If you’re a high school student passionate about design, the pathway from creativity to career can feel exciting yet unclear. Design is more than aesthetics; it’s about problem-solving, understanding users, and creating solutions that are both functional and meaningful. One of the best ways to gain real clarity is through a design internship.

Imagine spending your summer working alongside professional designers, assisting with real projects, contributing ideas in brainstorming sessions, or helping shape visual content for brands and products. These internships place you inside design teams where creative thinking meets collaboration, and you’ll gain first-hand experience of how design is applied in real work environments.

How do you choose the right design internships for high school students?

With so many opportunities available, it can be difficult to know which internships offer meaningful creative growth and which are mainly observational. Some roles focus only on basic tasks, while others provide structured mentorship, hands-on work, and opportunities to build actual portfolio pieces. That’s why careful selection matters.

Design internships for high school students can be found in creative studios, advertising agencies, tech companies, fashion houses, publishing firms, and nonprofit organizations. Depending on the role, you might assist with layout and visual content, participate in UX research, support branding and marketing visuals, prototype product ideas, or help refine user interfaces. Programs range from introductory placements to selective internships that emphasize professional development and real project involvement.

You’ll learn from experienced creators, take part in collaborative projects, and develop a body of work that reflects your contributions. Along the way, you’ll sharpen your creative thinking, enhance technical skills, and gain a clearer sense of what a future in design might look like.

To help you get started, we’ve curated a list of 15 Design Internships for High School Students.

If you’re looking for more options, you can have a look at art summer programs, which also include design-oriented programs.

15 Design Internships for High School Students  

1. The URBN Internship Program

Location: On-site at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia, PA
Cost/Stipend: Paid at a competitive hourly rate
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: June 1st – August 7th
Application Deadline: November 3rd
Eligibility: U.S. high school students

URBN’s Home Office Internship is a 10-week paid summer program based at the company’s headquarters in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. You will join a specific team within one of URBN’s brands and work on day-to-day business projects in areas such as retail, creative, or corporate functions.

The program also includes intern events, small-group sessions with leadership, and off-site visits tied to company initiatives. High-performing interns may be considered for full-time roles after the program.

Why it stands out: You work inside an active retail headquarters and contribute to real brand operations.

2. Immerse Education’s Fashion & Design Summer School

Location: New York
Cost: Varies; summer school scholarship available through our bursary programme
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrolment; Average of 7 participants per class
Dates: 2 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Multiple summer cohorts with rolling admissions.
Eligibility: Students around the world aged 15-18 who are currently enrolled in high school

Immerse Education’s Fashion and Design Summer School in New York is one of the most immersive and academically rigorous design internships for high school students. Designed for participants aged 15 to 18, you explore fashion trends, textile technology, and design processes while completing guided design projects and workshops.

Experienced designers lead the classes and give individual feedback and critiques to refine your ideas and technical work. The program also includes fashion shows, industry visits, and sessions on branding, forecasting, and the business side of fashion. By the end, you complete a body of work and receive a certificate of completion. You can find more details here.

Why it stands out: You build and present original design work while receiving direct critique from industry professionals in a global fashion capital.

3. Design Hive at Cooper Hewitt

Location: Cooper Hewitt and offsite locations in New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: Stipend of $2,000
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: December 2nd – May 19th
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors must be based in the New York City area

Design Hive is a paid, youth-led design program at Cooper Hewitt for high school juniors and seniors based in New York City. You will study design objects and processes, then apply what you learn to collaborative projects developed with your cohort.

The program focuses on how ideas move from concept to final design, with participants taking an active role in shaping their work.

Why it stands out: You work inside a major design museum over several months and earn a stipend while developing original, collaborative design projects.

4. Milwaukee Art Museum’s ArtXpress Internship Program

Location: Milwaukee Art Museum or nearby studio locations in
Cost/Stipend: Stipend offered
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 10th – August 1st
Application Deadline: June 6th
Eligibility: High school students between the ages of 16 and 18, in grade 11 or 12 for the school year, or a recent grad, attending a Milwaukee-area high school

ArtXpress is one of the most community-facing design internships for high school students, placing you inside the Milwaukee Art Museum to collaborate with local artists and design a public mural. You draw from exhibitions and the permanent collection to develop work that responds to an issue affecting the city.

You will also serve as mentors and museum docents for elementary school students, lead tours, and facilitate art activities. Your final mural is displayed on a Milwaukee County bus and presented at a public launch event at the museum. 

Why it stands out: Your work moves beyond the classroom and appears in a public space, giving you direct experience in community-centered, public art.

