These companies were selected as the 100 best internship programs in the U.S. by a panel of industry expert judges and thousands of public votes. Winners are listed in alphabetical order, not by ranking. The only exceptions are the top three programs recognized for #1 Internship Program, Top Virtual Program, and Top Diversity-Focused Program.
| Company Name | Do You Pay Your Interns? | Fun Fact About the 2020 Internship Program |
|---|---|---|
| Citi | Yes | Citi's internship program was selected by a panel of judges and the public vote as the #1 standout internship program of 2020. |
| The BrandLab | Yes | The BrandLab's internship program was selected by a panel of judges as the Standout D+I Internship Program of 2020. |
| Omnitracs, LLC | Yes | Omnitracs' internship program was selected by a panel of judges as the Standout Virtual Internship Program of 2020. |
| Accolade | Yes | Accolade created a virtual intern program which matched each intern with a member of the Operations Leadership Team. Interns took part in a cross-functional virtual project ending with a virtual celebration dinner. |
| Adobe | Yes | With over 700 interns globally, Adobe took its annual Intern Project Expo virtual, where they had interns across the globe submit summer projects into an online portal where all 22,000+ employees could view and comment on them. |
| American Century Investments | Yes | American Century Investments is one of the only companies we found who offer 401Ks AND match a portion of intern 401K contributions. This does make sense, given that they are an asset manager, but it's still very generous! |
| American Express | Yes | To adapt to the COVID-19 crisis, American Express condensed the internship from 10 to 6 weeks while maintaining the original compensation offer to all interns, and while shifting to a fully virtual program. |
| Anthem, Inc. | Yes | Despite being one of the largest healthcare companies operating in one of the largest healthcare crises in modern history, Anthem was committed to keeping its intern program by shifting to a virtual one to ensure students' safety. |
| Apeel Sciences Technology | Yes | Apeel hosted their Annual Intern Symposium (this year virtually), where each intern gave a 10-minute presentationon their summer project. The Apeel founders then judged each project and selected a winner. |
| Appian | Yes | Appian hosted an online Intern 4-day Hackathon where worked on improving the Appian software. |
| Arizona Public Service | Yes | APS added a new virtual TED Talk Series, where interns would transfer knowledge on any topic they were passionate about to fellow interns. Topics included AI, Data Analytics, Study Abroad Experiences, Curly Hair tips, and more! |
| Asurion | Yes | Asurion prepared for their first virtual internship program with a design sprint for intern leaders and former interns, who ideated on how to turn the program virtual without losing the program's magic. Clearly, the sprint worked! |
| BlackRock | Yes | BlackRock is helping bridge the gap caused by virtual internships with the Learning Hub, where interns can complete on-demand training at their own pace. |
| Bloomberg | Yes | In addition to meeting Mike Bloomberg himself, interns get a full training on the Bloomberg terminal, which helps make them extremely valuable/hireable to any company in the financial services space. |
| C3.ai | Yes | Interns in Summer 2020 participated in C3.ai's effort to mitigate COVID-19, such as helping to expand the COVID Data Lake, one of the largest public sources of unified COVID-19 data in the world. |
| California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office | Yes | Summer 2020 saw an unprecedented need for SMBs to build out ecommerce strategies, and the Virtual Internship Program (VIP) was there to help as students worked directly with clients to expand their ecommerce strategies. |
| Cargill | Yes | Cargill focused on supporting employee mental health during the pandemic. As such, interns could take full advantage of their WorkLife Solutions program to get outside support during the summer—at NO cost to interns. |
| Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. | Yes | All Interns this summer worked on projects that will make it into commercial products and/or key scientific research with direct impact on people’s health and quality of life. Very timely, given the global pandemic this year. |
| CenturyLink | Yes | CenturyLink Interns participated over the summer in "Cribs, Home Office Edition" so interns could share each of their unique WFH setups with one another. What a fun way to bond! |
| Chegg | Yes | Interns participated in live virtual streaming events with celebrities who Chegg's CEO, Dan Rosensweig, would invite to speak with and perform in front of the entire Chegg team. |
