Internships
& Co-Ops

Work on projects that have a lasting effect on the world we live in and define the technology of tomorrow. We are looking for the one-of-a-kind, to not just think outside the box, but reinvent it. At IBM, you will work alongside a global community of 6000+ interns in a workplace that champions inclusion and a culture of giving back.

IBM’s internship programs are an opportunity to learn from the best and develop skills that will make you stand out in today’s rapidly-evolving market. If you’re ready to do what you love and having a great time doing it, join us.

Extreme Blue Program

There are internships, and then there’s Extreme Blue™. This is your opportunity to unleash your technical ingenuity and business acumen into the professional world. You’ll work hard and work fast with the support and expertise of one of the world's leading technology companies to deliver innovative solutions for real business challenges.

The Extreme Blue experience includes:

  • 10-week to 3-month time frame, varies by region
  • Working with a team of peers to develop a solution for a real-world challenge
  • A weekly showcase with multi-disciplinary tech and business leaders across IBM
  • Continuous mentorship and hands-on training working on cutting edge projects
  • An end-of-session presentation and demo to IBM execs and stakeholders
  • A one-of-a-kind internship experience

US Internships & Co-op

We’re proud to launch a new internship experience for U.S. students pursuing careers in today’s top fields – consulting, data science, and design, just to name a few. You can focus on building your career with this not-your-average internship experience filled with networking and social events, career development activities, hackathons, give-back-days, and more. And at the end of the summer, you’ll celebrate your achievements at our Signature Event with other interns from across the country and IBM execs.

Developer

Spend 10-12 weeks with IBM as Developer in our hands-on, tailored experience that will teach you to apply your development skills in the cognitive computing era. Interns receive team assignments to a variety of business units and earn the opportunity to work on relevant and timely projects that impact IBM clients. Internships begin in late May to early June and conclude in mid-to-late August.

Design Patterns

Are you looking for an internship that feeds your soul? IBM has just the thing for you in Design Patterns— an intensive software design internship experience that hires the dangerously curious, teaches through participatory learning, prototyping, and reflection, and drives to early outcomes for bleeding edge IBM products and services.

Over the course of the 8–10 long week experience in our Austin Studio, Designers are deployed in small intern cohorts guided by their product team mentors to attack complex problems for real stakeholders. Designers are skilled in Design Research, User Experience Design or Visual Design.

Chief Analytics Office

Are you a strategic and analytical thinker looking for a challenge? For the Chief Analytics Office (CAO) Internship program, we are looking for bright aspiring Data Scientist and Strategy Consultants to leverage data to provide internal solutions that drive IBM strategies, products, pricing, etc.

Chief Information Office

Are you looking to work along with innovative talent? The CIO Organization is looking for talented interns who bring fresh new ideas to create a productive environment for all IBMers across the globe through our internship program offering. Our mission is to provide the best work experience in a digital workplace to all IBM employees and consequently positively impact on the way IBM deliver what our clients need.

Human Resources

Are you looking for a challenging and fulfilling internship? As a Human Resource intern, you’ll take part in meaningful work in a range of areas, including compensation, diversity, recruitment, workforce planning, and leadership development. You’ll be challenged to advance your leadership and analytical skills through experiential learning.

Finance

Do you have a passion for transformation and innovation? The IBM Finance Co-op experience is a tremendous hands-on opportunity providing exposure to corporate finance and the broader corporate structure. You’ll continue your learning experience – gaining both technical and professional skills as you manage business deliverables and opt-in to participate in projects that make an impact.

Global Chief Data Office

As an intern in the Global Chief Data office (GCDO) you’ll work on technology that is leading the charge to make IBM a cognitive workplace. This is an exciting opportunity to work alongside the leading minds in the GCDO and to build the cognitive enterprises data platform for IBM.

Legal - Intellectual Property Law

Are you interested in law and technology? Join our IBM Patent Center for a 12-week immersive program, learning the basics of patent law with an emphasis on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications. You’ll be working in a dynamic, fast-paced, work environment, learning how to protect emerging technologies and to develop and share best practices with the team.

Marketing

Our Marketing & Communications internship provides aspiring, innovative marketers with an opportunity to make an impact at IBM, ultimately making an impact on the world. Our 10-week long training for students provides a solid foundation of marketing technical skills through a challenging problem-solving team project on which to build a career and contribute to the success of our customers.

