Quick Facts
Grant Thornton internship · at a glance
Roles open and close throughout the year. Check Grant Thornton's careers portal for what is live today, and apply in the first week a role posts.
Before you applyWould your profile get you in?6 questions, under a minute. Compared with real interns who landed similar roles.Check my oddsAlso in this guide
Put real project work on your résumé, with the Attronica Financial Planning & Valuation Externship or the TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics Externship.
Explore all externships →All quick facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | grantthornton.com/careers/students. Applications route through the Oracle Cloud careers portal |
| Application window (2027–28) | Summer 2027 is LIVE now (as of July 2026), rolling by office on the Oracle Cloud portal, so apply immediately. Summer 2028 postings expected mid-to-late 2027. Empower early-ID program registration opens spring/summer |
| Rolling? | Yes, effectively rolling by office. No single national deadline; apply as early as possible because seats fill as candidates are accepted. Summer 2027 reqs are open now (July 2026), so submit without delay |
| Eligibility | Typically juniors enrolled in an accredited college or university. Accounting majors for Audit and Tax; broader majors (Finance, IT, MIS, Data Analytics) for Advisory and Risk tracks |
| Duration | 8 to 15 weeks depending on service line and season. Summer runs June to August; Winter runs January to April |
| Compensation | $28 to $40/hr depending on city and service line. High-cost metros (NYC, Boston) pay $37 to $40/hr; smaller markets $28 to $37/hr (from posted JDs) |
| Visa sponsorship | No. Every JD states: must be authorized to work in the US without employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future |
| Locations | 50+ US offices: Chicago (HQ), New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, and more. Hybrid model, at least 2 days per week in-office |
| # Programs | 6 tracks: Audit & Assurance, Tax, Risk Advisory, Audit IT Assurance, Advisory/Business Consulting, and the Empower early-ID program |
Last updated: October 2026
Grant Thornton is the 5th most prestigious US accounting firm per Vault 2025 and #8 for Best Internship Employment Prospects. With 50+ offices nationwide, roughly 8,500 US employees, and intern Glassdoor ratings of 4.5 to 4.7 out of 5, it offers hands-on experience across Audit, Tax, and Advisory that often rivals the Big 4 in quality with smaller, more accessible team sizes. Here is the timing that matters: as of July 2026, Summer 2027 Audit, Tax, and Advisory intern requisitions are LIVE now on Grant Thornton's Oracle Cloud careers portal, roughly 11 to 12 months ahead of the start date. Do not wait for fall 2027 to intern in 2028; apply to the Summer 2027 cycle immediately, because applications fill rolling by office and the calendar decides your odds.
What Is a Grant Thornton Internship?
A Grant Thornton internship is a paid, 8-to-15-week placement that puts students on real client engagements across Audit, Tax, or Advisory. The firm is the 6th-largest US accounting firm by revenue (~$1.9B) and part of a global network spanning 73,000 personnel across 147 markets. Intern reviews hold up: 4.7 out of 5 on Glassdoor with a 95% recommendation rate. The firm positions itself as more hands-on and accessible than the Big 4, with a culture built around its six CLEARR values: Collaboration, Leadership, Excellence, Agility, Respect, and Responsibility.
When Do Grant Thornton Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
Grant Thornton's recruiting calendar is predictable: core internships open roughly 10 to 14 months before the start date, and the Empower early-ID program engages students 18 to 24 months ahead. That cadence is exactly why the Summer 2027 cycle is live right now: as of July 2026, Audit, Tax, and Advisory intern reqs are open on the Oracle Cloud portal and filling rolling by office. The Summer 2028 cycle is not up yet and is expected to post mid-to-late 2027. The date that matters is when you submit, because rolling review by office means late applicants face fewer open seats, so get your Summer 2027 application in now.
Summer 2027 Audit, Tax, and Advisory intern reqs are LIVE now on the Oracle Cloud careers portal, so apply immediately. The Summer 2028 cycle is not up yet. In parallel, strengthen your resume, earn CPA-track credits, and get on Grant Thornton's radar at campus events.
Register for the Empower early-ID program (virtual one-day event in June for freshmen and sophomores). Attend campus career fairs and connect with local office recruiters. Build your CLEARR-values story bank.
Summer 2027 core seats fill rolling by office as candidates are accepted. Submit and interview early, because late applicants to popular offices face fewer open seats.
