AI and Data Science Graduate Student Internships

Provided by the USDA-ARS AI Center of Excellence and SCINet

NC State graduate students are invited to apply for a 10-week paid summer internship focused on data science, AI, mathematical modeling, and related fields.

Applications for 2026 Summer Internship Program are due by January 23, 2026 at 5:00 p.m.

Apply Now

10 WEEKS

paid summer internship

8 SLOTS

available for NC State students

46 USDA PROJECTS

to choose from

Living Stipend: $12,800 total
Time: 40 hours/week for 10 weeks during the summer of 2026
Location: NC State University, under the remote mentorship of USDA Scientists

View Areas of Focus for 2026 projects

Eligibility

Master’s and Ph.D. students
Actively enrolled at NC State
Existing skills in science, AI, mathematical modeling or related fields
No experience required in agriculture-related fields

Deadline

Application Deadline: Friday January 23, 2026 at 5 p.m.
Selected applicants will be notified in late February

Questions? Contact Sarah Dinger (scdinge2@ncsu.edu)

Intern-USDA Mentor Pairing

The USDA uses an algorithmic process to pair students with internship opportunities and mentors that best match their interests, to the greatest extent possible. Their process is based on the collective interest-ranking form submissions from all students from all universities. Each selected USDA mentor will only have one intern.

Fall Symposium

As the internships are wrapping up in the fall, we will host a virtual symposium in which each intern will give a 10-minute presentation on their internship work and answer questions from the audience. All interns, their USDA mentors, their university mentors, you, and anyone else from your institution you would like to include will be invited to attend the event.

Grad Students Put Data Science Skills Into Action for Agriculture

Five NC State graduate students spent their summer helping USDA researchers solve data-intensive agricultural problems.

Four people standing in front of a USDA building