Last updated: October 2026
Highmark Health runs three student calendars on one job board, and only part of one is open right now. Its two Summer 2027 Actuarial Science internships (undergraduate and graduate, in Pittsburgh) are live on the Highmark Workday board and have been posted since August 2026. The wider corporate wave (business analysis, data and test engineering, internal audit, underwriting) isn't posted yet: last year it went up from mid-October and most of it was gone by late November. In plain words: you apply during 2026, you intern in summer 2027.
The third calendar belongs to Allegheny Health Network, Highmark's hospital system. Its 11-week Summer Nurse Extern Program opens separately, and Highmark says to check back "in the Fall of 2026." AHN's extern programs are hospital roles for nursing and allied-health students and have nothing to do with the remote Externships Extern offers further down this page. Highmark doesn't publish intern pay, and its corporate postings say it doesn't sponsor visas.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | Highmark Health Workday board (one board for Highmark Inc., enGen, United Concordia Dental and AHN; the "Company" line on each posting names the employer); early careers page for program notes |
| Application window (2027–28) | Summer 2027 actuarial, open now: undergraduate and graduate postings, live since August 2026. Other corporate summer 2027 roles, expected: mid-October to November 2026. AHN Summer Nurse Extern: "Fall of 2026," per Highmark |
| Rolling? | No stated deadline; last cycle's corporate postings came down 20 November to 18 December 2025, about four to six weeks after posting |
| Eligibility | Actuarial undergraduate: enrolled in a bachelor's program; actuarial graduate: bachelor's degree and pursuing a graduate degree; no GPA stated; no visa sponsorship |
| Duration | Not published for corporate internships; the AHN Summer Nurse Extern Program runs 11 weeks |
| Compensation | Not published in Highmark's intern postings |
| Return offers | No conversion rate published; new-grad development programs (technology, actuarial, finance) sit on the same early careers page |
| Locations | Pittsburgh, PA (actuarial, Fifth Avenue Place); last cycle's corporate interns also in Camp Hill, PA (United Concordia Dental) and Columbus, OH (finance) |
| # Programs | Corporate: Actuarial Intern Program (undergraduate and graduate) plus function-specific enterprise summer internships. Separate AHN clinical student programs: Summer Nurse Extern and part-time clinical student roles |
Actuarial students can apply today; everyone else should set a Workday alert now, because last year's corporate postings stayed up for only about four to six weeks.
Externships are short, remote programs where you finish a real project for a real company, usually in about 8 weeks at 5 to 10 hours a week. The Healthcare Operations Consulting Externship fits Highmark's business analyst and health-plan operations roles, and the TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics Externship builds the healthcare data work behind its actuarial and data postings. Explore all Externships.
What Is a Highmark Health Internship?
A Highmark Health internship is a summer program at one of Highmark Health's corporate businesses: Highmark Inc., the Blue Cross Blue Shield plan for Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and parts of New York, or enGen, United Concordia Dental and HM Insurance Group. Interns support a business line's day-to-day work, join projects and do research and reporting with recommendations, with mentoring from senior staff. Highmark's actuarial interns also prepare actuarial studies and presentation materials for decision makers. Highmark Health is a Pittsburgh enterprise of about 44,000 people whose health plans insure 7.1 million members, according to its August 2025 results release. Its hospital arm, Allegheny Health Network, runs separate clinical student programs.
When Do Highmark Health Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
Highmark's summer 2027 actuarial postings were live by August 19, 2026, about nine and a half months before a June 2027 start. The other corporate internships for summer 2027 are expected from mid-October to November 2026: last cycle, a Highmark Health Careers post on October 17, 2025 said summer 2026 internships were "being posted daily," and the internal audit, underwriting and data test engineering postings came down between November 20 and 27, 2025. That's a lead time of about seven to eight months and a window of a few weeks per posting, based on one dated cycle, so treat it as medium confidence. Applications for summer 2028 are expected around August to November 2027.
Applications for summer 2027 are open for actuarial students only: the undergraduate and graduate Actuarial Science internships in Pittsburgh. The other corporate summer 2027 internships aren't posted yet.
The corporate wave for summer 2027 is expected to post across Highmark Inc., enGen, United Concordia Dental and HM Insurance Group: business analyst, data and test engineering, product owner, internal audit, underwriting and finance roles. Last cycle each posting stayed up only about four to six weeks.
AHN's Summer 2027 Nurse Extern applications, which Highmark says open in the fall of 2026. This is a hospital program for students in a nursing program, separate from the corporate internships.
Corporate postings come down and interviews and offers follow. Candidates describe Highmark's hiring as slow, with offers taking anywhere from days to about a month, so check your Workday status yourself.
Internships run in summer 2027, with actuarial interns in Pittsburgh. Highmark doesn't publish start dates or length for corporate roles; the Nurse Extern Program runs 11 weeks. Summer 2028 applications are expected around August to November 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
Highmark's corporate postings don't state deadlines, but they don't stay up long. Built In recorded last cycle's summer 2026 Internal Audit and United Concordia Dental Underwriting intern postings removed on November 20, 2025, and the Data Test Engineering posting on November 27, about a month after the wave began in mid-October. The graduate actuarial posting lasted longer, until December 18, 2025, but don't count on that this year. Set a job alert on the Workday board now and apply in the first days a fitting role appears.