| Cisco | Yes | Cisco didn't let interns miss out on benefits just because they were virtual. They hosted activities like virtual game night, open mic, lip sync, cooking, wellness challenges, nutrition classes & yoga——all through WebEx! |
| CohnReznick | Yes | In addition to CohnReznick partnering with "Red Flag Mania" to develop a virtual case study for their interns, interns also were able to work on real client service work, even though they were completely virtual. |
| Colgate-Palmolive | Yes | Colgate-Palmolive offered soft skills feedback & coaching to interns who applied for their positions, whether they got an offer or not. They also ensured applicants heard back in 24 hours; talk about a great virtual experience. |
| Databricks | Yes | Databricks' University Recruiting team met with interns weekly to receive feedback on how they could make their virtual internship program a great experience for everyone, despite the difficult environment. |
| Deutsche Bank | Yes | Deutsche Bank had 459 interns, and a big part of the program this summer was having interns virtually pitch a fund idea for 90 seconds to the rest of the group. |
| DICK'S Sporting Goods | Yes | Interns were able to test out DICK'S Sporting Goods' curbside contactless pick up by participating in store scavenger hunts that were part of COVID-safe training activities. |
| ENSCO, Inc. | Yes | ENSCO's interns are eligible to participate in our 401k program. Interns are also eligible to participate in our Internship Capstone presentation where they can present their projects to Senior Management and their peers! |
| Esri | Yes | Most of the intern projects at Esri over summer 2020 were directly related to one of two topics: Racial Equity, or COVID-19. Very timely! |
| Exelaration | Yes | Exeleration interns each get CSM certified during their summer——a $1,500 value that is an incredible benefit to their post-grad resume. |
| EY | Yes | The EY Foundation set up an EY Intern Scholarship fund to help pay for Fall 2020 tuition and fees for a large group of interns. If there's ever been a year to do this, it's 2020. So amazing! |
| Yes | Facebook interns were fully virtual and worked on all types of projects over the summer. Want an example? One Global Operations Intern focused on community protection and mitigating COVID-19 misinformation. Very timely! | |
| Federal Reserve Board | Yes | This year, interns learned about a part of history that is rarely talked about when they attended a virtual "Book Talk + Q&A" with the author of 'Let Us Put Our Money Together: The Founding of America’s Black Banks'. |
| FIS | Yes | FIS interns participated in virtual weekly Wednesday Webinars, Virtual Scavenger Hunts, Weekly Kahoot Trivia and a Virtual Talent Competition. |
These companies were selected as the 100 best internship programs in the U.S. by a panel of industry expert judges and thousands of public votes. Winners are listed in alphabetical order, not by ranking. The only exceptions are the top three programs recognized for #1 Internship Program, Top Virtual Program, and Top Diversity-Focused Program.
| Company Name | Do You Pay Your Interns? | Fun Fact About the 2020 Internship Program |
|---|---|---|
| Gallagher | Yes | This year marked Gallagher's 55th internship program, and was one of the most unique in the company's history. One highlight was the national intern sales challenge where interns competed against each from Honolulu to Boston. |
| GE Appliances, a Haier company | Yes | Many companies claim that interns are the future leaders of their company. GE Appliances is living proof. 53% of GE Appliances' senior leadership began their careers in their co-op/intern and development programs! |
| General Dynamics | Yes | While 80% of interns switched to be virtual during the summer 2020, 20% of GD interns were considered Essential and were given security clearances while working under socially-distanced and safe arrangements. |
| General Electric | Yes | GE had 3 different paths including: in person, virtual, and micro internships. All paths allowed interns get to know the company safely and effectively so they could decided if it was the right opportunity post-graduation. |
| Yes | Google shifted many of its technical internship roles to open-source projects. That means that Googler Interns could still work on real-world projects that made a real-world impact! | |
| Hexagon's PPM Division | Yes | Hexagon’s interns work on real, not test, projects that are released globally. One of their interns in 2019 just received a patent based on their work and that process is now integrated in all of their products. |
| HubSpot | Yes | HubSpot’s interns were immersed in their remote community, joining virtual trivia nights and events with guest speakers ranging from New York Times-bestselling author Kelly Yang to journalist Robert Moor. |
