Quick Facts
Schneider Downs internship · at a glance
Roles open and close throughout the year. Check Schneider Downs'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 Hydroficient Advanced: IoT Cyber Defense Externship.
Explore all externships →All quick facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where to apply | Start at the students page. Roles sit on two systems: the Greenhouse board and the older Cornerstone campus sites for audit and tax and risk advisory. Check both |
| Application window (2027–28) | Summer 2027: audit (Columbus), risk advisory (Columbus) and IT risk advisory (Pittsburgh, Columbus) still listed Oct 11, 2026; tax summer and Pittsburgh audit no longer listed. Winter 2027: tax (Pittsburgh) still listed. Summer 2028: not posted; expected Oct to Nov 2026. Winter 2028: expected around Jan 2027 |
| Rolling? | Yes: no posting states a deadline, and postings come down office by office as classes fill |
| Eligibility | Audit, tax and risk advisory: pursuing a bachelor's or master's in accounting. IT risk advisory: computer science, cybersecurity, information systems or MIS. Preferred GPA 3.3 (3.0 minimum) |
| Duration | Winter session: early January to late April. Summer session: mid-May to mid-August, about 12 weeks. Hybrid; Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 |
| Compensation | Not published. No posting on either system lists a rate; the postings say "Competitive compensation" |
| Return offers | "Successful interns are eligible for conversion into full-time employment after graduation"; no rate published |
| Locations | Pittsburgh, PA and Columbus, OH. No intern posting found for the McLean, VA office |
| # Programs | 4 tracks (Audit, Tax, Risk Advisory, IT Risk Advisory) across winter and summer sessions, plus the one-day Explorers Program, which isn't an internship |
Last updated: October 2026
Schneider Downs recruits summer interns about a year and a half ahead. Its summer 2027 IT risk advisory internships carry a posting date of September 15, 2025, about 20 months before the mid-May 2027 start, and its summer 2027 audit internship carries November 4, 2025. On October 11, 2026, five class-of-2027 roles were still listed across the firm's two job systems, four others had come down, and nothing for summer 2028 was posted yet. In plain words: you apply in late 2026 or early 2027 and intern in summer 2028. A few summer 2027 seats and one winter 2027 tax role remain.
This is Schneider Downs & Co., the Pittsburgh and Columbus accounting firm, not Schneider Electric or Schneider National. It runs two sessions a year, winter (early January to late April) and summer (mid-May to mid-August), and it doesn't publish intern pay.
What Is a Schneider Downs Internship?
A Schneider Downs internship is a winter or summer session in audit, tax, risk advisory or IT risk advisory at Schneider Downs & Co., a CPA and advisory firm founded in 1956 with offices in Pittsburgh, Columbus and the Washington, D.C. area. On its careers page the firm calls itself "one of the 60 largest" independent CPA and professional services firms. Vault ranks it #23 on the Vault Accounting 25 (2027 Vault Rankings). Interns work a hybrid schedule, Monday to Friday, on client engagements. The firm said it welcomed "over 55 interns" in May 2024, and its postings say successful interns "are eligible for conversion into full-time employment after graduation." The one-day Explorers Program for freshmen and sophomores is a separate introduction day, not an internship.
When Do Schneider Downs Internship Applications Open for 2027–2028?
Schneider Downs posts by track, and early. For the class of 2027, the risk advisory and IT risk advisory summer postings are dated September 15, 2025, about 20 months before the mid-May 2027 start. The audit summer posting is dated November 4, 2025, about 18 months ahead, and the tax winter posting January 8, 2026, about 12 months before the early January 2027 start. These are job-system dates, so read them as "no later than." If the firm repeats the pattern, summer 2028 postings are expected in October to November 2026 and winter 2028 tax postings around January 2027. Last year's risk postings were up by mid-September and this year's aren't, so the cycle is already running later. The firm also changed job systems in August 2026.