Interview process: typically 2 back-to-back rounds (partner + senior manager), focused on behavioral/STAR questions mapped to CLEARR values. Decisions within weeks.
8-week summer internship (June to August), full-time, hybrid. Perform well and you are positioned for a return offer, though conversion depends on both performance and office headcount.
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
Rolling by office is the whole game. Grant Thornton does not publish a single national deadline; instead, each office opens and fills positions on its own timeline. The firm advises applicants to consult with the local recruiter to determine deadlines. That means a late application to a popular office could land after seats are already filled. And the Summer 2027 window is open now (as of July 2026), so the clock is already running: identify your target office, connect with the local recruiter, and submit your application this week rather than waiting.
Which Grant Thornton Internship Programs Should You Target?
Grant Thornton runs 6 distinct intern tracks, from traditional audit and tax to technology-focused advisory. Which one should you target? The honest answer is the track that matches your major and CPA timeline, because eligibility gates are real: Audit and Tax require an Accounting degree, while Advisory and Risk tracks accept broader backgrounds.
| Program | Focus | Duration | Key skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit & Assurance Intern | Financial statement audits, business transaction cycle reviews, audit software, client relationships | ~8 weeks summer (also Winter) | Accounting, MS Office, analytical skills, communication |
| Tax Intern | Tax consulting, return preparation, compliance, IRS correspondence, work paper preparation | ~8 weeks summer (also Winter) | Accounting, tax software, research, detail orientation |
| Risk Advisory Intern | Business process and IT controls assessments, compliance testing, IT risk or business process risk | ~8 weeks summer | IT frameworks (NIST, COBIT), analytical skills, problem-solving |
| Audit IT Assurance Intern | IT audit, information systems controls, ITGC testing, IT trends analysis | ~8 weeks summer | IT/MIS, audit concepts, analytical skills |
| Advisory / Business Consulting Intern | Finance transformation, ERP systems, automation, data analytics, process redesign | ~8 weeks summer | Finance, analytics tools (Power BI, Tableau), ERP (SAP, Oracle) |
| Empower Program (early-ID) | Virtual professional development, mentorship, firm culture exposure | 1 day (June) | Interest in accounting/professional services |
See the full list on the official students page. Note that summer and winter internships are both available for Audit and Tax, so CPA-track students can choose the season that fits their credit timeline.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
Grant Thornton's requirements are role-specific, but several lines repeat across nearly every intern posting:
• Class year: typically juniors (internship the summer before or between junior and senior year), enrolled in an accredited college or university. The Empower program targets freshmen and sophomores.
• Major: Audit and Tax require a Bachelor's or Master's in Accounting, CPA-eligibility path strongly preferred. Risk Advisory and IT Assurance accept Accounting, Finance, IT, MIS, Data Analytics, or related fields. Advisory/Consulting accepts Finance, Business Economics, Information Systems, or related fields.
• Work authorization: every JD requires US work authorization without employment-based visa sponsorship, now or in the future. International students needing future sponsorship are excluded.
• Certifications (preferred): CPA, CIA, CISA, CISSP, or CISM license or certification desire is preferred for Advisory and IT roles, but not required for entry.
Does Grant Thornton Have a GPA Cutoff?
The posted bar is a "minimum major and overall GPA of 3.0/4.0 preferred," stated verbatim across Audit, Tax, Risk Advisory, and IT Assurance JDs. But "preferred" is doing real work there: it is not listed as a hard requirement, and Grant Thornton positions itself as more accessible than Big 4, with a culture that values authenticity and CLEARR-values alignment over pure metrics. Competitive admitted candidates at mid-tier firms typically sit around 3.0 to 3.5. So a 3.0 is the floor to aim for, but your STAR stories and cultural fit carry real weight.
Profile Match · Extern Data
Could You Get In at Grant Thornton? Compare Your Profile
Based on 127 Big 4 audit and tax interns at the Big 4 from the classes of 2025 and 2026 (public LinkedIn profiles, aggregated). Six questions, under a minute.
Which summer are you applying for?
Recruiting timelines differ by class year, so we compare you with the right group.
Which group is your school closest to?
Firms recruit on campus in tiers. We match you against admits from schools like yours.
Is your major accounting?
Accounting is the credential the Big 4 screen for first; other business majors are less common.
