15 Marketing Internships for High School Students

If you’re a high school student thinking about business or communication careers, a marketing internship can help you understand what that work actually looks like. You learn how companies shape messages, study how audiences react, and see how small decisions change the way a product or idea is received. That kind of experience is hard to get from class alone.

What do marketing internships for high school students involve?

Marketing internships for high schoolers are usually built around simple responsibilities. You might help with social media posts, draft basic content, look at analytics, or assist with community projects. The tasks are small, but they show you how marketing teams plan, test, and adjust their work. 

Why pursue marketing internships for high school students?

Marketing internships can equip you with valuable skills that you can then employ in your own venture. These internships give you early experience that you can talk about on future college or job applications. Choosing a marketing internship is also practical if you’re trying to figure out which part of business actually fits you. 

If you’re also looking for marketing summer programs for high school students, you can go here.

With that, here are 15 marketing internships for high school students!

Disclaimer: Some items below are marketing and business programs that help you gain the skills for pursuing marketing internships in the future.

15 Marketing Internships for High School Students

1. PHC Group – Mary Miller Summer Program

Cost: Paid internship (stipend provided)

Location: PHC Group, Philadelphia, PA (virtual components may be included)

Program Dates: Summer (exact dates vary by position)

Application Deadline: Applications typically close once positions are filled

Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors; strong communication skills; unrestricted work authorization

The Mary Miller Summer Program puts you on PHC Group’s public health communications team, where you help run real social media and outreach work for clients. You create posts for different platforms, track what audiences are reacting to, and join planning meetings where campaign messages are shaped. You also use social monitoring tools, write short reports, and learn how to adjust content based on feedback from the team. Because you work directly with senior staff and get steady mentorship, you build practical skills in social marketing and learn how professional communication campaigns come together in the public health space.

2. The Met High School Summer Internship Program

Cost: Paid internship, $1,100 stipend

Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Program Dates: Summer (exact dates announced in February)

Application Deadline: Opens in early February; closes once applications are reviewed

Eligibility: Current 10th or 11th graders who live in NY, NJ, or CT; must have working papers and SSN/ITIN

The Met’s Summer High School Internship is a paid summer placement for rising juniors and seniors in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. If you choose the marketing or communications track, you spend your weeks inside the museum’s communications workflow. You will help with campaign planning, social media work, visual materials, copywriting, and publicity tied to exhibitions and media events. You work in a small supervised cohort and see how a major cultural institution reaches audiences and promotes its programs, which gives you a close look at real museum marketing practice rather than just classroom theory.

3. Young Founders Lab 

Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.

Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops 

Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring

Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can access the application link here!

Eligibility: Open to all high school students

The Young Founder’s Lab is a start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a complex 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 ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. You can check out the brochure for the program here.

4. Ladder Internship Program

Location:  Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.

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 eight-week virtual program where you join a fast-growing start-up and work on real projects as part of a small team. You could land in areas like marketing, tech, AI, health, journalism, or consulting, depending on your interests. You work directly with a manager and a Ladder coach, so you get steady guidance while learning how start-ups actually operate. Along the way, you develop practical skills in communication and time management through one-on-one coaching and group sessions with other interns. By the end, you’ll have contributed to real company work and presented your results, which gives you early experience in a professional setting.

5. KP LAUNCH High School Internship - Sales & Marketing Track

Cost: Paid internship

Location: Kaiser Permanente Northern California (various sites)

Program Dates: June 15 – July 31

Application Deadline: November 17 – January 9

Eligibility: High school students who meet KP LAUNCH requirements; dependents of KP employees/physicians are ineligible

The KP LAUNCH High School Internship puts you inside Kaiser Permanente’s business and marketing side, where you help with projects tied to outreach, branding, and community communication. In the Sales and Marketing track, you might assist with market research, customer insights, or internal messaging while sitting in on planning meetings with project managers. You also get exposure to other business areas like HR, operations, and education, which helps you see how marketing fits into a large healthcare system. The program includes mentorship, workshops, and networking with professionals across Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California network.

