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

Last updated: July 2026

NASA received 281,000 applications across fiscal 2022 and 2023 and made just over 4,500 internship selections, a selection rate of roughly 1.6 percent. The good news for the 2027–2028 cycle: NASA hires interns in three sessions a year, and all three 2027 deadlines are still ahead of you, starting with the Spring 2027 session, which closes September 14, 2026.

The short version: everything OSTEM runs through the NASA STEM Gateway, the 3.0 GPA and US citizenship rules are firm, and each deadline lands months before the session starts, so the students who win plan a session ahead.

Externships are short, remote professional experience programs where you work on real projects with real companies. A sports analytics Externship with NASCAR or an AI agent engineering project with Wayfair builds the exact Python, data, and AI proof NASA's own listings ask for, before you write a single application essay. Explore all Externships.

What Is a NASA Internship?

A NASA internship is a paid, mentor-led project placement at one of NASA's ten field centers or headquarters, run by the Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) in three sessions per year: a 10-week summer term and 15-week spring and fall terms. More than 2,000 students intern with NASA annually, in STEM and non-STEM roles alike, from spacecraft modeling to archives and communications.

The employer behind the badge is hard to beat. NASA has been ranked the #1 Best Place to Work in the Federal Government among large agencies for 13 consecutive years, scoring 81.6 out of 100 in the 2024 rankings. And the interns agree: in NASA's FY24 program evaluation, 96% said their thoughts and opinions were valued, and 93% planned to continue in a STEM profession.

That same report is the source of the competition math: 281,000 applications across FY22 and FY23 for just over 4,500 internships. Students apply to multiple listings, so the per-application odds sit around 1.6 percent.

When Do NASA Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?

NASA has already published all three 2027 OSTEM deadlines, verbatim on its internship programs page: the Spring 2027 session (mid-January to early May 2027) closes September 14, 2026, the Summer 2027 session (late May to August 2027) closes February 26, 2027, and the Fall 2027 session (early September to mid-December 2027) closes May 21, 2027, all at 11:59 p.m. ET. And the 2028 sessions? NASA hasn't published those deadlines yet. Based on the documented 2026-to-2027 pattern, expect Spring 2028 to close around mid-September 2027, Summer 2028 around late February 2028, and Fall 2028 around late May 2028.

Note the rhythm: each OSTEM deadline lands only about 3 to 4 months before its session starts, and windows open a few months before that. That's a far later clock than corporate recruiting, where some firms close applications 17 to 22 months before day one. If you're juggling NASA against corporate calendars, our guide to when internship applications open maps the timing across industries.

Why You Shouldn't Wait for the Deadline

NASA's official intern FAQ states that "selections may occur any time after you submit your application." Mentors can pick their interns before the window closes, so a day-one application and a deadline-day application aren't competing on equal footing. But Pathways is even less forgiving: postings are "usually only open on USAJOBS.gov for a short time period – only days, sometimes," per NASA's Pathways page, which means your USAJOBS profile and federal resume must exist before the window opens. Community reports add one more reason for speed: offers can carry short acceptance clocks, with one applicant reporting about a week before an offer auto-declined.

Which NASA Internship Programs Should You Target?

Three routes matter, and they use three different portals: OSTEM (the flagship, via NASA STEM Gateway), Pathways (the civil-servant co-op, via USAJOBS), and JPL's student programs (via JPL's own Caltech-managed portal). The full OSTEM catalog lives on STEM Gateway's Explore Opportunities page.

The table hides one big strategic fork. OSTEM is a project internship with a stipend and no formal job pipeline; Pathways is a longer co-op that can convert directly into a permanent or term civil-servant position after graduation, no additional application needed. And JPL isn't on either system: it's a federally funded research center managed by Caltech, with its own portal, its own timelines, and broader eligibility.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements?

The OSTEM requirements come straight from NASA's FAQ and they're strict:

• Citizenship: US citizens only for OSTEM and Pathways. NASA's International Internship (I2) program "is not being offered at this time." JPL is the exception: lawful permanent residents qualify for JPL internships, and a limited number of foreign nationals enter through JPL's Visiting Student Research Program.

