Quick Facts
RSM internship · at a glance
Roles open and close throughout the year. Check RSM'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 | rsmus.com internships and jobs.rsmus.com campus portal |
| Application window (2027–28) | Summer 2027: ~140 reqs live as of Sep 21, 2026 across Assurance, Federal Tax, SALT, Intl Tax, and Consulting on jobs.rsmus.com; rolling. 2028 cycle: Winter 2028 Assurance and Federal Tax reqs (Texas and Southeast offices) plus 2027 Elevate Program and 2028 Summer intern reqs already posting since late August 2026; the broader Summer 2028 wave expected through mid-2027 |
| Rolling? | Yes, confirmed. RSM accepts applications on a rolling basis and posts ~12+ months ahead; apply as early as possible (Summer 2027 open now) |
| Eligibility | Juniors (12–18 months from degree completion), Accounting major preferred for Audit/Tax, 90 credit hours required, minimum 3.0 GPA preferred |
| Duration | 8–12 weeks, full-time. Summer (Jun–Aug) or Winter busy-season (Jan–Apr) |
| Compensation | $28–$33/hr in most cities; $35–$41/hr in NYC (official JD ranges, Summer 2026) |
| Visa sponsorship | No. Every JD states RSM does not hire entry-level candidates requiring current or future visa sponsorship, including F-1 visa holders |
| Locations | 81+ offices: Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Minneapolis, and more |
| # Programs | 6+ tracks: Audit/Assurance, Federal Tax, SALT, Consulting (Internal Audit), Consulting (IT Audit), plus early-ID pipeline (Excellence Academy, Pathways) |
Last updated: October 2026
RSM US is the 5th-largest US accounting firm by revenue ($3.7B, FY2024) and the leading middle-market professional services provider, with 16,800+ professionals across 81+ offices. Its internship program has been named a Top 100 Internship Program (2024) and has earned the Handshake Early Talent Award six consecutive years (2021–2026). As of September 21, 2026, about 140 Summer 2027 intern requisitions are still live across Assurance, Federal Tax, SALT, International Tax, and Consulting on the official jobs.rsmus.com campus portal, and the 2028 cycle has already started: Winter 2028 Assurance and Federal Tax reqs plus combined 2027 Elevate Program and 2028 Summer intern reqs began posting in late August 2026. RSM posts roughly 12+ months ahead and reviews on a rolling basis, so the seats are filling now. Apply this week rather than waiting for the fall push.
What Is an RSM Internship?
An RSM internship is a paid, full-time placement of 8–12 weeks, either summer (June to August) or winter busy-season (January to April), that puts students on real client engagement teams across audit, tax, and consulting. RSM is the 5th-largest US accounting firm and part of RSM International, the 6th-largest global accounting network with 51,000 professionals in 120+ countries. The intern experience holds up: 4.4–4.6 out of 5 on Glassdoor, with 94% of audit interns recommending RSM. Every intern receives a Performance Advisor (mentor) and participates in orientation, professional development, and community service events.
When Do RSM Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
RSM posts roughly 12+ months ahead and reviews on a rolling basis. As of September 21, 2026, about 140 Summer 2027 roles are still live on jobs.rsmus.com across Assurance, Federal Tax, SALT, International Tax, and Consulting, so the actionable move is to apply now rather than wait for a fall push. The 2028 cycle has already begun alongside it: Winter 2028 and 2027 Elevate Program and 2028 Summer intern reqs started posting in late August 2026, with the rest of Summer 2028 expected through mid-2027. Either way, early-ID engagement through the Pathways Experience or the Excellence Academy can start a full year or more before applications open.
Summer 2027 applications are OPEN now on jobs.rsmus.com (about 140 reqs live as of September 21, 2026) across Assurance, Federal Tax, SALT, Intl Tax, and Consulting (including Process Risk and Controls Consulting). Review is rolling, so apply this week: your resume, GPA, and accounting coursework decide whether rolling review reaches you before seats fill.
Apply on jobs.rsmus.com, then a recruiter screen and a ~30-minute behavioral interview with a department supervisor. Rolling review means early applicants see the most open seats by location and service line.
Applications are already open (since summer 2026) and rolling review continues through this window. Summer 2027 offers average about 18 days from application to offer (Glassdoor). Seats at popular offices like Chicago, New York, and Atlanta fill first, so late applicants face fewer spots.
The internship: 8–12 weeks, full-time, at one of 81+ offices. Audit interns attend a week of training in Chicago. Perform well: community sources say most strong performers receive return offers.
The 2028 cycle has started early: Winter 2028 Assurance and Federal Tax intern reqs (Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Atlanta, Nashville, Birmingham) and combined 2027 Elevate Program and 2028 Summer intern reqs (Tax, Assurance, Process Risk, Tech Risk, Financial Services Consulting) have been posting since late August 2026, so sophomores can apply now. The broader Summer 2028 wave should follow through mid-2027, so set a jobs.rsmus.com alert. Early-ID engagement through the Excellence Academy or the Pathways Experience (virtual half-day event) can start a full year or more before that.
