Summer 2027 recruiting
Microsoft internships: when they open and how to apply
For students early in college, Microsoft is about as good as big tech gets: it runs programs for first- and second-year students and even for students who haven't started college yet. The main internships post in late summer and fill quickly. Interviews are fully virtual and come in two rounds.
MicrosoftEarly-career programs
- University Internship
- Explore Microsoft
- Discovery Program
- PhD, MBA, and JD Internships
Internships and programs at Microsoft
The early-career programs it runs for students and recent graduates, by the names it uses for them.
- University Internship
- Microsoft's standard 12-week summer internship, covering software engineering, product management, technical program management, data and applied science, hardware, design, research, and business roles. Most placements are in Redmond, with other US and international offices depending on the team. Microsoft offers visa sponsorship and relocation help.
- Explore Microsoft
- A 12-week US summer internship for first- and second-year college students in technical majors. Explorers work in small pods on real product team projects and try both program manager and software engineer work across the design, build, and quality phases. You need an intro CS course and one semester of calculus, but not a CS major.
- Discovery Program
- A paid four-week summer program for graduating high school seniors headed to a bachelor's program, based in Redmond or Atlanta. Discoverers work in pods on a project for a real product team. Applicants need pre-calculus or three consecutive years of high school math.
- PhD, MBA, and JD Internships
- Graduate students have their own tracks, including Microsoft Research internships for PhD students and business roles for MBA candidates. These run alongside the undergraduate internship with separate postings and timelines.
When Microsoft posts internships
Microsoft posts roles all year, but the main wave of summer internships has opened in August and September. Review is rolling, and some postings have come down within days once enough applications arrived. Applying in the first two or three weeks beats waiting until November by a wide margin.
Interviews and offers run from early fall into winter, with offers going out in waves. Microsoft tells applicants to allow up to 90 days for a decision, so a month or two of silence is normal.
Explore postings show up in the same fall window, with separate first-year and second-year applications. Discovery recruits much later: its applications have opened around February.
These are patterns from recent cycles, not published dates, and they shift. The reliable signal is the posting itself: Trakker is an internship tracker that reads Microsoft’s careers site directly and can email you within minutes of a new role appearing.
Who can apply
The University Internship is for bachelor's, master's, MBA, and PhD students who will return to school afterward. Recent graduates may not qualify and should look at full-time roles. Everyone has to submit a new application each year, even if you interviewed last cycle.
Explore is limited to first- and second-year undergraduates in technical majors and requires an intro CS course and a semester of calculus. Discovery is only for students about to start their first year of college. Requirements vary by country, so check Microsoft's internship qualifications page for your region.
The interview process
Every student interview is virtual. The first round is an initial interview that judges your fit for the role in general, across Microsoft teams. Some software candidates report an online coding test before that.
If you advance, the final round is with a specific team or organization: several back-to-back 1:1 interviews with a break in between, mixing behavioral and technical questions. Depending on the role you may write code, walk through a portfolio or project, or share other work samples.
Tips for applying to Microsoft
- Freshmen and sophomores: Explore is one of the strongest targets in big tech. Take intro CS and calculus early so you qualify.
- Get your application in during August or early September. Microsoft's postings fill and come down fast.
- Prepare for the final round as a team interview. A specific organization runs it, so research the group if you know which one it is.
- Be patient after interviews. Microsoft says to allow up to 90 days for a decision.
Microsoft internship questions
- When does Microsoft post internships?
- The main wave of summer internship postings has opened in August and September. Review is rolling and postings can close within days, so apply early. Decisions can take up to 90 days.
- Can freshmen apply to Microsoft internships?
- Yes. Explore Microsoft is a 12-week summer internship for first- and second-year students in technical majors, and the four-week Discovery Program is for high school seniors about to start college. Explore requires an intro CS course and a semester of calculus.
- What is the Microsoft intern interview process?
- Interviews are virtual and come in two rounds: an initial interview on general fit for the role, then back-to-back final interviews with a specific team. Some software candidates also report an online coding test first.
- What internships does Microsoft offer?
- The University Internship across engineering, product, program management, data science, hardware, design, research, and business roles, plus Explore for underclassmen, Discovery for incoming first-year students, and graduate internships for PhD, MBA, and JD students.
Where else to look
Employers students often weigh against Microsoft, and the role tracks its internships fall under.
Sources
What this page was checked against. Programs and timelines change from cycle to cycle, so Microsoft’s own careers site has the final word.
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