15 Internships for Undergraduates in Milwaukee
- Stephen Turban
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
If you're an undergraduate student looking to gain practical experience in a field of your choice, internships are a valuable way to build your resume, strengthen professional skills, and explore potential career paths. Whether you're interested in business, healthcare, technology, or public service, internships allow you to work on meaningful projects, collaborate with professionals, and grow your confidence in a workplace setting.
Milwaukee offers a wide range of opportunities thanks to its diverse industries, including finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and nonprofit work - if you’re a student studying in Milwaukee, or simply looking for a summer internship based in the region, check out the list below!
To help simplify your search, we’ve curated a list of 15 internships for undergraduates in Milwaukee.
15 Internships for Undergraduates in Milwaukee
Location: Local entrepreneurial businesses in the Milwaukee area (placements vary)
Stipend: $4,500
Application deadline: Varies by semester; applications open 4-6 weeks before every semester
Program dates: Semester-long (fall or spring) – ~225 hours total (~15 hours/week)
Eligibility: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee juniors, seniors, or master’s students in a business-related major/minor
As part of UWM’s Lubar College of Business, this program matches students with active local entrepreneurs for a semester. As an intern, you’ll join local businesses where you’ll be mentored by entrepreneurs, get real insights into their business, and help them with daily operations and tasks. You earn 3 academic credits and meet periodically with faculty to reflect on your experience. You’ll also learn what it takes to operate a real business and work on skills like market research, financial projections, and business strategy.
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort. Spring (January), Summer (May), Fall (September), and Winter (November).
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.
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 a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across various industries, from tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. You can explore all the options here on their application form. On average, Ladder start-ups are high-growth companies raising over a million dollars. In the program, interns work closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company. Here is the application form. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
Location: WITI Fox Television stations, Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Unpaid
Application deadline: Applications open on a rolling basis; apply here
Program dates: Flexible by academic semester; schedule ~16+ hours/week
Eligibility: College or trade school student receiving credits; majoring in journalism, communications, media, and related disciplines
WITI-FOX6 provides an internship opportunity for students interested in a career in television or journalism. As an intern at FOX6, you’ll be part of a hands-on news production environment where you’ll gain insight into various production and television media areas. Interns rotate through various departments, including news, sports, weather, and promotions, gaining exposure to how a TV station operates. You might shadow reporters in the field, assist producers and editors with newscasts, help write scripts, or learn to operate studio equipment.
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Stipend provided
Application deadline: Varying dates for different cohorts; view all deadlines here
Program dates: Offered in Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters (aligns with academic terms; includes a seminar class component)
Eligibility: College students of any major; Minimum 2.5 GPA
The Kleczka Program offers internship opportunities for students to participate in public affairs and local public leadership. As an intern, you’ll get placed in a local legislative office or organization (such as an alderman’s office, state representative’s office, or public agency) and simultaneously take an academic seminar through Marquette’s Les Aspin Center. Interns receive a stipend for the semester (funded by program donors) as well as academic credit. Past Kleczka interns have assisted with constituent services, policy research, and community outreach in legislative offices.
Location: Corporate and store internships in Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Stipend provided
Application deadline: Applications start on a rolling basis from September
Program dates: Corporate internships run ~10 weeks; store management internships run ~8 weeks, both starting first week of June
Eligibility: Aimed at students entering their senior year (rising seniors), since it is a conversion-focused program. Juniors are the typical candidates, but Kohl’s encourages interested freshmen and sophomores to engage via its Emerging Talent Summit pipeline program.
Kohl’s 10-week summer internship provides an introduction to the corporate retail world. Interns join teams in their area of interest, such as buying, merchandising, product design, marketing, finance, tech, or store management. For instance, a marketing intern might assist in planning a back-to-school campaign, whereas an engineering intern could focus on enhancing Kohl’s e-commerce platform. The program focuses on professional growth and full-time conversion, with over 70% of interns receiving job offers to return after graduation. Interns are paid for the full-time summer and also benefit from networking events and leadership talks.
