The Microsoft Explore internship is a 12-week paid summer program in the US (8 weeks in India) for first and second year bachelor's students who have taken an intro computer science course and a semester of calculus. For summer 2027, the US second-year posting went up on 1 October 2026, and it says Microsoft accepts applications "during the first week of each month from October through December, or until all positions are filled". So the program is not hidden or cancelled: it opens in short monthly windows, and outside them the posting reads "No longer accepting applications", which is what it showed when we checked on 18 October 2026. This guide is built from Microsoft's own careers pages and the live posting. It covers who Explore is for, how to tell whether the window is open, what the application and interviews involve, and what to apply for if you missed it.
Explore at a glance
Every line below comes from Microsoft, checked on 18 October 2026.
| Item | What Microsoft says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who | First and second year college students; a major is not required | Explore Microsoft page |
| Length | 12 weeks in the US, 8 weeks in India | Explore Microsoft page |
| Prerequisites | Intro to Computer Science (or equivalent) and one semester of calculus (or equivalent) by the start of the program | Second-year posting 200042628 |
| Main US locations | Redmond, WA and Atlanta, GA; India campuses for the India program | Explore Microsoft page |
| Work site | 3 days a week in office (Redmond posting) | Posting 200042628 |
| Base pay | $25.96 to $47.77 an hour; $37.58 to $54.04 in the SF Bay Area and NYC areas | Posting 200042628 |
| Benefits | US Explore interns get medical and vision insurance and paid sick time; Puget Sound interns also get a bus pass and fitness club membership | US intern pay |
| Application windows | First week of each month, October through December, or until filled | Posting 200042628 |
What Explore is, and who it is for
Explore is Microsoft's internship for students who are early in their degree. The posting says Explore interns "experience the primary phases of the product development cycle: design, build, and quality", working "in a pod with other Explore Interns" across software engineering, product management and technical program management. Microsoft's program page calls the track Engineering Foundations and says interns are assigned to a specific product team.
The eligibility rules are on Microsoft's internship eligibility page. You must be "a 1st or 2nd year full time enrolled bachelor student (Freshmen/Sophomore)" during the academic term immediately before the internship, and:
- returning to school for one full academic term after it;
- not taking classes while you intern;
- at least 16 years old;
- not completing "2 back to back internships with Microsoft".
That last rule matters for planning. Read literally, it means an Explore summer cannot be followed directly by another Microsoft internship the next summer. The page does not explain how Microsoft applies it, so if you plan on Explore and then a Microsoft software engineering internship, ask your recruiter how it works for you.
Which application is yours
Microsoft runs two Explore applications, and its program page says to apply to only one of them.
| Your situation | Application | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| First year of a bachelor's degree | First-year application | Students in the US, Canada or Mexico |
| Second year of a 4-year bachelor's degree | Second-year application | Students in the US, Canada, Mexico or India |
| Third year or later | Not Explore | Microsoft's university internships instead (below) |
| Still in high school, near Redmond or Atlanta | Not Explore | The Discovery program (below) |
The second-year posting is strict about timing: you "must be enrolled in second year of a 4-year undergraduate degree program at time of application". If your school counts years by credits and you are between levels, go by the posting's wording rather than your school's label. When we searched Microsoft's job site on 18 October 2026, we found the second-year Redmond posting but no separate first-year Explore posting, even though the program page describes one. If you are a first year, keep checking rather than assuming you are excluded.
When it opens, and how to tell if it is live
The most common complaint about Explore is that people cannot find the application. An Extern guide dated 11 October 2026 reports that applicants said the October 2026 window had closed by 9 October. The posting's own sentence explains why: applications open in the first week of each month from October through December "or until all positions are filled". The same posting adds that it "will be open for a minimum of 5 days".
Here is the check we ran, which you can repeat in two minutes.
- Open the second-year posting directly: job number 200042628. The job number is printed under the title.
- Look at the line under the location. If it says "No longer accepting applications", the window is closed for now. If it shows an "Apply now" button, it is open.
- Search Microsoft's job site for "Explore Program". Closed postings drop out of the search results, which is why a search can come back empty while the posting itself still exists.
- Set a reminder for the first day of each month through December. If the posting follows its own wording, the next windows would fall in the first week of November and the first week of December 2026. That is our reading of the posting's sentence, not a date Microsoft has announced.
- Turn on job alerts. Microsoft's search page offers "Turn on job alerts for this search" on any query, so save one for "Explore Program".
Because a window can close in days, have everything ready before the first of the month: a one-page resume, your transcript details, and the course names that meet the prerequisites.
The application
Microsoft's job site runs on Eightfold; the footer of each page says the site "uses AI technology provided by Eightfold, the provider of the system". When you click "Apply now", the first screen asks you to sign in with a Microsoft, LinkedIn, Google or Facebook account, or to create an account. The sign-in page says this lets you "access your profile or begin a new application", so use an email address you will check through the spring.
