As students face fierce competition for internships and full-time job offers, NASA maintains dominance as most prestigious internship to have on resume; Accounting firms make major gains in Best Overall Internships list.

Over 13K interns were surveyed from 145 programs, resulting in the most authentic & data-driven rankings in the industry

NEW YORK, Oct. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Vault, the leader in verified employer rankings and reviews, today released its 2024 Internship Rankings, highlighting the top programs in more than 30 categories. Vault’s rankings include the Most Prestigious Internships, Best Overall Internships, Best Internships by Key Employment Factor, Best Internships for Diversity, Best Internships by Role, and Best Internships by Industry. The rankings were derived from Vault’s Summer 2023 Intern Survey, which also found that interns are less confident than they were in years past about whether they would receive a full-time job offer.

“We’re excited to release our annual rankings of the leading internship programs. More than 13,000 interns were surveyed from 145 programs, providing the basis for the most authentic and data-driven rankings in the industry,” said Eric Stutzke, SVP & General Manager of Vault. Stutzke continued, “Getting an internship – and turning that internship into a full-time job offer – is highly competitive, and Vault’s rankings, employer profiles, and career guides are essential tools for college and university students that want to position themselves for career success.”

NASA continues to be the most prestigious internship: Interns rated the prestige of dozens of programs, and the federal agency continues to hold on to the #1 spot. Other top programs on Vault’s Most Prestigious Internships list include tech giants, Wall Street icons, and the CIA.

Accounting firms move up the list of Best Overall Internships: Interns also rated their own programs on Quality of Life, Compensation & Benefits, Interview Process, Career Development, Full Time Employment Prospects, and Diversity. These ratings were the basis of Vault’s Best Overall Internships list. New York-based accounting firm PKF O’Connor Davies took the #1 spot, and several other accounting firms landed in the top 10 for the first time. Unlike some other majors, fewer students are graduating with accounting degrees than in the past. Growing accounting firms looking to expand their regional and national presence make considerable efforts to attract and retain these students.

In an unpredictable economy, uncertainty about full-time job offers is rising: Among those interns who were eligible for full-time employment offers, 49% said they received or expected to receive an offer, 45% were uncertain, and 6% had already been denied an offer. During the same survey window last year, 60% of offer-eligible interns said they received or expected to receive an offer, 35% were uncertain, and 5% had already been denied an offer.

Interns should be prepared to go into the office: 91% of interns reported that their internships were either fully in-person or hybrid. Only 9% of internships were fully remote.

The Top 10 Most Prestigious Internships for 2024:

1. NASA
2. Google
3. Microsoft
4. Apple Inc.
5. Goldman Sachs & Co.
6. Morgan Stanley
7. SpaceX
8. McKinsey & Co.
9. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
10. J.P. Morgan

The Top 10 Best Overall Internships for 2024:

1. PKF O’Connor Davies Internship
2. Ellucian Inc. Internship Program
3. HITT Futures Internship
4. Weaver Internship
5. Frazier Deeter Internship Program
6. Harris Williams Summer Associate and Analyst Program
7. Graybar Internship Program
8. Lumsden & McCormick Internship Program
9. Elliott Davis ENVISION Summer Internship
10. Freed Maxick MAX Internship Program

Best Internships by Industry:
Accounting: PKF O’Connor Davies Internship
Construction & Trades: HITT Futures Internship
Consulting: Bates White Summer Consultant Program
Energy & Renewables: American Electric Power Internship
Financial Services: Huntington Bank Internship Program
Health Sciences: Gilead Internship Program
Investment Banking: Harris Williams Summer Associate and Analyst Program
Media: Paramount Internship Program
Retail & Consumer Products: The Home Depot Internship Program
Tech & Engineering: Ellucian Inc. Internship Program
Travel & Transportation: FedEx College Connections Intern Program
Wholesalers & Distributors: Graybar Internship Program

View all the Vault Internship Rankings.

About Vault

Vault is the leader in career research, exploration, and discovery for professionals and students. Through our proprietary Vault rankings, verified employee and intern reviews, and an extensive network spanning more than 500 campuses and universities, we have been the trusted provider of career intelligence solutions for emerging talent for over two decades. Our exclusive company rankings, in-depth employer profiles, and valuable employee/intern reviews encompass a wide range of industries, including Law, Banking, Accounting, Consulting, and the top Internship programs.

Check out the press release on PR Newswire.