Boston Children's Hospital Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Deadlines & How to Apply

Last updated: October 2026

Boston Children's Hospital's main door for college students is the College COACH summer internship: a 10-week, 35-hour-a-week paid program that placed interns in departments from Health IT to Patient Safety and Quality, paying $17.50 to $21.50 an hour in 2026 plus an MBTA pass. It recruits on a short fuse. Last cycle the hospital opened an interest form on 19 December 2025, posted department roles in early January 2026 and decided in March. For summer 2027, expect the same pattern: an interest form around mid-December 2026 and postings in early January 2027. You apply in winter, you intern in summer 2027.

Two tracks have already closed for this cycle. The Pediatric Anesthesia Clinical and Research Internship (PACaRI) summer 2027 track is full, with summer 2028 applications expected in March 2027, and the graduate Administrative Fellowship closed on 4 September 2026.

Quick Facts

Nothing for summer 2027 is open yet for undergraduates. The next window is COACH, expected mid-December 2026 to early January 2027.

PACaRI's summer 2027 track and the Administrative Fellowship for July 2027 are already closed.

Extern's remote Externships aren't connected to Boston Children's Hospital: they're short online projects for real companies, most commonly 8 weeks long. The Healthcare Operations Consulting Externship builds the process-improvement work the COACH Patient Safety and Quality team describes, and the ARCEH Children's Environmental Health Analytics Externship gives pre-med and research applicants a pediatric data project. Explore all Externships.

What Is a Boston Children's Hospital Internship?

A Boston Children's Hospital internship usually means College COACH, the hospital's paid 10-week summer program that assigns an undergraduate to one department, adds a two-day orientation, development workshops and a mentor-led cohort, and ends with a presentation of what you learned.

COACH stands for Community and Opportunities at Children's Hospital, and the program's own description calls it a pathway for emerging healthcare professionals. Postings last cycle covered teams such as Health Information Technology, where interns supported clinical informatics data work, and Patient Safety and Quality.

Research-minded students have three smaller options: the Newborn Medicine Summer Student Research Program, PACaRI in the anesthesia department, and the unpaid Pediatric Epilepsy Research Internship. The hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate on Longwood Avenue, carries the U.S. News Honor Roll 2026–27 badge on its careers site.

When Do Boston Children's Hospital Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Boston Children's doesn't run one calendar. Each program sets its own, and the dates below come from the hospital's pages and posting text as of 3 October 2026.

COACH has one documented cycle to project from: an interest form dated 19 December 2025, department postings in the first week of January 2026, decisions in March and a program from 8 June to 14 August 2026. That's a lead time of about five months from posting to start, so summer 2027 dates are projections. PACaRI has published its next dates: summer 2027 is closed and summer 2028 applications are expected in March 2027. The Newborn Medicine program hasn't posted 2027 dates.

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

COACH moves fast. Last cycle the interest form went up on 19 December 2025, department postings followed in the first week of January, and acceptance decisions were done in March. The hospital never published a closing date for the 2026 postings, so you can't count on a late window.

You also get only three shots. The posting text asks students to apply to no more than three department postings, so the work is choosing the right three before January, not applying everywhere.

The research tracks punish waiting more. PACaRI's summer 2027 track is already closed, which means a pre-med student who wants it should plan for March 2027 and summer 2028. The Newborn Medicine program posts its window without much notice, so check its page from December.

Which Boston Children's Hospital Internship Programs Should You Target?

These are the student programs with a published structure. Child life internships are limited to Boston University Wheelock master's students.

Start with the internships page for COACH, and bookmark the Newborn Medicine program page and the PACaRI page for research dates.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

Each program sets its own rules. These come from the hospital's program pages and 2026 COACH posting text:

• College COACH: 16 or older by the start date, enrolled in a two- or four-year undergraduate program in good academic standing, available for the full program and able to work in person. No relocation or housing support.

• Newborn Medicine research: an entering sophomore, junior or senior with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, a CV, a 500-word personal statement and one recommendation. Past participants can't reapply. F-1 students may apply if allowed to take a paid US internship.

• PACaRI: 20 to 25 hours a week, plus college credit, grant funding or a letter of support from an advisor. Statistical analysis skills are preferred.

• Epilepsy lab: juniors or seniors at a four-year school, with academic credit or outside funding, since the internship is unpaid.

• Nursing students: Boston Children's doesn't run a summer nurse externship. Some paid Clinical Assistant jobs accept a nursing student with at least one clinical rotation.

Is There a GPA Cutoff?

Only for Newborn Medicine, which asks for a 3.5 backed by an unofficial transcript. COACH asks for good academic standing rather than a number, and PACaRI and the epilepsy lab don't publish a GPA floor.

That makes COACH the most open door if your grades are solid but not exceptional, as long as you can commit to the full summer in Boston.

