High School Summer Internship

PPPL internships for summer are available for highly motivated high school students! 

High School Summer Internship Application (the summer after you graduate)

Please contact [email protected] with any issues. Please note that email notifications may go to your spam/junk folder.

Key dates:

November 22 – summer internship application opens

March 15 – summer internship application closes (midnight)

PPPL's Science Education department offers a limited number of internship positions for outstanding high school seniors for the summer after their graduation. Each term, which lasts about 8 to 10 weeks during the summer, offers students the chance to work on a project with a member of our research or engineering staff. The exact dates of the internship depend on the participant's school schedule. The summer internship schedule is typically Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but occasionally, alternate arrangements can be made.

Attention parents/guardians: All communication regarding applications must be between the applicant and the administrators of the program. We cannot share application status or other information with anyone other than the applicant themselves.

To be eligible, students must:

  • Be at least 16 years of age AND a graduating senior in high school when the internship begins. The internship begins the summer after you graduate. NOT the summer after your junior year.
  • Be a United States citizen or permanent resident alien at the time of application
  • Obtain transportation to and from the Laboratory (The High School Internship is a commuter program. Housing is NOT provided. Reimbursement for mileage to/from the lab is NOT provided)*

For academic year internships only, students must:

  • Arrange with their school a schedule that provides sufficient release time (if during the academic year)
  • Earn academic credit from their school for their participation. The school administrator or Guidance Counselor must provide an email confirming academic credits to: [email protected] before the accepted student begins the internship
  • Work at PPPL during regular business hours. ** SATURDAY/SUNDAY and AFTER-HOURS WORK IS NOT ALLOWED

It is strongly recommended that students have:

  • some experience relevant to an experimental or computational project in plasma physics
  • a strong interest in plasma physics, fusion energy, etc.
  • taken some or all of the following classes: physics, chemistry, advanced math, engineering, etc.
  • some experience with coding/computer languages

**Note: Regular business hours are Mon.-Fri., 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.