Fellowship.
Longer-term programs (often a full year) that pair you with a mentor and a project. Selective; treat them like a job application.
32 verified programs.
Ashoka Young Changemakers
Global community of young people (10–20) already leading social innovation projects; selected changemakers receive mentorship, storytelling support, and network access.
Breakthrough Collaborative
Free summer and school-year academic program for first-generation, low-income middle schoolers; high schoolers can serve as teaching fellows.
Built By Girls Wave Program
A peer-mentorship program connecting high school girls with women in tech.
ChiPS Chips Quinn Scholars (pipeline)
Diversity journalism pipeline programs for students of color.
Civics Unplugged Fellowship
Free fellowship for high schoolers building civic-tech projects and learning systems change.
CodeDay Labs Fellowship
High school students are paired with industry mentors to build a real-world software project.
Coding it Forward Civic Innovation Corps
Summer civic-tech fellowship placing students at federal agencies (mostly college, some HS programs).
Coro Youth Fellows
Civic leadership fellowships for young people exploring careers in public affairs.
Davis Projects for Peace
$10,000 grants for undergraduates worldwide to design and implement grassroots peace projects.
Generation Citizen Youth Council
National civic action council for high schoolers.
Global Youth Mobilization Fellowship
An online-based global youth leadership accelerator focused on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
Google Summer of Code — Contributor
Paid open-source contribution program. Now open to any newcomer to open source 18+, worldwide.
Knight Foundation High School Journalism
Various Knight-funded high school journalism programs and fellowships.
MLH Fellowship
A 12-week fellowship for aspiring software engineers to contribute to Open Source projects.
North Dakota Boys State and Girls State
A leadership program for high school students in North Dakota to learn about government and civic engagement.
Oregon State Environmental Science Internship
A program for high school students from underrepresented backgrounds to participate in environmental research and data science.
Peace First Mini-Grants
Digital platform and mini-grants (up to $250) for 13–25-year-olds anywhere in the world to design and launch a project responding to injustice in their community.
Rise
A lifetime program for 15- to 17-year-olds worldwide; the top ~500 finalists receive scholarships, mentorship, and career support to work on problems that matter.
South Dakota Legislative Page Program
A year-long fellowship for South Dakota high school students to engage in state policy-making and legislative observation.
Space Generation Advisory Council
Global network for 18–35 year-olds interested in space policy, engineering, and exploration. Local events and scholarships.
Sutton Trust US Programme
Fully-funded programme helping state-school students in the UK apply to US universities — includes a residential week in the US, SAT prep, and application support.
The 5 Gyres Institute Ambassador Program (Youth)
Young leaders working to solve the ocean plastic crisis through local policy change.
The Diana Award
International charity honoring young people (9–25) for social action or humanitarian work; programmes include mentoring, anti-bullying, and the Legacy Award.
The Knowledge Society (TKS) Virtual Program
A 4-week virtual accelerator where high schoolers solve real-world problems for top companies like Microsoft and TKS partners.
The Stevens Initiative Virtual Exchange
A high school program focusing on international affairs and cultural exchange between US and Middle Eastern students. Online workshops.
The Summer Academy for Global Leadership (Virtual)
An intensive 4-week program for students to learn community organizing, civic engagement, and effective altruism. Often has online cohorts.
UChicago DATA High School Program
Computational science and modeling fellowship for underrepresented high school students.
UN Youth Opportunities Board
Curated board of fellowships, internships, and youth advisory roles across the UN system.
UNESCO Youth Programmes
Rolling list of UNESCO calls: youth forums, writing prizes, sustainability grants. Open to youth worldwide.
United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP)
A prestigious week-long program in DC for leaders interested in government, history, and public service.
Yenching Academy Scholars Program
Master's fellowship at Peking University in China Studies for outstanding international graduates.
YSEALI Academic Fellows
Fully-funded five-week academic residency in the US for outstanding students from Southeast Asian countries; tracks in civic engagement, environment, and social entrepreneurship.