This is not an exhaustive list of the internships available in physics & astronomy. Talk to your adviser about applying for internships in other areas of physics or your field of study.
Table of Contents
Data Science
Physics
Aerospace
Astronomy, astrophysics, and planetary science
International Opportunities
Post Baccalaureate and Masters-PhD Bridge Programs
JHU Institute for Data Intensive Engineering and Science https://www.idies.jhu.edu/funding/summer-student-fellowship/
National Science Foundation funded summer physics programs (Research Experience for Undergraduates) all over the U.S.: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=69
There are many (>50) opportunities listed here.
American Association of Physicists in Medicine (Medical Physics) internship opportunity https://aapm.secure-platform.com/gaf/page/SFP
DREAM (10 week internship for underrepresented groups in Medical Physics) http://aapm.me/DREAM
Department of Energy internships available through Oak Ridge National Lab: https://orise.orau.gov/internships-fellowships/index.html
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (Laurel, MD): https://www.jhuapl.edu/Careers/Internships
NIST Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) https://www.nist.gov/surf
American Physical Society internship list https://www.aps.org/careers/employment/internships.cfm#undergrad
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) at National Labs https://science.osti.gov/wdts/suli
Caltech Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) open to international students https://sfp.caltech.edu/undergraduate-research/programs/surf
Caltech LIGO Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships open to international students https://labcit.ligo.caltech.edu/LIGO_web/students/SURF/
CERN open to international students https://careers.cern/programmes/summer-studentship/
Caltech WAVE Fellowships for underrepresented minority students who intend to pursue a Ph.D. in STEM https://sfp.caltech.edu/undergraduate-research/programs/wavefellows
The program is extended, but not limited, to racially minoritized communities, women (in certain fields), first-generation college students, geographically underrepresented students, educationally or financially disadvantaged students, and students with disabilities.
APS/IBM Research Internships for Women and Underrepresented minorities https://www.aps.org/programs/women/scholarships/ibm/
UMD TREND: Training and Research Experiences in Nonlinear Dynamics https://trend.umd.edu/
Idaho National Lab https://inl.gov/internships/
Currently (2025) Inactive:
APS/IBM Research Internships for Women and Underrepresented minorities https://www.aps.org/programs/women/scholarships/ibm/
The Society of Physics Students offers an internship (open to international students) https://www.spsnational.org/programs/internships/program-details
National Space Internship Program https://swf2030.org/national-space-interns/
Zed Factor Fellowship https://zedfactorfellowship.org FAQ: https://zedfactorfellowship.org/faqs
Ball Aerospace (Boulder, CO) https://www.ball.com/emea/careers/internships
Northrup Grumman (multiple locations, including local) https://www.northropgrumman.com/careers/internships-at-northrop-grumman/
Lockheed Martin (multiple locations, including local) https://www.lockheedmartinjobs.com Enter internship under Search Jobs
Astronomy, astrophysics & planetary science
GRAD MAP program at UMD (weeklong winter school in January & summer internship) https://www.umdgradmap.org/
NASA internships: http://intern.nasa.gov Over 150 opportunities listed here!
If you do apply for one or more of the NASA summer internships, please let me know. We may be able to support one or two students to work at NASA through the NASA Maryland Space Grant.
National Science Foundation funded summer astronomy programs (Research Experience for Undergraduates) all over the U.S.: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/reu/search?unitid=5045&f%5B0%5D=reu_research_area%3A25734 Several opportunities listed here!
Note that some of the options on the full list of over 50 physics NSF REU programs: https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=69 may also have astrophysics or space physics options.
National Radio Astronomy Observatory (Socorro, NM, Charlottesville, VA)/ Green Bank Observatory (Green Bank, WV) https://science.nrao.edu/opportunities/student-programs/summerstudents
NAC program is open to international students: https://science.nrao.edu/opportunities/student-programs/nac/2020-nac-application
Rowland Fellows at Johns Hopkins University
https://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/undergraduate/summer-research-fellowship/
Space Telescope Science Institute (Baltimore) open to international students: http://www.stsci.edu/opportunities/space-astronomy-summer-program
Lunar and Planetary Institute (Houston, TX) http://www.lpi.usra.edu/lpiintern/
Berkeley SETI Research Center (Berkeley, CA) open to international students: http://seti.berkeley.edu/Internship.html
Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/opportunities/graduate-undergraduate-programs/reu-summer-intern-program
For additional opportunities in astronomy, see this list of internships compiled by the American Astronomical Society https://aas.org/careers/internships-summer-jobs
Currently (2025) Inactive
Astro Scholars program (weeklong winter school in January) https://www.astroscholars.org/apply
National Space Council Internships https://www.whitehouse.gov/get-involved/internships/national-space-council-internships/
Research Internships in Germany https://www.daad.de/rise/en/
LEAPS/ESA Astrophysics Program for Summer Interns at Leiden Observatory (The Netherlands) http://leaps.strw.leidenuniv.nl/
ASTRON Summer Research Programme (The Netherlands) https://www.astron.nl/education/summer-research-programme/
Note: Some U.S. programs are open to non-US citizens. Here’s list of programs available for international students, some of which are listed above, but not all!
Post-Baccalaureate Opportunities
Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
University of Maryland CRESST II Post-bacc program
University of Utah Post-bacc program
Masters to PhD Bridge Programs
Princeton University Physics Pre-doctoral Program
University of Central Florida Physics Bridge to Doctorate
University of Michigan Physics Bridge to Doctorate