Paid Open Source Internships for Students (Remote, 2025)

Want to gain real-world coding experience, build your resume, and earn money this summer—all from your laptop?

Paid open source programs are a great way to do all three—especially if you’re a student or beginner. These programs, run by tech companies or nonprofit organizations, pay participants to contribute to open-source software. Instead of just coding on your own, you work with teams, contribute to actual codebases, and get mentored along the way.

The best part? You don’t need to be a pro. Many of these remote open source internships are designed for newbies building their skills. In this list, you’ll find 12 of the best paid open source opportunities in 2025—from well-known names like Google Summer of Code to hidden gems that support first-time contributors.

Let’s get to it.

12 Open Source Mentorship Summer Programs in 2025

Here’s a curated list of 12 open source internships offering stipends of up to $10,000, ideal for beginners and students looking for summer tech projects.

Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellowship

Provider: Major League Hacking (MLH)

Program Overview

MLH partners with employers to offer three tracks in Software Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, and Web3 Engineering.

The open source fellowship runs remotely for 12 weeks an year in spring, summer, and fall. Successful fellows are grouped in teams of 10, known as Pods, to collaborate on tech projects. 

Open source interns earn a maximum of $5,000, paid in two installments during the program.

Eligibility

• Open to global applicants who are at least 18 years old
• Have coding knowledge of at least one programming language 
• Must be available to commit at least 20 hours/week during the program
• Taken part in at least one MLH Hackathon or Global Hack Week event

Application Process

• Submit an online application including your code sample and an essay describing your project and why you are interested in the MLH Fellowship
• If shortlisted, attend a behavioral interview to assess whether you’re the right fit for the program
• Attend a technical interview to discuss your coding project sample and gauge your coding abilities
• If successful, get matched to a Pod depending on your availability and coding skills

Application Period: The summer 2025 cohort starts in May, and the application deadline for all regions is April 30th, 2025

Google Summer of Code (GSoC)

Provider: Google Open Source Programs Office

Program Overview

Google Summer of Code (GSoC) brings together hundreds of organizations like The Linux Foundation, NumFOCUS, GNOME, and VideoLAN to provide open source fellowships and mentorship to students. See the full list of participating organizations for GSoC 2025. 

The summer open source projects last for 12 weeks but some can stretch to 22 weeks. GSoC stipend varies by the size of the project, small projects start with a base amount of $1500, medium projects $3,000, and large projects $6,000.

Eligibility

• GSoC contributors must be above 18 years old and eligible to work in their residence country
• Must not be a resident of a country under U.S. export controls
• Must not have participated in GSoC two or more times

Application Process

• Choose a participating open source organization based on your interests
• Propose a coding project (you can pick a listed idea or pitch your own)
• Get guidance from potential mentors before submitting
• Submit your full project proposal via the GSoC portal before the deadline

Application Period: March 24–April 08, 2025

Outreachy

Provider: The Software Freedom Conservancy, with sponsorship from organizations such as GNOME, Red Hat, and Otter Tech.

Program Overview

Outreachy offers a 3-month paid, remote open source internship for people from underrepresented groups in tech—including women, non-binary folks, Black and Latinx communities.

Interns work on open source projects from participating organizations with the help of dedicated mentors. It’s not just about code—projects may also focus on illustration, graphical design, documentation, and research.

Outreachy runs two internship cohorts twice a year, May to August and December to March. Interns earn a stipend of $7,000 paid in installments.

Eligibility

• Must be 18+ and identify as part of an underrepresented group in tech
• Available for full-time internship (30 hrs/week)
• Cannot be a full-time employee or enrolled in another internship
• You must not be a past Google Summer of Code intern

Application Process

• Fill out the initial application, which includes essay questions describing how you’re underrepresented in the tech industry
• If shortlisted, you’ll move to the contribution period, where you select a project from a list of participating open source communities, contact the project mentor, and record a contribution
• Make the final application describing your relevant skills for the internship and previous experience with open software communities
• Interns are selected based on contribution quality and essay responses

Application Period:

• Summer cohort:
  • Initial applications open in February, contributor applications & project contributions begin in March, and interns are announced in May
• End-of-year cohort:
  • Initial applications open in September, contributor applications & project contributions begin in October, and interns are announced in November

LFX Mentorship Program

Provider: Linux Foundation

Program Overview

The Linux Foundation Mentorship Program connects aspiring developers with experienced mentors from open source projects. The program brings together various open source communities interested in offering beginner coders internships to develop their skills.

