Collins Aerospace Internship 2027–2028: Programs, Deadlines & How to Apply

Last updated: August 2026

Collins Aerospace brings on roughly 1,000 interns and co-ops every year across the US, plus 300-plus college graduates, out of an 80,000-plus person global workforce. That is one of the largest early-career aerospace pipelines in the country. But nearly every engineering seat carries a hard gate: US citizenship, because the work falls under ITAR and security-clearance rules. Here is everything you need to know to land a summer 2027 spot, starting with whether you are eligible.

Quick Facts

Collins Aerospace, a business unit of RTX, hires about 1,000 interns and co-ops a year and its flagship Summer Engineering Project Program (SEPP) dates to 1995. Summer 2027 postings are not up yet and are expected to open around August to September 2026. The single biggest filter is US citizenship, required on virtually all engineering roles for security-clearance eligibility. Community-reported pay runs roughly $27 to $37 per hour.

Externships are short, remote projects where you finish real work for a real company. The Hydroficient IoT Cyber Defense Externship and the Wayfair AI Agent Engineering Externship build the embedded-hardware and applied-software evidence Collins engineering interviews reward, and the Amazon Fulfillment Ops & People Analytics Externship builds the systems and operations story. Explore all Externships.

What Is a Collins Aerospace Internship?

A Collins Aerospace internship is a full-time summer role inside one of the world's largest aerospace and defense suppliers. Collins, officially a business unit of RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies), builds avionics, aircraft interiors, mission systems, and power and controls for commercial, military, business, and space aircraft. It sits alongside Raytheon and Pratt & Whitney as one of RTX's three business segments, drawing on an 80,000-plus person global workforce. Early-career hiring is huge by aerospace standards: roughly 1,000 interns and co-ops plus 300-plus college graduates in the US every year. The flagship engineering track is the Summer Engineering Project Program, or SEPP, established in 1995 and run out of Mission Systems as milestone-driven summer projects with technical mentorship and hands-on "build-test-build" work. Interns typically work full-time over the summer, often onsite at a specific Collins facility, on a real engineering team. The catch that shapes everything else: almost all of these roles require US citizenship for security-clearance eligibility, so eligibility is the first thing to check before you invest in an application.

When Do Collins Aerospace Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

Collins has not posted its summer 2027 internships yet, which is normal for this point in the cycle. Postings typically open in the fall of the prior year. The two documented Collins cycles anchor the projection: a Structural Health EE intern role for summer 2024 closed applications on 17 March 2024, and a Mechanical Engineering intern role for summer 2025 closed on 15 September 2024. That spread, September through March, is exactly what you would expect from role-by-role rolling reqs rather than a single deadline. So for summer 2027, expect postings to start appearing around August to September 2026 and to keep opening and closing individually into early 2027. The build window is now: sharpen your CAD, analysis, and software skills, line up your US-citizenship documentation, and set alerts on the RTX campus portal.

Why You Must Apply the Week Applications Open

Collins does not publish a single company-wide deadline, and that is exactly why timing matters. Each role is its own req that closes once the applicant pool is deep enough, so a posting that looks open in September can quietly fill before you finish polishing your resume. The documented cycles prove the point: one 2024 role closed in March, another 2025 role closed the prior September. When you see a Collins posting for summer 2027 that matches your discipline and location, treat the first week as the real window. Have your resume and unofficial transcript ready to upload the day you apply, because the recruiter review screens against basic qualifications first (citizenship, degree and discipline, GPA), and a complete, early application simply gets seen before the pool closes. The applicants who lose out are usually not unqualified, they are late.

Which Collins Aerospace Internship Programs Should You Target?

Collins runs its early-career hiring as individual role reqs rather than a fixed catalog of named programs, but the postings cluster into a handful of engineering tracks year after year. The table below maps the tracks that recur most often, projected for summer 2027 from the documented 2024 to 2025 cycles and Levels.fyi data points. Aerospace and Mechanical are the highest-volume; SEPP is the structured, mentorship-heavy flagship.