| IBM | Yes | IBM launched an "intern cafe" where they used AI to match interns with other employees who share similar interests. Interns also had the opportunity to host an intern radio hour each week for all IBMers to listen to. |
| IDeaS | Yes | How innovative! The IDeaS Intern Guide is a branded booklet created by interns for interns. It’s refreshed annually as a collaborative intern project. |
| Ingredion | Yes | Ingredion sent their remote interns branded swag to make them feel connected. They also got to attend the annual University Program Summit virtually which gave interns the chance to network, volunteer, and meet leadership. |
| Intuit | Yes | In addition to function specific training in product management, design, marketing and more, interns attended Intuit’s annual summit, Empowered to Be, and learned about machine learning, AI, student debt, and money management. |
| KeyBank | Yes | Interns are assigned an analyst mentor to guide them through the summer and 6 virtual learning labs that span topics from building personal brand to networking and what to expect if they joined KeyBank after graduation. |
| Koch Industries | Yes | Koch Industries held the Intern Innovation Challenge where interns use their entrepreneurial energy to collaborate across discipline groups to create solutions to large questions businesses are facing for the future. |
| KPMG LLP | Yes | It's no surprise that KPMG was selected the #1 Intern Program in 2018. In Spring 2020, KPMG announced they'd give a full-time offer to every summer intern as one of many ways to support students during these difficult times. |
| Lenovo | Yes | During the summer, interns could attend enrichment workshops like How To Stay Productive During COVID-19. Lenovo also extended National Intern Day by celebrating their interns for the entire week. |
| Lincoln Financial Group | Yes | During the summer 2020 Lincoln Financial internship, an entire week was dedicated to Diversity & Inclusion, including a lunch & learn with the Chief Diversity Officer, and a D&I specific Summer Project for interns to work on. |
These companies were selected as the 100 best internship programs in the U.S. by a panel of industry expert judges and thousands of public votes. Winners are listed in alphabetical order, not by ranking. The only exceptions are the top three programs recognized for #1 Internship Program, Top Virtual Program, and Top Diversity-Focused Program.
| Company Name | Do You Pay Your Interns? | Fun Fact About the 2020 Internship Program |
|---|---|---|
| Mars, Inc. | Yes | US and Canada Interns received full access to Mars benefits, including insurance and 401k plans. This was especially helpful given that interns were working during a global pandemic, when healthcare was top of mind for everyone. |
| Maxim Integrated | Yes | Usually, interns end the summer with a table tennis tournament with Maxim's CEO. This year, since the program was virtual, the program ended with a game of virtual Pictionary with the CEO. |
| Maximus | Yes | Summer 2020 interns helped D.C. non-profits through a COVID-19 consulting project related to children, exercise, and engagement. Interns helped these non-profits think through how to adjust their services due to the pandemic. |
| McDonald's | Yes | McDonald’s Interns met with a majority of the C-Suite and other key leaders during their 8 week virtual experience, and tackled 2 group projects along with department-specific value-add work for their teams. |
| Merchants Bonding Company | Yes | Merchants Bonding Company, in collaboration with the SFAA, assisted in awarding scholarships of $5,000 to 3 of its interns, as well as extending one internship opportunity to an international student on a student visa. |
| Merck | Yes | Interns created a vision statement at the end of their 2020 internship: "We want to play a key role in enabling a high quality of life, obtainable by all communities... [To do that] we need an unbiased and inclusive workforce..." |
| Micron Technology | Yes | Micron partnered with university professors to host virtual seminars on emerging technologies (big data, AI, IoT, driverless cars, etc.) to its global intern class this summer, all in a completely virtual setting. |
| Mutual of Omaha Insurance | Yes | Mutual of Omaha Insurance gives out 1 scholarship each year to a minority student who completes an internship there. |
| Nasdaq | Yes | Nasdaq's interns were well taken care of this summer, from virtual Zumba classes to mentorship. And they have a lot to aspire to——the Nasdaq CEO started her career as an intern at Nasdaq! |
| NCR | Yes | Summer interns (who were fully virtual) participated in trivia games, a virtual game night, multiple happy hours, and an Atlanta United virtual watch party. Of course, they also worked hard, growing professionally and personally! |
