Undergraduate Programs

Draper Laboratory offers programs for undergraduate students (you must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident) to provide them with “real-world” experience to enhance their education and help them prepare for careers in engineering. Undergraduate students who are considering pursuing a master’s degree in the future are encouraged to look at the Graduate Students Program pages on this site as well.

Unless otherwise noted, all engineering divisions at Draper currently will consider hiring students participating in the programs described below.

• MIT's VI-A Internship Program: Draper Participation
• Student Summer Employment Opportunities
• Cooperative Education Programs

MIT’s VI-A Internship Program: Draper Participation

MIT’s VI-A Internship Program combines academic work in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department with work at Draper. Through this program, MIT students can earn an S.B. and M.Eng. simultaneously.

Students spend one or two summers working at Draper, earning hourly wages and academic credit. Then following their senior year, they can become a Draper Fellow during the summer and school year while they work on their master’s theses.

Students accepted into the VI-A Program are first assigned to work that will introduce them to the extent of the Laboratory’s activities to give them possible ideas for thesis projects.

Application Process

Only US Citizens or Permanent Residents are eligible. Contact the VI-A Office at MIT’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department. For seniors going into the VI-A program, interviews are scheduled to be held at Draper Laboratory in the autumn. For other undergraduates, VI-A interviews normally are conducted on campus during the spring semester.

Summer Employment Opportunities for Students

Every summer, 80–100 students are employed at Draper in our office at Kendall Square, Cambridge. This includes opportunities for:

• undergraduate co-operative education (CO-OP) students
• undergraduate and graduate students on summer leave
• some high school students.

More specific job information for Summer 2009 will be available from this webpage in mid-February.

If you are a US Citizen or Permanent Resident and are enrolled in an Engineering or Science/Technical degree program and have just completed your junior year of college please consider applying for a Draper Summer Technical Internship.

Draper Summer Technical Internships

Starting in 2009, Draper Laboratory is pleased to offer Draper Summer Technical Internships for students who have just completed their junior year and are therefore “rising seniors” in an Engineering or Science/Technical degree program. There will be at least ten students selected for this highly competitive program.

Each position is designed to provide exposure to a research and development environment, with hands-on contributions and varying amounts of independent projects and research. In addition, the summer will include a variety of group activities such as tours and workshops to help enhance your summer experience and preparation for either Graduate School or post-graduate employment.

Please refer to the Draper Careers page, which will provide specific information about the positions available.

Please confirm your eligibility for the program and review schedule and location information outlined in the Draper Summer Technical Internship Guidelines. These positions are open only to US Citizens and Permanent Residents.

If you are interested in a Draper Summer Technical Internship, please email your resume to student-programs@draper.com (be sure to indicate which Draper Summer Technical Internship position you are applying for).