Quick Facts
Novogradac internship · at a glance
Roles open and close throughout the year. Check Novogradac'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 Yinan Zhao Investing & Financial Modeling Externship or the HP Tech Ventures Deal Sourcing & Startup Analysis Externship.
Explore all externships →All quick facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | Novogradac Workday job board, linked from the careers page. One posting per office, so pick your office and apply to that posting |
| Application window (2027–28) | Winter 2027 busy season (January to March 2027), open now: 17 office postings dated August 27 to October 1, 2026. Summer 2027 (June to July 2027), open now: one posting, Andover, MA, dated September 29, 2026. Winter 2028 busy season, expected: some time between about February and fall 2027 (low confidence) |
| Rolling? | Yes. No posting states a closing date. One Handshake copy shows an apply-by date of November 25, 2026, which is a Handshake listing field and not the firm's deadline |
| Eligibility | Working toward a bachelor's degree, accounting or finance preferred (graduates accepted); GPA of 3.20 or higher; at least one Intermediate Accounting course preferred |
| Duration | Winter: January 2027 through the end of March 2027, full-time. Summer: June 2027 through the end of July 2027 |
| Compensation | Staff Accountant Intern: $27, $29, $31 or $32 an hour depending on office, printed in each posting. Valuation interns $18 to $20; Public Policy Intern $23 |
| Return offers | No conversion rate published. Community reports on Reddit describe few full-time offers; ask your recruiter |
| Locations | 17 offices for winter 2027, including San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Long Beach, Boston, Bellevue, Portland, Austin, Alpharetta, Cleveland and St. Louis. Remote or hybrid depends on the office |
| # Programs | 4 internships (winter busy-season Staff Accountant, summer Staff Accountant, valuation analyst, public policy) plus a one-day Summer Leadership Program that isn't an internship |
Last updated: October 2026
Novogradac's main internship isn't a summer program. It's a paid, full-time busy-season internship that runs January through March, and the winter 2027 cohort is open now. On October 12, 2026, the firm's Workday job board carried 17 office postings titled "2027 Staff Accountant Intern", each for "busy season 2027 (January 2027 through the end of March 2027)" and each with pay printed in the posting: $27 to $32 an hour depending on the office. In plain words: you apply in 2026 and you intern from January to March 2027.
Summer is the exception here. One summer 2027 posting is live, in Andover, Massachusetts, for June through July 2027 at $31 an hour. Wait for a fall wave of summer postings and you'll miss the cohort this firm hires most of its interns into.
What Is a Novogradac Internship?
A Novogradac internship is a paid, full-time Staff Accountant Intern role at Novogradac & Company LLP, a national CPA firm founded in San Francisco in 1989. Most interns work the January to March busy season, and a few work June to July. The postings say interns take on "a variety of different assignments, including audit, tax preparation and research," so audit and tax aren't separate tracks. The firm describes itself in its postings as having more than 900 employees and partners and more than 25 offices. Its careers page cites a rank of 37th in Accounting Today's 2025 Top 100. Novogradac & Company LLP is #31 on Vault's 2027 Most Prestigious Accounting Firms list. Its specialty is narrow: affordable housing and community development tax credits, mainly the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, so much of the client work is partnership audits and tax returns for housing properties.
When Do Novogradac Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
Novogradac recruits for a January start, not a June one. The 17 winter 2027 postings carry Workday dates from August 27 to October 1, 2026, about 3 to 4.5 months before the January 2027 start. That understates how early the firm begins: as of October 11, 2026, Handshake showed the same "2027 Staff Accountant Intern" title posted about eight months earlier for four offices, which is roughly 11 months before the start. The summer 2027 posting in Andover went up on September 29, 2026, about 8 months ahead of June. Applications for the winter 2028 busy season aren't posted, and one documented cycle isn't enough to date them precisely.
Applications for the winter 2027 busy season (January to March 2027) are open right now in 17 offices, and the one summer 2027 posting (Andover, MA, June to July 2027) is open too. No posting states a closing date.
Interviews and offers for the winter 2027 cohort. Last cycle a student on Reddit was still preparing for a Novogradac internship interview in early December 2025. Settle your spring-term course load with your school now, since the internship is full-time.
The winter 2027 busy-season internship. The postings give the term as January 2027 through the end of March 2027; Handshake listings for individual offices show start dates in the first two weeks of January.
The summer 2027 cohort in Andover, MA runs June through the end of July 2027. The one-day Summer Leadership Program for rising sophomores and juniors is in August 2027 at the Alpharetta, Georgia office.
Applications for the winter 2028 busy season (January to March 2028) are expected to appear some time between about February 2027, on the Handshake pattern, and August to October 2027, on the Workday pattern. That's 3 to 11 months before the start, and it's a projection from one cycle.
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
Novogradac's hiring is rolling. None of the 25 intern postings we opened on its board states a deadline or a closing date. One Handshake copy of the Southfield, Michigan posting shows an apply-by date of November 25, 2026, but that's a field on Handshake's listing, not a sentence in the firm's posting, so don't plan around it. The real limit is the calendar. The internship starts in January 2027, each office hires its own small group, and a posting can come down the day that office has its interns. Apply to your office's posting now, and treat the Andover summer role the same way: it's one posting for one office.