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 is not a detail at RSM, it’s the whole game. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and RSM posts roughly 12+ months ahead: as of September 2026, Summer 2027 roles are still live on jobs.rsmus.com and the first 2028 reqs are already posting. That means early applicants see the most open seats by location and service line. Late applicants face fewer spots, especially at popular offices like Chicago, New York, and Atlanta. The average time from application to hire is about 18 days, so the cycle moves fast. Set a job alert on jobs.rsmus.com and apply the week you see an open posting.
Which RSM Internship Programs Should You Target?
RSM runs 6+ distinct intern tracks across its core service lines, plus early-ID pipeline programs. Which one should you target? Match your major and coursework: Accounting majors fit Audit and Tax, while Finance, Information Systems, and Data Analytics students can target Consulting tracks.
| Program | Focus | Duration | Key skills |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit / Assurance Intern | Financial statement audits, internal controls testing, risk assessment, client financial analysis | 8–12 wks (summer or winter) | GAAP/GAAS, Excel, analytical thinking, teamwork |
| Federal Tax Services Intern | Federal/state tax compliance, tax planning and research, tax return preparation, credits and incentives | 8–12 wks (summer or winter) | Tax compliance, Excel, research, communication |
| State & Local Tax (SALT) Intern | SALT compliance, sales and use tax, multi-state reporting | 8–12 wks summer | Tax law, multi-state reporting, detail orientation |
| Consulting Intern (Internal Audit) | Financial services and internal audit assessments, client consulting projects | 8–12 wks summer | Risk assessment, client service, project management |
| Consulting Intern (IT Audit) | IT controls, compliance assessments, technology risk | 8–12 wks summer | IT controls, data analytics, information systems |
| RSM Excellence Academy | 3-day leadership conference plus stipend, internship pipeline for freshmen/sophomores (diversity-focused) | 3 days + multi-year pipeline | Leadership, networking, accounting foundations |
See every open track on the RSM internships page. Note that some Consulting positions require prior attendance at the Pathways Experience (a virtual half-day event), so start your engagement early.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
RSM’s requirements are consistent across service lines, with a few track-specific additions:
• Class year: approximately 12–18 months from completing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting or a related field. This typically means juniors or 4th-year students in a 5-year program.
• Major: Accounting preferred for Audit and Tax tracks. Finance, Data & Analytics, and Information Systems accepted for Consulting and IT Audit tracks.
• Credit hours: 90 credit hours completed required for Audit and Tax intern roles.
• Work authorization: RSM explicitly states it does not hire entry-level candidates requiring current or future visa sponsorship, including F-1 visa holders. This is a hard eligibility gate for international students.
Does RSM Have a GPA Cutoff?
Yes, a soft one. Every intern JD states a minimum 3.0 GPA preferred. That’s a real, workable threshold, not a formality. Competitive candidates likely sit around 3.2–3.5+, but 3.0 is the stated floor. Unlike some tech companies that skip GPA entirely, accounting firms use it as a screening metric, so treat 3.0 as the minimum to clear.
Profile Match · Extern Data
Could You Get In at RSM? 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 RSM Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
Read across six full-text RSM intern JDs, two Audit, one Tax, two Consulting, and one Winter Audit, and the pattern is clear. Teamwork and client service appear in all six, communication and Excel proficiency in five, and accounting knowledge and integrity in four each. But the skill list tells only half the story. RSM’s middle-market model puts interns directly on client engagements from day one, so soft skills like client relationship development and professional judgment carry outsized weight in interviews.
What RSM looks for in interns
Skills across 6 RSM intern & analyst job descriptions · 2026–27 cycle RSM intern JDs, projecting 2027–2028
Method: full-text analysis of six RSM intern job descriptions read verbatim on WayUp (official RSM postings): two Audit, one Federal Tax, two Consulting (Internal Audit and IT Audit), one Winter Audit. Prior-cycle basis; projected for 2027–2028.
How Is Demand for Accounting Interns Moving Right Now?
Accounting intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 362 in August
For RSM 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, Excel & valuation | Audit/Tax JDs: "strong analytical skills," "MS Office with emphasis on Excel" | Attronica Financial Planning & Valuation |
| Data analytics & quantitative reasoning | Consulting JDs: "data analytics," "substantive testing," "data extraction" | TruBridge Healthcare Data Analytics |
| Client-facing communication & professionalism | All JDs: "excellent written and verbal communication," "client relationship development" | Attronica Financial Planning & Valuation |
How close is the overlap? The Attronica project is financial planning and valuation work that yields the analytical and Excel evidence RSM’s Audit and Tax JDs ask for, and the TruBridge project delivers the data-driven decision-making story a Consulting interviewer wants to hear.
What Is the RSM Application and Interview Process Like?
RSM’s funnel is short and behavioral, with the average time from application to offer about 18 days:
1. Apply on jobs.rsmus.com. Submit your resume, transcript/GPA, and basic profile. Select your preferred office location and list your top choice in the comment box.