Each project participant develops its program, outlining custom eligibility, duration, stipend, and mentors.

LFX open source mentees earn a stipend of between $3,000 and $6,000, depending on their location and program they choose.

Eligibility

Before applying to any of the LFX mentorship programs, you should:

• Be at least 18 years old and eligible to work in the country you live in
• Not have participated in another Linux Foundation mentorship before
• Have no conflicting obligations (like work contracts) that prevent full participation
• Meet all specific requirements of the project you’re applying to

Application Process

• Create a mentee profile on the LFX mentorship platform 
• Complete the application form and upload required documents, including your resume
• Browse open projects in the field you’re interested in on the platform and apply

Here are some open source LFX mentorship programs available for students to apply:

Linux Kernel Mentorship Program

Contribute to the heart of Linux by making it more stable and secure with support from seasoned developers and maintainers. Having some basic knowledge of the Linux Kernel will help you complete the assigned tasks when applying. 

• Duration: 12 weeks for full-time mentees; 24 weeks for part-time mentees
• Application Period: Applications are done in February, and the program begins in March. The program is conducted in spring, summer, and fall.

Hyperledger Mentorship Program

Be part of developing and deploying blockchain projects in a supportive open source community with the Hyperledger mentorship program. While the program is open to beginners, showing previous contributions in open source software and being active in the LF Decentralized Trust (LDFT) community will increase your success chances.

• Duration: 6 months
• Application Period: Applications open in April, and the program runs from June to the end of November.

CNCF Mentorship Program

The Cloud Native Computing Foundation partners with LFX Mentorship and Google Summer of Code to mentor beginners interested in cloud-native technologies. 

• Duration: 3 Months
• Application Period: Applications open in February; successful interns begin the program in March.

Open Mainframe Project Mentorship

Contribute to open source projects for mainframe systems such as COBOL and z/OS while learning from experienced developers. The Open Mainframe Project has 13 programs this year, including documenting and fixing bugs under the Feilong project, COBOL programming, and AI-based mainframe modernization. 

• Duration: 3 months
• Application Period: Currently open until May 9th for the summer program which runs from 1st June to 31st August.

Application Tip: Regularly check the LFX website as they update current mentorship programs accepting applicants.

Processing Foundation Fellowship

Provider: Processing Foundation 

Program Overview

The Processing Foundation Fellowship funds creative techs working on open source projects that involve art, code, education, and activism.

Fellows work on tools, libraries, tutorials, and community-based initiatives that advance creative coding and digital literacy—especially for underrepresented groups in tech and the arts.

You will also have the opportunity to attend workshops, present your work publicly, and join the Processing Foundation Alum Network after completing the internship.

The summer fellowship runs from June 15th to October 31st, 2025. Processing Foundation pays its open source interns a stipend of $10,000—paid in four installments of $2,500 during the program.

Eligibility

• Open to international applicants with creative technical projects, particularly involving Processing, p5.js, or the p5.js sound library
• No academic affiliation or formal education required

Application Process

• Submit an online application form, including your bio and proposal outlining your project
• A panel of community advisors review projects and choose and successful applicants based on their project’s alignment with the program’s mission

Application Period: Summer applications open from 1st April to 2 May 2025

Summer of Bitcoin

Provider:
Summer of Bitcoin (initiative supported by Bitcoin organizations and developers)

Program Overview

Summer of Bitcoin offers paid remote internships for students to contribute to Bitcoin and related open-source projects.

Interns collaborate with experienced developers and designers from the Bitcoin ecosystem to work on projects such as protocol development, lightning network, Bitcoin Core, design, research, and other critical infrastructure.

The program runs for 12 weeks, usually between June and August. Summer of Bitcoin pays contributors a stipend of between $3,000 and $6,600 (paid in BTC equivalent).

Eligibility

• Open to high school and university students worldwide
• Must be available for the full internship duration
• Experience with open source development and using GitHub

Application Process

• Choose your preferred track, either developer or designer, and apply through the Summer of Bitcoin portal
• Selected candidates participate in a four-week learning bootcamp with a competitive challenge at the end of each week
• Shortlisted students submit project proposals, and accepted students are matched with their mentors to begin their open source internship

Application Period:
Opens early in the year in February until March for the summer program running from May to September.

