Last updated: October 2026
The Metropolitan Opera's paid Summer Internship Program is between cycles. The Met says the program was on hiatus for Summer 2026 and will resume in Summer 2027, and as of 16 October 2026 the application call hasn't opened. When it returns, the FAQ puts pay at $16.50 an hour for a 35-hour week plus New York City travel assistance, and the Met states that it offers no unpaid internships. In plain words: you apply in early 2027 (expected), you intern in summer 2027. One intern-titled role is open today, a part-time, temporary Executive Office Internship at $17 an hour. This page covers the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, not the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | Met Opera Lever board (program details on the Summer Internship page) |
| Application window (2027–28) | Summer 2027 call: not open on 16 Oct 2026. Expected ~Jan–Feb 2027 (low confidence, inferred from the 2025 call). The Met does not accept late applications |
| Rolling? | No. A single call with a fixed deadline and a notification date |
| Eligibility | Undergraduate and graduate students, or graduates within 12 months of the deadline. Any major. Two recommendation letters. No visa sponsorship |
| Duration | 35 hours a week. Summer 2027 dates not published (the 2024 program ran 20 May to 26 Jul) |
| Compensation | $16.50 per hour plus funds for New York City travel assistance (Met FAQ). No unpaid internships. No housing provided |
| Return offers | Not published |
| Locations | Lincoln Center, New York, NY (in person) |
| # Programs | 1 summer program matched to administrative departments, plus a live part-time Executive Office Internship |
The numbers that matter: $16.50 an hour for 35 hours a week, a program that skipped summer 2026 and returns in summer 2027, and no published application dates yet. Our 2027 call timing (about January to February 2027) is an estimate from the 2025 cycle and has low confidence.
Externships are short, remote programs where you finish a real project with a real company. For arts marketing and patron-facing roles, the Pinterest Gen Z Consumer Behavior Externship builds audience research and the Beats by Dre Creative Advertising Strategy Externship builds campaign thinking. Explore all Externships.
What Is a Metropolitan Opera Internship?
A Metropolitan Opera internship is a paid, in-person placement in one of the Met's administrative departments at Lincoln Center in New York. The Summer Internship Program launched in the summer of 2022 and includes an orientation to all areas of the Met's operations, assigned staff mentors, performance tickets and weekly seminars with senior staff. Interns are matched only with administrative departments (production and season planning, marketing and communications, finance and development, staffing and HR, education), not performing roles. Don't confuse the Met Opera with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is a separate employer with its own internship program.
When Do Metropolitan Opera Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
The Met hasn't published summer 2027 dates, so this timeline is built from the one cycle we can trace. The 2025 summer call was announced as officially open on a Met LinkedIn post around 29 January 2025, and applicants on a Reddit thread were still applying on 11 and 12 February 2025. One of them asked on 14 April 2025 whether anyone had heard back after first-round interviews. The 2024 program ran 20 May to 26 July. That points to a call opening about four months before a late-May start, so for summer 2027 we expect January to February 2027. It's an inference from a single cycle, and the program has been paused once since.
The summer program is on its 2026 hiatus and the 2027 call isn't open. The only intern-titled posting on the Met's Lever board is a [part-time, temporary Executive Office Internship](https://jobs.lever.co/metopera/b989b364-3031-48ab-a467-f6dcfa926644) ($17 an hour, General Manager's team). It requires prior administrative experience and a completed bachelor's degree, so it fits a narrower group than the summer program.
Line up two recommenders now. The Met requires two recommendation letters, and a work supervisor's letter is accepted. Decide which department areas fit you: production and season planning, marketing and communications, finance and development, staffing and HR, or education.
Summer 2027 call expected to open, projected from the 2025 cycle. The Met states it does not accept late applications and makes no exceptions, so calendar the deadline the day it's announced.
Matching and interviews, expected. Staff match applications to supervisor projects and send suitable ones to the supervisor. Finalists interview by phone or Zoom, and the Met notifies all applicants by the date on its program page.