6. Emma Bowen Foundation Summer Internship

Cost: Paid internship (compensation varies by partner company)

Location: Nationwide placements across media, tech, and entertainment companies

Program Dates: Generally May–August (varies by partner company; minimum 8 weeks)

Application Deadline: Rolling review from September – April; final decisions by May 15

Eligibility: High school seniors and college students; GPA 3.0+; must be 18+ before internship start; U.S. work authorization required

The Emma Bowen Foundation places high school seniors in full-time summer roles at major media, tech, and communications companies, where you might work on content strategy, audience engagement, PR tasks, or marketing analytics, depending on your host. You support real projects like social posts, promotional materials, or brand communication while learning from industry professionals. The program adds networking events, cohort activities, and exposure to senior leaders, so you see how large media organizations operate. Over eight or more weeks, you build skills in communication, research, writing, analytics tools, and teamwork.

7. CITYarts PR and Marketing Internship

Cost: Free

Location: CITYarts, New York, NY

Program Dates: Flexible, year-round; schedule designed with staff

Application Deadline: Rolling; apply via email

Eligibility: High school students strongly encouraged to apply; interest in arts/nonprofit marketing preferred; familiarity with social media and Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop

The CITYarts PR and Marketing Internship puts you on the organization’s communications team, where you help create promotional materials and support social media and website updates. You work with project staff to draft posts, update online content, prepare digital assets, and assist with outreach to partner groups. The role gives you practical experience with design tools, social media strategy, and nonprofit branding while contributing to community arts projects. You also see how a small organization plans campaigns and engages audiences, which is useful if you’re interested in marketing or creative communication.

8. L.A. Times High School Insider Summer Internship

Cost: Paid; $16.90 per hour

Location: Hybrid; El Segundo, CA office + remote days

Program Dates: June 16 – August 1

Application Deadline: February 26

Eligibility: High school students graduating in the next three years; must reside in Los Angeles or Orange County; U.S. work authorization required

The L.A. Times High School Insider Summer Internship places you in a youth media division where you help produce digital content that reaches student audiences across Southern California. You research story ideas tied to youth trends, draft posts and multimedia elements, and learn how headlines and visuals are shaped for online engagement. You also use social platforms to collect perspectives and promote content, which gives you practical experience in audience targeting and digital outreach. Professional editors provide feedback, so you see how a major media brand adapts reporting and messaging for younger readers, a useful introduction to marketing and communications inside a large news organization.

9. Chicago Philharmonic Summer Internship

Cost: Free; information on stipend is not officially published

Location: Chicago Philharmonic, Chicago, IL

Program Dates: Summer (exact dates vary by candidate)

Application Deadline: Rolling, apply by emailing at edessel@chicagophilharmonic.org

Eligibility: High school students in Chicago; applicants must email the Community Engagement Coordinator for details

The Chicago Philharmonic Summer Internship keeps its cohort small, just four interns, so you actually get to know the people you’re working with and see how the organization communicates with its audience. Most days, you’ll be helping with outreach, preparing materials for upcoming concerts, and supporting community programs that bring music to different parts of the city. You sit in on planning conversations, watch how promotional decisions are made, and help shape the messages that go out to the public. Because it’s a nonprofit, you get a close look at how arts groups handle marketing with limited resources and a lot of creativity. There’s also a musical side to the summer, guided by Philharmonic musicians, which keeps you connected to the art you’re helping promote.

10. Warner Bros. Discovery Reach Honorship Program

Cost: Free to apply; includes a $5,000 scholarship (paid in $1,250 annual installments if maintaining 2.8+ GPA) plus paid summer internships each summer during college with varying compensation.

Location: Burbank, CA or Los Angeles County, CA (depending on honorship track)\

Program Dates: Vary by position

Application Deadline: Varies by position

Eligibility: Graduating high school seniors; must reside in Burbank or Los Angeles County (depending on honorship track); must be interested in careers in media, entertainment, or related corporate/creative fields.

The Warner Bros. Discovery Reach Honorship combines a college scholarship with four summers of paid internships, starting the summer after high school. You receive $5000 over your college years and return each summer to work in a different division of Warner Bros. Discovery. Many placements fall within marketing, communications, and audience-focused roles, alongside options in content development, production, and other business areas. You will contribute to active projects, support campaign work, and learn directly from industry professionals who shape the company’s global media brands.

