15 Software Engineering Internships for Undergraduates

If you’re an undergraduate aiming to break into competitive roles post-college, software engineering internships are one of the most effective ways to add weight to your resume. Internships give you real-world practice working on complex systems while collaborating with professional engineers, whether you're interested in front-end, back-end, full-stack, or infrastructure development. Remote opportunities have made it easier than ever to participate–many online internships are both accessible and affordable, while offering structured mentorship, training, and coding experience.

Internships are also a key opportunity to explore different fields within computer science. We've compiled a list of top software engineering internships for undergraduates based on their prestige, the professional experience they offer, and the networking opportunities they provide. These programs span major tech companies, financial institutions, and research-driven teams, all designed to help you grow as a developer. If you're looking for more prestigious internships, check out this set of blogs.

15 Software Engineering Internships for Undergraduates 

1. Ladder's University Internship Program

Location: Remote

Cost: Varies by program

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: Approximately 8 weeks starting July 14

Application deadline: June 23 (Summer cohort II)

Eligibility: Open to undergraduates and gap year students 

If you're interested in working with startups but want a flexible, part-time role, the Ladder University Internship Program may align with your needs. This eight-week remote internship lets you contribute 5 to 10 hours per week to real-world projects for early-stage companies. Each assignment is selected to match your technical strengths and career interests, meaning the work you do-whether it's backend development or improving user interfaces–directly supports the growth of a startup. The program also provides clear deliverables and the chance to gain a reference from a mentor. It's a practical stepping stone if you're testing the waters of software development in a fast-moving environment without committing to a full-time internship.

2. NVIDIA Intern Program

Location: Remote, hybrid and in-person options available at multiple locations across the county

Stipend: Paid

Dates: 10–12 weeks in the summer

Application deadline: Rolling (early applications recommended)

Eligibility: CS/Engineering undergraduate students with solid coding experience

At NVIDIA, software engineering interns are integrated into the company’s core development teams and work on meaningful projects for a minimum of 12 weeks, often during the summer. Interns receive a housing stipend and travel assistance if working from an NVIDIA office, and the company supports hybrid or remote work arrangements depending on team needs. The program also includes comprehensive onboarding, access to technical training resources like O’Reilly and NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Institute, and invitations to intern-only events where you can meet peers and senior engineers. You'll be involved in real engineering work, and may attend company meetings and team reviews as part of your day-to-day experience. You'll also have the opportunity to buy NVIDIA shares at discounted prices under their Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESOP).  Beyond your project responsibilities, you’ll get to engage with NVIDIA’s company culture and develop professionally through mentorship and community programming.

3. High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) Summer Internship Program

Location: Vary but typically in Mississippi, California, Ohio, and Maryland. Some remote options are available

Cost: Free

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Unspecified

Dates: 10 weeks in the summer

Application deadline: March 7

Eligibility: US citizens who are 18 years or older at the time of application, enrolled full-time in an accredited US college/university, and pursuing a degree in a STEM field with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale 

The HPCMP Summer Internship places students at national labs and military research facilities to work on problems involving high-performance computing. For ten weeks, you’ll be embedded in a research team where your work will be closely aligned with DoD mission areas, under the mentorship of experienced engineers and scientists. You’ll also attend seminars and technical briefings that offer context for the broader impact of your contributions. This software engineering internship for undergraduates includes a stipend and may provide travel support depending on your placement. Interns are expected to be proactive in research, contribute code or analysis, and often prepare a final presentation or report summarizing their outcomes. 

4. Google Summer of Code

Location: Remote

Cost: No cost

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified

Dates: 12 weeks in the summer

Application deadline: GSoC Contributor deadline- April 8, see the full program timeline here

Eligibility: To be eligible, applicants must be 18 years of age or older and open-source beginners at the time of registration

Google Summer of Code offers a fully remote, paid opportunity for students to contribute to open-source software development under the mentorship of participating organizations. After selecting an organization and project idea, you’ll submit a detailed proposal outlining how you plan to contribute over a 12+ week period. Once accepted, you’ll go through a community bonding phase before beginning the coding work, which typically involves building features, debugging, writing tests, and collaborating through version control platforms. The program is designed around milestones and regular mentor feedback, with the expectation that you’ll produce usable, open-source contributions by the end. Projects span a range of topics, including cloud infrastructure, bioinformatics tools, data visualization libraries, and web frameworks. 

5. Explore Microsoft Program

Location: Redmond, WA; Atlanta, GA

Stipend: Paid

Dates: 12 weeks in the summer

Application deadline: Rolling (early applications recommended)

Eligibility: Full‑time first- or second-year undergrads in CS or related tech

Designed for students in their first or second year of college, the Explore Microsoft Program is a three-month summer internship centered on learning and skill-building rather than immediate specialization. The program introduces you to the primary phases of the product development cycle, design, build, and quality, giving you hands-on experience with how software is developed and refined. You also gain insight into cross-functional teamwork within a corporate environment. Your on-the-job learning is supported through mentoring, professional development events, and opportunities to connect with the broader Microsoft community. Networking sessions and peer collaboration help you build relationships that extend beyond the summer, while one-on-one mentorship ensures you receive personalized guidance throughout the internship.