• GPA: cumulative 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for OSTEM; Pathways asks 2.9; JPL asks 3.0 with 3.5 preferred.

• Age and enrollment: at least 16 at the time of application, and enrolled full- or part-time at an accredited US institution, from high school through graduate school.

• Pathways extras: half-time enrollment minimum, a NASA-aligned major, and the ability to complete at least 480 work hours before graduating.

Non-STEM majors are eligible for OSTEM too. Business, communications, and even archives listings show up on Gateway every cycle.

Is the 3.0 GPA a Hard Cutoff?

For the OSTEM application form, yes, treat it as a filter. But two softeners matter. Sitting just under 3.0? Pathways asks 2.9, so you still have a federal route. And above the line, GPA stops being the differentiator: selection is mentor-driven, and a two-time NASA intern's much-shared advice thread on r/nasa reports plenty of interns with GPAs well under 3.5. What moves mentors is a specific application aimed at their actual project.

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

We pulled these from 17 real NASA summer listings and live STEM Gateway postings rather than a generic list. They cluster into three buckets.

Technical skills. Python dominates: the Roman Space Telescope modeling listing wants applicants "proficient in Python programming," and a Kepler/TESS project asks for scikit-learn, Keras, and TensorFlow. Others name MATLAB, C++, LabVIEW, circuit modeling, and CAD tools like SolidWorks. And yes, even NASA Headquarters is hiring for AI tooling: a prompt-engineering intern posting names Copilot, Gemini Pro, and retrieval-augmented generation.

Analytical skills. The Aerospace/Systems Engineering and Integration listing asks for "excellent analytical and math skills, with the ability to handle large collections of data." Structural, thermal, and calibration-pipeline analysis recur across center listings. If data work is your angle, our data analytics internships guide covers where else those skills cash in.

Soft skills. The Space Technology Investments listing wants "excellent verbal and written communication skills, strong organizational abilities, and a keen attention to detail," and outreach roles ask for science-communication experience. Remember: with no resume upload and often no interview, your writing IS the interview.

Build These Skills Before You Apply

Each bucket maps to a remote Externship where you finish a real company project and leave with proof you can cite, by name, in your Gateway application fields.

The overlap is direct: the "handle large collections of data" line from NASA's systems-engineering listing describes analytics project work, and the HQ prompt-engineering posting's RAG-and-LLM stack is the exact workflow of the Wayfair AI agent project.

What Is the NASA Application and Interview Process Like?

What about the HireVue-and-assessment gauntlet every other internship guide preps you for? It doesn't exist here. OSTEM's process is unusual: no online assessment, no coding test, and usually no formal interview loop. Here's the whole thing:

1. Create a NASA STEM Gateway account at stemgateway.nasa.gov and browse Explore Opportunities by session, center, and discipline.

2. Complete the form-based application. There is no resume upload; per NASA's FAQ, your experience goes directly into the form fields. Write your project descriptions like they're the resume, because they are.

3. Skip the recommendation scramble. Letters of recommendation aren't required.

4. Wait for mentor review. Mentors select interns directly. Many "like to conduct phone or video interviews," but the FAQ notes it's not a requirement; plenty of offers go out on the written application alone.

5. Accept fast. Offers arrive through Gateway, and community reports describe short auto-decline windows.

Pathways works differently: build a USAJOBS profile and a 2-page federal resume in CCAR format (Context, Challenge, Action, Result, per NASA's application guide) in advance, then apply inside the days-long window, followed by HR qualification rating and a background investigation. JPL takes a resume PDF and unofficial transcript through its own portal, with mentor matching from there.

What Students on Reddit Say

The most useful intel lives in the moderated megathreads on r/nasa and r/NASAJobs, plus scattered offer reports.

How Do You Stand Out From 281,000 Applications?

So what separates the 4,500 selections from everyone else? Three moves, in order of impact:

1. Apply early in the window, to specific projects. Selections can happen any time after submission, and mentors read applications that speak to their project first. Name the mission, the instrument, the dataset.

