The Top 100 Internship Programs of 2026

This Year’s #1 Program: The Aerospace Corporation

The top spot goes to the organization that does the most across every dimension of the internship experience: development, engagement, and long-term growth.

Their interns collaborate with engineers and scientists on mission‑critical work that advances national security and the future of the space enterprise, such as designing a satellite constellation that improves wildfire detection and response. Every intern gets a dedicated buddy and a mentor from day one, plus a performance process that mirrors what full-time employees go through, so nobody hits the end of the program wondering how they did.

They go all out for their interns by hosting TECTalks series, a full-blown festival complete with a dunk tank and a Pie the CEO booth on National Intern Day, incredible benefits and perks, and unique experiences including intern field trips to rocket launches, Space Force bases, and more.

We’re also excited to announce this year’s four specialty award winners:

MIT Lincoln Laboratory – Public Service Award Winner

The Public Service Award recognizes an internship program that demonstrates exceptional commitment to fostering meaningful intern engagement that significantly benefits the public good.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory puts interns straight onto national security research, matched with technical groups across the Lab and building toward a capstone poster session. The program begins with an orientation that introduces interns to missions, facilities, and resources. Throughout the summer, interns engage in hands-on research, receive mentorship from staff, and participate in weekly technical seminars and social events. The program culminates in a capstone session where interns present their work to staff across the Lab.

One addition this year is the Lunch Linkup Program, which randomly pairs interns with peers for lunch so they get exposed to work happening outside their own team. There’s also the Intern Innovative Idea Challenge, a Shark Tank-style competition where cross-functional teams pitch solutions to national security problems directly to senior leaders.

Garver – Intern Growth Award Winner

The Intern Growth Award recognizes an employer that best creates opportunities over the course of the internship program for interns to become more confident and well-prepared early career professionals.

Garver Launch pairs every incoming intern with a future supervisor and mentor before they even start, then moves them onto real, billable client work. Interns also get a roundtable with Garver’s CEO and COO, and offers often come directly out of final conversations with supervisors, no waiting around after the summer ends. Interns are also offered exceptional perks and benefits, including referral bonuses, scholarships, and various health and wellness resources.

New this year is Garver Gateway, a job shadow experience for high schoolers and college freshmen. Fun fact: Garver’s own President and CEO started his career as a Garver intern. They believe a strong internship program helps shape the future of our industry, and by investing in their people, they support long-term success for both their employees and the firm.

T-Mobile – Innovation Award Winner

The Innovation Award recognizes an employer that is pushing the boundaries of a conventional internship program to provide an innovative experience for their interns.

What makes T-Mobile’s intern program innovative? Not all of their interns are students. They run the Magenta Accelerator, a program that moves the company’s own frontline employees, the people answering your calls and working the stores, into corporate roles through a full internship experience. It runs alongside a traditional Summer Internship for university students, but the Accelerator is the one doing something most companies don’t: building a real mobility path from the frontline into the office. Many go on to full-time careers shaping the very products and experiences they once delivered to customers.

Both tracks hold interns to the same bar: business-critical work from the start, backed this year by new AI initiatives that centralize intern projects and coaches managers on scoping them well. Interns are also offered a strong suite of perks including furnished housing, relocation assistance, free shuttles to the office, and more.

Soil and Materials Engineers – Small but Mighty Award Winner

Small internship programs deserve recognition too! This award is reserved for an organization with fewer than 1,000 employees.

Soil and Materials Engineers get students into the field fast, pairing them with experienced technicians and engineers on real projects, field observations, materials testing, and data collection, until they’re trusted to work solo as the company’s own representatives. New this year is a scavenger hunt that sends co-ops around the office to meet employees, uploading photos straight to the company intranet. Additionally, they go above and beyond to provide interns with unique experiences, events, and benefits including tuition reimbursement.

Many of their leaders started as co-ops and former participants now serve in various leadership roles across the company. In fact, our very first co-op, who joined before the program had a formal name, stayed for his entire 38-year career, where he has been a Technician, Field Engineer, Coordinator, Project Manager, Radiation Safety Officer, Team Leader, Group Leader, Business Unit Leader, and Vice President, and will retire this year.

The employers recognized on this year’s Top 100 List are setting new standards for what meaningful, equitable, and impactful internships can look like. Whether you’re just beginning to build a program or looking to refine an established one, we hope these stories and trends inspire you to continue investing in the growth and success of your interns—not just on National Intern Day, but every day.