Location: Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: $2,000 stipend + $500 travel allowance
Application deadline: February 1
Program dates: 10–12 weeks during summer (June to August), ~16–24 hours per week
Eligibility: College students or recent graduates aged 18 and older
The Milwaukee Public Museum internship is particularly suited for students with a background in science, research, or administration, as well as those interested in museum education and communication. Interns are placed in various departments, such as curation (anthropology, zoology, geology, etc.), exhibits, education, or communications, based on their interests and the museum’s needs. Past interns have assisted with exhibit development, collections management, educational programming, outreach, and even helped draft blog posts and press releases for the museum.
Location: Eaton Corporation, South Milwaukee, WI (and other Milwaukee-area Eaton facilities depending on role)
Stipend: Paid internship
Application deadline: Applications start on a rolling basis from September
Program dates: ~12 weeks in the summer (typically May through August)
Eligibility: College students pursuing relevant majors
Eaton Early Talent Program hosts early career and internship programs for college students. Most Eaton internships are 12-week, project-based experiences where interns work alongside professionals on various initiatives. Some areas you can work in include technical sales, information technology, engineering and technology, operations management, human resources, and Finance accounting. You can use classroom theory to address real-world problems, such as conducting engineering analysis, developing software, or enhancing manufacturing processes. Internships are paid and can sometimes lead to offers for Eaton’s rotational leadership development programs or full-time positions.
Location: City of Milwaukee Health Department (various divisions across Milwaukee)
Stipend: Not specified
Application deadline: Spring Semester: November 15 | Summer Semester: May 1 | Fall Semester: July 1
Program dates: Dates vary according to the semester
Eligibility: high school, undergraduate, and graduate students interested in public health. Must be at least 16 for some shadowing, and 18+ for more involved internships.
The City of Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) offers a structured placement program for students to learn about public health practice in a local government setting. As an intern (or student learner) at MHD, you will apply your academic training to real-world public health issues, whether that’s helping with community health outreach, assisting epidemiologists with data analysis, supporting immunization or nutrition programs, or shadowing public health nurses. Students with a background in public health, nursing, nutrition, public policy, social work, psychology, biology, and other related fields are encouraged to apply. View the complete list of disciplines here.
Location: City Hall, Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Not specified
Application deadline: Summer: April 15 | Fall: August 31 | Spring: January 5
Program dates: Spring: January – May | Summer: May – August | Fall: August – December
Eligibility: Enrolled college students who are at least 18 years old
The Office of Mayor Cavalier Johnson accepts intern applications in different academic semesters. As a Mayoral intern, you’ll work with the mayoral office in key areas such as communications, research, constituent relations, and scheduling. The internship is writing and communication-focused, where interns will interact with the public and frame messages for constituents. You will also gain exposure to different areas of the city government and gain insight into the workings of policy and community relations.
Location: 17 different locations based on DOE labs; the nearest lab to Milwaukee is 2 hours away in DuPage County, Illinois
Stipend: $650/week plus one domestic round trip, transportation, and housing expenses
Application deadline: Spring Cohort: October 2; Summer Cohort: January 8; Fall Cohort: May 21
Program dates: 10 weeks (summer term) or 16 weeks (semester term)
Eligibility: Undergraduate students; recent graduates; STEM or science policy majors
As part of the SULI program, you’ll get to work on a research project under the mentorship of a laboratory scientist or engineer who’ll guide you in your area of research. You’ll work on a research project in areas supporting the DOE’s mission – for example, renewable energy, physics, materials science, computer science, environmental science, and more. Interns spend the summer or semester contributing to experiments or simulations, analyzing data, and possibly co-authoring publications. Interns will also attend laboratory tours, scientific lectures, and seminars.
