Outreachy May 2023 internship applications

Date: January 16, 2023

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Photo CC BY 2.0 GotCredit

Outreachy internship applications

Outreachy is seeking interns for the May to August 2023 internship cohort!

📅 Important dates:

We strongly recommend you read our tips for application essays before submitting your initial application.

Read applicant guide

Initial applications are reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis. Don't wait until the last day to submit your application!

Apply for Outreachy


Important information

New to Outreachy? Start here:

Important dates:


🤔 What is Outreachy?

Outreachy provides internships in open source and open science. We provide internships to people subject to systemic bias and impacted by underrepresentation in the technical industry where they are living.

Outreachy internships are:

💵 Paid - $7,000 USD total internship stipend
🌍 Remote - interns work remotely
🕰 3 months - internships run May to August, or December to March

Outreachy supports diversity in tech

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Outreachy is open to applicants around the world.

We invite people to apply who face systemic bias or discrimination in the technology industry of their country.

Outreachy expressly invites applicants who are women (both cis and trans), trans men, non-binary people, and genderqueer people to apply.

We also expressly invite applications who are residents and nationals of the United States of America of any gender who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latin@, Native American/American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander.

Past Outreachy interns are:

  • 92% women
  • 4% transgender, genderqueer, or non-binary people
  • 64% people of color
  • 12% people from a historically disadvantaged caste or tribe

Statistics are based on responses to the 2019 longitudinal study of Outreachy alums.


💻 What internship projects do you have?

Outreachy interns work on open source and open science projects. Experienced mentors will guide you.

👩🏿‍💻 Open source internships

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Photo CC BY 2.0 #WOCinTech Chat

What is open source? Open source software means anyone has the freedom to collaborate with others to improve code.

Open source software is code published online under a specific license. An open source license means anyone can download, modify, and share their changes to the code.

There are many ways to participate in open source. You don't have to be a programmer!

Outreachy has many types of open source internship projects:

👩🏿‍🔬🔬🦠 Open science internships

Outreachy applicants will notice more open science projects this internship cohort. Outreachy received a grant from the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative. This grant supports Outreachy internships in open science.

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What is open science? Open science means anyone can do scientific research.

Open science projects allow anyone to reproduce their research. This means making sure the software tools, data sets, and research papers are published under an open source license. An open source license means anyone can download, modify, and share their changes.

Outreachy offers open science internship projects in the following areas:

Outreachy internship project list

Internship projects for the May 2023 cohort will be finalized on March 6, 2023.

The internship project list will not be finalized before the initial application deadline. Please submit an initial application ASAP. Submit an initial application even if you don't see a project that interests you.

View project list


❓ Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The Outreachy Applicant Guide has answers to many common questions, such as:

Read applicant guide

Please also watch our live streamed chats. Our chats will answer many of your questions about eligibility, how to apply, and how to make your application stand out.

👩🏾‍💻 Non-student eligibility policy

You do not have to be a student to apply to Outreachy! Outreachy is open to people who are not students.

You do not need a university degree to apply to Outreachy. Many Outreachy interns learned their skills through online resources.

Please read our full eligibility guidelines.

👩🏿‍🏫 Student eligibility policy

Outreachy has some special eligibility rules for students. If you are (or will be) a student, please read the sections below.

Which cohort should students apply to?

Outreachy runs twice a year, May to August and December to March.

Students in the northern hemisphere should apply to the May 2023 internship cohort.

Students in the southern hemisphere should apply to the December 2023 internship cohort.

We consider India to be in the northern hemisphere, regardless of where the university is located. Otherwise, if your university is near the equator, you are welcome to apply to either cohort.

What if I'm graduating?

Graduating students in the northern hemisphere are eligible to apply to the May 2023 Outreachy internships.

Graduating students in the southern hemisphere may be eligible to apply to the May 2023 Outreachy internships. Graduating students are eligible if the exams for their last school term ends before July 10, 2023. If the school academic calendar continues past that date, graduating students are not eligible.

When in doubt, graduating students should fill out an initial application. Make sure to accurately represent your school and employment time commitments.

Do you grant exceptions to these policies?

In order to apply our policies fairly, we do not grant exceptions to the student policies listed above.

When determining student eligibility, Outreachy looks at the school's academic calendar dates. We do not consider the individual student's course load. We do not consider special arrangements students have made with their university. Students who plan on taking a school term off to pursue an internship are not eligible for Outreachy. We cannot accept letters from universities about pausing classes or joining classes at a later date.


📅 Outreachy schedule

The initial application system will open at Jan. 16, 2023 at 4pm UTC. Initial applications are due Feb. 6, 2023 at 4pm UTC.

The Outreachy intern project project list will not be finalized until March 6, 2023. That is after the initial application deadline.

Please fill out an initial application, even if you don't see a project that interests you. More projects will be added after the initial application deadline.

Jan. 16, 2023 at 4pm UTCInitial applications open
Feb. 6, 2023 at 4pm UTCInitial application deadline
March 10, 2023Project list finalized
March 6, 2023 at 4pm UTCInitial application results available
March 6, 2023 to April 3, 2023Contribute to projects
April 3, 2023
at 4pm UTC
Final application deadline
May 4, 2023 at 4pm UTCAccepted interns announced
May 29, 2023
to Aug. 25, 2023
Internships period

🎙️ Outreachy chats

🎙️📝 Live chat: Application Tips and Eligibility

Do you want tips for making your initial application stand out? Do you have questions about whether you're eligible for Outreachy? Join us for a live streamed chat!

During the live stream, applicants can ask questions. You can ask questions on either the YouTube live stream chat, or by asking your question on Twitter or Mastodon. Make sure your questions on social media tag the Outreachy account, and use the hashtag #OutreachyChat.

Example Twitter question: "Question? @outreachy #OutreachyChat"
Example Mastodon question: "Question? @outreachy@hachyderm.io #OutreachyChat"

Questions asked on the YouTube chat, Twitter, or Mastodon will be answered on the platform the question was asked on.

After the chat, Outreachy organizers will review the questions and create a blog post that answers frequently asked questions.

🎙️⚒️ Live chat: Contribution period tips

Once your initial application is accepted, the next step is to pick a project and complete a task for that project. Applicants work on project tasks during Outreachy's contribution period.

Join Outreachy during a live streamed chat to get tips for the contribution period! We'll cover how to select an Outreachy project to work on, what a contribution is, and how to make your contributions stand out.

During the live stream, applicants can ask questions. You can ask questions on either the YouTube live stream chat, or by asking your question on Twitter or Mastodon. Make sure your questions on social media tag the Outreachy account, and use the hashtag #OutreachyChat.

Example Twitter question: "Question? @outreachy #OutreachyChat"
Example Mastodon question: "Question? @outreachy@hachyderm.io #OutreachyChat"

Questions asked on the YouTube chat, Twitter, or Mastodon will be answered on the platform the question was asked on.


🤝🏾 Connect with Outreachy

Follow us on social media to get important announcements and updates:

Applicants can also ask questions via our applicant help contact form.


Apply to Outreachy

We strongly recommend you read our tips for application essays before submitting your initial application.

Read applicant guide

Initial applications are reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis. Don't wait until the last day to submit your application!

Apply for Outreachy