Summer 2027 program, dates not published. The 2024 program ran 20 May to 26 July, about ten weeks, at 35 hours a week.
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
The Met's rule is a fixed deadline: its FAQ says it does not accept late applications and there are no exceptions. That makes this a hard-deadline program rather than a rolling one, and the dates are not yet published, so the useful habit is to check the program page and Lever board every few weeks from December. The two recommendation letters take longest, so ask your recommenders before the call opens.
Which Metropolitan Opera Internship Programs Should You Target?
The Met has one college-level summer program, plus whatever temporary internships its Lever board lists. Applicants choose areas of interest, and staff match them to projects that supervisors submit.
| Program / Track | Focus | Duration | Key skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Internship Program | Administrative departments: production and season planning, marketing and communications, finance and development, staffing and HR, education | 35 hrs/wk; 2027 dates not published (2024: 20 May to 26 Jul) | Not listed; the Met asks you to describe your interests and skills |
| Executive Office Internship (live now) | General Manager's team: phone coverage, document preparation, visitor greeting, reports | Part-time, temporary; evenings and weekends | MS Word, Excel, Outlook; prior administrative experience; knowledge of opera or nonprofit work |
The Met also runs a separate high school internship, which is outside this guide. See the program page and FAQ for the latest.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
From the Met's FAQ:
• Education: undergraduate and graduate students, plus anyone who graduated within twelve months of the application deadline.
• Major: not restricted to the arts. The Met names business, computing, finance, humanities, liberal arts and writing/editing as relevant backgrounds.
• References: two recommendation letters are required, and one can come from a work supervisor. Transcripts and grades are not required.
• Work authorization: the Met cannot sponsor visas. Applicants who need one can go through an outside State Department-authorized J-1 trainee sponsor, which the FAQ says can cost upwards of US$1,500. If the visa isn't granted by the start date, the internship is canceled.
• Housing: not provided. The Met supplies a list of places to start looking.
Is There a GPA Requirement?
No GPA figure appears in the Met's FAQ, and it doesn't ask for transcripts. The FAQ says the Met selects students who are, above all, enthusiastic and eager to learn, so the application's description of your specific interests and skills carries the weight.
What Skills Does the Metropolitan Opera Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
The Met doesn't publish a skills list for the summer program. It says interns are matched to projects by interest and skills, and asks applicants to describe the specific interests and skills that make them a fit for a department. The one concrete list is for the live Executive Office Internship: MS Word, Excel and Outlook, project management, and strong interpersonal and communication skills.
Note: The Met has one intern-titled posting live, so there is no multi-posting skill count to chart. We'd rather leave the chart out than invent percentages.
How Is Demand for Marketing Interns Moving Right Now?
Marketing intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 1,424 in August
For Metropolitan Opera applicants: the Met's Lever board lists 9 open postings today and 1 is intern-titled. The summer program is paused until 2027, so national demand figures say little about timing here.
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
No Externship teaches opera production, but these build skills the Met's administrative departments use.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing & communications | Program area: marketing and communications | Pinterest Gen Z Consumer Behavior Externship |
| Campaign & creative strategy | Program area: marketing and communications | Beats by Dre Creative Advertising Strategy Externship |
| Finance & development analysis | Program area: finance and development | Attronica Financial Planning & Analysis Externship |
| Patron & ticketing data | Related to patron and audience roles on the Met's board | Breaking Games E-Commerce Data Analysis & Strategy Externship |
These are adjacent skills for administrative roles. They don't substitute for arts experience, which the Met says isn't required.
What Is the Metropolitan Opera Application and Interview Process Like?
The Met describes its process in the FAQ:
1. Watch the board. Applications run through the Met's Lever board, linked from the program page. Check it from December.
2. Submit an online application with two recommendation letters. Describe your specific interests and skills. You'll get a confirmation email, and if you don't, the FAQ says to write to hrtraining@metopera.org.
3. Matching. Program staff read applications, match them to supervisor-submitted projects and forward suitable ones. If no project fits your area, you're considered for related ones.
