Last updated: October 2026
The American Cancer Society (ACS) runs a paid, remote, 8-week summer internship for students across the US, but nothing is open today. On 16 October 2026, ACS's careers site lists 71 open requisitions and none is an internship. ACS hasn't published posting dates or the hourly rate on its own pages. So we name no window and no figure. In plain words: watch the careers site and apply as soon as the role appears. This page covers the national office. Local divisions, Hope Lodge sites and Discovery Shops hire separately.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | jobs.cancer.org (search "intern" or open the Internships category) · create a job alert on the site |
| Application window (2027–28) | Summer 2027 national internship: not published. ACS hasn't published a posting date on its own pages. ACS also says student internships run year-round; no dated fall or spring postings found. Watch jobs.cancer.org |
| Rolling? | Not stated. ACS hasn't published a closing date or review process for the national program on its own pages |
| Eligibility | Last national posting as reposted: full-time student, undergraduates past freshman year, available for all 8 weeks. GPA and work authorization: not published on ACS's own pages |
| Duration | 8 weeks (national summer program, per ACS's own page). ACS-funded research internships: 10 weeks |
| Compensation | National summer internship: described as paid; the hourly rate isn't published on ACS's own pages. ACS-funded research internships: $500 a week, $5,000 total, no academic credit |
| Return offers | Not published |
| Locations | National summer program: remote, open to students across the US. Research internships: at the funded institution |
| # Programs | 2 routes: the national summer internship (via ACS) and ACS-funded research internships (via institutions) |
The key facts: a paid, remote, 8-week national summer internship, no published posting calendar, and no internship open on 16 October 2026. ACS's separate research internships are run by funded institutions, not through the careers site.
Externships are short, remote programs where you finish a real project with a real company, and most run 8 weeks. The ARCeH Data Analytics, Health Outcomes Externship builds public health data skills, and the Institute of Mental Health Healthcare Operations & Consulting Externship covers program operations in a health setting. Explore all Externships.
What Is an American Cancer Society Internship?
An American Cancer Society internship is a paid student placement at the national cancer nonprofit, which says on its careers site that it was founded by volunteers in 1913. The national summer program is, per ACS's graduate opportunities page, an "8 week, remote summer paid internship" in various roles, with students placed in departments across ACS and its advocacy affiliate ACS CAN. A separate route, the Center for Innovation in Cancer Research Training (CICRT) college internship, is a 10-week research placement run by ACS-funded institutions. ACS also says student internships run year-round, part time or full time.
When Do American Cancer Society Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
ACS's national summer internship is a single summer cohort. ACS hasn't published when its postings go live, and its own graduate opportunities page describes an "8 week, remote summer paid internship" without dates. The careers site says internships run year-round, but we found no dated fall or spring posting. So this timeline names the steps, not months.
No ACS internship is open. The careers site lists 71 requisitions, none an internship, and the 2026 internship postings now redirect to the home page. Create a job alert for "intern" so you hear when the next one posts.
ACS says student internships run year-round, so check the Internships category weekly even though we found no dated posting. If you want research experience, contact the ACS-funded institutions that run CICRT internships; each one sets its own application criteria.
ACS hasn't published when summer 2027 applications will post; watch the careers site. No closing date has been published either, so apply in the first week you see the role.
The summer program is described by ACS as 8 weeks, remote and paid. Dates for 2027 are not published; the 2026 posting text described about 85% of time in your home department and 15% with the cross-ACS intern cohort.
ACS says internships are offered year-round and may be part time or full time, undergraduate or graduate. No dated fall posting has been published, so the only reliable signal is the careers site itself.
How to read this page: our dates come from tracking previous recruiting cycles and daily posting data. Treat them as informed estimates based on historical patterns, not confirmed dates. The company's official careers page is always the most current source. If a role is posted there, go by that, even if this page suggests the window hasn't opened yet.
Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open
ACS has no published deadline for the national internship, and it hasn't published a posting date either. A role that appears without warning may not stay open long, which is why timing matters here. Set the alert now. Keep your resume ready, then apply in the first week you see the role.
Which American Cancer Society Internship Programs Should You Target?
