Design Internships for Summer 2027: UX, Graphic, Web, and Beyond

TL;DR

• Design internships for summer 2027 cover UX/UI, graphic, web, interior, game, and product design, and applications at big tech companies start opening as early as August 2026.

• This guide breaks down each design sub-niche, where to find open roles, and what hiring managers actually care about in your portfolio.

• UX/UI is the highest-demand sub-niche. Roles at Google, Apple, Meta, and agencies like IDEO and Pentagram post between August and January.

• You don't need professional experience to land your first design internship. A portfolio with 3-5 strong projects (class or personal work included) matters more than your resume.

• If you want to build portfolio-ready design experience before applying, a remote Externship lets you work on real company projects with professional mentorship. Past Externships have included projects with Canva and Epic Games. Explore all Externships →

What Kinds of Design Internships Are Out There?

"Design internship" is a broad label. It could mean building wireframes for a fintech app, laying out album packaging for a record label, or prototyping a level in Unreal Engine. The discipline you pick shapes everything: the tools you'll use, who hires you, and when you need to apply.

The Six Disciplines Actually Hiring Interns

UX/UI design is about how people interact with digital products. You'll research user behavior, sketch wireframes, and build clickable prototypes. The BLS projects web and digital interface designer roles to grow 7% from 2024 to 2034, with a median salary of $98,090. Google, Apple, Meta, Spotify, and design agencies are the biggest employers.

Graphic design is visual communication: brand identity, packaging, social media assets, marketing collateral. The BLS reports 265,900 graphic designer jobs in 2024 at a median salary of $61,300. Agencies, in-house marketing teams, and publishers hire the most interns.

Web design sits in the overlap between UX and graphic. You'll handle visual layout and front-end styling, often touching HTML and CSS alongside Figma. Median pay tracks the broader web developer category at $90,930 per year.

Product design blends UX research with visual design and sometimes front-end prototyping. It's the generalist role at most tech companies, especially startups that can't hire separate UX and visual designers.

Interior design means spatial planning for commercial and residential spaces. These internships cluster at architecture firms and design studios. They typically follow a spring-to-summer posting cycle.

Game design covers mechanics, level design, narrative, and game art. Studios like Epic Games, Riot Games, and EA run structured programs, usually posting in fall for the following summer.

Which Sub-Niche Fits You?

This is simpler than it sounds. If you love talking to people and untangling problems, UX design. If you think in color palettes and typefaces, graphic design. If you want to build things that actually work in a browser, web design bridges code and visuals. If you'd rather design entire worlds? Game design. And if physical spaces matter more to you than screens, interior design is the path.

Which UX and UI Internships Should You Go After?

UX and UI internships are the most competitive design intern roles. They're also the highest-paid. Companies like Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Spotify run structured 12-week programs paying $35-$50/hour. Big tech applications open August to October 2026, while agencies and startups hire on rolling timelines through spring 2027.

Big Tech UX/UI Programs

The largest UX internship programs sit at companies where design is a core product function. Google's UX Design Intern program typically posts in September and closes by November. Google accepts candidates from design, HCI, computer science, and related programs, as long as you're in your penultimate year.

Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Spotify follow similar windows. Pay at these companies averages $44/hour according to Glassdoor, and some programs throw in housing stipends on top.

But these roles are tough to land. Google alone gets thousands of applications for a few hundred UX intern spots. You'll need a portfolio with 2-3 case studies that show your full process: research, wireframes, testing, iteration. No shortcuts.

If you're also browsing tech internships for summer 2027, UX/UI roles at these companies pay the most across all design disciplines.

Career pages (big tech UX/UI internships): Google Internships · Apple Internships · Meta Student Programs · Microsoft University Internships · Amazon Internships · Spotify Students · Adobe Internships · Figma Careers · Salesforce Futureforce · Atlassian Early Careers · IBM Design Careers · Uber Design · Airbnb Internships · Pinterest University Recruiting · Snap Emerging Talent

Agency and Startup UX Roles

Design agencies like IDEO, Frog, Pentagram, and R/GA hire UX interns too, though in smaller cohorts with less structure. The trade-off is more hands-on work from day one. You'll probably work across client projects rather than sitting on a single product team.

Startups hire year-round on rolling timelines. Pay is lower ($20-$30/hour typically), but you'll own more of your projects. And many remote UX roles at startups don't require relocation.

Worth considering if geography is a constraint.

Career pages (design agencies & consultancies): IDEO Careers · Frog Careers · Pentagram Careers · R/GA Careers · Huge Careers · Work & Co Careers · ustwo Jobs

Where Can You Find Graphic, Web, and Visual Design Roles?

