10 Internships in New York for Undergraduates
- Stephen Turban
- Aug 31
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 18
If you’re an undergraduate unsure about entering the job market right after you graduate, an internship is a segue you should consider. Internships, particularly summer internship opportunities, help you gain industry experience, build connections, and earn a stipend over the summer. Many summer internships for undergraduates can even lead to a position at the same organization or company, such as return internships or full-time roles after they graduate. Even without a guaranteed offer, internships help you develop industry skills and are a solid addition to your resume.
New York offers a wide range of internships across fields, from investment banking to museums. In this blog, we’ve narrowed down a list of 10 prestigious internships for undergraduates in New York, drawing from multiple fields to suit undergraduates from any major. The list focuses on professional rigor, networking access, and academic value to support students planning ahead.
If you're looking for other prestigious internships, check out this set of blogs! Here are 10 internships in New York for undergraduates
10 Internships in New York for Undergraduates
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Location: Remote
Cost/Stipend: Varies by program
Dates: 8 weeks, varying by program
Application Deadline: June 23. Apply here.
Eligibility: Undergraduate students
Ladder University Internships match college students with start-up companies targeted towards their industry and career goals for an intensive two-month internship. Students can apply to fields including AI and computer science, consulting, healthcare, and nonprofit operations, providing a wide selection of opportunities across disciplines. Interns will design a personal project alongside their company coach, creating an 8-week plan for specific outcomes and deliverables. In a combination of individual research and mentored work, interns will gain the ability to independently complete industry projects and collaborate with corporate professionals. This program is well-suited for students looking for the ability to personally structure their internship experience and have more flexibility in their summer, rather than the typically pre-defined progression of most internships for undergraduate students.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Very selective (<1%)
Location: Goldman Sachs, New York, New York | Other locations in New York State and the U.S. are also available
Cost/Stipend: Paid; highly competitive hourly rate
Dates: 9-10 weeks in summer
Application Deadline: Applications open in July-August; rolling deadlines
Eligibility: College Juniors
Goldman Sachs’ summer analyst internship is for undergraduates interested in a career in finance or operations in an investment bank setting. Summer Analysts have the ability to apply for up to 4 separate subfields, which include both traditional financial areas like Asset Management and Global Investment Research, as well as some non-financial fields like Law and Engineering. You will do intensive work within their department, including market research, data analysis, and risk analysis. Providing assistance to GS employees, you will build strong mentorship connections within the firm, while simultaneously attending group training sessions with other Analysts and firm-wide networking opportunities. GS’s Summer Analyst Program is also known for its strong rate of return offers — as a highly selective and prestigious internship, a very limited number of students are chosen, and are prioritized as new hires for the following year.
Cost/Stipend: Paid; highly-competitive hourly rate
Location: Internships are offered across JPMorgan Chase locations, including New York, Chicago, and London
Acceptance rate/cohort size: <1%
Dates: 10-12 weeks in June-August
Application Deadline: Rolling applications; recruiting begins in the preceding summer
Eligibility: College Juniors
JPMorgan Chase’s summer internship is a prestigious investment banking internship opportunity for undergraduates. You can apply to specific divisions of the firm matched to their skills and interests, and will spend the summer completing specialized work in the field alongside current employees. Primarily recruiting students in finance, economics, and applied mathematics, JPMorgan’s summer interns can focus on areas including Asset & Wealth Management, Commercial Banking, and Corporate Functions. Working in a fast-paced environment, you’ll be tasked with data and market analysis supporting the firm’s broader financial and investment strategies, building professional skills for an industry career. For students outside of finance or economics, computer science and engineering majors can also take advantage of opportunities in the technology division, supporting the programs driving JPMorgan’s operations alongside engineers and developers.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Very selective
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art or Met Cloisters, New York, New York
Cost/Stipend: Paid $24 per hour, plus $1,500 housing/travel stipend
Dates: June 2 - August 8
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: Current undergraduate sophomores, juniors, and seniors can apply
The Met’s MuSe program is a solid internship opportunity for undergraduates interested in fields from the humanities to STEM. During the nine-week internship, you’ll complete a combination of training, mentorship, research, and education focused on a specialized area tailored to your strengths and interests. All interns begin the program with training in public speaking and art education, and will periodically lead tours and museum programming throughout the rest of the internship. After cohort-wide training, interns will then turn to intensive work in their main focus area, such as curatorial, conservation, editorial, imaging, or exhibition design. While often associated with the arts, the program also includes opportunities for STEM and quantitative students in areas like scientific research, exhibition design, buildings and construction, conservation science, and budget and operations analysis.
