Summer Intelligence Internships GCHQ

Internship Payment:
Up to £5,530 (depending on the duration of the internship), plus accommodation and reimbursement of travel expenses for travel to the internship at the start of the placement and return travel at its conclusion

Hours of internship: full-time (37 hours a week, Monday-Friday). For the first two weeks, you’ll need to attend between the hours of 8.30am and 4.30pm for training. You’ll also be required to attend on the last day of the internship. Flexitime arrangements may be available by prior agreement. Interns will receive either four or five days of paid leave, depending on the length of the internship and the organisation hosting the placement.

You’ll be office-based for the duration of the internship, you cannot intern from home

Internship dates (one of the following, subject to confirmation):

• 21 June to 27 August 2027 (10 weeks)
• 28 June to 3 September 2027 (10 weeks)
• 5 July to 3 September 2027 (9 weeks)

Ever wondered if a career in intelligence could be right for you? Or is it something you’ve never considered, but could get curious about? Our Summer Intelligence Internship is a great opportunity to spend some time exploring the day-to-day activities of an intelligence team cover how we keep the UK safe. And find out if you could see yourself building a career with us.

Am I eligible?
You are eligible if you are a British National from a Black, Asian, mixed-heritage or other ethnic minority background and you are also from a socially or economically disadvantaged background
* as these groups are currently under-represented in the UK’s Intelligence Services. That’s why we invite university students in their penultimate or final year of study (for the 2026/2027 academic year), who are from these backgrounds, to apply for this internship.

* For more details about the eligibility criteria, visit the Internships page on the MI5 website.

About us
GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Collaborating with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks and espionage. On an internship at GCHQ you’ll be involved in varied and fascinating activities in a supportive and inclusive environment.

About the Internship
This internship, taking place in the summer of 2027, is an opportunity to find out if a career in intelligence is something you’d like to pursue. As part of a cohort of fellow interns, you’ll gain unique insights into our organisation, along with access to specialist training and lots of support from a dedicated internship manager, mentors and the wider team.

It’s a great way to build new skills, develop your abilities, and gain valuable experience in the world of intelligence.

You’ll have an initial induction and IT training prior to moving into one of our intelligence mission teams where you’ll experience what life as an Intelligence Data Analyst is like. Our teams operate in a rapidly changing technological environment, problem solving every day. We use bespoke technology, finding information from different places, including a high volume of data generated by many internet-connected devices.

If you do have specialist skills such as cyber, data science, or coding experience, you may get the opportunity to use and develop these skills on the internship. If you don’t have these skills, don’t worry – they’re not essential and there will be lots to get involved in that won’t require them.

At the end of the internship, you’ll have the opportunity to apply to join the organisation full-time as an Intelligence Data Analyst. If you choose to make an application for employment following the internship, then you’ll need to go through a competitive application and selection process for that role in order to join.

Please note that we’re also running an intelligence internship at MI5 and a technical internship at MI6 in the summer of 2027, with MI6 still open for applications. You can only apply for one of these three internships at the UK’s Intelligence Services, so we’d encourage you to read about all of them…