| Noblis | Yes | Due to COVID, many students lost money on non-refundable summer leases. Not at Noblis! Living expenses Noblis interns paid upfront that had to be cancelled were covered by Noblis. In fact, they ADDED intern roles post-pandemic. |
| OneTrust | Yes | OneTrust celebrated the conclusion of their first-ever fully virtual internship program with a virtual awards ceremony finale, where interns received awards based on nominations by fellow interns, peers and mentors. |
| OppLoans | Yes | Through their weekly virtual Define Your Career lunch series, interns sat down with a leader to learn more about their career and ask questions. It was a great way to ensure interns could network despite being remote. |
| Oshkosh Corporation | Yes | Because many Oshkosh interns were considered essential workers, the internship program included both virtual and in-person interns... However, Oshkosh ensured that all interns were able to bond in a safe way using virtual tools. |
| Palo Alto Networks | Yes | Palo Alto Netowrks offered several types of virtual social events for interns, including; Trivia, Bingo, 20 Questions, Mad Gab, Jackbox Games, and more... all with the goal of helping cross-department interns meet and bond. |
| Paylocity | Yes | In addition to interns receiveing a full WFH setup at the start of their virtual internships this summer, all interns enjoyed a virtual pizza party in their first week along with a deep dish pizza. Yumm! |
| Pegasystems | Yes | Pega asked summer 2020 interns to play the World Food Program Free Rice Trivia Game where, for each question answered correctly, the cash equivalent of 10 grains of rice was donated by Pega to help end world hunger. |
| PwC | Yes | PwC extended full-time offers to every Summer 2020 intern, to help provide some sense of certainty during such uncertain times. |
| Raytheon Technologies | Yes | Raytheon hires approximately 2,000 interns, and views their internship program as a main feeder into full time hiring -- with a goal of converting approximately 75% of eligible interns to full-time employees. That's impressive! |
| Roblox | Yes | When COVID hit, instead of canceling their program Roblox actually increased the number of student hires they decided to make. They sure do love their interns! |
| Salesforce | Yes | Salesforce reimagined everything from onboarding, to demo-ing projects in a virtual format this summer - all while maintaining components core to our culture such as virtual volunteering. Our interns volunteered more than 2,100 hours, participated in virtual coffee chats and created intern-led events including a pitch presentation and Equality Circle. |
| Samsara | Yes | Samsara built a custom on-demand training path with the sole purpose of helping interns fast track their professional development and prepare for the next step in their career. |
| SAP | Yes | SAP created experiential learning programs such as virtual hackathons, a capture the flag cybersecurity game, and even organized a virtual murder mystery game for interns! |
| SAS | Yes | SAS gives interns the chance to grow their SAS analytical and programming skills by becoming SAS certified–for free! Provided resources include 35 hours of training, a two-day prep course, e-learning access and testing. |
| Scotiabank | Yes | Interns are encouraged to volunteer during the summer, but since they couldn't host an event, Scotiabank made a donation on behalf of the 2020 Summer Intern Class to a non-profit of their choice at the end of the summer. |
| Seagate Technology | Yes | Seagate Technology kept their remote interns engaged over the summer through virtual activities including a cooking class led by their head chef! |
| Siemens | Yes | Siemens created a social media campaign to showcase a day in the life of their remote summer interns. |
| Slalom Build | Yes | Slalom Build’s product interns learned how to manage development cycles by running four two-week agile sprints and giving product demos to senior leadership after each sprint. |
| Square | Yes | Interns at Square participated in their virtual internal Hack Week where they worked with teams across the organization and competed to win the opportunity to present their project to their CEO and CFO. |
| SurveyMonkey | Yes | Their CEO, Zander, encourages all interns to slack him directly if they ever want to chat. Plus, interns can shadow any employee at SVMK twice throughout the summer to see what responsibilities on another team are like. |
These companies were selected as the 100 best internship programs in the U.S. by a panel of industry expert judges and thousands of public votes. Winners are listed in alphabetical order, not by ranking. The only exceptions are the top three programs recognized for #1 Internship Program, Top Virtual Program, and Top Diversity-Focused Program.