2. Recruiter/behavioral interview, about 30 minutes. A conversational session with a department intern supervisor covering career aspirations, “why RSM,” and why you chose your service line. 85% of candidates rated their interview experience as positive, and the difficulty is 2.5 out of 5.
3. Offer. Decisions come on a rolling basis, averaging about 18 days from application. Some Consulting positions require prior attendance at the Pathways Experience (virtual half-day event), so check the JD.
So the prep is straightforward: have three to four behavioral stories ready (teamwork, client service, problem-solving, integrity), know why you want RSM specifically (middle-market focus, culture, early client exposure), and be prepared to talk about your service-line interest. RSM interviews are conversations, not technical gauntlets.
What Students on Reddit Say
Three community data points show the experience from the inside, all paraphrased from Glassdoor and Fishbowl sources.
The interview felt more like a conversation than an interrogation. They asked about my career goals, why RSM, and how I handle working on a team. The whole process took about 18 days.
Pay was competitive compared to middle-market firms and just a touch below Big 4. The sign-on bonus for the internship was an unexpected plus.
All well-performing interns get an offer, but headcount and office budget play a role. One cycle reportedly extended more intern offers than full-time seats, so conversion is common but not guaranteed.
Think you’re ready for an interview at RSM?
RSM's main interview is about 30 minutes: career goals, why RSM, and why your service line. Three rounds, honest feedback on every answer, no sign-up.
An interviewer asks, “Why RSM?” Which answer scores highest?
How Do You Stand Out at a Middle-Market Leader?
Three moves. First, apply as early as you can (Summer 2027 roles are already live as of July 2026): rolling review plus a behavioral-only process means timing and preparation beat everything else. Second, engage early through the Pathways Experience or the Excellence Academy, because RSM tracks candidates who show genuine interest before the formal application opens. Third, bring stories about client-facing work or team collaboration backed by real artifacts, not hypotheticals. RSM puts interns on client engagements from week one, so the behavioral interview is screening for people who can handle that responsibility immediately.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
RSM isn’t the only large accounting firm hiring interns on a fall-rolling calendar. If you’re building an accounting-internship list, these are the natural neighbors:
- DeloitteBig 4 leader, larger class size and broader service linesGuide →
- PwCBig 4 with strong audit and advisory tracksGuide →
- EYBig 4 with a consulting-heavy growth strategyGuide →
- KPMGBig 4 with a lean toward advisory and taxGuide →
- Grant Thorntonclosest middle-market peer, similar culture and office footprintGuide →
Our accounting internships guide maps the whole landscape, timeline by timeline.
Our Big 4 accounting and audit internships 2027 guide covers the Big 4 and the national firms in one timeline.
FAQ
When should I apply for an RSM summer internship?
Apply now. As of September 21, 2026, about 140 Summer 2027 roles are still live on jobs.rsmus.com across Assurance, Federal Tax, SALT, International Tax, and Consulting. RSM reviews on a rolling basis and posts roughly 12+ months ahead, so early applicants face the most open seats. The 2028 cycle is already starting too: Winter 2028 Assurance and Tax reqs and 2027 Elevate Program and 2028 Summer intern reqs have been posting since late August 2026, with more Summer 2028 postings expected through mid-2027. For the Pathways Experience or Excellence Academy, engage even earlier, as early as sophomore year.
What GPA do I need for an RSM internship?
A minimum 3.0 GPA is preferred, stated in every intern JD. Competitive candidates typically have a 3.2 or higher. Unlike some tech firms, accounting firms use GPA as a real screening metric, so treat 3.0 as the floor.
Does RSM sponsor visas for interns?
No. Every intern JD states RSM does not hire entry-level candidates requiring current or future visa sponsorship, including F-1 visa holders. This is a firm eligibility gate with no documented exceptions for interns.
Do I have to be an accounting major?
For Audit and Tax tracks, effectively yes: an Accounting major and 90 credit hours are required. Consulting and IT Audit tracks accept Finance, Data & Analytics, Information Systems, and related majors.
How hard is the RSM internship interview?
2.5 out of 5 difficulty on Glassdoor, with 85% of experiences rated positive. It is a roughly 30-minute behavioral conversation with a department supervisor, covering career goals, why RSM, and teamwork. No formal online assessment or technical test has been reported.
How much does an RSM internship pay?
$28 to $33 per hour in most cities; $35 to $41 per hour in New York City. These are official JD ranges from Summer 2026 postings. RSM also provides at least 14 paid holidays, wellbeing days, and flexible scheduling.
How long is an RSM internship and where is it?
8 to 12 weeks, full-time, either summer (June to August) or winter busy-season (January to April), at one of 81+ US offices. Audit interns attend a week of training in Chicago at the start.
What are my odds of getting a return offer?
Community sources suggest most strong performers receive return offers, but it is not guaranteed. Office headcount and budget play a role, and at least one cycle reportedly extended more intern offers than full-time seats. Treat the internship as a paid audition.
RSM’s rolling calendar rewards early movers, and every seat is won one behavioral conversation at a time. Spend the runway building proof: a remote Externship turns ‘interested in RSM’ into a finished project you can point at.
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.