Which Novogradac Internship Programs Should You Target?
Novogradac's board lists four kinds of internship plus one event that's often mistaken for one. All were live on October 12, 2026.
| Program | Focus | Term and location | Published pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staff Accountant Intern, winter 2027 busy season (open) | Audit, tax preparation and research on client engagements | January to end of March 2027; 17 offices | $27 to $32 an hour by office |
| Summer Staff Accountant Intern, summer 2027 (open) | Same role as the winter internship | June to end of July 2027; Andover, MA | $31 an hour |
| Real Estate Analyst Intern / Junior Analyst Intern (open) | Multifamily market research, property interviews and market studies for Valuation Services | Term not stated; Bethesda, Alpharetta, Austin, Dallas | $18 to $20 an hour |
| Public Policy Intern (open) | Tracking tax credit legislation and drafting posts for the Notes from Novogradac blog | Term not stated; Washington, DC | $23 an hour |
| Summer Leadership Program 2027 (not an internship) | One-day look inside the firm for rising sophomores and juniors in accounting | August 2027; Alpharetta, GA | Not employment |
The Summer Leadership Program posting says it's "a voluntary program and not an application for employment with Novogradac," so keep it separate from the internships. Two more Staff Accountant Intern postings, in San Francisco and Ft. Lauderdale, carry no year in the title. Everything is on the Workday board.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
The Staff Accountant Intern postings, winter and summer, share one set of requirements:
• Degree: "Working toward a Bachelor's degree, preferably in accounting or finance (obtained degree is a plus)." No class year is named, and graduates can apply.
• GPA: "GPA of 3.20 or higher," in every Staff Accountant Intern posting and in the Public Policy posting.
• Coursework: at least one Intermediate Accounting course is preferred, ideally on track to sit for the CPA exam.
• Tools: Microsoft Office, "particularly Word & Excel," and report writing tools.
• Work authorization: not stated in the posting. Handshake's listing for one office says US work authorization is required, so ask the recruiter before you apply.
• Availability: the winter internship is full-time from January through March, which is the spring term at most schools.
Is the 3.20 GPA a Hard Cutoff at Novogradac?
It's written as a requirement, not a preference, so assume it screens. The same postings invite applicants who don't meet every listed qualification to apply anyway, and the firm publishes nothing about exceptions. The bigger practical gate is time: the posting doesn't say how students should handle classes during a full-time January to March internship, so ask your recruiter and your registrar before you accept. The valuation internships set no GPA or accounting requirement.
Profile Match · Extern Data
Could You Get In at Novogradac? 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 Novogradac Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
We read all 25 intern postings on Novogradac's board. Excel, clear writing and accuracy appear in every one. The 20 Staff Accountant Intern postings add a "basic understanding of accounting and tax rules," a preferred Intermediate Accounting course, and the ability to "work under close supervision and accept constructive feedback." They also ask interns to "gather and analyze data, interpret results, compile reports and make recommendations to principals and partners." The four valuation postings swap accounting for phone interviews with property managers, comparable-property surveys and demand analysis. No posting names a specific audit or tax software package.
What Novogradac looks for in interns
Skills across 25 Novogradac intern & analyst job descriptions · live US postings, October 2026
Method: full-text reading of the 25 intern postings live on Novogradac's Workday board on October 11 to 12, 2026 (20 Staff Accountant Intern, 4 valuation, 1 public policy). The 20 Staff Accountant postings share one template, so their counts move together.
How Is Demand for Accounting Interns Moving Right Now?
Accounting intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 362 in August
For Novogradac applicants: Novogradac's board carried 17 winter 2027 busy-season postings and one summer 2027 posting on October 12, 2026, and none states a closing date. Apply to your office's posting now rather than waiting for a summer 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. Pay = median of employer-published ranges only (83 postings in September, 44 in August).
Build These Skills Before You Apply
No open Externship is an audit or tax program, so these remote Externships match the adjacent skills in the postings and give you a finished project to discuss.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Excel financial analysis | "solid skill in the Microsoft Office suite (particularly Word & Excel)" | Yinan Zhao Investing & Financial Modeling |
| Research and written recommendations | "gather and analyze data, interpret results, compile reports and make recommendations to principals and partners" | HP Tech Ventures Deal Sourcing & Startup Analysis |
| Accurate spreadsheet work on real data | "Perform work accurately and in a time-efficient manner with strong attention to detail" | Breaking Games E-Commerce Data Analysis & Strategy |
None of these teaches partnership tax or audit procedures. They show you can build a model, check your own numbers and write up what you found.
What Is the Novogradac Application and Interview Process Like?
Novogradac doesn't publish its interview format. Here's what the postings, the careers page and candidate reports show:
1. Apply on the Workday board. The posting says interested candidates "MUST apply via our company website." Each office has its own posting, so apply to the office you can work from.
2. Recruiter contact. The careers page says recruiters reach out by phone or from an @novoco.com address and never from other domains, a warning it posts because of job scams.