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Very competitive, about 16 interns total
Location: American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York
Cost/Stipend: $6,000-$6,400 stipend plus financial support for housing, travel, and food
Dates: 10 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: Applications open on January 1 and close January 31st
Eligibility: Undergraduate students; minority students and students studying at community colleges and undergraduate-only institutions are especially encouraged to apply
The American Museum of Natural History’s REU Internship is a research internship for undergraduate students studying biology, earth sciences, and physics. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the REU funds a select group of students in evolutionary biology and physical sciences to complete a research project under the guidance of two or three scientists. Biology projects might include studying the museum’s specimens alongside current species to track the evolution of a mammal or insect genus, learning skills like archival DNA extraction, CT/MRI scans, bioinformatics research, and statistical analysis. For physical science students, research might entail studying star formations, weather formation on Brown Dwarf planets, and computationally simulating the creation of Uranus and Neptune. Outside of research, REU interns will also gain formal instruction in advanced topics in physical science and evolutionary biology research, study research ethics, and build networking skills to develop their careers.
Cost/Stipend: Paid
Location: Brennan Center for Justice, New York, New York | Internships are also offered in Washington DC
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: 10 weeks in May - August
Application Deadline: Early December
Eligibility: Open to undergraduate students
For undergraduate students interested in public policy, politics, communications, and law, the Brennan Center for Justice offers summer internships focused on research and administrative support. The Brennan Center tasks you with studying areas including voting rights, campaign financing, and incarceration, supporting the organization’s aims of ensuring equal justice and democracy in the United States. Internships are available across a variety of subfields such as Liberty and National Security (LNS), Multimedia Production, and Communications, allowing specialization based on intern interests. The Communications internship for English-Spanish bilinguals includes monitoring Spanish-language press, translating organizational materials, and writing press releases and correspondence in Spanish. For students more interested in law and policy, the LNS internship includes researching surveillance and law enforcement, First Amendment and Constitutional Law, drafting correspondence to federal agencies and legislators, and writing advocacy materials.
Cost/Stipend: $5,000 stipend plus housing allowance
Location: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Very selective
Dates: 10 weeks in June - August
Application Deadline: January 10
Eligibility: Current sophomores and juniors with a strong background in biomedical science and research | Students must self-identify as socioeconomically disadvantaged or underserved student and will be asked to discuss how they have faced challenges in accessing research experiences
SURP4US provides hands-on research opportunities for underserved students interested in pursuing biomedical science at the Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. With research placements including Microbiology, Immunology, Neuroscience, and Disease Mechanisms, you can specialize in your preferred area of biomedical science under the guidance of a mentor. SURP4US is structured to help underserved students interested in pursuing a PhD or an MD-PhD and offers guidance on preparing for PhD and MD-PhD applications. Students are given one-on-one advising on identifying strong programs, writing personal statements and applications, and even mock interviews. At the end of the program, SURP4US interns present their research findings at a program poster session.
Cost/Stipend: Paid
Location: Morgan Stanley, New York, New York
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly selective
Dates: 10 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Varies; recruitment begins in the preceding summer
Eligibility: Rising seniors; departments may require specific coursework
This prestigious internship opportunity for undergraduates is hosted by Morgan Stanley, supporting economics students in building industry knowledge, mentorship, and research experience. Interns are mentored by Morgan Stanley employees within their program of focus — including Operations, Sales & Trading, Legal, and Finance Divisions — to support division operations. While tasks vary significantly based on departmental assignments, your assignments often include in-depth market research, presentation design, regulatory monitoring, and sometimes even client relationship management. For career development, you will attend a speaker series, networking events, activities, and training to build additional skills beyond your daily work and make connections outside your immediate division.
Cost/Stipend: Paid; interns earn up to $665 per week
Location: New York, New York
Dates: Up to 13 weeks; varies based on placement
Application Deadline: Positions are posted in February; application deadlines vary by agency
Eligibility: Current undergraduate students
For undergraduate students interested in working for a city government, NYC’s SIP internship for undergraduate students provides the chance to support government agencies in the largest city in the United States. The wide range of government agencies hosting interns means that you can find an area that fits your interests. Students interested in psychology or social work might be drawn towards the Administration for Children’s Services or the Department of Social Services, while economics majors can work at the Department of Finance or the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budgets. With other options available in fields from sustainability to data engineering to urban planning, you will have the opportunity to deepen your understanding of an academic field as well as governmental operations.
Cost/Stipend: Paid
Location: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, New York
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Very competitive
Dates: 10 weeks in the summer
Application Deadline: Applications open September 5 and close on October 11
Eligibility: Undergraduate sophomores and juniors
The New York Fed offers a select number of internships for undergraduate students in finance and economics each summer. With placements available in Research, People & Engagement, Audit, Supervision, Technology, and Markets, you can specialize in an area best suited for your skills while directly assisting the Fed’s daily operations. From conducting internal audit services to managing the Bank’s balance sheet to analyzing the Fed’s monetary policy, this internship provides insight into the United States’ financial operations at large. Interns will also attend weekly presentations with the Fed’s senior management team, speak with current Fed employees about future career opportunities, and network with other interns across departments. The Fed describes the program as a “direct feeder” for full-time analyst roles post-graduation, so performing well at this internship could earn you a job.
One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you’re interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program in which students work one-on-one with a mentor to develop an independent research paper.
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