Which Highmark Health Internship Programs Should You Target?
Highmark's corporate internships and AHN's clinical student programs run on different calendars. The corporate rows below are internships; the AHN rows are hospital programs for students in clinical degrees.
| Program | Status (Oct 5, 2026) | Who it's for | Key skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Actuarial Science Undergraduate Intern (Highmark Inc.) | Open, summer 2027 | Students enrolled in a bachelor's program | Pricing, claim trend, reserving and experience studies; presentations |
| Actuarial Science Graduate Intern (Highmark Inc.) | Open, summer 2027 | Bachelor's degree holders in a graduate program | Actuarial studies, predictive analytics, provider analysis |
| Enterprise corporate internships (Highmark Inc., enGen, United Concordia Dental, HM Insurance Group) | Expected mid-Oct to Nov 2026 | Undergraduates by function | Business analysis, SQL and testing, audit coursework, Excel |
| AHN Summer Nurse Extern (clinical, not a corporate internship) | Expected fall 2026 | Students in an approved nursing program | Clinical skills; two semesters of clinical encouraged |
| AHN part-time clinical student roles (clinical, not corporate internships) | Open year-round | Students in pharmacy, radiology technology, surgical or cardiac cath technology, audiology programs | Program enrollment, Pennsylvania clearances |
Find all of them on the Highmark Workday board; the early careers page covers the nurse extern program and new-grad development programs.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
Highmark's live corporate postings set few formal requirements:
• Actuarial undergraduate: "full or part-time enrollment in an accredited college or university baccalaureate program."
• Actuarial graduate: a bachelor's degree and pursuit of a graduate degree, full or part-time.
• Work authorization: "Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. independently. At this time, we do not offer visa sponsorship for this role."
• Class year: not stated on the live actuarial postings; last cycle's corporate postings listed a preferred graduation window, such as 2027 or 2028 for underwriting.
• AHN Summer Nurse Extern: enrollment in an approved nursing diploma or degree program, ideally with at least two semesters of clinical.
Does Highmark Health Have a GPA Cutoff?
None of the corporate postings we read state one: not the two live actuarial postings, and not last cycle's underwriting, internal audit or data test engineering postings. That doesn't mean grades go unread, so list your GPA if it helps you. The firmer gates are enrollment and work authorization, since every corporate posting says Highmark doesn't sponsor visas.
What Skills Does Highmark Health Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
Highmark's corporate postings share a template: communicate effectively with colleagues and clients, and do research and reporting with recommendations. The function-specific lines show what each team wants. Actuarial interns prepare and analyze actuarial studies (pricing, claim trend, reserving, experience studies, value-based reimbursement, predictive analytics) and build presentation materials for decision makers. Last cycle's underwriting posting asked for Excel and a quantitative major, data test engineering preferred SQL and Google Cloud experience, and internal audit wanted accounting or auditing coursework.
What Highmark Health looks for in interns
Skills across 5 Highmark Health intern & analyst job descriptions · 2 live summer 2027 and 3 summer 2026 postings, projecting 2027–2028
Method: full-text reading of Highmark's two live summer 2027 actuarial postings (Workday, October 5, 2026) and three summer 2026 corporate postings (underwriting, internal audit, data test engineering) on Built In. Thin sample: the top two rows are template lines shared by every posting; the summer 2027 corporate wave will add more postings.
How Is Demand for Actuarial Interns Moving Right Now?
Actuarial intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 43 in August
For Highmark Health applicants: Highmark's two summer 2027 actuarial internships, undergraduate and graduate, are the only corporate intern postings live on its board on October 5, 2026, so actuarial students don't need to wait for the fall wave.
Daily US job-posting counts, Sep 1–30 vs Aug 1–31, 2026. Covers under half of US postings; shows direction, not market size.
Build These Skills Before You Apply
Each Highmark skill maps to a remote Externship that gives you a finished project to discuss in interviews.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Health-plan operations and business analysis | "Conduct research and reporting inclusive of recommendations or alternative proposals for action" | Healthcare Operations Consulting |
| Healthcare data analysis | Actuarial: claim trend analysis, provider analysis, predictive analytics | TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics |
| Financial modeling in Excel | Actuarial pricing and profitability analysis; underwriting "knowledge/experience with Excel" | Attronica Financial Planning & Analysis and Private Company Valuation |
| SQL and databases | Data test engineering: "experience in SQL GCP and Database knowledge is preferred" | Breaking Games SQL Database Architecture |
For actuarial students the TruBridge project is the closest fit: claim and provider data analysis is much of what Highmark lists under its non-traditional actuarial work.
What Is the Highmark Health Application and Interview Process Like?