Graphic and web design internships live at advertising agencies, in-house creative teams, media companies, and e-commerce brands. These roles are generally easier to break into than UX/UI because they accept candidates from a wider range of backgrounds: fine arts, communications, even self-taught designers. Application timelines are looser too, with many posting January through April 2027.

Agencies and In-House Creative Teams

Advertising agencies like Wieden+Kennedy, Ogilvy, and BBDO run summer programs for graphic designers and art directors. In-house creative teams at Nike, Airbnb, and Spotify's brand design group also hire design interns.

Graphic design intern pay averages $16-$18/hour nationally, though top agencies in New York and Los Angeles pay more. Check the best websites to find internships for platform-by-platform tips on where to search.

Career pages (ad agencies): Wieden+Kennedy Jobs · Ogilvy Early Careers · BBDO / Energy BBDO · Leo Burnett (Publicis) · DDB Careers · Droga5 Careers · 72andSunny Careers

Career pages (in-house creative teams): Nike Careers · Adidas Internships · Under Armour Internships · Disney Internships · Netflix Internships · Patagonia Internships

Game Design and Motion Graphics

Game studios hire design interns for game art, level design, and UX research. Epic Games, Riot Games, EA, and Ubisoft all run summer programs, typically posting September through November for the following summer.

Motion graphics studios (Buck, Psyop, Giant Ant) hire interns for After Effects and Cinema 4D work. These roles are niche but well-paid.

And they're a strong entry point if you're drawn to advertising or entertainment design.

Want something to put on your portfolio before you apply? A remote Externship with a company like Beats by Dre gives you a real brand project to show.

Career pages (game studios): Epic Games Early Careers · Riot Games Internships · EA Early Careers · Ubisoft Interns & Grads · Blizzard Early Careers · Bungie Careers

Career pages (media & entertainment): Warner Bros. Discovery Internships · NBCUniversal Internships · Paramount Internships

All Design Internship Career Pages (44 Companies)

Every career page link from this guide in one place. Bookmark this table and check back as application windows open.

What Belongs in Your Design Portfolio?

A strong design internship portfolio has 3-5 polished projects that show your process, not just your final deliverables. Hiring managers want to see how you think. Problem definition. Research. Iteration. Then the solution. UX portfolios need case studies with user research and wireframes. Graphic design portfolios need range: brand identity, layout, typography.

Portfolio Essentials by Discipline

What goes in your portfolio depends on what you're applying for.

UX/UI portfolios need 2-3 case studies. Each should walk through the problem, your research (user interviews, competitive analysis), wireframes, prototype, and usability testing results. Figma is the standard for interactive prototypes.

Graphic design portfolios need 4-6 projects showing breadth: a brand identity system, editorial layout, packaging or poster design, and at least one digital project. Show you can handle typography. That's what separates a design student from someone who just knows Photoshop.

Web design portfolios should include 2-3 live or prototype websites. Can you show responsive design across breakpoints and explain your front-end choices? That's what gets you the callback.

Product design portfolios blend UX case studies with visual work. Show systems thinking: how individual screens connect into a coherent product experience.

For real examples and templates, check out these student portfolio examples and templates.

How to Build Portfolio Projects Without Clients

You don't need paying clients. Redesign challenges are the most popular portfolio builder for UX: pick an app you use daily and redesign one flow. Daily UI challenges give graphic designers a 100-day content pipeline. Hackathons produce collaborative projects with real constraints.

Externship projects work well here too. Working on a real brief for a company like Canva or Epic Games carries more weight than a self-directed redesign, because it proves you can work within actual business constraints.

If you're trying to land an internship with no experience, portfolio projects are how you close that gap.

When Do Summer 2027 Design Internship Applications Open?

Design internship applications follow a staggered timeline. Big tech UX/UI roles open August to October 2026 and fill by December. Agency and in-house graphic design roles post January to March 2027. Smaller studios and startups hire on rolling timelines, some as late as April 2027. Starting your search in fall 2026 gives you the widest range of options.

Month-by-Month Breakdown

August-October 2026: Big tech UX/UI postings go live. Google, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify. Apply early. Some roles fill within weeks.

November-December 2026: Agency applications open. Wieden+Kennedy, IDEO, R/GA, and similar firms post summer programs. Design studio roles (Pentagram, Collins) appear in this window too.

January-March 2027: In-house creative teams at consumer brands post graphic and web design internships. Interior design firms and game studios with spring timelines hire here.