Mid-cycle for the class of 2027. On October 11, 2026, five roles were still listed: Audit Summer (Columbus), Risk Advisory Summer (Columbus) and IT Risk Advisory Summer (Pittsburgh and Columbus) for summer 2027, plus Tax Winter (Pittsburgh) for winter 2027. Tax summer in both offices, audit summer in Pittsburgh and tax winter in Columbus were no longer listed. Applications for summer 2028 aren't open yet.
Summer 2028 postings expected. Last cycle the risk advisory and IT risk advisory roles for summer 2027 were posted by September 15, 2025, and audit by November 4, 2025. Tax summer likely follows audit. Medium confidence on the months, low on the days.
Tax winter postings for winter 2028 expected; last cycle's winter 2027 posting is dated January 8, 2026. The winter 2027 session itself starts in early January and runs to late April 2027.
The summer 2027 session runs, about 12 weeks. Summer 2028 postings for an office stay up until that office fills, so late applicants should still check.
The summer 2028 internship, if the firm keeps its session dates. Postings say successful interns are eligible for full-time conversion after graduation, based on performance and department needs.
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
Schneider Downs doesn't set deadlines. None of the five postings we read states one, and the firm takes roles down office by office as each class fills. The evidence is on its own campus page, which still links six class-of-2027 audit and tax roles by name. On October 11, 2026, four of those links led to roles that were no longer listed: tax summer in Pittsburgh and Columbus, audit summer in Pittsburgh and tax winter in Columbus. The same role in the other office was still up, so timing depends on your office. A Vault survey respondent put it this way: "The firm starts recruiting intern classes pretty early." For summer 2028, that means checking both job systems weekly from now and applying in the first week your office and track appear.
Which Schneider Downs Internship Programs Should You Target?
The firm posts one role per track, session and office. This is the class-of-2027 set as of October 11, 2026; expect the same tracks for the class of 2028.
| Program | Focus | Session and offices | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Summer Intern | Financial statement audits, reviews and compilations; documenting audit procedures; data analytics tools | Summer 2027; Columbus, Pittsburgh | Columbus listed; Pittsburgh no longer listed |
| Tax Winter Intern | Primarily corporate and individual tax returns; tax research | Winter 2027; Pittsburgh, Columbus | Pittsburgh listed (on both systems); Columbus no longer listed |
| Tax Summer Intern | Tax compliance and consulting projects | Summer 2027; Pittsburgh, Columbus | No longer listed in either office |
| Risk Advisory Summer Intern | Internal audit engagements, risk assessments, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance | Summer 2027; Columbus | Listed |
| IT Risk Advisory Summer Intern | Testing IT and security controls for SOC 1, SOC 2 and Sarbanes-Oxley; cloud and operating system exposure | Summer 2027; Pittsburgh, Columbus | Both listed |
| Explorers Program (not an internship) | One-day introduction to the firm with professionals and current interns | Pittsburgh or Columbus; 2027 date not published | 2026 edition closed |
The Explorers Program page also names Technology Advisory (cybersecurity, automation, data analytics) as an internship area; no such posting was on either board on October 11.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements?
These rules come from the five class-of-2027 postings. For the class of 2028, expect each graduation window to move one year later:
• Degree (audit, tax, risk advisory): "Pursuing a bachelor's or master's degree in Accounting."
• Degree (IT risk advisory): "Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, MIS or a related field."
• Graduation window: audit and tax ask for an "anticipated graduation date between December 2027 and August 2028"; risk and IT risk advisory say December 2027 to May 2028.
• GPA: "A preferred overall GPA of 3.3 (3.0 minimum), or a combination of educational success and relevant work/volunteer experience."
• CPA track (audit, tax): "Plans to pursue minimum requirements for CPA eligibility."
• Schedule: hybrid, and "available during working hours – Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm."
• Work authorization: not stated in the postings we read.
Is the 3.0 GPA a Hard Cutoff at Schneider Downs?