Location: Medical College of Wisconsin Graduate School, Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Unpaid
Application deadline: No deadlines, but students should apply a month before the start of the term they are applying for, i.e., apply in August if your fall semester begins in September
Program dates: Dates vary, but internships are divided into terms and are only offered during the academic year
Eligibility: Undergraduate students who are at least 18 years old when the program begins, preferably with a 3.0 GPA, enrolled in a STEM-related major, and based in Southeast WI.
PURE is an academic-year research internship program that pairs undergraduate students with MCW faculty mentors for hands-on research experience in the biomedical and health sciences. Unlike summer REU programs, PURE runs during the school year, allowing students to integrate a research experience with their coursework. As a PURE intern, you could work in a basic science lab (such as cancer biology, neuroscience, or pharmacology), participate in a clinical research project, or be involved in a public health study. MCW offers a diverse range of research departments, including biochemistry, biomedical engineering, epidemiology, and health policy.
Location: Milwaukee DNR Service Center, Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Stipend paid, but amount not specified
Application deadline: Applications are on a rolling basis and start from December/January
Program dates: ~late May through late August
Eligibility: Must be 18 years old by the start of the program, a Wisconsin resident, and able to operate a state vehicle.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources offers a Summer Internship opportunity for students interested in exploring careers in natural resources and public safety. As a Community Service Officer intern, you’ll participate in public service and safety through education and outreach efforts in parks, forests, and trails. You’ll understand what it’s like to be a CSO and collaborate with law enforcement and state-owned administration to manage public safety. Many who complete the CSO internship go on to apply for full-time roles as Conservation Wardens or other DNR positions.
Location: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) service area, Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Stipend paid, but amount not specified
Application deadline: Applications are on a rolling basis; apply here
Program dates: RISE offers year-round placements, with many opportunities available during the summer.
Eligibility: College students enrolled in architectural, civil, environmental, electrical, mechanical, and construction management engineering programs; reside in the MMSD service area
The Regional Internship in Science & Engineering (RISE) is an internship program designed for college engineering students residing within the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) service area. As an intern in RISE, you’ll be placed at one of these partner companies and work on real infrastructure projects. You might intern with an engineering consulting firm helping to design sewer improvements, or with a construction company building green infrastructure, or within MMSD’s own engineering department. You’ll work with professionals and develop practical infrastructure planning and project management knowledge, which are essential skills in many engineering disciplines.
Location: Milwaukee, WI; Other locations include Brookfield, Chicago, Indiana, and Mississippi
Stipend: Stipend provided, including housing and relocation expenses
Application deadline: Dates posted at the beginning of the fall semester (August - September). Applications are on a rolling basis, but are filled by the end of October.
Program dates: 10 weeks (June – August)
Eligibility: Undergraduate students
Milwaukee Tool, a leading manufacturer of power tools and equipment, offers an internship program allowing students to work on real, impactful projects. As an intern, you’ll get to work on high-impact projects across engineering, marketing, supply chain, manufacturing, and more. Previous interns have discussed the opportunity to work on real-world applications and contribute to process improvements within the company. You’ll receive a stipend that includes housing and relocation. This is a conversion-based internship program that offers the opportunity to return full-time after graduation.
Location: Harley-Davidson headquarters and facilities in Milwaukee, WI
Stipend: Stipend provided
Application deadline: Rolling basis until filled
Program dates: 10 – 12 week summer internships (Finance, HR, IT) or year-long (Product Development Design)
Eligibility: Undergraduate students in relevant majors
Harley-Davidson’s IGNITE Internship Program offers internships for undergraduate students to gain experience in finance, human resources, information technology, and product development. These internships are project-based and structured to develop your professional skills while contributing to Harley’s business. In Finance, for instance, you might be assigned to financial planning & analysis, internal audit, or treasury for the summer. IGNITE interns also benefit from a robust development program: Harley-Davidson provides a two-day onboarding, a mentor for each intern, a “young professional” buddy, and chances to network with senior leadership.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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