American Heart Association Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Deadlines & How to Apply

Last updated: August 2026

The American Heart Association pays every intern $23.00 an hour, has held that rate since at least fall 2024, and it's the same across every function, market and cohort. Its Interns of Impact program has made the National Intern Day Top 100 Internship Programs list three years running (2024, 2025, 2026) and won a 2026 NACE Small Employer Recruiting Excellence Award.

But here's the timing reality: the AHA recruits on a roughly two-month lead, three cohorts a year, and each window lasts only about four weeks. As of August 2026, the board shows zero intern postings against at least 81 open AHA requisitions. So when's the next chance? The next open door is the spring 2027 cohort, with applications expected around late October to November 2026.

Quick Facts

The key numbers: a flat $23.00/hour rate unchanged since at least fall 2024, and a roughly four-week application window per cohort. The AHA recruits three times a year on a two-month lead with a hard closing date. So for a reader in August 2026, the next window is the spring-2027 cohort, expected around late October to November 2026; summer 2027 follows around February 2027.

Externships are short, remote programs where you finish a real project with a real company. The Center for Improving Youth Justice Data Visualization Externship builds mission-sector data work an AHA application can point at, and the Healthcare Operations Consulting Externship turns health-sector interest into a finished project. Explore all Externships.

What Is an American Heart Association Internship?

An American Heart Association internship is a paid, part-time placement through the Interns of Impact program: $23.00 an hour, 20 to 25 hours a week, roughly 14 weeks per term. The AHA runs three cohorts a year (fall, spring, summer) on a two-month recruiting lead, not a year-out cycle.

But which program should you target? It's one of three things a student might find under the AHA banner: Interns of Impact is the paid internship this page covers, SURE Scholars is a separate research fellowship with a $6,000 stipend run at 18 host institutions, and volunteering is unpaid and open year-round.

And the AHA has invested more than $6 billion in research, making it the largest non-government funder of cardiovascular and brain science, and employs more than 3,300 people with the support of 35 million volunteers.

When Do American Heart Association Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

The AHA doesn't recruit a year early. It runs three cohorts per year (fall, spring, summer), each on a roughly two-month recruiting lead with a hard closing date applied to every requisition in the wave. The spring-2026 cohort closed on 4 December 2025 for a 26 January 2026 start. The summer-2026 cohort closed on 13 March 2026 for a mid-May start. The fall-2026 cohort closed on 17 July 2026 for an 8 September start.

So what does the 2027 calendar look like? That pattern projects forward: spring 2027 (expected late October to November 2026), summer 2027 (expected February to mid-March 2027) and fall 2027 (expected mid-June to mid-July 2027).

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

So how short is "short"? The AHA's window is the shortest in this entire guide series. The fall-2026 wave was open about four weeks total, from 15 June to 17 July 2026, and individual requisitions added on 29 June gave applicants roughly two and a half weeks.

Every requisition also warns: "This job may close before the stated closing date, you are encouraged to apply as soon as possible." So there's no such thing as applying early to the AHA. There's only being ready when the window opens and applying in week one.

Which American Heart Association Internship Programs Should You Target?

There's no umbrella AHA internship application. So how do you choose? The Interns of Impact program posts function-specific requisitions each cohort, and each track has its own skill list and, for market roles, a residency requirement. And Development and Community Events is the largest track by far, accounting for roughly half the postings in a typical wave.

And see the full list at heart.jobs/interns. The separate SURE Scholars research fellowship ($6,000 stipend, 8 to 10 weeks, 18 host institutions) serves underclassmen interested in cardiovascular research, with per-host deadlines typically between December and March.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

The AHA is explicit about who its Interns of Impact program serves:

• Class year: candidates who are currently seniors or graduate students are preferred, a preference stated explicitly in 6 of the 9 AHA intern requisitions reviewed. The Data Science track requires an MS or PhD. No sophomore or junior track exists in Interns of Impact; that's what SURE Scholars is for.

• Work authorization: must be authorized to work in the US without sponsorship, now or in the future. Remote work must be performed inside the US. The SURE research fellowship has different visa rules.

• Availability: minimum 20 hours a week, Monday to Friday, roughly 8:30am to 5pm. That weekday-daytime constraint rules out students with a full weekday class schedule.

• Equipment: reliable Wi-Fi required (stated in 8 of 9 reqs). Market-based roles also require reliable transportation.

• Location: in-office and hybrid roles require the intern to live in that market. Remote roles are genuinely national.

Does the AHA Have a GPA Cutoff?

No. No GPA figure appears in any of the nine AHA intern requisitions reviewed, on its Interns page, or in its recruiting FAQ.

And Prosple records "no experience required."

So what do the reqs actually screen for? Canva and Office fluency, written communication, and comfort calling donors and volunteers. That's the real filter: function-specific skills, not transcript numbers.

What Skills Does American Heart Association Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Nine American Heart Association intern job descriptions, seven from the fall-2026 cohort plus one summer-2026 and one fall-2025, project a consistent profile.

So what shows up most? Microsoft Office appears in 8 of 9, and so does relationship-building with volunteers, donors and community leaders.

But the standout requirement is Canva, named by name in 5 of 9, sometimes as "highly skilled with Canva."

And three reqs require outbound phone calls to donors and volunteers. That's the kind of concrete, uncomfortable skill that separates a strong applicant from a generic one.