| Company Name | Do You Pay Your Interns? | Fun Fact About the 2020 Internship Program |
|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | Yes | T-Mobile's internship program invested in training and growing 250 students of all levels -- their interns ranged from high school juniors all the way to post graduate level degrees. |
| TE Connectivity | Yes | Their interns were able to play a role in helping the world get through COVID -- many were considered essential workers (and were therefore not virtual), as they provided services to Medical and Aerospace companies. |
| Terminix | Yes | Terminix provided multiple D&I opportunities, including open-forum sessions where interns and employees came together to discuss openly and without any retaliation their feelings concerning their experiences and perspectives. |
| Texas Instruments | Yes | Every department at Texas Instruments created a virtual development program. The manufacturing group hosted a virtual campfire and mailed a s’mores kit to each intern prior to the event to feel like a real campfire chat. |
| The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Yes | At the start of the program, interns were given $50 to donate to a nonprofit of their choice. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation matched 3X the amount donated by their interns. |
| The NRP Group | Yes | The NRP Group's interns were paired with a mentor from their preferred line of business, even if that did not match their internship department so they could learn more about their area of interest. |
| Thomson Reuters | Yes | To help the interns feel connected to the greater TR family population, interns could win gift cards and other prizes by posting on social media and tagging #TRIntern and #WorkingAtTR. |
| Travelers | Yes | Every summer, Travelers interns get to volunteer at & attend the Championship PGA Tour. Given COVID, the tournament was held without spectators, but interns were still able to engage virtually with exclusive access. |
| Unilever | Yes | In addition to frequent performance reviews, Unilever interns get trained on workplace etiquette, so whether they end up at Unilever or somewhere else, they're ready to join the future workforce. |
| UnitedHealth Group | Yes | When UHG saw that they would save money by moving their program to be virtual (due to the unfortunate COVID circumstances), they decided to bring on an additional 100 interns. That's a true commitment to students! |
| USAA | Yes | USAA’s remote interns started day one with the CEO and senior leadership. All interns were eligible for medical, dental, vision, and paid time off accrual benefits. They also had fun with virtual Office Olympics events! |
| Valley Bank | Yes | VB interns can participate in "Tomorrow’s Leaders College Program", a 4-week virtual program for students & recent grads to build leadership, advocacy, & fundraising skills. Students can even get college credit for participating! |
| Veeva Systems Inc. | Yes | Veeva interns received a welcome swag package to kick off their summer and were able to participate in a special curbside meal pick-up service from Veeva’s in-house culinary team three times per week. |
| Verizon Communications | Yes | Interns participated in several challenges including The Future Of Work Challenge, where they came up with ideas for Verizon support the future of work. They also hosted a Virtual Volunteer Day for interns too give back! |
| ViacomCBS | Yes | During ViacomCBS' virtual intern onboarding, they offered tech trainings, company culture overviews, harassment prevention trainings, and a kick-off party with a performance from Sam Fischer. |
| VMware | Yes | Interns learn all about VMWare’s core technology through online courses and a 5-segment on boarding program. They also give back with 8-hours paid service learning time so they can exercise their citizen philanthropy. |
| Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority | Yes | WMTA interns get to experience the the unique transit industry and get professionally development training including public speaking seminars. Interns also receive free ridership on our Metro Rail and Bus system! |
| WEX | Yes | Wex didn't want interns getting too much computer screen fatigue, so they created a "Wex Activity Bingo Board" to encourage and incentivize activities that took place (safely) outdoors and/or away from monitors. |
| WW (Formerly Weight Watchers) | Yes | WW recreated nearby seating arrangements interns usually experience by instead having "Zoom Pods", where interns checked in every morning and could pop in any time throughout any day to get to know / support one another. |
| Xactly Corp | Yes | Xactly Corp interns are able to attend company-wide trainings, bootcamps, and their annual CARE week—all about celebrating Xactly core values. They also get special resume building and career guidance trainings! |
| ZX Ventures | Yes | After a 2 week bootcamp to learn about the ZX operating system, interns owned projects and presented twice to senior leadership. It wasn't all work, though: they also participated in activities like virtual bake-offs! |
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