6. Air Force Research Laboratory Scholars (AFRL) Program

Location: Various locations across the U.S.

Stipend: Varies based on location, education level, and credits earned. Know more here.

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: Varies depending on internship, with opportunities available in fall, spring, and summer;  a minimum commitment of eight weeks

Application deadline: January 10 (summer cohort)

Eligibility: U.S. citizens over 16 years of age with a minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0

The AFRL Scholars Program places undergraduates in research settings across various Air Force labs, where you’ll work on hands-on STEM projects alongside experienced engineers and scientists. Depending on your background, you could be simulating microwave devices with high-performance computing, modeling spacecraft anomalies, or analyzing optical signatures of ion-neutral collisions. You’ll be assigned a specific mentor and project, with the potential to explore interdisciplinary topics at the frontiers of engineering and physics. Students with a strong programming foundation may even contribute to improving internal research tools. Projects are based on current priorities in fields like materials science, semiconductors, propulsion systems, and quantum measurements. 

7. NASA Pathways Internship Program

Location: NASA Centers across the country

Stipend: Offered; amount varies depending on completed hours, placement location, and grade level(s)

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive

Dates: Internships available in Summer, Fall, and Spring sessions

Application deadline: Varies by position

Eligibility: U.S. citizens who are at least 16 years old, enrolled or accepted for enrollment on at least a half-time basis in an accredited educational institution (and maintain enrollment at least half-time as defined by the institution), and currently holding a cumulative 2.9  GPA on a 4.0 scale

If you’re looking for a longer-term internship experience with potential to transition into a federal role, NASA’s Pathways Internship Program is designed with that path in mind. As a Pathways intern, you’ll begin by creating an Individual Development Plan, which outlines your learning goals and project responsibilities based on your interests and NASA’s workforce needs. The internship can span multiple semesters and may involve rotations across departments, giving you exposure to areas like engineering, information technology, and applied research. The internship is structured to enable eligible students to be offered full-time employment upon graduation without the need for reapplication. 

8. NASA OSTEM Internship Program

Location: NASA centers across the country

Stipend: Paid

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Highly competitive

Dates: Spring (16 weeks): Mid-January – early May | Summer (10 weeks): Late May – August | Fall (16 weeks): Late August – mid-December

Application deadline: Spring: September 12 | Summer: February 27 | Fall: May 22

Eligibility: U.S. citizens who are full-time STEM students or part-time students enrolled in at least six semester hours with a minimum GPA of 3.0/4.0 and at least 16 years old at the time of application

Through NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, you can apply your programming and analytical skills to projects that directly support aerospace missions, scientific discovery, or data infrastructure. Interns join teams working at NASA centers and may contribute to projects in software development, systems engineering, data visualization, or space robotics. You’ll be matched with a mentor and assigned clear project goals, which may involve simulations, tool development, or testing components for spaceflight systems. OSTEM interns are expected to contribute to ongoing research or technical operations and often participate in professional development sessions and networking events during their term.

9. NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)

Location: NIST campuses in Boulder, CO, and Gaithersburg, MD

Stipend: ~$7,810

Acceptance rate/cohort size: ~33%; 150 students accepted each year

Dates: Main 11-week program: May 19 – August 1 |  Offset 11-week program: June 2 – August 15 | Nine-week program: June 2 – August 1

Application deadline: February 6

Eligibility: Undergraduate students at U.S. colleges or universities who are at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens/U.S. permanent residents; check additional eligibility criteria on the website

As a participant in the NIST SURF program, you’ll spend 11 weeks immersed in full-time research within a federal lab environment, working under the supervision of NIST scientists and engineers. The program is hosted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, with locations in Maryland and Colorado, and provides a stipend of approximately $7,800 for the summer. With various options available, you can pick software engineering options as your first/second choices. You'll be expected to engage in structured research, code development, and regular technical reporting. Depending on your lab placement, you may also collaborate with interdisciplinary teams working on areas like quantum information science or bioinformatics. This internship also covers enrichment activities such as seminars, technical workshops, and poster sessions.

10. Sandia National Laboratories Internships

Location: Various locations across the U.S.

Stipend: Varies by experience

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Competitive

Dates: Varies by internship

Application deadline: Varies by internship

Eligibility: U.S. citizens who are at least 16 years of age; specific eligibility criteria vary by position

At Sandia National Laboratories, undergraduate interns are integrated into high-priority national research and development projects in summer or year-round roles. As an intern in software engineering or computer science, you may contribute to cybersecurity tools, energy resilience systems, or simulation software supporting national security missions. Internship types include summer, year-round, and co-op formats, with the chance to earn academic credit depending on your institution. You’ll be paired with technical mentors and placed in multidisciplinary teams that emphasize collaborative problem-solving and project ownership. Compensation is competitive, and interns also have the opportunity to engage in training sessions, professional development events, and optional networking activities.

11. Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP)

Location: Remote, hybrid, and in-person at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Cost: Free apart from a $25 application fee (waivers available); no stipend

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: June 18 – August 8

Application deadline: February 2

Eligibility: Students must be at least 15 years old for remote internships and at least 16 years old for in-person or hybrid wet-lab internships. Applicants must not have graduated from university before or during the internship

Hosted by George Mason University, ASSIP engages undergraduates in research with university faculty across a wide spectrum of scientific and technical disciplines. Over eight full-time weeks, you’ll be paired with a mentor and work on a project that may involve anything from machine learning and computational modeling to data science applications in cybersecurity or biology, depending on your choice of program. This internship emphasizes both technical and communication skill development, so in addition to lab or programming work, you’ll attend sessions on scientific writing and research presentations. Interns often contribute to research that is eventually presented at conferences or published in journals, depending on the quality and relevance of the work.

12. Idaho National Laboratory Undergraduate Internship

Location: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho

Stipend: Varies by number of college credits earned and degree program

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective

Dates: 10 to 16 weeks, year-round

Application deadline: Rolling enrolment 

Eligibility: Open to full-time students attending an accredited high school or college the semester before and after an internship award, with at least a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA

At Idaho National Laboratory, undergraduates can spend a summer working on research and development projects related to the lab’s core focus areas: nuclear energy, national security, and environmental sustainability. During the first week, you’ll collaborate with a mentor to define a project scope, outline goals, and secure access to resources like software tools or lab equipment. The rest of the internship includes project work as well as optional enrichment activities such as weekly seminars, facility tours, and networking events with scientists and engineers. As an intern, you might contribute to projects involving data analytics, simulation models, or cyber-physical systems, depending on your technical background and team placement. The software engineering internship for undergraduates encourages interns to complete a final deliverable, such as a poster, slide deck, or short video, to showcase their contributions. 

13. CodeDay Labs – Open-Source Software Internship

Location: Remote

Cost/Stipend: None

Acceptance rate/cohort size:

Dates: June 20–August 25

Application deadline: Rolling

Eligibility: College students (varies by track)

CodeDay Labs is a remote internship focused on contributing to open-source software in small student teams, each guided by a mentor from the tech industry. You'll be matched with a track based on your current skill level–whether you're just starting out with CS fundamentals or already have personal projects under your belt–and your team will take on real development challenges. Projects often involve building or extending existing software using modern tools such as TypeScript, Docker, or GraphQL, with a focus on writing production-quality code. Throughout the internship, you’ll have access to daily tech talks, resume review sessions, and mock technical interviews to help prepare for future roles in software engineering. You’ll also learn how real-world teams use Git, manage tickets, and communicate asynchronously.

14. CS@Mines Computing Internship

Location: Remote and in-person options available

Cost: $100 (financial aid available)

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Moderate

Dates: 6 weeks during summer (exact dates unspecified)

Application deadline: April 18

Eligibility: High school and community college students with a strong interest in learning computer science

If you’re currently attending a community college or are a high school student exploring computing pathways, the CS@Mines Computing Internship provides a flexible way to engage in hands-on research. Hosted by Colorado School of Mines, this six-week, unpaid summer program allows you to join small project teams led by undergraduate mentors, working on research with a social impact focus. The internship typically requires 5 to 20 hours per week and includes both remote and in-person options, depending on availability and project needs. You’ll gain exposure to the research process, practice collaborative problem-solving, and build technical skills in areas like artificial intelligence, software engineering, or data science. Besides team-based coding work, the program includes enrichment sessions where you can interact with faculty and peers and share progress through final presentations. You may also apply for DECtech internships that are available as part of this program.

15. JPMorgan Chase – Software Engineer Program

Location: U.S. major hubs

Stipend: Paid

Dates: 10 weeks in the summer

Application deadline: November 30 (rolling)

Eligibility: Undergraduates in CS/Engineering who will be returning post‑internship

As a participant in JPMorgan Chase’s Software Engineer Summer Internship, you’ll work alongside experienced engineers on technical projects that directly support the bank’s vast global operations. The program begins with a comprehensive orientation and induction training that introduces you to the firm's technology systems, agile workflows, and development methodologies. During the 10-week internship, you’ll join an agile team working on areas such as payments infrastructure, trading platforms, or enterprise cybersecurity tools. Along with writing and reviewing code, you’ll attend speaker events, tech talks, and social networking sessions aimed at connecting interns with the wider technology community within the firm. Roles span full-stack, front-end, back-end, and infrastructure development, and you’re encouraged to shadow other teams and explore multiple interest areas. 

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 where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

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