How to Get an Internship as a Freshman or Sophomore

You're a freshman or sophomore, your feed is full of classmates posting "thrilled to announce" internships, and you've quietly decided you're behind. You're almost certainly not. Most of those posts are juniors, and most of the splashy listings you're looking at aren't even open to you yet. Here's what these two years are actually for, which roles you can realistically get right now, and the exact move to make this year depending on whether you're a freshman or a sophomore.

First, the honest part: you probably don't need an internship yet

The thing nobody says out loud: not having a "real" internship after freshman year is the normal pattern, and not having one after sophomore year is common too. The students posting brand-name offers are mostly further along than you. Comparing your year one to someone else's year three is how the panic starts.

Your job as an underclassman isn't to win a prestigious seat. It's three quieter things: exposure (figuring out what work you actually like), skills (one or two things you can demonstrate), and relationships (a few people who know your name). Those compound. A name on your resume this early does not, on its own, do much.

There's one real exception. A small elite tier, mostly top investment banking and the top consulting firms, genuinely recruits sophomores more than a year ahead, so for that narrow path the calendar is earlier than it feels. If that's your target, sort out the timing first with our guide on when applications actually open by industry. For everything else, you have more runway than your group chat suggests.

Why a longer runway is an advantage, not a gap

Recruiting for the internship that often turns into a full-time offer happens in your junior year. Everything you do before then is setup. So the real question isn't "do I have an internship this summer," it's "will I walk into junior-year recruiting with something to show and people who'll vouch for me."

That's where the extra time wins. Two years of small proof and a handful of warm contacts beats one frantic spring of cold applications from a blank resume. The student who built one project freshman year, did a research stint or campus job sophomore summer, and stayed in touch with two people arrives at junior recruiting with stories to tell and a referral or two in their pocket. The student who waited until junior fall to start is doing all of it cold, at the busiest possible moment.

You don't need to do a lot. You need to start early and let it accumulate. Early and small beats late and frantic, every time.

What's actually open to you (program types, not a stale list)

Most "internships for freshmen and sophomores" listicles name specific branded programs with eligibility and deadlines that go stale within a year. Skip that. Learn the categories instead, then look up current specifics yourself. Here's what's genuinely reachable this early.

Early-talent and "explore" style programs

Some large tech and finance firms run short programs built specifically for first and second-year students, framed around exposure and mentorship rather than a full working role. They exist, they rotate names and dates constantly, and the only reliable way to find the current ones is to look them up directly, not to trust a blog post from two years ago.

To find real, current ones: check the university-recruiting or early-careers page on the websites of companies you're interested in, ask your school's career center which programs students from your school have done, and skim crowdsourced student lists for leads you then verify at the source. Confirm eligibility, pay, and deadlines on the company's own page before you build a plan around any of them, because those details change every cycle.

On-campus jobs and roles

The most overlooked option is sitting on your own campus. Lab assistant, IT help desk, library, department office, tour guide, peer tutor. These are real jobs with real responsibility, and they're reachable as a freshman because they hire students by design. "Managed the front desk and scheduling for the physics department" is legitimate experience. It shows up on a resume, it builds references, and it puts you next to faculty and staff who hear about other opportunities first.

Research with a professor

Working in a professor's lab is one of the most underclassman-friendly paths there is, and these roles often get far fewer applicants than corporate listings. A research assistant position is an internship in everything but the title, and freshmen and sophomores get them regularly, usually by simply asking. The how matters a lot here, so we wrote it up separately: how to email a professor for a research role.

Smaller companies, startups, and local or nonprofit roles

This is where underclassmen actually get hired. Smaller companies, early-stage startups, and local or nonprofit organizations hire on ability and attitude over pedigree, the applicant pools are far smaller, and you often get more responsibility than you would at a giant firm. A specific, direct message to a small company can create a role that was never even posted. To find these consistently instead of stumbling on them, set up a repeatable routine with our weekly system for finding these roles, and you can browse internships on our feed to see what's open to students right now.

