MLSC High School Apprenticeship Challenge

The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) is excited to announce the launch of a new internship program for high school students! The High School Apprenticeship Challenge is an innovative program that facilitates and funds paid internship opportunities for high school students. The program subsidizes intern stipends for small businesses and academic researchers to enable them to hire paid interns. Host companies and research institutions will commit to providing a dedicated mentor and hands-on learning experience.

This internship program is modeled on our highly successful Internship Challenge for college students, which has been running year-round for eight years and placed nearly 2,800 students in internships with over 600 companies. Many of these companies are looking forward to hosting high school students in addition to the college students that they hire through our program.

We are now accepting applications from eligible students via our website. Students will sign up via a secure, password-protected, online portal and their information will be removed from the database after eight months (or once selected). Interns must be Massachusetts high school students that are at least 16 years old and currently in their sophomore, junior, or senior year. There is no application deadline, but internships will take place between June and August.

Applications will be made available to prospective host institutions that have completed the required registration form and have been approved by MLSC. Representatives from these organizations will review applications and reach out directly to candidates to inform them about the opportunity. Students are interviewed, hired, and paid directly by the employer.The MLSC provides the online portal for host institutions to connect with students, and reimburses hosts for intern stipends, but does not play any role in candidate selection or the internship itself.

The MLSC will reimburse eligible host institutions for intern stipends of up to $2,880 for students selected through the program (amount is based on a pay rate of $12/hour for 6 weeks).