Picture a student with one free evening to start an internship search. The best websites to find internships are Handshake and your career centre’s listings first, then LinkedIn for filtering and alerts, then niche sites matched to the season and format you want.
This shortlist sorts each source by who it suits and where it falls short. It is one part of our wider guide to the best tools for job search.
Internship sources at a glance
No single site covers every internship, so match the source to your situation. The table pairs each option with what it offers and how to use it.
| Source | Best for | What it offers | Planning use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Handshake | School-linked searching | Over 10,000 internships posted in one year, 90%+ of them paid | Start here if your school gives you access |
| Targeted searching and alerts | Powerful filtering and alerts | Save a narrow search so new roles come to you | |
| WayUp | Early-career applicants | Student and entry-level jobs | Add it when you want listings aimed at students |
| Parker Dewey | Short remote projects | Paid short assignments of 5-40 hours each | Good for building experience around classes |
| CatchaFire | Cause-driven volunteering | Unpaid volunteer roles filterable by cause area, skillset and time commitment | Use only if you can afford unpaid work |
| Federal internship portal | Government internships | Lists all currently open federal internships | Add “Summer” or “Student” to the search |
Figures and descriptions come from the University of Washington career centre and the Goucher College career education office.
If you only have time for two, pick the school-sponsored route and one filtered alert. The sections below explain why, then cover summer, remote and legitimacy questions.
School-sponsored internship sources
A university career centre is the most overlooked source, because much of what it holds never appears on public boards. The Boston Public Library internship guide notes that internship opportunities often are not posted on major job and internship websites. It adds that a school may keep an internal database accessible only to its own students.
Career-office listings and Handshake
The University of Washington’s internship guidance points students to Handshake, where over 10,000 internships were posted in a single year and more than 90% were paid. That makes it a sensible first stop when your school has an account, and a poor one if it does not. Check your login before assuming you have access.
Departmental emails
The same page says most academic departments, campus centres and career offices send regular emails packed with internship listings. Subscribe to the lists for your major and for the career office, because these emails reach you without any searching. The limitation is scope: they favour employers who already work with your school, so pair them with an open board.
Summer internship search sites
Summer internship search sites split into general student boards, government portals and programme databases. The right one depends on your age and the kind of experience you want.
Federal internships
Goucher’s list of internship websites describes a federal portal that posts all currently open federal internships. Its advice is to add keywords such as “Summer” or “Student” to narrow results to short-term positions. For a fuller walk-through of public-sector searching, see how to search for government jobs online.
High school programmes
High school students are poorly served by most college-facing boards. StandOutSearch describes itself as a free database of internships, research opportunities and summer programmes for high school students. One listing there, a summer neuroscience research internship in New York at Columbia, carries a deadline of October 28, 2026. That shows some summer programmes close in autumn, so begin searching well before spring.
Student boards
WayUp is recommended by the University of Washington for student and entry-level jobs. The Boston Public Library guide describes Chegg as a place to match yourself to over 70,000 internships from top companies. Both suit students who want volume, but expect to filter hard by season and location.
Remote internship platforms
Remote internship platforms suit students who cannot relocate or who need work that fits around classes. They also carry the highest need for checking, because a remote listing is harder to verify in person.
Parker Dewey
Goucher’s website list describes paid short assignments of 5-40 hours each. This suits a student who wants a real project for a résumé without committing to a full summer. It is not a substitute for a long placement if an employer requires one.
CatchaFire
On the same page, CatchaFire is listed for volunteer (unpaid) opportunities that you can filter by cause area, skillset and time commitment. It fits students who want mission-driven experience and can work without pay. If you need income, skip it and use paid-focused sources.
Vetting a remote role
Goucher warns that scammers advertise jobs and internships, so a listing’s presence on a reputable site does not prove it is real. Before you interview, confirm the employer through its own website and ask your career centre to look at anything unfamiliar. Video interviews are normal for remote roles, so test your camera and audio beforehand.
Internship alert apps and job alerts
The University of Washington’s guidance highlights LinkedIn for powerful filtering and alerts, so yes, you can set alerts for new internships. Save a search with a narrow title, location or remote preference so only relevant roles reach you. A broad alert buries good listings under noise.
Department and career-office emails work as a second, passive alert channel. If you are comparing the big general boards before committing, our comparison of indeed vs linkedin vs ziprecruiter covers how they differ. Check each site’s own help page for its alert options before relying on it.
Spotting unpaid and scam internship listings
Scam and unpaid listings appear in the same places as legitimate ones. Goucher’s career office says scammers post internships where real employers do, and it points students to the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer advice on job scams. Read that guidance alongside the Goucher list of internship websites.
- Check how the role is labelled. A reputable volunteer site such as CatchaFire says plainly that its roles are unpaid, so be wary of a listing that is vague about pay.
- Verify the employer independently. Find the organisation’s own website and compare the contact details to the listing.
- Read the announcement carefully. Goucher advises reviewing every job announcement, since scammers copy the format of real ones.
- Know your local rules on unpaid work. Look up your labor department’s guidance on unpaid internships before agreeing to work without pay.
- Ask your career centre. Staff can tell you whether an employer already recruits from your school.
Decision checklist
- Log in to Handshake or your career centre portal and subscribe to department emails.
- Save one narrow LinkedIn search with an alert.
- Add a seasonal or format-specific site: a federal portal for government roles, a programme database for high school students, or a short-assignment platform for remote work.
- Run every unfamiliar listing through the legitimacy checklist before you share personal details.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free internship database for high school students?
Yes. StandOutSearch describes its catalogue as a no-cost resource for high school students, covering internships, research placements and summer programmes. Its listings show 430 as free and 77 as having a cost, so check the cost on each one.
Do micro-internships have fixed deadlines?
They can. Goucher’s career education page gave a deadline of 12 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, 2026 for one micro-internship, so read the exact date and time on each posting.
What does a paid internship programme pay?
Rates vary by programme. As one example, the InternPlus programme has students work up to 20 hours a week for $15 per hour.