ACS has two student routes with different applications. Local divisions, Hope Lodge sites and Discovery Shops also post their own intern roles, and those are separate from the national program.
| Program / Track | Focus | Duration | Key skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| National summer internship (remote) | Roles inside ACS and ACS CAN departments; about 85% departmental work, 15% cohort time (2026 posting text) | 8 wks (per ACS) | Per posting; the 2026 example asked for Excel and attention to detail |
| Example role, 2026: Workforce Analytics & Insights Intern (People Team) | Data quality and governance, documentation and basic reporting for a people analytics platform | 8 wks | Excel (pivot tables), structured data, confidentiality |
| CICRT college internship (research) | Hands-on research in a lab, clinical or community setting with a mentor, run by ACS-funded institutions | 10 wks, $500/wk | Each institution sets its own criteria; 4 to 8 interns per institution |
| Year-round student internships | Part-time or full-time, undergraduate or graduate, per the careers site | Varies | No dated postings found |
| Local division and site roles | Community engagement and similar roles posted by local ACS divisions | Varies | Separate postings; not the national program |
Questions about the research internships go to CancerResearchTraining@cancer.org, per the CICRT page. They aren't applied for through the careers site.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
The last national summer posting, as reposted, set these requirements, and 2027 postings may differ:
• Student status: a full-time student. Undergraduates must have completed their freshman year, and you must plan to continue your education next term (the internship must end on graduation).
• GPA: not published on ACS's own pages we could reach. Check the 2027 posting for any minimum.
• Availability: the entire 8-week program.
• Location: remote, and ACS said students from all US geographies would be considered.
• Work authorization: not stated in the posting text we saw.
• Research internships: each ACS-funded institution sets its own criteria. Graduate students and a graduate-specific track aren't described on the national posting.
Is There a GPA Requirement?
ACS hasn't published a GPA minimum on its own pages we could reach, so we don't state one. Check the 2027 posting. The CICRT research internships leave eligibility to each institution, so look at the institution's own page for its criteria.
What Skills Does the American Cancer Society Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
ACS has no live internship posting, so there's no job-description pool to count. The one 2026 posting we could read in full, a People Team analytics internship, asked for Excel (sorting, filtering, pivot tables and basic formulas), attention to detail with structured data, documentation, time management, written and verbal communication, and comfort handling confidential data. HR systems or people analytics tools and data cleanup were nice to have. That's one posting from one department, so treat it as an example of tone and level, not the whole program.
Note: Skill chart not shown: ACS has no live intern postings on 16 October 2026 (71 open requisitions, none an internship), and only one 2026 internship posting could be read in full, too few for a frequency chart. This section will add a chart when 2027 postings appear.
How Is Demand for Research Interns Moving Right Now?
Research intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 1,651 in August
For American Cancer Society applicants: ACS's careers site lists no internship on 16 October 2026, so use the months before a posting appears to apply to research programs elsewhere and to build a data project you can show.
Daily US job-posting counts, Sep 1–30 vs Aug 1–31, 2026. Covers under half of US postings; shows direction, not market size.
Build These Skills Before You Apply
The 2026 posting and ACS's own descriptions point to data handling, health-sector context and program operations. Each skill below maps to an open remote Externship.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Excel and structured data | 2026 posting: Excel "sorting, filtering, pivot tables" and attention to detail with structured data | TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics |
| Public health data and outcomes analysis | ACS's mission and research training pages center on cancer research and community health | ARCeH Data Analytics, Health Outcomes |
| Program operations in a health setting | ACS internships are embedded in departments across the organization | Institute of Mental Health Healthcare Operations & Consulting |
| Data-driven decisions at a mission-driven organization | 2026 posting: data quality, governance and basic reporting | Center for Improving Youth Justice Data Analytics |
None of these replaces a posting's own requirements. They give you finished, remote project work to point to when ACS posts its next internship.
What Is the American Cancer Society Application and Interview Process Like?
ACS publishes little about its intern process, so this is what's documented:
1. Search the careers site. ACS's graduate opportunities page tells students to search jobs.cancer.org for "intern." Create a job alert on the site for new postings.
2. Apply to the specific posting. Each role sits in one department, such as the People Team in 2026, so tailor your resume to that function. A resume is required on submission.
3. Interviews: ACS doesn't publish the intern interview format. A commenter describing ACS staff hiring (not internships) said a recruiter screen is usually followed by two panel interviews.