April 2027 and beyond: Late-cycle startups, nonprofits, small studios. If you missed earlier deadlines, rolling applications and direct outreach still work.

For a breakdown across all industries, see the full 2027 internship timeline by industry.

Already Missed the Early Deadlines?

It's not over. Agencies, startups, and in-house teams hire later than big tech. Smaller design studios rarely follow the same cycle as Google or Apple.

So use the extra time. Add one more case study. Clean up your portfolio presentation. And consider a remote Externship to build a real company project before your next round of applications.

Can You Land a Design Internship With Zero Experience?

Yes. Honestly, design is one of the few fields where your portfolio IS your experience. If it shows strong visual thinking and a clear process, you can land an internship without any professional work on your resume. Class projects, personal redesigns, hackathon submissions, and Externship projects all count.

What "Experience" Actually Means in Design Hiring

Here's the thing about design hiring: a recruiter will spend 30 seconds on your resume and five minutes on your portfolio. Class projects, competition entries, volunteer design work, self-initiated redesigns. All of it qualifies.

But showing process matters more than showing polish. A beautiful final mockup without the research and iteration behind it tells a hiring manager nothing about how you think. Walk them through the problem, your approach, and what you learned. That's what gets you to the interview.

If you're curious about what an Externship is and whether it could give you that first portfolio piece, the path into UX from a non-design background is shorter than you'd think: take a foundations course, build 2-3 case studies, start applying.

Free and Cheap Ways to Build Design Skills

The Google UX Design Certificate on Coursera takes 3-6 months at $49/month and includes three portfolio projects. You'll also get access to Google's employer hiring consortium of 150+ companies. It's not a degree, but it's a real credential.

Figma offers free accounts for students. And Daily UI (dailyui.co) sends a design prompt every day for 100 days. Coursera, Interaction Design Foundation, and YouTube channels like The Futur cover everything from typography fundamentals to advanced user research methods.

How Much Do Design Interns Get Paid?

It varies. A lot. UX/UI interns at big tech earn $35-$50/hour ($8,400-$12,000 for a 12-week program). Graphic design interns at agencies earn $16-$18/hour on average. Interior design and game design fall somewhere in between.

Some smaller studios still post unpaid roles. That's getting rarer, but it's worth watching for.

Yet even the lower-paid design internships tend to outpace unpaid research assistant positions in the humanities.

Pay by Discipline and Company Size

UX/UI interns at big tech earn the most. Glassdoor reports an average of $44/hour for UX design interns at Google, and other major tech companies pay in the $35-$50/hour range. At agencies, UX intern pay drops to $20-$30/hour.

Graphic design interns earn $16-$18/hour on average nationally. Top agencies in major metros pay $20-$25/hour. Web design internships pay similarly, $18-$25/hour, especially if the role includes front-end coding.

Game art and motion design internships range from $20-$35/hour at major studios. Interior design tends to be on the lower end, $15-$20/hour at most firms.

If you're exploring fun jobs that pay well, design is one of the few fields that combines creative work with genuinely competitive salaries. Especially in UX/UI.

FAQs

Do design internships pay?

Most design internships at established companies are paid. UX/UI interns at big tech earn $35-$50/hour, while graphic design interns at agencies typically earn $16-$18/hour. Unpaid positions still exist at some small studios and nonprofits, but paid roles are the standard at companies large enough to run structured internship programs.

What software should you know for a design internship?

It depends on the discipline. UX/UI roles expect Figma proficiency (it's replaced Sketch at most companies). Graphic design roles want Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign. Web design roles value Figma plus basic HTML/CSS. Game design roles often require Unity or Unreal Engine alongside 3D modeling tools like Blender.

Can you get a UX design internship without a design degree?

Yes. Many UX interns come from psychology, computer science, communications, or self-taught backgrounds. What matters is a portfolio showing user research, wireframes, prototypes, and clear design thinking. The Google UX Design Certificate on Coursera takes 3-6 months at about $49/month and is a popular starting point.

What do you actually do in a design internship?

Day-to-day work varies, but most design interns work on real projects alongside a team. UX interns typically run user research sessions, build wireframes, and prototype features. Graphic design interns create assets for campaigns, brand projects, or product launches. You'll usually present your work at the end of the program and get mentorship throughout.

Are remote design internships worth it?

They can be. Remote design internships give you access to companies outside your city and more schedule flexibility. The downside is less spontaneous mentorship and fewer hallway conversations. Look for programs with structured check-ins and a dedicated mentor. Remote Externships offer a similar project-based structure with built-in professional mentorship.