5. The Met High School Internship Program

Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Cost/Stipend: $1,100 stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: TBA
Application Deadline: Applications open in February
Eligibility: Students in grade 10 or 11, residing in and attending a high school or home school in either New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut

The Met High School Internship Program is one of the most prestigious, high-exposure design internships for high school students, offering a paid summer placement inside a world-leading museum. You work in small cohorts and connect with professionals across curatorial, education, social media, imaging, and design.

Interns also gain behind-the-scenes access to how the museum operates while contributing to department-specific projects under staff supervision. The program also includes Career Labs and workshops led by arts and museum professionals. Throughout the summer, you will build professional skills, expand your network, and explore how your interests align with museum careers.

Why it stands out: You gain access to multiple museum departments and work alongside staff at one of the world’s leading cultural institutions.

6. The Architecture/Design High School Internship

Location: Local architecture firms across Boston, MA
Cost/Stipend: Paid internship
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 6th – August 14th
Application Deadline: Student applications open in February
Eligibility: Boston Public School high school students 

The Architecture/Design High School Internship, run by the Boston Society for Architecture in partnership with the Boston Private Industry Council, places you in paid roles at local architecture firms. Over six weeks, you work four days a week inside a participating firm, gaining direct exposure to professional design practice.

Firm placements vary in size and focus, offering different perspectives on the field. On Fridays, you join a cohort series that includes neighbourhood architecture tours, site visits, and a final firm crawl where interns share their work. 

Why it stands out: You spend the summer in a working architecture firm while exploring the city with a cohort of student designers.

7. Museum of Arts and Design: Artslife 

Location: Museum of Arts and Design, Columbus Circle, NYC
Cost/Stipend: $16.50/hour stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 10 students
Dates: Six weeks in summer
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Rising sophomores and juniors enrolled in New York City public and charter high schools

Artslife is a paid six-week summer internship for high school students. You begin with a week of orientation and team building, followed by five weeks of collaborative work with museum staff, local designers, and arts professionals. You will work across departments such as Curatorial, Education, Communications, Visitor Services, and Development to understand how a museum operates.

You’ll create original artwork in artist studios, produce a podcast series on a topic chosen by the cohort, and design and lead peer tours. The internship also includes visits to other cultural institutions across the city. 

Why it stands out: You get a comprehensive, behind-the-scenes exposure to museum operations while producing public-facing creative work.

8. Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) 

Location: Boston, MA
Cost/Stipend: Stipend of $16.25/hour for up to 27.5 hours a week
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: Six weeks from early July to mid-August
Application Deadline: Applications for summer open in spring
Eligibility: Current high school students, residents of Boston or the Metro North region

The Summer Exploratory Experience in Design (SEED) is a six-week paid internship where you work on a collaborative design project with guidance from Sasaki professionals.

You’ll participate in design charrettes, engage in sketching and computer drawing skills, and explore fields such as architecture, interior design, planning, urban design, and landscape architecture. Throughout the program, you meet practicing designers and engage in conversations about career paths in the field.

Why it stands out: You learn inside a working design firm while building a project alongside practicing architects and planners.

9. Marwen’s Summer Internship Program

Location: Varies based on placement
Cost/Stipend: Stipend of $16.20/ hour for a total of $1,174.50 (subject to change)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 18-20 students
Dates: Five weeks from July to August
Application Deadline: Applications open in April, due in May
Eligibility: Students aged 16-18 by July 1st, who are residents of Chicago, and have taken one Marwen course

Art@Work is a five-week paid summer internship program for Chicago teens that places you in an arts-related organization aligned with your interests and skills. You will work 14.5 hours per week, spending 12 hours at your internship site and 2.5 hours at Marwen for professional development workshops.

Internships span creative businesses and cultural organizations across the city, giving you direct exposure to day-to-day work in the arts. Alongside your placement, you will attend workshops focused on communication, public speaking, resume and interview practice, financial literacy, and time management. 

Why it stands out: You split your time between a real creative workplace and structured career training, gaining both industry exposure and practical job-readiness skills.

10. Creative Practice at the Brooklyn Museum

Location: Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Cost/Stipend: $16.50 per hour stipend
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: September – June
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: All NYC teens who are enrolled in high school as a sophomore, junior, or senior at the start of the internship

Creative Practice is a paid museum internship for teens in New York City who want practical experience in art education. From September through June, you assist teaching artists during studio art classes, help prepare materials, and support classroom instruction for students of different ages.

You also meet artists and museum staff, discuss topics at the intersection of art and social justice, and create your own work in response to exhibitions. The program includes weekly meetings, select events and field trips, and limited weekend teaching support each semester. 

Why it stands out: You step into the role of a teaching assistant inside an active museum program and gain experience in arts education and classroom facilitation.