3. Interviews. The format isn't published. On Reddit, a reply to a student preparing for a first internship interview in December 2025 expected standard behavioral questions plus basic debits and credits. That's one commenter's guess, not the firm's description.
4. Offer and start. Offers are for a January 2027 start. Ask about remote or hybrid options here: the posting says they depend on business needs and tells you to discuss them with your recruiter.
Our behavioral interview guide covers the question types that commenter listed.
What Students on Reddit Say
Reddit threads about Novogradac are blunt about busy-season hours and return offers. These are individual accounts, not firm data.
A former busy-season intern said the weeks were long, six days each, but the pay beat other firms nearby and the firm let them work from home all season because the office was two hours away. They warned that few interns get full-time offers.
Someone who joined the San Francisco team for one busy season described 60 to 65 hour weeks and handling close to six audits and four tax returns in about a month, working remotely from Seattle.
In an older thread, commenters said the firm recruits heavily on campus and brings in many interns for busy season, with only a small share getting full-time offers in the offices they knew.
How Do You Stand Out for a Novogradac Internship?
Three moves. First, treat it as a spring-semester decision. The internship is full-time from January through March, so talk to your registrar about course load or co-op credit before you apply. Second, learn the niche. The firm's identity is tax credit work, and its Notes from Novogradac blog and Tax Credit Tuesday podcast are public. Know what the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is and why a housing partnership needs an audit and a tax return. Third, clear the written gates. That means a 3.20 GPA and Intermediate Accounting on your transcript, with Excel work you can show. Novogradac publishes no applicant count, class size or conversion rate. Community accounts describe few return offers, so ask your recruiter how many of last season's interns in your office got one.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
Students who look at Novogradac usually compare it with other national and Bay Area CPA firms.
- CohnReznickNational firm and the closest competitor in affordable housing and tax credit accountingGuide →
- Baker TillyLarge national firm with an affordable housing practice and summer and winter intern classesGuide →
- EisnerAmperNational firm with a real estate practice and a more conventional summer internshipGuide →
- ArmaninoBay Area firm recruiting the same San Francisco and East Bay studentsGuide →
- BPMSan Francisco firm with summer 2027 assurance and January 2027 tax internshipsGuide →
Our Big 4 and accounting internships guide compares recruiting calendars across the larger firms.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a 2026 Novogradac internship?
No. The 2026 busy-season internship ran January through March 2026 and is over. What's open is the winter 2027 cohort: 17 offices have live postings for January through March 2027, and one summer 2027 posting is live in Andover, Massachusetts. Applications for the winter 2028 busy season aren't posted yet.
Does Novogradac have a summer internship?
Mostly no. Novogradac's main internship is the busy-season program from January through March. As of October 12, 2026, its board carries one summer 2027 posting, a Summer Staff Accountant Intern role in Andover, Massachusetts, running June through the end of July 2027 at $31 an hour. No other office lists a summer role.
When do Novogradac internship applications open for winter 2027, and is there a deadline?
They're open now. The 17 winter 2027 postings carry Workday dates from August 27 to October 1, 2026, and Handshake showed some offices listing the role about eight months ago. No posting states a deadline. A November 25, 2026 apply-by date on one Handshake copy is Handshake's listing field, not the firm's.
How much do Novogradac interns make?
Novogradac prints pay in every intern posting. Winter 2027 Staff Accountant Interns earn $32 an hour in San Francisco, $31 in Boston, Andover and Walnut Creek, $29 in Bellevue, Long Beach and Petaluma, and $27 in the other ten offices. Valuation interns earn $18 to $20 and the Public Policy Intern $23.
What GPA do you need for a Novogradac internship?
A 3.20 or higher. Every Staff Accountant Intern posting and the Public Policy Intern posting says "GPA of 3.20 or higher." The postings also prefer an accounting or finance major and at least one Intermediate Accounting course. The valuation internships in Bethesda, Alpharetta, Austin and Dallas don't state a GPA requirement.
Do Novogradac interns get full-time offers?
Novogradac doesn't publish a conversion rate. Its board lists full-time 2027 Staff Accountant roles in many of the same offices, so a path exists. Reddit accounts from 2019 to 2025 say few busy-season interns receive offers. Those are community reports, not firm data, so ask your recruiter about your office's record.
Is the Novogradac internship remote?
It depends on the office. The posting says some positions "may be open to remote or hybrid work arrangements depending on business needs" and tells applicants to discuss options with their recruiter. One former intern on Reddit worked from home for the whole busy season, but that isn't a firm-wide policy.
What is the Novogradac Summer Leadership Program?
It's a one-day event, not an internship. The 2027 program takes place in August 2027 at the Alpharetta, Georgia office for rising sophomores and rising juniors pursuing accounting. The posting calls it "a voluntary program and not an application for employment," though it's a way to meet the firm before applying for a busy-season internship.
Novogradac's winter 2027 busy-season postings are open now and carry no deadline, so apply to your office this month. To walk in with proof of your Excel and research skills, a remote Externship gives you a finished project to talk through.
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.