How Is Demand for Nonprofit Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

No remote Externship teaches donor stewardship. But the adjacent evidence the AHA's requisitions reward maps to finished company projects.

The AHA's largest track calls for donor outreach and Heart Walk logistics, skills these can't replicate. But the data work, health-sector context, content production and financial close discipline they build are exactly the adjacent evidence the AHA's requisitions also reward.

What Is the American Heart Association Application and Interview Process Like?

So what should you expect? The AHA's interview process is shorter and less technical than the corporate pages in this series:

1. Watch the right board and set the alert first. Intern reqs appear at heart.jobs/job-category/intern/jobs. Because the window is only about four weeks, join the Talent Community before it opens.

2. Pick a function and apply. There's no umbrella AHA internship application. Click "Apply Now" on the specific requisition and follow the guided steps. Only one resume and one cover letter can be attached to your profile at a time, so the AHA recommends generic versions if you're applying to several roles.

3. One-way recorded video interview and/or a recruiter phone screen. The AHA's own FAQ: "Our process starts with a phone interview by a recruiter and/or a request to complete a one-way, recorded video interview." There's no coding assessment.

4. Hiring manager, then the team. Typically followed by an interview with the hiring manager and potentially the team and senior leaders. The AHA explicitly recommends the S.T.A.R. method.

5. Background check after an accepted offer. The AHA runs background checks on all new hires.

And the AHA publishes its own AI guidance for applicants: use AI tools to refine materials, but make sure everything reflects your own voice. Only AHA-approved AI note-taking tools may be used during interviews.

What Students on Reddit Say

Three threads, from r/internships and r/nonprofit.

How Do You Stand Out When the Window Is Only Four Weeks?

Three moves, starting with readiness.

But what does ready actually look like? Be prepared before the window opens, because the fall-2026 wave was open about four weeks total and individual requisitions added late gave applicants roughly two and a half weeks. Every req also warns it may close before the stated date, so week-one applications face the most open field.

Second, show the specific tool, not general enthusiasm. Canva is named by name in 5 of 9 requisitions, sometimes as "highly skilled with Canva." A portfolio of three real Canva campaign assets does more here than a mission statement. It's cheap to build and hard to fake.

And third, prove you'll pick up the phone. Three separate requisitions require outbound calls to donors, vendors, volunteers, event captains and survivors. That's the part of the job most applicants have never done and can't evidence.

So a line about phone-based outreach, canvassing or fundraising calls addresses the exact thing the AHA is screening for.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

The AHA sits in the nonprofit sector, where peers range from other mission-driven nonprofits to public-sector employers with similar intern profiles.

For more in the government and nonprofit space, see our Government & Nonprofit Internships Summer 2027 Guide.

FAQ

Can I still apply for a summer 2026 American Heart Association internship?

No. Summer-2026 applications closed on 11 and 13 March 2026 and that cohort started in mid-May. The fall-2026 cohort also closed, on 17 July 2026. As of August 2026, the AHA's board shows zero intern postings. But that's temporary. The next opening is spring 2027, expected around late October to November 2026.

When do American Heart Association internship applications open for summer 2027?

Expected around February 2027, closing around mid-March 2027, for a mid-May start. The AHA recruits on a very short lead: its summer-2026 applications closed 11 to 13 March 2026 for a mid-May 2026 start. It also runs spring and fall cohorts. So an autumn 2026 window comes first.

Are American Heart Association internships paid?

Yes. Every AHA internship pays $23.00 per hour, stated on its own careers site and repeated in every requisition. The rate is flat across every function, market and cohort, and has been $23.00 since at least fall 2024.

And that's well above the roughly $17 to $19 an hour typical of US nonprofit internships.

Are American Heart Association internships full-time?

No. They're all part-time, at 20 to 25 hours a week, and the requisitions specify weekday daytime availability, Monday to Friday between roughly 8:30am and 5pm. Terms run about 14 weeks and follow the academic calendar: fall, spring and summer cohorts. There's no full-time AHA internship track.

Are American Heart Association internships rolling?

No. Each cohort has one published closing date that applies to every requisition in the wave, and the window is short: the fall-2026 wave was open about four weeks, from 15 June to 17 July 2026. Requisitions also warn they may close before the stated date.

So apply in week one.

What is the difference between an AHA internship and the SURE Scholars program?

Interns of Impact is a paid, part-time, semester-long job you apply to through heart.jobs at $23 an hour. SURE Scholars is a full-time, 8 to 10 week summer research fellowship with a $6,000 stipend, run at 18 host institutions that each set their own hard deadline, usually between December and March.

Does the American Heart Association sponsor visas for interns?

No. Every requisition states you must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship, now or in the future, and remote work must be performed inside the US. The AHA's recruiting FAQ confirms it.

But the SURE research fellowship has different visa rules and does accept some visa holders.

What is the AHA intern interview process like?

Usually three stages. It starts with a one-way recorded video interview and/or a recruiter phone screen, then an interview with the hiring manager, then sometimes the team and senior leaders. There's no coding assessment. And the AHA recommends the STAR method and publishes its own video-interview prep tips.

So the window opens and closes in about four weeks. That's the shortest in this series.

And the next one, for spring 2027, is expected around late October to November 2026, and summer 2027 around February. Join the Talent Community for the alert, and spend the gap building proof: a remote Externship turns "I care about health equity" into a finished project your week-one application can point at.