4. Interview. Finalists interview by phone or Zoom with departments. No travel is required.
5. Notification. The Met notifies all applicants by the date on its program page. Don't contact individual staff; the FAQ asks for all inquiries to go to the Internship Program.
What Students on Reddit Say
Only one first-hand thread exists about this program, from the 2025 cycle, so we show one card.
An applicant posted in February 2025 while applying, with no classical music background but a prior arts-admin internship at a music festival. Another applicant asked what document proves work authorization, and a later comment in April asked whether anyone had heard back after first-round interviews. It shows the timeline, not outcomes.
How Do You Stand Out?
Three moves. First, be specific about department and skills: the Met matches interns to supervisor projects, and the FAQ asks applicants to describe the specific interests and skills that fit a project. Second, have the recommendations ready, since two letters are required and a work supervisor counts. Third, don't treat the arts as a gate. The Met says business, computing, finance and writing backgrounds are welcome in its administrative departments, so a concrete project from those fields is a legitimate case. The Met hasn't published a return-offer rate.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
The Met sits among performing arts and cultural nonprofits in New York and beyond.
- Wolf Trap Foundationperforming arts nonprofit in Virginia with its own opera and arts-education programsGuide →
- Smithsonian Institutionfederal-trust museum network in Washington, DC, with a much larger and more varied intern programGuide →
- Lincoln CenterNew York performing arts campus that neighbors the Met, with its own separate hiringGuide →
- Metropolitan Museum of Arta different New York institution with its own internship program, not the Met OperaGuide →
For more roles in this space, see our Nonprofit & Social Impact Internships Summer 2027 Guide.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a summer 2026 Metropolitan Opera internship?
No. The Met paused its Summer Internship Program for summer 2026 and says it resumes in summer 2027, so no 2026 cohort ran. As of 16 October 2026 the 2027 call hasn't opened. A part-time Executive Office Internship is open now on the Met's Lever board.
When do Metropolitan Opera internship applications open for summer 2027?
The Met hasn't published dates. We expect the call around January to February 2027, projected from the 2025 cycle, when applicants were still applying in mid-February. That's low-confidence. The Met doesn't accept late applications, so check its program page and Lever board regularly from December.
Are Metropolitan Opera internships paid?
Yes. The Met's FAQ says all internships are paid and it offers none unpaid. The summer program pays $16.50 an hour for a 35-hour week, plus funds for travel assistance in New York City. The live Executive Office Internship lists $17 an hour. Housing isn't provided.
Do I need an arts degree for a Metropolitan Opera internship?
No. The Met's FAQ says it welcomes varied backgrounds and has many departments relevant to business, computing, finance, humanities, liberal arts and writing. Interns are matched only with administrative departments, not performing roles, based on their interests and skills described in the application.
Who can apply for a Metropolitan Opera internship?
Undergraduate and graduate students, plus anyone who graduated within twelve months of the application deadline. Applicants submit two recommendation letters, and a work supervisor's letter is accepted. Transcripts aren't required. The Met can't sponsor visas, and it provides no housing.
Does the Metropolitan Opera sponsor visas for interns?
No. The Met says it cannot sponsor visas. Applicants needing one can use an outside State Department-authorized J-1 trainee sponsor, which the FAQ says can cost upwards of US$1,500. If the visa isn't granted by the start date, the internship is canceled, so start that process early.
Is a Metropolitan Opera internship the same as a Metropolitan Museum of Art internship?
No. The Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are separate organizations, each with its own internship program, application and pay. This guide covers only the Opera. Check the right employer's site before applying, since search results often mix the two.
What does the Met Opera interview process involve?
After you apply, staff match your application to supervisor-submitted projects and send suitable ones to the supervisor. Finalists are interviewed by phone or Zoom, and no travel is required. The Met notifies all applicants by the date on its program page. It asks you not to contact individual staff.
The summer program returns in 2027, but the Met hasn't posted the call. Watch the Lever board and program page from December, line up two recommenders, and use the wait to build proof of your skills: a remote Externship gives you a finished project to describe in your application.
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.
