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.

This job is open to

Students

Current students enrolled in an accredited high school, college or graduate institution.

Duties

The NSA Summer Internship Programs at our Fort Meade, MD 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 any of the following STEM internships:

- Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-Cyber Ops) Summer Intern Program
- Computer Science Intern Program (CSIP)
- Cryptanalysis and Signals Analysis Summer Program (CASA)
- Cyber Summer Program (CSP)
- Director's Summer Program (DSP)
- Graduate Math Program (GMP)
- Installations & Logistics (I&L) / Data Center Facilities Management (DCFM) Intern Program
- Research Experience Student Program (RESP)
- Science of Security (SoS) Intern Program
- Security & Counterintelligence Summer Intern Program (SCSIP)
- Signal Intelligence Collection Program (SICP)
- Summer Intern Program for Information Assurance & Engineering (SIPIA)
- Summer Intern Program for Science & Technology (SIPST)
- Summer Program for Operations Research Technology (SPORT)

***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.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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 - STEM, 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

Preferred majors:

- Computer Science or related field, such as:
- Computer Engineering
- Mathematics
- Data Science
- Physics
- Information Systems
- Cybersecurity
- Artificial Intelligence
- Engineering or closely related field, such as:
- Industrial Engineer
- Systems Engineer
- Computer Network Engineer
- Computer Engineer
- Electrical Engineer
- Civil Engineer
- Mechanical Engineer
- Software Engineer
-Mathematics or closely related field, such as:
- Data Science
- Statistics

***PLEASE NOTE: Other majors may be considered, however the majors listed above are highly recommended.

***PLEASE NOTE: You may be required to complete an Unproctored Internet Testing (UIT) requirement measuring cognitive ability, motivation, and English proficiency.

Education

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.
- 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.

Benefits

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.

Review our 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.

For more information, please visit: https://apply.intelligencecareers.gov/job-description/1248862

Required Documents

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:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

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.

How to Apply

Please visit our application site to apply: https://apply.intelligencecareers.gov/job-description/1248862

Agency contact information

NSA POC

Phone: 1-844-424-4737
Email: intelcareers@nsa.gov
Address: NSA External Hiring
9800 Savage Road
Fort Meade, MD 20755
US

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