Internship programs should focus on providing meaningful projects and one-on-one conversations with experienced employees

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Vault, the leader in data-driven employer rankings and reviews, today released its 2027 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 by Role, and Best Internships by Industry. The rankings were derived from Vault’s Summer 2026 Survey, which polled more than 18,000 interns.

According to Eric Stutzke, SVP & General Manager of Vault, “Our intern survey highlighted the importance of providing interns with meaningful work. Interns also value opportunities to interact more with experienced workers, especially in settings that allow them to have authentic conversations. Highly rated programs don’t just ask interns to attend presentations and lectures from leaders; they set up networking and mentorship opportunities. Top programs also tend to be well-organized. Before an intern starts, the intern’s manager and the intern program organizer should have a clear idea of what tasks and projects will be assigned to the intern, and the manager should plan on meeting regularly with the intern.”

Key findings from Vault’s survey, which was fielded this past Summer, include:

PKF O’Connor Davies Tops Vault’s Best Overall Internships Ranking: For the fourth year in a row, New York-based accounting firm PKF O’Connor Davies takes the No. 1 spot on Vault’s Best Overall Internships list. PKF O’Connor Davies ranks first in several Quality of Life categories, including Compensation, Employment Prospects, Training and Mentoring, and Networking Opportunities. Interns reported that they appreciated that they were able to work closely with accountants at all levels as well as participate in meetings with clients. The No. 2 ranked company on the Best Overall Internships list is Fastly, a cloud computing company based in San Francisco. Fastly also took the top spot in Real-Life Experience; interns report working on high-impact engineering projects.

Interns are impressed with NASA and tech giants: Survey participants were asked to rate internships other than their own in terms of prestige and NASA, Google, and Apple once again took the first, second, and third spots, respectively.

Interns care greatly about development opportunities: Interns’ top priority in choosing an internship is career development in their chosen industry, followed by opportunity for a full-time position. Interns who were highly satisfied with their programs mentioned being able to work on meaningful projects and have one-on-one conversations with experienced employees.

Internships should be well-organized: Almost all interns (more than 98%) would recommend their internship to a friend, but among those that would not recommend their internship, some common themes emerged: the interns often had no tasks or projects assigned to them, reported that their managers were rarely available, and used the word “disorganized” to describe their internships.

The Top 10 Most Prestigious Internships for 2027:

The Top 10 Best Overall Internships for 2027:

Best Internships by Industry:

Accounting: PKF O’Connor Davies Internship Program
Construction & Trades: DAVIS Summer Internship Program
Consulting: Bates White Summer Consultant Program
Consumer & Industrial Products: Constellation Brands Internship Program
Energy & Renewables: The Williams Companies Internship Program
Financial Services: Popular Internship Program
Health Sciences: AdventHealth Leadership Internship
Insurance: HUB International Internship Program
Investment Banking: Guggenheim Securities Investment Banking Internship Program
Media: Cox Early Careers Internship Program
Retail: The Home Depot Internship Program
Tech & Engineering: Fastly Internship Program
Travel & Transportation: ADUSA Distribution and Transportation 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 data-driven Vault rankings, verified employee and intern reviews, and an extensive network spanning hundreds of 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.

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SOURCE Vault