4. Offer and start: start and decision dates aren't published on ACS's own pages.
For the research internships, the application goes to the funded institution, not to ACS's careers site.
What Students on Reddit Say
Only one first-hand intern account turned up, and it describes a local-division role from 2023, not the national summer program.
A public health student recommended ACS to a graduate student looking for a flexible internship, saying they worked as a Community Engagement Intern while studying full time and working elsewhere, and that ACS was relaxed and let them build their own schedule.
How Do You Stand Out for an ACS Internship?
ACS publishes no applicant counts or acceptance rate, so the advice here follows its posting. First, be ready before the posting. Without a published calendar, a resume, a transcript and an alert already in place matter more than early research. Second, tailor to one department. The 2026 role sat inside the People Team and asked for Excel, clean data and discretion, so a specific spreadsheet or data project is stronger than general interest in cancer. Third, show you can work independently. The program is remote and most of the week is in your home department, so a remote project you finished on your own is direct evidence.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
Students weighing ACS often compare it with other health and mission-driven nonprofits.
- American Heart Associationclosest health-nonprofit peer; paid part-time internships on three short cohorts a yearGuide →
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospitalpediatric cancer and research hospital; research and clinical-adjacent rolesGuide →
- NIHfederal biomedical research route with its own application systemGuide →
- City Yearservice-based nonprofit with a different, school-focused modelGuide →
- American Red Crossnational humanitarian nonprofit; chapters hire separately, like ACS divisionsGuide →
For more in this space, see our Nonprofit & Social Impact Internships Summer 2027 Guide.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a summer 2026 American Cancer Society internship?
No. The 2026 summer program has ended and its postings are closed. As of 16 October 2026, ACS's careers site lists 71 open requisitions and none is an internship. ACS hasn't published when the next cohort will post, so create a job alert on jobs.cancer.org.
When do American Cancer Society internship applications open for summer 2027?
ACS hasn't published the summer 2027 application dates on its own pages, and we don't project a window from third-party copies. ACS also says internships run year-round. Create a job alert on its careers site and check the Internships category weekly, then apply in the first week.
Are American Cancer Society internships paid?
Yes. ACS describes the national summer internship as paid, but the hourly rate isn't published on ACS's own pages we could reach, so check the posting itself. ACS-funded research internships pay $500 a week, $5,000 total over 10 weeks, with no academic credit, according to ACS's own research training page.
Is the American Cancer Society internship remote?
The national summer internship was remote and open to students across the US in 2026. The research internships are different: they take place at the ACS-funded institution, in a lab, clinical or community setting. Local ACS divisions and sites such as Hope Lodge hire on-site interns separately.
What GPA do I need for an American Cancer Society internship?
ACS hasn't published a GPA minimum on its own pages we could reach, so we don't state one. Undergraduates in the last national posting had to have completed their freshman year. ACS's research internships leave eligibility to each funded institution. Check the 2027 posting, since requirements can change year to year.
Who can apply for an American Cancer Society internship?
In the last national posting, full-time students, with undergraduates past freshman year, who planned to continue their education the next term and could work the full 8 weeks. Work authorization wasn't stated in the text we saw. ACS says it offers undergraduate and graduate internships, part time or full time.
Do local American Cancer Society chapters run the same internship?
No. The national office's internships post on jobs.cancer.org, and local divisions, Hope Lodge sites and Discovery Shops post their own roles, which can differ in pay, length and location. Don't treat a local posting as the national summer program, and check which office a posting belongs to.
How do I get an American Cancer Society research internship?
Through an ACS-funded institution, not the careers site. ACS's Center for Innovation in Cancer Research Training funds 10-week summer research internships, and each institution sets its own criteria and picks 4 to 8 interns. Questions go to CancerResearchTraining@cancer.org, per the ACS research training page.
No ACS internship is open today, and ACS hasn't published when summer 2027 postings go live. Create a job alert on jobs.cancer.org, and use the wait to build proof: a remote Externship gives your application a finished project to point to.
About the Author
Bifei Wang has spent 17 years focused on human flow and the growth of young professionals, spanning international education, career training and coaching, and recruitment process outsourcing. Over 7 years at Extern, he has had one-on-one sessions with thousands of students exploring careers in consulting, finance, tech, marketing, and data, giving him a firsthand view of how the job market has shifted for early-career professionals and what it actually takes to break in.
