Undergraduate & Graduate Internships

Our programs for undergraduate and graduate students offer an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in world-class research and development. Explore Draper capabilities, solutions and business areas to determine what technology areas interest you, then check the set of job listings here.

Please apply as soon as possible – there are no rigid dates for submission, but offers are sometimes made early for outstanding candidates.

If you have made contact with a specific staff member in your area of interest (e.g., at a conference or through an event) please feel free to contact him/her directly and inquire about the possibility of working with him/her through the program. Many times, a student's participation in one Draper student program can evolve into participation into another program (e.g., the Draper Fellow Program and eventually into becoming a technical staff member).

Engineering Student Internship Program

Engineering interns have multiple opportunities to attend technical briefings, interact with national experts in numerous fields of research, work with state-of-the-art equipment on real-world technical applications and then present the results of their research and development activities at the end of the internship. The majority of engineering interns are at Draper from early June through mid-August under the direct supervision of technical staff.

Non-engineering Co-Op Internship Program

Draper hires students to support business and information technology activities in both full-time summer positions as well as part-time positions during the academic year. 

Draper also partners with several institutions, including Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute, UMass Lowell and the University of South Florida to offer work-study programs for both undergraduate and graduate students. These programs vary depending on the school requirements and schedule.

High School Internship Program

This program provides an opportunity for students to prepare for a professional career in engineering or a related science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) field by working with mentor scientists and engineers to complete a research project.

Students apply their interests in STEM to real-world problems with open-ended components, design constraints and specified deliverables. Teams of three to four students work on defined projects under the supervision of a Draper engineer or scientist. Upon completion of the internship, the teams present their results to their engineering groups, fellow students and other invited guests from within Draper.

Students have opportunities to attend Draper’s scientific seminars and presentations, and can tour different labs within Draper throughout the summer.

Internship Projects

The high school internship projects differ each year. To better understand the technology areas that Draper works in, explore Draper’s solutions, capabilities and business areas. 

Read more about the Summer 2018 Projects here.

Application Process & Timeline

Candidates can submit applications February through March using the web submission portal. Final selections will occur in April. 

All applications must be submitted during the application period and through the web submission portal. Complete applications include a transcript, a letter of recommendation, and six short answer questions. Finalists will be interviewed before receiving an offer. 

Eligibility

• U.S. citizenship or green card required for the summer internship. 

• Students must be 16 years of age at the start of the internship.

• The student must be entering their junior or senior year of high school. If you are a graduating senior, please see our undergraduate internship opportunities. 

Logistics

Internships run for six consecutive weeks from July to August. Students must be able to commit to the entire six weeks to participate. During these weeks, students will work Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., which includes an unpaid lunch hour each day. Interns will receive $12.75 per hour. Housing is not provided. Students must be capable of commuting, if necessary.

Application Requirements

1. Online application form

2. Official high school transcript

3. One letter of recommendation from an instructor in a relevant science/engineering course. Please have instructor send recommendation to hs_program@draper.com and include the word “recommendation” and student name in subject field (i.e., Recommendation - John Doe).

Draper cannot accept hand-delivered application materials.

We are no longer accepting applications for 2018. 

For more information, please contact hs_program@draper.com. Please do not send application materials to this address.