of writing, design, psychology, and data. Internships help you understand how these skills are used in real work settings. By working on marketing tasks early, you learn how teams plan campaigns, study audiences, measure results, and adjust their approach.
Why pursue marketing internships for high school students in California?
California is one of the strongest places to explore marketing as a student. The state hosts companies shaping technology, media, gaming, fashion, and digital culture. Many of these organizations offer internships or work-learn roles where students assist with real projects, analyze performance, help create content, or support research efforts.
If you’re also looking for marketing tools to learn, please check this, or go here for marketing summer programs for high school students.
To help you explore what’s available, we’ve put together a list of 15 marketing internships for high school students in California!
Disclaimer: A few of the items below are marketing programs that will help you develop the skills for pursuing marketing internships in the future.
15 Marketing Internships for High School Students in California
1. Bank of America – Student Leaders Program
Location: Nonprofit placements across California
Cost: Paid internship; includes a fully funded leadership summit in Washington, D.C.
Application Deadline: January 15
Program Dates: Eight-week internship (June–August)
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors; must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.
The Bank of America Student Leaders Program is a paid summer internship that places you in a local nonprofit where you support communications, outreach, and community-impact initiatives. Throughout the eight weeks, you’ll work approximately 35 hours per week on projects such as event planning, marketing campaigns, and youth engagement strategies. The program also includes a fully funded weeklong summit in Washington, D.C., where you meet peers from across the country and learn about civic leadership. You’ll gain experience in project management, public speaking, and strategic communication while building a strong professional network.
2. KP Launch High School Internship Program
Location: Kaiser Permanente medical centers, administrative offices, and regional hubs across California
Cost: Paid (hourly wage or stipend varies by region)
Application Deadline: January 9
Program Dates: June 15 – July 31 (high school cohort; dates vary slightly year to year)
Eligibility: High school students aged 16–19 by June 1 who have the legal right to work in the U.S. Dependents of Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians are not eligible.
The KP Launch Internship Program lets you work inside Kaiser Permanente’s business and administrative teams, including a Sales and Marketing track. You help with real projects related to marketing outreach, brand strategy, account management, and product development. You’ll see how marketing works inside a large healthcare system that deals directly with patients, insurance, and community health. You work with professional mentors, support regional campaigns, and contribute to initiatives focused on patient engagement. Alongside the work, you attend weekly workshops that cover practical skills like communication, leadership, resume building, and basic project management.
3. Young Founders Lab
Location: 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops.
Cost: Varies by program type; full financial aid available.
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort (you can access the application link here).
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts offered throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring.
Eligibility: Open to all high school students
The Young Founders Lab is a work-learn startup incubator started and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. It is built to help you create a real venture that can generate revenue, not just a project for experience. You work on a startup that tackles a real problem and move step by step from exploring ideas to building a prototype, validating it with users, and pitching it clearly. Along the way, you receive mentorship from founders and professionals who have worked at places like Google, Microsoft, and X. They guide you through core startup thinking and decision-making. You also take part in workshops on business basics, case studies, ideation sessions, panel discussions, and practical skill building.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote; you can work from anywhere in the world.
Cost: Some roles are paid; others are unpaid, depending on the startup.
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort.
Program Dates: Multiple 8–12 week cohorts throughout the year.
Eligibility: Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap-year students who can commit 10–20 hours/week for 8–12 weeks.
Ladder Internships is a selective startup internship program for high school students who want real work experience, not simulated projects. You are placed with a fast-growing startup and work directly on real problems that matter to the company. These startups span many fields, including marketing, consulting tech, AI and machine learning, health tech, and more. Most Ladder partner startups are high-growth companies, often having raised over one million dollars. Many founders come from strong backgrounds, including Y Combinator, large fundraising rounds, or prior experience at companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. During the internship, you work closely with a manager at the startup and a Ladder Coach, contribute to real projects, and present your work back to the company.
5. Warner Bros. Discovery Reach Honorship Program
Location: Burbank and Los Angeles County, California
Cost: Free; includes both a scholarship and a paid summer internship
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Program Dates: Summer (exact dates vary; internship begins after high school graduation)
Eligibility: Open to graduating high school seniors in California who are interested in business, media, or entertainment and can work in person in Burbank or Los Angeles County.
The Warner Bros. Discovery Reach Honorship Program provides graduating high school seniors with a unique pathway into the business and creative operations of a major entertainment company. As a participant, you’ll receive a scholarship along with a paid summer internship at Warner Bros. Discovery. You’ll work in departments such as marketing, production, studio operations, human resources, finance, or content development. This experience allows you to see how major media brands build campaigns, manage audiences, and operate across multiple platforms. Your placement is based on your chosen interest area.
6. Meta Summer Academy (MSA)
Location: East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City, California
Cost: Free; includes stipend, meals, and transportation
Application Deadline: February 14
Program Dates: June 16 – July 25 (six-week program, 30 hours/week)
Eligibility: Open to current high school sophomores with a minimum 2.0 GPA who are full-year residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, or Redwood City.
The Meta Summer Academy is a six-week paid program where you get an inside look at how Meta runs its business and product teams. You work on structured projects tied to product development, digital marketing, user experience, and business strategy, which shows you how large tech teams think about building and launching products. Along the way, you join workshops and hands-on assignments, learn directly from Meta employees, and hear from guest speakers working in marketing, operations, and tech.