11. Parsons Paris: Summer Pre-College

Location: Parsons Paris Saint-Roch campus, Paris, France
Cost/Stipend: $9,999(three college credits)
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Open enrolment
Dates: June 27th – July 18th
Application Deadline: April 10th
Eligibility: High school students worldwide aged 16-18 entering their junior or senior year, or recent graduates

Parsons Paris offers a three-week, for-credit summer program for high school students interested in design, painting, drawing, and photography. You’ll enroll in one intensive course, with options ranging from fashion design and drawing to photography, portfolio development, and introductory A.I. design.

You will learn through studio-based work, supplemented by classroom learning and regular feedback. The curriculum prepares you to leave with finished pieces you can include in a portfolio. There are field excursions across Paris that connect coursework to visual culture and design history. 

Why it stands out: Studying design in Paris allows you to pair real studio work as you engage with the city’s art, fashion, and visual culture.

12. Boston Architectural College: Urban Design & Planning Studio

Location: Boston
Cost/Stipend: Base Price, credit-bearing (6 college credits): $4,000; Base Price, not for credit: $3,600
Acceptance rate/cohort size:
Dates: June 29th – August 7th
Application Deadline: June 9th
Eligibility: Students who enrol in both the Urban Design and Planning Studio and Summer Academy Programs, entering 9th -12th grade (14 years or older); not open to international students

The Urban Design and Planning Studio is a pre-college program for high school students interested in how cities are designed, planned, and built. You will enroll in both the BAC Summer Academy and the specialized urban design curriculum, working in a studio with design professionals.

You’ll analyse case studies to understand how housing, transportation, land use, and policy shape urban environments. Field trips, guest talks, and civic learning activities help you connect studio work to real organizations and agencies. The program concludes with a public showcase where you present your urban design proposal to professionals and faculty.

Why it stands out: You combine architecture-style studio work with planning, policy, and civic engagement in a single, integrated program.

13. University of Toronto’s Blueprint

Location: University of Toronto, St. George Campus, Toronto, ON
Cost: No cost
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 6-31 + biweekly engagement from October to February
Application Deadline: March 29th
Eligibility: Only Canadian Black students in grades 10 and 11

Blueprint is an outreach program run by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering for high school students interested in engineering and design. You will take two courses, Engineering and Human Health, and Mechatronics and Automation, taught by U of T master’s and doctoral students.

Undergraduate students act as mentors as you work through course material and project-based tasks. After the summer, grade 11 students continue in a year-long track focusing on soft skills and leadership, while grade 12 students move into MAPS, which helps them transition to university life. 

Why it stands out: You will stay connected to the program beyond the summer through a pathway tied to your grade.

14. Academy of Art University’s Pre-College Art & Design Experience

Location: Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
Cost: No cost
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: June 15-24
Application Deadline: June 8th
Eligibility: All current high school students. International students can apply as well  

The Academy’s Pre-College Art & Design Experience (PCADE) is a free, college-level summer program for high school students interested in art and design. You take one or two intensive courses in areas such as animation, game design, fashion, fine art, photography, or filmmaking.

You work toward an original piece or series that is presented in a public exhibition at the end of the program. Students can choose to live on campus to get a first-hand sense of art school routines.

Why it stands out: You complete college-level studio courses and exhibit your work publicly, without paying tuition.

15. NYU’s Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities (ieSoSC)

Location: NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
Cost/Stipend: Free
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not publicly available
Dates: July 6th – August 7th, and July 13th – August 7th
Application Deadline: May 15th
Eligibility: Students in grades 9 to 11, aged 15+, living in New York City

ieSoSC (Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and the Science of Smart Cities) is a project-based program for high school students interested in technology, urban systems, and entrepreneurship. You will learn coding, electronics, and microcontroller basics, and work with sensors and circuits to prototype solutions for a smart city.

You’ll receive structured training in economics, project planning, branding, and intellectual property. The program includes communication workshops, helping you refine presentations and learn to pitch your product or service to an audience. 

Why it stands out: You prototype a smart city solution and learn how to position it as a viable product as well.

Turning Creative Skills into Real-World Careers

Creative talent grows fastest when tested in real environments. Internships help you move from ideas in a sketchbook to solutions that solve genuine problems.

Design internships for high school students give you space to experiment, collaborate, and understand how industries actually work. You build confidence, technical ability, and a portfolio that reflects real contribution, not just classroom exercises.

More importantly, you gain clarity. You begin to see whether your strengths align with fashion, architecture, digital design, entrepreneurship, or another creative path.

Ready to explore what comes next? Visit our Career Exploration blogs and discover clear, inspiring pathways into design, technology, business, medicine, and more today.