Highmark doesn't publish its intern interview steps, so this combines the postings with candidate reports:
1. Apply on Workday. Each function is its own posting; read the "Company" line to see whether it's Highmark Inc., enGen, United Concordia Dental or AHN.
2. Screen. Check the enrollment and work authorization lines first; every corporate posting says Highmark doesn't sponsor visas.
3. Interviews. For enGen data roles, a commenter advised knowing agile and SAFe terms and some software testing; data analyst candidates are told to expect SQL questions.
4. Offer. Candidates report waits from days to about a month, and one was re-invited under a new posting ID before an offer.
5. Internship. Project work, research and reporting, and for actuarial interns, studies and presentations for decision makers.
Our behavioral interview guide covers the STAR stories Highmark interviewers are likely to ask for.
What Students on Reddit Say
No Reddit thread describes a Highmark summer internship first-hand, but these cover actuarial careers, interviews and hiring speed.
Asked about Highmark's actuarial program, a commenter said someone they know got a Highmark internship that turned into a job, with raises for every actuarial exam passed; another confirmed exam raises.
For an enGen data analyst interview, a commenter said the team works in lean agile sprints, so learn SAFe terms and some software testing, and be ready to talk about staying organized and working with stakeholders.
Candidates say Highmark's hiring is slow: one waited about a month for an offer, and others advise checking the application status on the careers site rather than waiting for a call.
How Do You Stand Out for a Highmark Health Internship?
Three moves. First, be ready before the wave. Last year's corporate postings came down within weeks, so have your resume and a short cover note ready by mid-October and set a Workday alert for "Summer 2027." Second, apply to the right company on the board. Highmark Inc., enGen, United Concordia Dental and AHN all post here, and an enGen tech interview isn't the same as an underwriting one, so tailor your examples to the employer named on the posting. Third, show the analysis-to-recommendation loop. Every corporate posting asks for research and reporting with recommendations, and actuarial postings add presentations for decision makers, so bring one project where you analyzed data and argued for a decision. Highmark publishes no applicant count or conversion rate.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
Highmark Health competes for students with other Blue plans and with health systems that also run an insurer.
- UPMCPittsburgh's other insurer-plus-hospital system and Highmark's closest rivalCareers site
- Elevance HealthLargest Blue licensee group (Anthem), with big tech and actuarial intern classesGuide →
- Horizon BCBSNJIndependent Blue plan based in NewarkGuide →
- Florida BlueIndependent Blue plan based in JacksonvilleGuide →
- Kaiser PermanenteAlso combines a health plan with hospitalsGuide →
- UnitedHealth GroupLargest US health insurer, with Optum tech and analytics internshipsGuide →
Our insurance internships summer 2027 guide compares calendars across insurers and health plans.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Highmark Health internship?
No. Summer 2026 corporate postings closed between November and December 2025, and the program has ended. For summer 2027, the undergraduate and graduate actuarial internships are open now, and the other corporate internships are expected to post from mid-October to November 2026.
When do Highmark Health internship applications open for summer 2027?
Actuarial internships are already open; they were posted in August 2026. The other corporate internships for summer 2027 are expected from mid-October to November 2026, based on last cycle, when they went up from mid-October and most came down by late November.
Is an AHN nurse extern the same as a Highmark internship?
No. Allegheny Health Network's 11-week Summer Nurse Extern Program is a hospital program for nursing students, and Highmark says summer 2027 applications open in the fall of 2026. It's also unrelated to Extern's remote Externships. Corporate internships at Highmark Inc. and its sister companies are separate.
How much do Highmark Health interns make?
Highmark doesn't publish intern pay. Neither live summer 2027 actuarial posting includes a pay range, and neither did last cycle's corporate intern postings we read. Estimates on job aggregator sites aren't Highmark's figures, so ask the recruiter about pay once you reach the interview stage.
Does Highmark Health require a minimum GPA?
None of the corporate postings we read state a GPA requirement, including the two live actuarial internships and last cycle's underwriting, internal audit and data test engineering postings. The stated requirements are enrollment in a degree program and authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship.
Does Highmark Health sponsor visas for interns?
No. Highmark's corporate intern postings say applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. independently and that Highmark doesn't offer visa sponsorship for the role. That applies to both summer 2027 actuarial internships, so international students should check their work authorization first.
Where are Highmark Health internships located?
The summer 2027 actuarial internships are in Pittsburgh, at Fifth Avenue Place downtown. Last cycle, other corporate interns also worked in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, for United Concordia Dental, and in Columbus, Ohio, for finance. AHN's clinical student roles are at its hospitals in the Pittsburgh area and Erie.
What skills do Highmark's actuarial interns need?
Statistical analysis for actuarial studies, such as pricing, claim trend analysis, reserving and experience studies, plus the ability to turn results into presentation materials for decision makers. The postings also mention newer work, such as value-based reimbursement, provider analysis and predictive analytics, and every corporate posting asks for clear communication.
Actuarial students can apply to Highmark today; everyone else has a few weeks before the corporate wave. Use them to build a healthcare data project you can point to: a remote Externship gives you finished work before the postings go up.
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.
