NSA Summer 2027 Internship Program - Industrial & Organizational Psychology Program - Entry - Maryland

NSA Summer Internship Programs at our Fort Meade, MD location offer students exciting, impactful professional work opportunities to grow their knowledge of the Intelligence Community and federal government while advancing NSA's two primary missions: collecting, analyzing, and producing foreign signals intelligence; and providing cybersecurity solutions and guidance to protect critical national infrastructure.

About the role

The Industrial & Organizational Psychology Intern Program is a 12-week summer internship for graduate students enrolled in a Master's or Ph.D. program in I/O Psychology or a related field. The program provides valuable applied experience by working alongside I/O psychologists and other experts in areas such as:

• Personnel assessment/psychometrics
• Human capital systems design and consulting
• Occupational/job analysis and competency modeling
• Survey design and organizational effectiveness consultation
• Employee retention strategies
• Program evaluation

Through these functions, the Talent Management Strategy and Program Design unit works to better understand people, organizations, and the impact of management practices to promote organizational and individual success.

Responsibilities

• Gain hands-on experience in personnel assessment, psychometrics, and human capital systems design
• Contribute to occupational/job analysis, competency modeling, and survey design
• Assist in organizational effectiveness consultation and program evaluation
• Support employee retention strategy development
• Work directly on mission-critical problems within NSA spaces

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must be enrolled in a degree-seeking program (Master's or Ph.D.) at time of application
• 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 October 2026 and April 2027
• May be required to complete an Unproctored Internet Testing (UIT) requirement measuring cognitive ability, motivation, and English proficiency

Qualifications

Preferred majors include:

• Applied Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Educational Measurement
• Educational Psychology

Other majors may be considered, though the above are highly recommended.

Pay

Students are paid a competitive salary commensurate with their education level.

Benefits

• Annual leave, sick leave, and paid federal holidays
• Housing accommodations and travel entitlements (round-trip airfare or mileage reimbursement) for students attending school in excess of 75 miles from Fort Meade, MD
• Participation in agency-wide extracurricular programs

Schedule

• 10–12 weeks during the summer (mid-May to mid-August)
• Daily transportation to and from work is not provided; students are highly encouraged to bring a vehicle (carpooling may be available but is not guaranteed)