FOSSASIA University Students Program 

Provider: FOSSASIA

Program Overview

Besides the hotly contested annual coding test, CodeHeat, FOSSASIA also runs a mentorship program for university students.

This internship connects beginners with open source projects from participating organizations in artificial intelligence, web & mobile development, and hardware.

Contributors receive a monthly payment (undisclosed amount varies depending on the scope of project, location, and qualifications) and swags such as t-shirts.

The program lasts 2-6 months, depending on the specific project you’re assigned to.

Eligibility

• Open to students and beginners worldwide (not limited to Asia)
• Must be an active community member and have contributed to FOSSASIA code on GitHub

Application Process

• Register via the FOSSASIA portal and upload relevant documents, including your proposal
• Select the project you would like to work on
• Successful applicants are chosen based on the strength of their proposal

Application Period
Applications are on a rolling basis, and each project sets individual start and end dates for the internship program.

Summer of Nix

Provider: Funded by the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative through the NLNet Foundation and the NixOS Foundation.

Program Overview

Summer of Nix allows students to develop free and open source software (FOSS) projects and make them publicly available as Nix packages.

Participants work in teams of five to contribute to the Nix ecosystem through writing code, testing software, documentation, and web design. After completing the project, you will be invited to the NixCon annual conference for Nix users and developers.

EU participants receive the base stipend of 3,000 euros, which is adjusted to match the location of foreign participants. 

The Summer of Nix program lasts for approximately 13 weeks.

Eligibility

• Open to global applicants above 18 years
• Must be fluent in English and willing to commit at least 160 hours 
• Ability to code in at least one programming language and be proficient in Git and Nix

Application Process

• Send an application form to one of the selected facilitators
• Facilitators select their team members based on their application strength, location, and diversity criteria

Application Period: Applications open in late spring until 12 May, 2025 for the summer cohort.

Open Source Promotion Plan (OSPP)

Provider: Institute of Software Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS)

Program Overview

OSPP is a summer program that connects university students with open source organizations to work on real-world coding projects.

OSPP is based in China but welcomes applications from students worldwide. International students can apply to contribute to projects hosted by global open source communities.

The open source internship lasts between 3-4 months and interns earn up to ¥12,000 CNY (~$1,600) based on project complexity.

Eligibility

• Open to university students who are over 18 years old
• Should have relevant technical skills for the selected project

Application Process

• Create a student account on the OSPP website and review open projects
• Contact the mentor of the project you’re interested in for guidance
• Submit a proposal for the chosen project
• Selected students are paired with mentors for the duration of the program

Application Period:

• Project listings usually go live around March–April
• Applications due by early May
• Final selections announced by late May or June

5 Useful Tips for Landing an Open Source Internship

Start Contributing Early

Don’t wait for the application period to begin. Explore beginner-friendly issues on GitHub (look for tags like good first issue) and start making small contributions. This shows initiative and gives you a better understanding of the project.

Polish Your GitHub Profile

Treat your GitHub like a portfolio. Pin your best repositories, write clear README files, and keep your commits consistent. Reviewers often look at your GitHub activity to assess your skills and engagement.

Engage With the Community

Join Discord and Slack channels in tech areas that interest you. Ask thoughtful questions, attend office hours or community calls if available, and introduce yourself. Mentors are more likely to remember active contributors during the selection process.

Tailor Each Application or Proposal

Learn how to write a well-structured essay and customize every application by referencing the specific project, your relevant experience, and what you hope to learn. Include a clear timeline, milestones, and show that you’ve read past issues or code.

Show Willingness to Learn

You don’t need to be an expert. Most programs are designed for learners. What matters most is curiosity, consistency, and how you approach problems. Mention personal projects, bootcamps, or self-study if you’re still building experience.

Ready to Apply?

Whether you’re a beginner or looking to level up your coding skills, paid open source internships are a smart way to gain experience, earn a stipend, and build your network. Start preparing now and don’t be afraid to take that first step—even small contributions count.

Need help crafting your application, finding beginner-friendly projects, or connecting with mentors? STEMpowerUp has your back. We offer guides, curated opportunities, and support to help you break into open source with confidence.