Club, project, and volunteer work that counts

Here's the reframe most students miss: "experience" this early does not have to be a paid job. Running an event for a student society, leading a club's social media, organizing a volunteer drive, or shipping a small project of your own all count as real, resume-worthy experience, because they show you can take responsibility and finish things. If you're not sure what to build, our guide on which project to actually build walks through it field by field. And for the full playbook on turning all of this into applications, see the general plan for proving skills with no work history. That post is the backbone; this one is just the year-specific layer on top.

Your move this year, by year

Same destination, different starting line. Find your year and do these over the next twelve months.

If you're a freshman right now

Low pressure. The goal is momentum, not a trophy.

1. Pick a direction loosely. You don't need a five-year plan. Choose a rough lane (software, marketing, biology, finance, design) you're curious enough to explore for a semester. You can change it.
2. Build one small thing. One project, one club role, one concrete responsibility you carry start to finish. Just one.
3. Get one on-campus or research role. Apply to a campus job or email two or three professors about research. This is the most achievable "real" experience you can land this year.
4. Start two relationships. An older student in your field, a professor, a club lead. Two people who'd recognize your name is plenty for now.
5. Set up the basics. A simple LinkedIn profile and a one-page resume, even a thin one. Our guide to a LinkedIn profile when you have no experience yet gets you a clean version in an evening.

If you're a sophomore right now

This is the year the realistic target set widens. Sophomore summer is the launchpad for junior-year recruiting, so aim a little higher.

1. Tighten your direction. Move from "rough lane" to a clearer target, because the program types and roles above reward students who can say what they want.
2. Ship one role-matched project. Build the thing that looks like the work you're applying for, not just any project. That single artifact carries your application.
3. Apply to the program types above. Sophomore year is when first and second-year-specific programs, smaller-company roles, and a first "real" internship become genuinely winnable. Verify current details at the source, then apply.
4. Start coffee chats for the fall cycle. A conversation now becomes a referral later. Begin a few with our guide on how to start a coffee chat now.
5. Line up timing. Know when your targets open so you apply inside the window instead of after it. The industry timing breakdown maps that out.

Frequently asked questions

Can freshmen actually get internships?

Yes, but the realistic set is narrower than it is for juniors. Your live options are underclassman-specific programs, on-campus jobs, research with a professor, and smaller or local roles. The name-brand, junior-level seats are rare this early, and not winning one as a freshman is expected, not a failure.

Is it too early to apply for internships as a freshman?

No. It's never too early to prepare, and not too early to apply wherever you're actually eligible. For most fields you're early or right on time. The timing only gets tight for that narrow elite finance and consulting tier, which our timing guide covers in detail.

What should I do if I don't get an internship my freshman or sophomore summer?

This is common and genuinely fine. Productive alternatives still build your runway: do research with a professor, take an on-campus job, ship a real project, take a course that fills a gap, or work a part-time or local role. A summer spent building one demonstrable thing beats a summer spent waiting for an offer that the market rarely hands underclassmen.

Do internships as a freshman or sophomore even matter for getting a job later?

Yes, through compounding rather than prestige. The skills and relationships you build now are exactly what strengthen your position in junior-year recruiting, when the internships that convert to full-time offers get decided. The value is exposure and momentum, not the logo. A small role you can talk about is worth more than a famous one you can't get.

What experience can I put on a resume as a freshman with nothing yet?

More than you think: clubs and societies, projects you've built, relevant coursework, on-campus jobs, and volunteering all belong on the page. The trick is framing them as responsibilities and outcomes, not hobbies. Our guides on the resume with no experience and the student LinkedIn profile show you exactly how to word it.

What to do today

If you're a freshman, the move today is small: email one professor about research or apply to one campus job, and spend twenty minutes setting up a basic resume. If you're a sophomore, pick the one project that matches the work you want and start it this week, then send one coffee-chat message. You're not behind. You're early, which is the best place to be, so use the runway instead of worrying about it.