Browse live reqs on the RTX campus portal. Note that Cedar Rapids, IA is the largest recurring intern hub and pays at the top of the range, so it is worth targeting if you are flexible on location. Co-op versions of several tracks run longer terms (January to August or May to December) for students who can extend beyond a single summer.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

Collins publishes clear eligibility language on its intern JDs, and one requirement dominates all the others. The following is drawn from two real Collins intern job descriptions (the 2024 and 2025 cycles):

• US citizenship (the biggest filter): Verbatim JD language reads "U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance." This ITAR and clearance gate applies to virtually all Collins engineering roles, and international students are generally not eligible.

• Enrollment: You must hold a high-school diploma or equivalent AND be currently pursuing a Bachelor's or advanced degree in an applicable engineering discipline.

• Clearance: Some roles also require the ability to obtain and maintain a US government-issued security clearance.

• GPA: Posting-specific, not company-wide. One Mechanical Engineering intern JD lists a 3.0 cumulative minimum with an unofficial transcript upload; a Structural Health EE intern JD prefers 3.5 or above.

• Class standing: Junior or senior status by the summer is preferred on some (not all) postings, and it also scales your pay, since the hourly rate is set by credit-hour class standing.

Can International Students Intern at Collins Aerospace?

Generally, no, at least not on the engineering side. The US-person and ITAR gate is the single biggest filter on Collins internships, and the JDs go further than a typical ITAR notice by explicitly demanding US citizenship for clearance eligibility. Because most Collins aerospace and defense work is export-controlled, that effectively excludes international students from the vast majority of engineering roles. There are narrow exceptions in non-ITAR corners of the business, but you should not build a plan around them. If you are an international student set on US aerospace, your more realistic paths are commercial-aviation employers with fewer clearance requirements, or building transferable, portfolio-ready engineering skills now (CAD, FEA, embedded software) so you are competitive wherever you are eligible to work.

What Skills Does Collins Aerospace Look For, and How Do You Build Them?

Collins intern JDs are refreshingly concrete about what they want. Reading two full intern job descriptions (a Mechanical Engineering intern role and a Structural Health Electrical Engineering / SEPP role) side by side, the same skills surface again and again: 3D CAD modeling, hands-on analysis, clear technical communication, and comfort working on a team. The chart below counts how many of those two Collins JDs named each skill, cross-checked against the broader aerospace-engineer-intern market. CAD is the anchor across both, and the softer requirements (communication, teamwork, MS Office) show up just as consistently as the hard ones, which fits an interview that leans behavioral.

How Is Demand for Aerospace Engineering Interns Moving Right Now?

Build These Skills Before You Apply

And the skills that matter most map cleanly to remote Externships where you finish a real project before summer 2027 reqs post.

How close is the overlap? Each project hands you finished, defensible work to walk an interviewer through, which is exactly what Collins' behavioral, background-walkthrough interview rewards. You cannot replicate ITAR-controlled avionics work outside the company, but you can show up with proof that you can build, test, and explain real engineering.

What Is the Collins Aerospace Application and Interview Process Like?

Collins runs a straightforward, behavioral-heavy process with no timed coding assessment on record. Here is the documented flow, drawn from a real Collins JD's "how to apply" section plus Reddit accounts:

1. Find and submit. Search Collins and RTX postings at careers.rtx.com and apply through the RTX "Open App" model. Complete the application form and upload your resume plus an unofficial transcript, which the JDs explicitly request.

2. Recruiter review. Recruitment screens applications against the basic qualifications first: US citizenship, degree and discipline, and GPA. Missing the citizenship requirement is the most common early filter.

3. Virtual interview. Qualified candidates are invited to a virtual, behavioral-heavy interview, often a friendly panel in which each interviewer introduces themselves and their team.

4. Onsite interview and tour. Strong candidates may proceed to an onsite interview with the team plus a facilities tour, useful for gauging whether the site and work fit you.

5. Offer. Top candidates receive an offer, extended on a rolling basis as reqs fill.

Two things to note. First, there is no standardized coding online assessment documented for Collins engineering interns; screening is resume, transcript, and behavioral interviews rather than an automated technical test. Second, interviews skew behavioral ("tell me about yourself," three strengths and three weaknesses, short-term and long-term goals), not hard technical grilling, so come with clear, specific stories about your projects, your teamwork, and why aerospace.

What Students on Reddit Say

Three r/Raytheon threads give a first-hand look at Collins hiring, all paraphrased.

