Best Internships by Role

To compile the 2026 Vault Top Internships Rankings, Vault surveyed thousands of current and former interns in the summer of 2025. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, respondents were asked to rate their internship experiences in seven core areas:

• Quality of Life (company culture, hours, work-life balance, flexibility)
• Culture of Acceptance (interns' ability to be authentic and "bring their whole selves to work," level of respect for interns varied backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives)
• Compensation & Benefits (pay structure, subsidized expenses, technology resources, office space, perks)
• Interview Process (application process, requirements, number of interviews)
• Career Development (including four separate ratings for training and mentoring, quality of assignments, real-life experience, networking opportunities)
• Full-time Employment Prospects (opportunity to obtain a full-time job with this organization)
• Inclusion (including four separate ratings for inclusion with respect to women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and other underrepresented groups)

To determine an overall score for each program, the ratings were assigned relative weights based on what interns told us they most value most in an internship. The overall scores are based on the following weighted formula: 35 percent career development, 20 percent employment prospects, 20 percent quality of life, 20 percent compensation, and 5 percent culture of acceptance.

The Best Internships by Role represent the programs with the highest overall scores from interns working in those roles. The rankings include Data Analytics, Engineering, Finance,  HR, Information Technology, Software Development and Engineering, Strategy and Business Development, and Sales, Marketing, and Communications.