11. PBS News Student Reporting Labs Summer Academy

Cost: Fully funded (all travel, lodging, and meals covered)

Location: Washington, D.C. area (George Mason University, in partnership with WETA)

Program Dates: June 22–28

Application Deadline: April 27

Eligibility: High school students

The PBS News SRL Summer Academy can also be understood through its marketing value: you spend one week working inside a national media brand, producing a full video story under the PBS News identity. Your work goes through a professional editorial process and is published on Student Reporting Labs platforms, which gives you exposure to PBS audiences and partner stations. You learn how PBS develops visual storytelling for younger viewers, how field reporting is packaged for digital platforms, and how video pieces are promoted across social channels.

12. Youth Communication Teen Writing Program

Cost: Free; writers are paid $125 per published article

Location: New York, NY (in-person preferred; remote possible)

Program Dates: Semester-long; Winter/Spring cycle opens in December

Application Deadline: Announced in December (for Winter/Spring session)

Eligibility: High school students ages 15–20

The Youth Communication Teen Writing Program works almost like an entry-level content studio, where you develop memoir and reported pieces. The pieces are professionally edited and published for real audiences, including partner outlets, which means your writing functions as public-facing content rather than classroom work. You’re paid per published story, and every piece goes through multiple editing rounds. They mirror how organizations shape messaging, refine voice, and aim content at specific audiences, which is essentially the backbone of modern marketing teams. Because you finish with visible clips and experience producing material for actual readers, the program gives you early evidence of content creation, audience targeting, and message development that translates directly into marketing and communications roles.

13. Student Historian Internship Program – New York Historical Society

Cost: Paid; $700 stipend

Location: New York, NY (in-person)

Program Dates: October 29 – June 24

Application Deadline: August 24

Eligibility: High school students entering grades 10–12 who live in and attend school in the NYC metro area; working papers required if accepted

The Student Historian Internship at the New-York Historical Society gives you a semester of research and content production that strongly overlaps with marketing skills. You study historical materials connected to the theme and then turn your findings into a digital project for public audiences, which means you’re essentially creating educational content for a real organization. You practice writing for viewers rather than teachers, learn how museums shape messages for the public, and work with multimedia formats that mirror digital marketing tasks. By the end, you’ve produced a polished online piece that the museum actually publishes, which functions as a portfolio sample.

14. Teen Ambassadors – Chicago Architecture Center

Cost: Paid; $500 stipend

Location: Chicago, IL

Program Dates: September 13, 20, 27; October 4, 11, 18 

Application Deadline: Not specified

Eligibility: High school students in grades 10–12

As a Teen Ambassador with the Chicago Architecture Center, you step into a public-facing role during Open House Chicago and represent the organization on site, which gives you direct experience in audience engagement and event communication. You research the Bronzeville neighborhood, visit key locations, and speak with community members, then use that material to inform visitor conversations and short public explanations during the festival. Because you interact with guests, share information, and support live programming, the role functions much like entry-level marketing and outreach work inside a major cultural event.

15. NYC Youth Poet Laureate Program (Urban Word NYC)

Cost: Paid fellowship (exact amount not disclosed)

Location: New York City, NY

Program Dates: 5-week fall workshop series (dates vary)

Application Deadline: Not specified 

Eligibility: NYC residents ages 15–19

The NYC Youth Poet Laureate Program is a competitive five-week fellowship run by Urban Word that trains ten young writers in public-facing communication through writing, performance, and audience engagement. You spend the fall in in-person workshops that focus on messaging and civic storytelling, then take part in a live commencement event where one participant becomes the Youth Poet Laureate for a year. The Laureate role includes public appearances, performances, and community events, which function much like brand and audience outreach in cultural marketing.

Image Source - LA times logo

Luke Taylor

Luke is a two-time founder, a graduate of Stanford University, and the Managing Director at the Young Founders Lab

Previous
Previous

15 Analysis Tools for Running a Business in High School

Next
Next

15 Entrepreneurship Extracurriculars for High School Students