Internship Programs
Funded, mentored programs to break into research and open source — compared by region, pay, and focus.
alternatives (5)
★ Mitacs
Best for: Research in Canada
Funds research internships across Canada, pairing students with industry and academic hosts.
- +Paid placements
- +Academia + industry
- −Canada-centric
Google Summer of Code
Best for: Mentored open source
Pays new contributors to work on open-source projects with mentoring organizations.
- +Stipend + mentorship
- +Great signal
- −Competitive
Outreachy
Best for: Inclusive open source
Paid, remote open-source internships for people subject to underrepresentation in tech.
- +Paid & remote
- +Strong mentorship
- −Eligibility criteria
MLH Fellowship
Best for: Student remote fellowships
Remote fellowship cohorts for students — software engineering and open-source tracks with mentorship and portfolio projects.
- +Structured cohort
- +Portfolio projects
- +Free tracks
- −Student-focused
Meta University
Best for: Big tech engineering internships
Paid internship program for undergraduate students — engineering, product, and design roles at Meta.
- +Paid + housing
- +Strong brand
- +Full-time path
- −Competitive
- −Student only
Compare
Tick the ones you want to compare
| Alternative | Region | Paid | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★Mitacs | Canada (intl. eligible) | Yes | Research |
| Google Summer of Code | Global / remote | Yes | Open source |
| Outreachy | Global / remote | Yes | Open source |
| MLH Fellowship | Global / remote | Partial / stipends | Open source + SWE |
| Meta University | US + global offices | Yes | Industry SWE |
Paid, mentored on-ramps into research and industry. Mitacs for research in Canada. GSoC and Outreachy for open source. MLH Fellowship for remote student cohorts. Meta University for big-tech engineering internships. For LFX, Season of Docs, and Recurse Center, see Open Source Contributor Programs.