Students and Recent Graduates

Pathways Internships for Students & Recent Graduates - Open to U.S. Citizens, paid (~$24K to ~$82K) internships for current undergraduate and graduate students and recent (2 years) graduates.  Typical appointments are for 1 year and are expected to be full-time positions during the summer (June-August). In some cases, students can continue to work as interns during the school year as NIST resources and intern availability permit.  Applications for internships are typically accepted in early fall and early spring.

• See the NIST Student Employment site for general details on requirements, benefits, and opportunities to transition to full-time positions.  
  • See the Frequently Asked Questions about pathways internships.
• Typically interns work under the direction of senior computer scientists to research, model, prototype, test and measure emerging technologies for advanced networking and distributed information systems. Interns contribute to NIST network research through the development of software, design, and execution of modeling and measurement experiments, data analysis and visualization, and documenting/publishing research results.
• Note: CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) students, NIST internships count toward your required Federal service.
• ANTD anticipates hiring several Computer Science / Electrical Engineering / Mathematics Interns for summer 2020.   
• The first round of summer 2020 Pathway internship applications is OPEN!   
  • There will be a second application opportunity for summer computer science Interns in Jan-March time frame.   Students who wish to apply to the second opportunity should review the application process from the last call prepare their USAJobs profiles in advance.
• Undergraduate Students use the application below to apply for the ZP-1 level and select Advanced Network Technologies Division (ANTD).
  • ZP-1599-I, Computer Scientist trainee, 
• Graduate Students use the application below to apply for both the ZP-1 and ZP-2 positions and select Advanced Network Technologies Division (ANTD).
  • ZP-1599-II, Computer Scientist trainee, Level 2 

• Students not currently enrolled in a college-level computer science/engineering related program use the application below to apply and select Advanced Network Technologies Division (ANTD).

  • ZP-2299-I/II Information Technology Trainee

• Note, students are encouraged to:

  • Carefully follow the application instructions and include all requested documents. You will not be notified if you forget! 

  • Apply to both of the positions (Computer Science and Information Technology) if there is any question about your qualifications.

• In addition to the application process above, please contact antd-opportunity [at] nist.gov to start the conversation about your internship at NIST/ANTD (and allow us to be on the lookout for your application).

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Program -  sponsors  a 11-week summer internship program for undergraduate students enrolled at U.S. 2-year and 4-year institutions majoring in chemistry, computer science, engineering, materials science, fire research, nanotechnology, information technology, mathematics, biology, manufacturing, statistics, or other STEM discipline. The program provides students with hands-on research experience under the mentorship of a NIST scientist or engineer in Gaithersburg, MD.    SURF students receive financial support including a stipend, travel allowance, and housing support during the summer.

• See the NIST SURF Program site for details about the program requirements, application process, university contacts, etc.
  • See also the SURF Frequently Asked Questions page for more details.
  • Applications for the summer 2020 SURF program are expected to open in November 2019 and close by early February 2020.