Market Development & Insights

As a Market Development & Insights intern, you’ll participate in a 10-week summer internship program that provides you the opportunity to work on strategic projects that address real business challenges facing IBM's decision makers. Throughout the summer, you’ll participate in educational sessions to develop skills, join in on networking opportunities to connect with other members of Market Development & Insight and across IBM, and gain exposure to many different parts of IBM's business.

Procurement

Join our Global Procurement team for 12 weeks as you work side by side with talented procurement professionals throughout IBM. You'll have the chance to to work on individual and team projects that will help develop your skills and delve into working Agile. Our Procurement group champions our internal and external clients’ success by actively supporting their purchasing needs. Further expand your supply chain management knowledge and build a solid foundation towards a career in Global Procurement with an internship at IBM!

Research

Are you interested in pioneering transformative technologies? We are driving innovation using the most promising and disruptive technologies - Cloud, AI, and Quantum to name a few. Join one of the world’s largest and most influential corporate Research Labs – more than 3,000 researchers across 12 labs in 6 continents – and start inventing the things that matter to the world.

Summit

The North American (NA) Summit program provides new IBM sellers in the US and Canada with the experiences and tools needed to partner with IBM clients to define and sell value-added Cloud Platform and Cognitive solutions. The NA Summit Program develops new IBM sellers through immersive training that provides a solid foundation of consultative selling skills on which to build a career and contribute to the success of our clients.

Student employment assignments provide you the opportunity to become familiar with IBM's organization, work style, culture and global reach. Salary is based upon the number of credits completed towards your degree. You must provide verification of credits, in writing, from your school, prior to assignment.

Co-op and internship programs are an important recruiting channel for IBM because they help us identify high-potential prospective employees. Participating students are often considered for repeat internships or a long-term commitment of regular employment.

What’s the difference

Internships and Co-ops allow students to apply their knowledge and expertise in their particular field, while gaining experience working for a global enterprise. The result is an experiential education that deepens the students knowledge and prepares them further for their chosen career.

An Internship is a short-term, supervised work experience in a student's field of interest for which the student may or may not earn academic credit. This is generally a one-time work experience for three to six months.

A Co-op is a partnership between the student, university and employer to provide the student with a rich learning experience in their chosen field of study. The length of Co-op experience is typically a semester plus a summer (ex. January to August or June to December).

Types of assignments

Each year IBM offers hundreds of internship assignments within our various business units and Career Paths. Find an opportunity with Watson using our Find your Fit tool.. Then, spend time talking with our recruiters, hiring managers and new hires when we visit your campus.

You can see a full list of all of our opportunities here. You must apply to this site in order to be considered for any role at IBM, even if you interview with us on campus. Check back often, as we do update our job postings frequently

Eligibility

Students must be enrolled full-time at an accredited college or university leading to an undergraduate or advanced degree and must be in good standing at their school. Students should be hired into positions related to their degree. Many positions require U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Resident status, although Foreign Nationals will be considered for some programs.

Why Intern at IBM

"I chose IBM because I was excited about the wide variety of opportunities here. There are so many different products to work on and different roles to play. It's also exciting that the IBM products that we work on are used by so many people and businesses around the world." - Rachel F.

"I had the opportunity to expand my skills by applying them on a project that is much greater in size than what could be accomplished in school. I now understand how software is actually developed in the real world and the related processes that go with that, such as talking with the client, scheduling of meetings, testing and preparing a product for deployment." - Steven C.

"A co-op with IBM turned into my entry to a great job as I joined IBM full time this year. During my co-op, I learned a boatload of new technical skills - and a whole lot more! The co-op with IBM was absolutely worth it. It was a decision that has single-handedly affected my life after graduation." - Eric W.

Intern and Co-op Benefits

  • Challenging and stimulating work assignments in leading-edge technology and services operations
  • Relocation assistance funds for eligible students
  • Housing location assistance provided prior to arrival at IBM location
  • Competitive salaries that increase as additional credits towards the degree are earned
  • Overtime pay at time-and-a-half for hours worked beyond the normal 40-hour week for undergraduate students
  • Paid holidays during assignment period according to site procedures
  • Five sickness and accident days for assignments greater than 60 work days
  • Additional benefits to be provided upon an offer letter

You can see a full list of all of our opportunities here.