How many internships, externships or research positions have you held so far?
Count anything with a real employer, mentor or principal investigator attached. Retail and food service do not count.
Has any of that experience been accounting-related?
Accounting, tax, audit or bookkeeping. A local CPA firm or a company finance department counts.
Are you in a Beta Alpha Psi, accounting society or business fraternity?
About a third of Big 4 admits were members before the offer.
Aggregated from public LinkedIn profiles of people who held the internship. No individual profile is shown. Read the full Big 4 intern profile analysis and the cross-industry study of 2,500+ intern profiles.
What Skills Does Grant Thornton Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
Read across five full-text Grant Thornton intern JDs, one Audit, one Tax, one Risk Advisory, one IT Assurance, and one Advisory/Finance Modernization, and the pattern holds. Analytical skills, communication, and teamwork appear in all five of five. Technical aptitude and project management also show up across the board. But the skill list only tells half the story. Grant Thornton's CLEARR values, Collaboration, Leadership, Excellence, Agility, Respect, and Responsibility, are the framework every interview is scored against. So what does that mean? Bring the accounting or analytical foundation, then wrap every story in a CLEARR value.
What Grant Thornton looks for in interns
Skills across 5 Grant Thornton intern & analyst job descriptions · 2026–27 cycle Grant Thornton US intern JDs, projecting 2027–2028
Method: full-text analysis of five Grant Thornton US intern job descriptions read verbatim from JD mirrors (Vaia/StudySmarter, ZipRecruiter, BuiltInNYC) covering Audit, Tax, Risk Advisory, IT Assurance, and Advisory/Finance Modernization roles. Prior-cycle basis; CLEARR values are evaluated in interviews rather than listed as JD qualifications, so they sit alongside this chart, not inside it.
How Is Demand for Accounting and Advisory Interns Moving Right Now?
Accounting intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 362 in August
For Grant Thornton applicants: Accounting intern hiring picked up sharply in September; apply within the first week a role posts, while the most seats are open.
Daily US job-posting counts, Sep 1–30 vs Aug 1–31, 2026. Covers under half of US postings; shows direction, not market size. Pay = median of employer-published ranges only (83 postings in September, 44 in August).
Build These Skills Before You Apply
And every skill in that chart maps to a remote Externship where you finish a real project before a role opens.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Financial analysis, valuation & accounting | Audit and Advisory JDs: "excellent analytical skills," "financial statement analysis," "data analysis and interpretation" | Attronica Financial Planning & Valuation |
| Data analytics & metrics-driven insights | Risk Advisory and IT Assurance JDs: "identifying trends and generating actionable insights," "analytics tools (Power BI, Tableau)" | TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics |
| Business-facing communication & teamwork | All JDs: "excellent communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills," "ability to work in a complex team environment" | Attronica Financial Planning & Valuation |
How close is the overlap? The Attronica project is financial planning and valuation work that yields the analytical evidence a Grant Thornton behavioral interview probes for, and the TruBridge project ends on the data-driven-insights story a CLEARR-values round wants.
What Is the Grant Thornton Application and Interview Process Like?
Grant Thornton's funnel is behavioral-first and relationship-driven, with no standardized online assessment confirmed for US intern candidates:
1. Apply on grantthornton.com/careers/students. Applications route through the Oracle Cloud careers portal. You can also apply through campus recruiting channels. Contact: URprograms@us.gt.com or your local office recruiter.
2. Two back-to-back interviews. Typically one with a partner and one with a senior manager. The format is predominantly behavioral/STAR questions with strong emphasis on Grant Thornton's CLEARR Culture values. Common questions: 'Tell me about a time when...' (STAR format), 'Why Grant Thornton?', 'Why audit/tax/advisory?' No technical questions reported for standard audit and tax tracks.
3. Rolling offer. Offers are made on a rolling basis as interviews complete. The process typically takes about 5 weeks from application to decision, though some candidates report faster or slower timelines.
So the skill to drill is clear: four to six STAR stories mapped to Collaboration, Leadership, Excellence, Agility, Respect, and Responsibility. Candidates describe the experience as conversational and approachable, with the firm valuing personality and authenticity above all. Prepare your stories, but be yourself.
What Students on Reddit Say
Three community themes show what the process looks like from the inside, all paraphrased.