The posting gives itself room. A 3.0 is the stated minimum and 3.3 the preference, but the same line allows "a combination of educational success and relevant work/volunteer experience." So grades are read alongside experience. A Vault survey respondent said the firm looks for "good GPAs and students looking to hit 150 credits," the credit-hour bar for a CPA license. If you're below 3.3, lead with relevant work and say how you'll reach 150 credits.
Profile Match · Extern Data
Could You Get In at Schneider Downs? 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 Schneider Downs Look For, and How Do You Build Them?
Audit and tax postings ask interns to research accounting and tax issues and to use "data extraction, analytics, and visualization tools to provide insights to clients." The tax winter role is "primarily the preparation of corporate and individual tax returns." Risk advisory is internal audit work: risk assessments, audit plans, reports and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. IT risk advisory is the most technical: testing whether controls work for "SOC 1, SOC 2, and Sarbanes-Oxley," with exposure to "Windows, Linux, SaaS platforms and cloud environments (AWS, Azure, GCP)."
What Schneider Downs looks for in interns
Skills across 5 Schneider Downs intern & analyst job descriptions · class-of-2027 postings listed October 2026
Method: full-text reading of the five Schneider Downs intern postings listed on October 11, 2026 (audit summer, tax winter, risk advisory summer and IT risk advisory summer in two offices). Small sample: the two IT risk advisory postings share one description, and the tax summer role wasn't listed to read.
How Is Demand for Accounting Interns Moving Right Now?
Accounting intern postings · Sep vs Aug 2026
vs 362 in August
For Schneider Downs applicants: Schneider Downs had five class-of-2027 intern roles listed on October 11, 2026, and none yet for summer 2028. Its summer 2027 roles were posted in September and November 2025, so check its boards weekly this fall.
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
Each skill below comes from a Schneider Downs posting and maps to a remote Externship that leaves you with a finished project.
| Skill (from real JDs) | JD evidence | Externship that builds it |
|---|---|---|
| Financial statement analysis | Audit: "Perform financial statement audits, reviews and compilations across various client industries" | Yinan Zhao Investing & Financial Modeling |
| IT and security controls | IT risk advisory: "identifying, evaluating and documenting IT risks and controls" | Hydroficient Advanced: IoT Cyber Defense |
| Data analytics and visualization | Audit and tax: "data extraction, analytics, and visualization tools" | Breaking Games E-Commerce Data Analysis & Strategy |
| Process and risk assessment | Risk advisory: "risk assessment and process improvement" | Amazon Fulfillment Center Operational Strategy & People Analytics |
With postings a year and a half ahead of the summer, a project finished this fall is on your resume before the summer 2028 roles appear.
What Is the Schneider Downs Application and Interview Process Like?
Schneider Downs doesn't publish its interview steps. Vault survey respondents and the postings describe this path:
1. Find the posting on both systems. The class of 2027 sits mostly on the Cornerstone campus sites; expect new roles on Greenhouse. The campus page also has a talent community form.
2. Apply to your office and track. Each posting covers one office, one track and one session.
3. HR interview. Respondents describe a first interview by phone with someone from HR.
4. Manager or shareholder interview. One respondent met a shareholder and a manager; another had a remote interview with a manager.
5. Offer. One respondent was told the day after the manager interview that an internship offer was coming.
Questions respondents reported: campus involvement, prior experience, "Tell me about a time when you failed," and a weakness and how you handle it. Our behavioral interview guide covers that format.
What Interns Say on Vault
Reddit has no first-hand thread about a Schneider Downs internship, so these cards paraphrase intern and hiring responses from Vault's employee survey.
One audit intern worked on at least five engagements in about three months and tested areas like cash, receivables, payables, fixed assets and inventory. Interns did the same kind of work a first-year staff member would.
Two respondents gave the downside: the intern class was large enough that there wasn't always enough work to go around, and they spent a lot of time in trainings and asking people for work.
Hiring was described as two interviews, one with HR and one with a manager or shareholder, with a quick decision. The firm starts recruiting its intern classes early and looks for solid grades and a plan to reach 150 credits.
How Do You Stand Out for a Schneider Downs Internship?