How Do You Stand Out for a Collins Aerospace Internship?

Three moves, all executable this summer. First, confirm and foreground your eligibility: because US citizenship is the gate that screens out most applicants, making it unambiguous on your resume and application removes the single biggest reason candidates get filtered early. Second, build discipline-specific proof of work. Collins interns are hired to do real CAD, analysis, or embedded-software work, so a finished project in Creo or SolidWorks, a thermal or FEA study, or an embedded C/C++ build gives you concrete stories that a behavioral interview can dig into. Third, apply early and target the high-volume hubs. Cedar Rapids, IA runs the largest recurring intern volume and pays at the top of the range, so a flexible location preference plus a first-week application beats a perfect application that arrives after the req closes. Have your unofficial transcript ready to upload, prepare answers to the classic behavioral prompts, and treat every posting's first week as the real deadline.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

Collins competes for aerospace and defense engineering talent with the other US primes. If you are building a target list, and especially if you hold US citizenship, these are the obvious neighbors, most of them behind the same ITAR gate:

Our engineering internships summer 2027 guide maps the whole landscape, timeline by timeline.

FAQ

Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Collins Aerospace internship?

As of August 2026, no. Summer 2026 intern reqs were filled during the fall 2025 to spring 2026 cycle, and those internships are already underway, running full-time through August 2026. Your realistic target is summer 2027: postings are expected to start opening around August to September 2026, so this is the moment to prepare rather than apply. Set alerts on the RTX campus portal and get your resume and unofficial transcript ready.

Does Collins Aerospace offer internships?

Yes. Collins, a business unit of RTX, hires roughly 1,000 interns and co-ops a year across the US, plus 300-plus college graduates. Programs span engineering, operations and supply chain, quality, corporate, and sales, and the flagship engineering track is the Summer Engineering Project Program (SEPP), established in 1995.

Do I need to be a US citizen to intern at Collins Aerospace?

For nearly all engineering roles, yes. Collins JDs state "U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance." This is an ITAR and clearance requirement tied to the export-controlled nature of the work, and international students are generally not eligible for Collins engineering internships. Confirm the requirement on each specific posting before you apply.

When do I apply for a summer 2027 Collins internship?

Postings are not up yet (expected). Based on the documented 2024 and 2025 cycles, where deadlines ranged from September to March, applications for summer 2027 are expected to open around August to September 2026 and fill on a rolling basis into early 2027. Apply within the first week a matching role posts, because reqs close once the pool is full.

What GPA do I need for a Collins internship?

It is posting-specific, not company-wide. One Mechanical Engineering intern JD lists a 3.0 cumulative minimum and asks you to upload an unofficial transcript; a Structural Health EE intern JD prefers 3.5 or above. Aim to meet the higher bar where you can, and always upload the transcript when it is requested.

How much do Collins Aerospace interns get paid?

There is no official hourly figure published, but self-reported Levels.fyi data shows roughly $27 to $37/hr depending on role, location, and class standing. Cedar Rapids, IA software interns report about $37/hr; mechanical interns report about $26 to $30/hr. Housing support ($500 to $1,250/mo or corporate housing) and relocation ($2,500 to $5,000) are available for those who qualify. These figures are community-labeled, not official.

What is the Collins Aerospace interview like?

The documented flow is recruiter review, then a virtual behavioral interview, then a possible onsite interview and facility tour, then an offer. It is behavioral-heavy ("tell me about yourself," strengths and weaknesses, career goals) with no timed coding assessment on record. Panels are described as friendly, with each interviewer introducing their team, so prepare clear stories about your projects and teamwork.

Will I get a return or full-time offer from Collins?

No official conversion rate is published. The Reddit consensus, paraphrased, is that strong interns typically get a return offer for another summer or a full-time role, either on the same team or another with an opening, while average performers are not guaranteed one. Collins JDs also list "exposure to college graduate roles upon graduation" as an intern benefit, and long multi-term interns are not uncommon.

Collins Aerospace runs one of the largest early-career aerospace pipelines in the country, but the summer 2027 reqs will not post until around fall 2026, and the US-citizenship gate is real. Spend the runway building proof: a remote Externship turns interest in aerospace engineering into a finished project you can walk an interviewer through the moment a role opens.