2. Put portfolio proof in the form fields. With no resume upload, your written project descriptions carry everything. "Built a data visualization dashboard for a real client and presented it to their team" beats a list of courses. NASA's own FY24 evaluation found interns lean on trusted recommendations and concrete experience to get in the door.

3. Play the long game the program rewards. About 18% of interns complete more than one internship, and repeat interns build the mentor network that feeds Pathways and USAJOBS hiring. There's no formal OSTEM return offer, so the conversion strategy IS Pathways.

What Other Companies Should You Consider?

Almost nobody applies to NASA alone. SpaceX, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Blue Origin recruit aerospace and software interns on more corporate calendars, often opening applications the fall before the summer, and none of them carries OSTEM's citizens-only, stipend-based structure. And JPL deserves its own line on your list: same missions, separate Caltech-run portal, and it accepts lawful permanent residents. If the federal angle is what draws you, our government internships summer 2027 guide covers the wider landscape, and the software-heavy roles overlap with our tech internships summer 2027 guide.

Whichever portals you target, mentors and recruiters reward proof over polish. So finish a real project before the window you want closes, then write about it specifically. Explore all Externships to find one that matches your target NASA listing.

FAQ

Can I still apply for a 2027 NASA internship?

Yes. As of mid-2026, all three 2027 OSTEM deadlines are still ahead: Spring 2027 closes September 14, 2026, Summer 2027 closes February 26, 2027, and Fall 2027 closes May 21, 2027, all at 11:59 p.m. ET. Pathways positions for Spring and Summer 2027 open on USAJOBS in fall 2026, for only a few days.

Do NASA internships require US citizenship?

Yes, for the main programs. OSTEM and Pathways both require US citizenship, and NASA's International Internship (I2) program "is not being offered at this time." The main exceptions sit at JPL: lawful permanent residents can join JPL internships, and a limited number of foreign nationals enter through JPL's Visiting Student Research Program.

What GPA do you need for a NASA internship?

OSTEM requires a cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale; Pathways is slightly lower at 2.9, and JPL asks for 3.0 with 3.5 preferred. Selection is mentor-driven, so a specific, project-relevant application matters more than a perfect GPA. Community members report landing internships with GPAs well under 3.5.

How much do NASA interns get paid?

NASA pays OSTEM interns a stipend "based on academic level and session duration" rather than an hourly wage, and it doesn't publish amounts. Community reports put a 10-week summer around $7,000 to $8,000 for undergraduates and roughly $10,000 for graduate students. Pathways interns earn GS-scale civil-servant pay; JPL adds housing and travel allowances for distant students.

What's the difference between OSTEM and Pathways internships?

OSTEM is NASA's flagship project-based internship: three sessions a year, a one-time stipend, and no formal path to a job afterward. Pathways is a co-op-style civil-servant program hired through USAJOBS, at least 480 hours across semesters, that can convert directly into a permanent NASA position after graduation with no additional job application.

Is applying to JPL different from applying to NASA?

Yes. JPL is a federally funded research center managed by Caltech, so it runs its own application portal and mentor-matching process instead of NASA STEM Gateway or USAJOBS. Apply between October and February for summer, upload a resume and transcript, and note that JPL also accepts lawful permanent residents, unlike OSTEM.

Are NASA internships remote or in person?

Both exist, but in-person dominates: virtual internships fell from 61% of the program in FY22 to 28% in FY23, and many listings are explicitly on-site or hybrid. Even fully remote interns must visit a NASA center once for fingerprinting and identity verification, and housing near the center is the intern's own responsibility.

When do applications open for the 2028 NASA internship sessions?

NASA hasn't published 2028 deadlines yet. Based on the documented pattern, expect the Spring 2028 deadline around mid-September 2027, Summer 2028 around late February 2028, and Fall 2028 around late May 2028, with each window opening on STEM Gateway a few months earlier. Check the official internship page for confirmation.