Join students from across the country and lend your knowledge to national security in one of NSA's over 30 summer internship programs. These 12 week paid programs run from mid-May to mid-August and are open to undergraduate freshman up to Ph.D. students depending on internship requirements. These internships are open to a wide variety of majors and give students the opportunity to work directly with mission-critical problems and experience the excitement of working in NSA spaces.
Summary
Join students from across the country and lend your knowledge to national security in one of NSA's over 30 summer internship programs. These 12 week paid programs run from mid-May to mid-August and are open to undergraduate freshman up to Ph.D. students depending on internship requirements. These internships are open to a wide variety of majors and give students the opportunity to work directly with mission-critical problems and experience the excitement of working in NSA spaces.
The NSA Summer Language Internship Programs at our Fort Meade, MD and Oahu, HI location offers students exciting, impactful professional work opportunities (with pay and limited benefits!) to grow their knowledge of the Intelligence Community and federal government while advancing NSA's two primary missions: 1) Collecting, analyzing, and producing foreign signals intelligence; and 2) Providing cybersecurity solutions and guidance to protect critical national infrastructure. These summer internship opportunities are open to students who are pursuing education in a variety of degree programs.
Please apply through this vacancy if you are interested in the Summer Language Internship Program at our Fort Meade, MD and/or Oahu, HI Locations:
NSA's Summer Language Program is a 12-week paid internship for undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students with foreign language proficiency. Summer interns are fully integrated into a language production office under the guidance of an experienced language analyst mentor. The internship may, if mutually agreeable, lead to full-time employment upon degree completion. Languages selected for the Summer Language program mirror NSA's strategic language hiring goals and may change from summer to summer. The program can be a one-summer or a multiple-summer program, depending on when a student begins the program; additional summers are not mandatory.
***PLEASE NOTE: The full listing of each internship description and details can be found by visiting: Intelligencecareers.gov/nsa/students-and-internships. If unable to open this link, please copy and paste into your browser.
All applicants and employees are subject to random drug testing in accordance with Executive Order 12564. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a security background investigation and polygraph.
Qualifications
To be accepted into the NSA Summer Internship candidates:
- Must be a U.S. Citizen
- Must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program (undergraduate, graduate, doctorate) at time of application
- Specific education requirements vary by program
- Preferred cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Must be eligible to be granted a TS/SCI security clearance after successfully completing a background investigation, a Full-scope Polygraph and a Psychological Evaluation
- Must be available and in the U.S. for operational and technical interviews and other applicable processing, both in-person and via telephone/internet, between the months of November 2025 and April 2026
For NSAs Summer Language Program, no specific major is required, but the following language proficiencies are recommended:
- Arabic
- Russian
- Mandarin Chinese
- Persian Farsi
- African Languages
***PLEASE NOTE: If selected you may be required to complete a proctored Defense Language Aptitude Battery (DLAB) and Defense Language Proficiency Test (DLPT). Testing will need to be completed by 14 November 2025.
Education
To be accepted into the NSA Summer Internship candidates:
- Must be a U.S. Citizen
- Must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program (undergraduate, graduate, doctorate) at time of application
- Specific education requirements vary by program
- Preferred cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
For NSAs Summer Language Program, no specific major is required
Additional information
- Students are paid a competitive salary commensurate with their education level.
- All internships are 10 - 12 weeks during the summer.
- Receive annual leave, sick leave and paid federal holidays.
- Students who attend school in excess of 75 miles from Fort Meade, MD are eligible for housing accommodations and travel entitlements of a round trip airfare ticket to and from school or mileage reimbursement up to the cost of a government-issued airline ticket.
- Students participating in the Ohau, HI location; housing accommodations may be available.
- Daily transportation to and from work is NOT provided. Students participating in the program are highly encouraged to bring a vehicle. Carpooling with other students MAY be available, but is NOT guaranteed.
- Participation in agency-wide extracurricular programs.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
The National Security Agency (NSA) is part of the DoD Intelligence Community Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). All positions in the NSA are in the Excepted Services under 10 United States Codes (USC) 1601 appointment authority. DoD Components with DCIPS positions apply Veterans' Preference to eligible candidates as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 USC, in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, DCIPS Employment and Placement. If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you may be asked to submit documents verifying your eligibility.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
The National Security Agency (NSA) is part of the DoD Intelligence Community Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS). All positions in the NSA are in the Excepted Services under 10 United States Codes (USC) 1601 appointment authority. DoD Components with DCIPS positions apply Veterans' Preference to eligible candidates as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 USC, in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, DCIPS Employment and Placement. If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you may be asked to submit documents verifying your eligibility.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