Two interviews back to back, one with a partner and one with a senior manager. All behavioral, no technical questions. They really want to see if you fit the culture and can talk about teamwork and leadership.
Pay varies a lot by city. Boston and NYC offices were posting $37 to $40 an hour, while smaller markets came in lower around $28 to $35. Advisory roles tended to pay at the higher end.
If you do good work and are a normal, personable human, you will usually get the full-time offer. But it is not guaranteed because it also depends on whether the office has headcount in your service line.
Think you’re ready for an interview at Grant Thornton?
Grant Thornton runs two back-to-back behavioral interviews, typically with a partner and a senior manager. Three rounds, honest feedback on every answer, no sign-up.
An interviewer asks, “Why Grant Thornton?” Which answer scores highest?
How Do You Stand Out at a Mid-Tier Firm That Values Culture?
Three moves, all before a role opens. First, engage early: attend campus events, register for the Empower program if you are a freshman or sophomore, and connect with office-specific recruiters so your name is recognized when applications open. Second, map your STAR stories to the six CLEARR values (Collaboration, Leadership, Excellence, Agility, Respect, Responsibility), because every interview question is scored against them, and candidates who speak the firm's language convert at higher rates. Third, build real analytical artifacts: a financial analysis project, a data deliverable, or client-facing work from an Externship, so that 'tell me about a time you analyzed data' gets a concrete answer, not a hypothetical. Grant Thornton's interview is conversational, but the candidates who win are the ones who have something specific to talk about.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
Grant Thornton competes directly with the Big 4 for accounting and advisory interns. If you are building an accounting-internship list, these are the obvious neighbors:
Grant Thornton's advantage over the Big 4? Smaller teams, more hands-on client exposure from day one, and a culture that many interns describe as more accessible and personable.
Our Big 4 accounting and audit internships 2027 guide lays out every recruiting window in order.
FAQ
When do Grant Thornton internship applications open?
The Summer 2027 cycle is open right now: as of July 2026, Audit, Tax, and Advisory intern reqs are live on Grant Thornton's Oracle Cloud careers portal, so apply immediately. Applications fill rolling by office, so submit as early as possible. The Summer 2028 cycle is not up yet and is expected to post mid-to-late 2027. For the Empower early-ID program, register in spring or summer.
What GPA do I need for a Grant Thornton internship?
A 3.0 overall and major GPA is described as "preferred" across Audit, Tax, Risk Advisory, and IT Assurance JDs. This is preferred, not required, suggesting some flexibility. Grant Thornton is generally considered more accessible than Big 4 on metrics, so your CLEARR-values fit and STAR stories carry real weight.
Does Grant Thornton sponsor visas for interns?
No. Every intern JD states that candidates must be authorized to work in the US without employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future. International students needing future sponsorship are excluded from these intern roles.
Do I have to be an accounting major?
For Audit and Tax, essentially yes: an Accounting degree on a CPA-eligibility track is required. Risk Advisory and IT Assurance accept broader majors including Finance, IT, MIS, and Data Analytics. Advisory/Consulting accepts Finance, Business Economics, Information Systems, and related fields.
How hard is the Grant Thornton internship interview?
Two rounds of behavioral/STAR interviews, one with a partner and one with a senior manager. No technical questions reported for standard audit and tax tracks. Heavy emphasis on CLEARR cultural values and authenticity. Candidates describe the experience as conversational and approachable, with the firm valuing personality above all.
What does a Grant Thornton internship pay?
$28 to $40 per hour depending on city and service line. High-cost metros like NYC and Boston pay $37 to $40 per hour (from posted JDs), while smaller markets run $28 to $37 per hour. Interns also receive medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid sick leave, and paid holidays.
Will I get a return offer from Grant Thornton?
No official conversion rate is published. Community consensus is that strong performers who fit the culture typically receive offers, but it depends on office headcount and business needs. One community report described an intern not receiving an offer due to lack of business needs in the tax line. Treat the internship as a paid audition.
What is the Empower program?
A virtual one-day program for college freshmen and sophomores held each June. It offers professional development, mentorship, and networking to get students on Grant Thornton's radar early. It is not an internship but a pipeline program that positions participants for a core internship in a later year.
Grant Thornton's culture-first interview rewards students who show up with real stories and real work. Spend the runway building proof: a remote Externship turns 'interested in accounting' into a finished analytical project you can point at in a CLEARR-values conversation.
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.
