NSA Summer 2027 Internship Program - Science of Security - Entry - Maryland
About the Program
The NSA Summer Internship Program at Fort Meade, MD 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: collecting, analyzing, and producing foreign signals intelligence; and providing cybersecurity solutions and guidance to protect critical national infrastructure. These summer internship opportunities are open to students pursuing education in a variety of degree programs.
Science of Security Program
The Science of Security Internship Program is a highly competitive research opportunity focused on advancing cutting-edge research in cybersecurity and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). The program welcomes both undergraduate and graduate student researchers and pairs them with experienced research mentors to support the students' professional development while contributing to NSA mission priorities. Participants will work collaboratively with NSA mentors and may also engage with fellow summer interns and members of NSA development programs to advance state-of-the-art research relevant to the NSA cybersecurity mission. The internship is housed within NSA's Laboratory for Advanced Cybersecurity Research. At the conclusion of the summer, students will be expected to prepare and present a briefing to the lab highlighting their research accomplishments.
Research Opportunities
Research opportunities may include, but are not limited to, the following areas:
- Formal Methods
- Binary Reverse Engineering
- Network Security and Administration
- Systems Architecture
- Cyber-Physical Systems
- Cyber Psychology
- RF and Cybersecurity
- Trusted Execution
- Trustworthy AI
- Other related fields
Job 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.
Qualifications
To be accepted into the NSA Summer Internship - Science of Security, 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 October 2026 and April 2027
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. You may be required to complete an Unproctored Internet Testing (UIT) requirement measuring cognitive ability, motivation, and English proficiency.
Pay and Benefits
- 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
How to Apply
To apply for this position, please click the 'Apply' button located at the top right of this posting. After completing the application for the first time, or reviewing previously entered information, and clicking the 'Submit' button, you will receive a confirmation email. Please ensure your spam filters are configured to accept emails from noreply@intelligencecareers.gov.
To be considered for our Summer Internships, you must submit a COMPLETE application package by 5 September 11:59pm EST for all Summer Internship Programs. Your application package MUST include:
- Official transcript (unofficial will be accepted if legible) - file name = LAST_FIRST_TRANSCRIPT
- PDF copy of your current resume - file name = LAST_FIRST_RESUME
Optional: Cover Letter listing your interest in NSA's Summer Internships - file name = LAST_FIRST_COVER
Important: Your application is not considered complete until the 2 items listed above have been emailed to SummerInterns@uwe.nsa.gov in addition to your online application. Any incomplete package will NOT be considered.
You could be contacted and/or considered for more than one specific internship. If you apply to multiple internship programs, you only need to submit the required documents to SummerInterns@uwe.nsa.gov one time.
Deadline: Applications are accepted 15 August - 5 September 11:59pm EST; however, selections for this program are made on a rolling basis and applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for review and security clearance processing.
Contact Information: If you have any questions about NSA Summer Internships, please contact us at SummerInterns@uwe.nsa.gov or call us at 410-854-4726.
Apply soonest, as job postings can close earlier than stated end dates due to changes in requirements. It is important to review and note the minimum qualifications, as only those applicants who meet the required qualifications will be contacted to continue the employment process. Please populate the resume tool to showcase any relevant work experience and education related to the position and answer any applicable screening questions. Information collected will be used to determine eligibility, and failure to provide accurate information may result in disqualification for this position. A confirmation email will be sent after submission of the first application and also after any future updates to submitted applications.