Three moves. First, get the timing right. Summer roles post about 18 to 20 months ahead, so sophomores should be watching for summer 2028 now. If you're a junior, the winter session is the shorter-lead door at about 12 months, and a few summer 2027 roles were still listed in October. Second, match the track to your major. Audit, tax and risk advisory ask for an accounting degree in progress. IT risk advisory is the one track open to computer science, cybersecurity and information systems students. Third, show the CPA plan and ask about workload. Respondents say the firm screens for grades and a route to 150 credits, so state both. Two Vault respondents also described slow weeks, so ask your interviewers how work is assigned to interns in your group. The firm said it welcomed over 55 interns in May 2024; it publishes no applicant count or conversion rate.
What Other Companies Should You Consider?
Students applying to Schneider Downs usually compare it with national firms that have Pittsburgh or Columbus offices.
- RSMNational firm with Pittsburgh and Columbus offices and both winter and summer internsGuide →
- BDONational firm with offices in both Pittsburgh and ColumbusGuide →
- CroweTop-10 US firm with a Columbus officeGuide →
- Plante MoranMidwest regional firm that also recruits interns well over a year aheadGuide →
- KPMGThe Big 4 option in both cities, on an even earlier calendarGuide →
Our Big 4 accounting and audit internships guide compares recruiting calendars across the largest firms.
FAQ
Can I still apply for a summer 2027 Schneider Downs internship?
In some tracks. On October 11, 2026, the summer 2027 audit role in Columbus, the risk advisory role in Columbus and the IT risk advisory roles in Pittsburgh and Columbus were still listed. Tax summer in both offices and audit summer in Pittsburgh were no longer listed. The next full cycle is summer 2028.
When do Schneider Downs internship applications open for summer 2028?
They weren't posted as of October 11, 2026. Last cycle, the summer 2027 risk advisory roles were posted by September 15, 2025, and the audit role by November 4, 2025, about 18 to 20 months ahead. Expect summer 2028 roles in October to November 2026, and winter 2028 tax roles around January 2027.
Does Schneider Downs have an internship application deadline?
No posting states one. The firm removes roles office by office as classes fill: four of the class-of-2027 audit and tax roles linked from its campus page were no longer listed on October 11, 2026, while the same roles in the other office were still up. Apply when your office appears.
How much do Schneider Downs interns get paid?
Schneider Downs doesn't publish intern pay. None of the postings on its Greenhouse board or its Cornerstone campus sites lists an hourly rate; they say only "Competitive compensation." Benefits such as insurance, paid time off, a CPA exam bonus and profit sharing are described as starting on full-time conversion.
What GPA do you need for a Schneider Downs internship?
The postings state "a preferred overall GPA of 3.3 (3.0 minimum)," or a combination of educational success and relevant work or volunteer experience. Audit and tax roles also ask that you plan to meet the minimum requirements for CPA eligibility, and the graduation window is set so interns can start full-time the following year.
What is the Schneider Downs winter internship?
It's a busy-season session that runs from early January to late April. The posted winter role is in tax, and the work is mainly preparing corporate and individual tax returns, plus tax research. Interns work hybrid and are expected to be available Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. Winter roles post about 12 months ahead.
Is the Schneider Downs Explorers Program an internship?
No. It's a one-day program for high-performing freshmen and sophomores in accounting or technology fields, with a preferred 3.3 GPA and a 3.0 minimum. Students meet professionals and current interns and get advice on internship interviews. The 2026 edition is closed, and the firm hasn't published a 2027 date.
Do Schneider Downs interns get full-time offers?
The firm says successful interns "are eligible for conversion into full-time employment after graduation, based on individual performance and department needs." It doesn't publish a conversion rate. The internship's graduation window is built around conversion: class-of-2027 audit and tax interns must be able to start full-time between January and October 2028.
Summer 2028 postings at Schneider Downs are expected this fall, and they come down as offices fill. Use the wait: a remote Externship gives you a finished finance, data or security project before the roles appear.
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.