7. CLA High School Internship Program
Location: Select CLA offices across California (varies by year and availability)
Cost: Paid internship
Application Deadline: Rolling; positions open until filled
Program Dates: June 17–July 19
Eligibility: High school students ages 16–18
The CLA High School Internship Program lets you work inside a professional services firm and see how real business teams operate. Depending on the office, you help with administrative workflows, client-related tasks, document prep, and basic analysis. You will get direct exposure to how firms manage clients and coordinate work internally. You see how accounting and advisory teams structure projects and communicate with clients, skills that transfer well to marketing and broader business roles.
8. The Mary Miller Summer Program
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: Not specified; early application strongly encouraged
Program Dates: Summer program (exact dates not listed)
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
The Mary Miller Summer Program is a paid remote internship where you get practical exposure to digital marketing and online teamwork. You work with the PHC Group team on tasks like creating and organizing social media content, supporting online community efforts, and helping with basic social marketing research. You also sit in on planning meetings, which lets you see how remote teams actually plan work and coordinate projects. Throughout the program, you build skills in writing, organizing work, and managing small tasks while using tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
9. SFUSD Summer Internships with Industry Partners
Location: San Francisco, CA
Cost: None. Interns earn wages for a minimum of 20 hours/week
Application Deadline: Interest form opens each February
Program Dates: Six-week summer internships (June–July)
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors enrolled in SFUSD; priority given to rising seniors
The SFUSD Summer Internship Program places you with real industry partners in areas like marketing, media, finance, architecture, computer science, engineering, and public leadership. You work on practical projects that matter to the organization, learn directly from professional mentors, and take part in weekly learning sessions led by an SFUSD supervisor that connect your work to real workplace expectations. You gain hands-on experience in communication, time management, teamwork, and basic project coordination while earning pay for at least 20 hours of work each week.
10. L.A. Times – High School Insider Internship
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Cost: Free; paid internship
Application Deadline: February 26
Program Dates: Seven-week summer program
Eligibility: High school students ages 16–18 from Southern California; must commute to L.A. Times headquarters
The L.A. Times High School Insider Internship is a paid summer program where you work directly with journalists on real stories and digital content. You help write articles, produce videos, and create multimedia pieces that are published for real audiences. Along the way, you learn how to pitch ideas, meet deadlines, and shape your voice while seeing how a newsroom actually operates day to day. The work focuses on storytelling and audience engagement, so you build skills that connect to marketing, public relations, and digital communication.
11. Guide Dogs for the Blind – Marketing & Social Media Volunteer Program
Location: Virtual and community-based (various locations)
Cost: Free
Application Deadline: Rolling
Program Dates: Ongoing, flexible engagement
Eligibility: Open to volunteers of all ages; no location restrictions
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Marketing and Social Media Volunteer Program lets you help a national nonprofit by sharing real stories and updates across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. You support the organization by creating content, boosting official campaigns, and helping spread awareness of its work through digital outreach. You are given clear branding guidelines, training materials, and feedback from the communications team so your posts stay consistent and on message. You may also get involved in specific projects such as partnership campaigns or media outreach.
12. NorCal Public Media – Journalism & Media Internships
Location: Rohnert Park, Sonoma County, CA (in-person; next cohort begins in the fall)
Cost: Paid; stipend provided to all high school interns
Application Deadline: Rolling
Program Dates: Academic-year internship; 8–10 hours/week during business hours
Eligibility: High school students with an interest in journalism, media, or communications; must have transportation to the office
The NorCal Public Media Internship is a paid opportunity that introduces you to professional journalism, digital storytelling, and media production. You can choose a track such as audio production, video production, environmental reporting, or news, and work directly with industry professionals to create publishable content. You will learn how to craft scripts, produce promotional pieces, create branded content, and contribute to social media strategy. You’ll also pitch stories, participate in newsroom discussions, and gain experience with tools and workflows used in public media.
13. Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) Internships
Location: Virtual and in-person options (Washington, DC)
Cost: No cost; includes a stipend
Application Deadline: Applications typically close in late March
Program Dates: 10-week internships running between May and August; flexible scheduling for virtual roles
Eligibility: High school students aged 16+
The Smithsonian Science Education Center offers summer internships where you work on real communication and outreach projects tied to science education. You help with content creation, social media posts, digital marketing tasks, and planning materials that the Smithsonian uses to reach teachers, students, and the public. Through the internship, you see how a communications team plans, runs, and reviews its work inside a national institution. Some roles are virtual through the Smithsonian Office of Internship Programs, which makes the experience more flexible.
14. Building U – Marketing Internship
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Application Deadline: Rolling
Program Dates: Three-month internship (start dates vary)
Eligibility: Open to all high school students, including international applicants
The Building U Marketing Internship is a three-month remote role where you support a nonprofit that helps students navigate academics and career choices. You work on tasks like creating content, helping with digital outreach, organizing information, and supporting small projects across marketing, business development, or research teams. Most of the work happens through virtual meetings and shared tools, so you get a real sense of how remote teams coordinate and communicate.
15. Interns4Good – Marketing Internships
Location: Virtual
Cost: Free; unpaid internships
Application Deadline: Open year-round
Program Dates: Varies based on placement
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12
Interns4Good connects you with remote marketing and outreach internships at nonprofits, letting you work on real communication tasks from anywhere. Depending on the placement, you might create social media content, support outreach campaigns, or help with community engagement for a cause you care about. Each role is different, so you can choose one that fits your interests and availability, and you submit short weekly reports to track what you worked on and how you spent your time.
Image Source - Meta logo