What to have ready:
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Resume, one page | Explore applicants have little work history, so class projects, clubs, hackathons and any code you have written carry the page |
| Course names and dates | The posting asks for an intro CS course and a semester of calculus "(or equivalent)" by the program start; if you covered either some other way, name exactly what you took |
| Expected graduation date | Eligibility depends on your year at the time of application |
| Location preference | Redmond and Atlanta are the US sites named |
| Work authorization answers | Answer them as they apply to you today; see the international section below |
Two resume points specific to Explore. First, the posting's preferred qualification is a "demonstrated interest in majoring in computer science, computer engineering, software engineering, or related technical major", so make that interest visible: the intended major, the relevant courses, and one or two projects with what you built and the tools you used. Second, the role spans engineering, product and program management, so a line that shows you worked with other people on something (a team project, a club you organized) answers a question the reader has. Our guide to how to get an internship has sample resume lines for students with no work experience.
Interviews
Microsoft publishes one description of the student process, on its student interviewing page: "You'll have an initial interview and, if selected, a second final interview." It also says "All our interviews are virtual", that the final day is a set of "1:1 meetings with Microsoft employees" with "A break is incorporated between interviews", and that you should prepare for "both behavioral and functional/technical" questions. Depending on the role, "you may be asked to write code, share a creative portfolio or project, or provide examples of your work in other ways."
Microsoft does not publish an Explore-specific round count. What applicants report, as collected in the Extern guide, is an online assessment before the interviews and a final round with a technical and a product interview plus behavioral questions. Treat that as forum reporting, not Microsoft's process.
How to prepare at an Explore level:
- Coding. Practise the data structures from a first-year course: arrays, strings, hash maps, and simple recursion. Explain your approach out loud before you type.
- Product. Pick a Microsoft product you use and be ready to say who it is for, one thing you would change, and how you would know the change worked.
- Behavioral. Have two or three short stories ready: a project that went wrong, a time you learned something quickly, and a time you worked with someone who disagreed with you.
Microsoft says "Your recruiter can help you understand the specific timeline of when you can expect to hear back", so ask at the end of each conversation. The FAQ on its intern page also says to "allow up to 90 days to receive a decision on your application", and that you can track status in the Action Center on the careers site.
If you missed it: other Microsoft student roles
If the window closes before you apply, or you are not in your first or second year, Microsoft has other routes. Its life as a Microsoft intern page lists them.
| Program | Who it is for | What Microsoft says |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | High school students graduating before the internship | A four-week internship in Redmond or Atlanta; you must live within 50 miles of Redmond or attend high school in the Atlanta area, and have completed pre-calculus |
| University internships | Bachelor's, master's, MBA or PhD students | Roles include software engineering, product management, technical program management and product design; the Explore FAQ calls it a 12-week internship |
| PhD, MBA and JD internships | Graduate students | Hosted "throughout our teams" |
| Student Ambassador | Student leaders who want to share technology with peers | Listed under global programs, not internships |
| Imagine Cup | Student founders | A global startup competition |
On 18 October 2026, the US intern postings live on Microsoft's job site included a Supply Chain Program Management Intern role for bachelor's students, which says Microsoft "accepts applications and processes offers for these roles on an ongoing basis throughout the academic calendar (September - April)"; a Cloud Network Engineering internship; a set of Research Intern roles at Microsoft Research; PhD internship postings; and software engineering, product and program management intern roles marked "CTJ - TS", which require an active US government Top Secret clearance and US citizenship. The general university software engineering postings did not appear in that search, so check again before assuming they are gone for the cycle.
Outside Microsoft, the same first and second year window applies to other early-career programs. Our internship guide has a recruiting calendar by industry, and the Gen Z job market covers what the entry-level numbers look like after the internship.
International students
Microsoft's eligibility page lists no visa or work authorization rule for US interns, and the program page limits the applications by country (first year: US, Canada, Mexico; second year: also India). The FAQ on Microsoft's intern page answers the sponsorship question in one line: "Yes, Microsoft provides visa sponsorship." It does not say what that means for an Explore intern. If you are on an F-1 visa at a US school, an internship during your program usually runs on curricular practical training. Study in the States says the designated school official "authorizes CPT in SEVIS", that the student must have "secured a training position" first, and that "Students cannot legally work before CPT is authorized in SEVIS" (Study in the States). Talk to your international office before you accept an offer. This is general information, not legal advice.
Microsoft does employ international graduates in large numbers. ICE's 2024 SEVIS by the Numbers lists Microsoft among the top employers of STEM OPT students in 2024, with 1,496, and among the top CPT employers, with 819. For the sponsorship side later on, see companies that sponsor H-1B visas.
Where ApplyEze fits
ApplyEze does not complete applications on Microsoft's job site, which runs on Eightfold, so apply to Explore yourself during the window. Where ApplyEze can help is the rest of a student search: it completes applications end to end on 12 platforms, including Greenhouse, Lever, Ashby and Workday (Workday needs a connected application inbox), with a resume and cover letter written for each posting. Check every tailored resume and keep only skills you can talk about in an interview.