What Skills Does Boston Children's Hospital Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

The COACH postings ask for Microsoft Office and communication, with data skills as a plus: last cycle's Health IT posting listed R, Python, SQL, Excel and SPSS. The Patient Safety and Quality team offered Lean Six Sigma and change-management training to its intern.

The research programs care more about readiness than tools. They want enrolled students who can commit the hours, work with research data and present at the end.

How Is Demand for Healthcare Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

Each row pairs a skill from the hospital's own posting text with an Externship project that practices it.

An Externship won't replace clinical or lab hours. It gives a COACH application a finished project to point to, which helps when you can only apply to three postings.

What Is the Boston Children's Hospital Application and Interview Process Like?

The COACH steps below come from the hospital's 2026 posting text. Research programs run their own forms.

1. Submit the interest form. Last cycle it opened on 19 December 2025; students who filled it in were contacted when department postings went live.

2. Apply to up to three COACH postings. Department roles appeared on the BrassRing board in early January 2026. A résumé is required.

3. Screening and interviews. Applications are screened and interviews scheduled; the hospital says it follows up within one week of your interview.

4. Decisions in March. Acceptance decisions were made in March last cycle.

5. Onboarding by May. Selected interns book an on-site onboarding day and provide work permits if needed, health records and proof of employment eligibility.

For Newborn Medicine, PACaRI and the epilepsy lab, apply through each program's page; the epilepsy lab asks applicants not to contact individual lab members.

What Students on Reddit Say

Reddit has very little on Boston Children's programs. These two cards are the only first-hand posts we found, and each is one person's experience.

How Do You Stand Out for a Boston Children's Internship?

Three moves, timed to this cycle.

First, be ready before the interest form opens. Have a current résumé and a short list of departments you'd fit by mid-December, so you can apply in the first week of January.

Second, choose your three COACH postings carefully. Match the team's tools: Health IT asked for data skills such as R, Python, SQL or SPSS, while Patient Safety and Quality wanted Excel, PowerPoint and Visio and an interest in process improvement.

Third, pick the research track that fits your record. Newborn Medicine wants a 3.5 GPA and a recommender. PACaRI needs credit, a grant or an advisor's letter, and its next summer opening is for 2028. The epilepsy lab takes juniors and seniors for credit.

The hospital doesn't publish a conversion rate for COACH, so treat the summer as experience and a reference.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

These employers draw the same pre-health and healthcare-administration students.

For the wider field, see our healthcare internships summer 2027 guide.

FAQ

Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Boston Children's Hospital internship?

No. The summer 2026 programs have run, PACaRI's summer 2027 track is already closed, and the Administrative Fellowship for July 2027 closed on 4 September 2026. The next undergraduate door is College COACH for summer 2027, with an interest form expected around mid-December 2026 and postings in early January 2027.

When do College COACH applications open for summer 2027?

The hospital hasn't announced dates yet. Last cycle the interest form opened on 19 December 2025, department postings went up in the first week of January 2026 and decisions came in March, so expect a similar pattern this winter. Check the internships page from early December.

Is the Boston Children's COACH internship paid?

Yes. The 2026 College COACH postings paid $17.50 to $21.50 an hour for 35 hours a week, with an unpaid lunch and an MBTA pass for June to August. The 2027 rate hasn't been posted. PACaRI and the epilepsy research internship are unpaid.

Does Boston Children's have a summer nurse externship?

No summer nurse externship is advertised. Nursing students train there through clinical placements arranged by more than 30 affiliated nursing schools, and some paid Clinical Assistant jobs accept a nursing student with at least one clinical rotation, paying $19.06 to $27.64 an hour on a live posting.

What research internships does Boston Children's offer?

Three for undergraduates: the Newborn Medicine Summer Student Research Program (8 weeks, GPA 3.5+), PACaRI in anesthesia (summer 2027 closed, summer 2028 opens around March 2027) and the unpaid Pediatric Epilepsy Research Internship for juniors and seniors, whose summer application opened on 23 January last cycle.

Can international students apply?

Sometimes. The Newborn Medicine program doesn't sponsor visas but accepts F-1 students who are allowed to take a paid internship in the US. COACH asks selected interns for proof of employment eligibility during onboarding. If you're on a student visa, check with your school's international office before applying.

Does Boston Children's provide housing for interns?

No. The COACH posting text says the hospital doesn't provide relocation or housing support, and the Newborn Medicine program says students arrange their own transportation and housing. COACH interns get an MBTA pass, which helps if you're commuting from elsewhere in the Boston area.

Are there options for graduate students?

Yes. PACaRI's academic-year track for graduate students is open now for 2027–28. The Dick Argys Administrative Leadership Fellowship, for recent master's graduates, closed on 4 September 2026 for a July 2027 start; the next window, for July 2028, is expected to close in early September 2027.

COACH for summer 2027 is expected to open with an interest form in mid-December and postings in early January.

Get your résumé and your three departments ready this fall, and if you want a finished healthcare project to point to, a remote Externship is one way to build it.