UX Design Internship & UI/UX Internship (Summer 2026) — Cities, Companies, Salary, How to Get In : Ultimate Guide

How to Use This Guide

This is a comprehensive, SEO-rich resource for UX design internship and UI/UX design internship seekers. Skim sections using the TOC, then execute the steps in Checklists. If you keep thinking, “I need a ux design internship near me” or “How do I get a google ux design internship?”—you’re in the right place.

• Beginners: read No Experience? Start Here and Portfolio.
• Time-pressed: use Templates and the Timeline.
• Location-focused: jump to City Guides.

What Is a UX Design Internship?

A UX Design Internship is a short-term, mentored role where you learn by doing: planning research, mapping information architecture, designing flows, prototyping UI, and testing with users. Internship titles vary: UX Intern, UI/UX Intern, Product Design Intern, UX Research Intern, even UX Design Technologist Internship (design + code exposure).

What you actually do

• Collaborate with PMs and engineers to define problems and success metrics.
• Conduct interviews, surveys, and usability tests; synthesize insights.
• Sketch, wireframe, and prototype in Figma/Sketch; iterate quickly.
• Design UI systems: typography, color, spacing, components. Work in design systems.
• Ship improvements, measure impact, and present your work.

UX vs UI vs Product Design vs Research

Skills & Tools You Need

Core

• User research (interviews, surveys, heuristic reviews)
• Information architecture (sitemaps, card sorts)
• Interaction design (flows, states, microinteractions)
• UI & visual design fundamentals (layout, typography, color)
• Prototyping & usability testing (Figma prototypes, click-throughs)
• Accessibility (WCAG basics) & inclusive design
• Communication: crits, storytelling, cross-functional collaboration

Tools

Figma (primary), FigJam, Adobe XD, Sketch, Maze/Useberry for testing, Optimal Workshop for IA, Notion for documentation. For ux design technologist internship, basic HTML/CSS/JS is helpful.

Portfolio: Cases That Get Interviews

Hiring managers spend 90–120 seconds on a portfolio before deciding to dive in. Optimize for clarity and impact.

Minimum viable portfolio (MVP)

1. Home page with short bio + skills + links (resume, email, LinkedIn, GitHub/Dribbble).
2. 2–3 strong case studies with outcomes (metrics, usability wins).
3. Contact page + About page with your process and interests.

Case study outline (copy/paste)

1. Context: team, timeline, role, tools.
2. Problem: user + business pain, constraints.
3. Research: methods, sample, insights, artifacts.
4. Ideation & IA: flows, sitemaps, sketches.
5. Design: low → high fidelity, design system logic.
6. Testing: plan, findings, changes.
7. Outcome: KPIs, before/after, lessons.

Templates: Resume, Cover Letter, Cold Email & Referral

UI/UX Internship Resume (1 page)

• Header: name, email, phone, city (or “Remote”), portfolio, LinkedIn.
• Skills: Figma, research, IA, prototyping, usability testing, accessibility.
• Projects (3): bullet points in STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Include metrics.
• Experience: internships, clubs, labs; show collaboration & impact.
• Education: degree, coursework (HCI, psychology, stats), awards.

Cover Letter (copy-ready)

Subject: Product/UX Design Internship — Summer 2026

Hi <Hiring Manager Name>,

I’m a <year/major> focused on UX and human-centered product design. In my latest case study, I improved task success by 38% via IA restructuring and two usability rounds in Figma. I’m excited by <Company>’s mission to <user impact> and your design system work in <product>.

I’ve attached my resume and portfolio. I would love to contribute as a UI/UX design intern this summer.

Thanks,
<Name> — <Portfolio URL> • <LinkedIn> • <Email>

Referral request (DM or email)

Hi <Employee Name> — I admire your work on <Team/Product>. I’m applying for the UX Design Internship (Requisition #123) and would appreciate any advice. If my portfolio aligns, I’d be grateful for a referral. Thank you!

Recruiter reply

Thanks for the update! I’m eager to contribute and can interview this week. Sharing a tailored case study link here: <URL>.

Application Timeline: Summer 2026

Companies & Programs (A–Z)

This section summarizes common expectations and keywords for major programs, including google ux design internship, amazon ux design internship, microsoft ux design internship, apple ux design internship, ibm ux design internship, disney digital media ux design internship, intuit ux design internship, salesforce ux design internship, uber ux design internship, and more.

Also research: yelp ux design internship, qualcomm ux design internship, oracle paas ux design internship, okta ux design internship, shopify internship ux design, nordstrom ux design internship, paypal ux design internship, walmart ux design internship, tesla ux design internship, nuro.ai ux design internship, ideo ux design internship, autodesk ux product design internship, verizon product management ux design internship.

City Guides: Where to Intern

NYC — ux design internship nyc, ux design internship new york city

Finance, media, health tech, and startups. Search by borough and industry. Average pay tends to be high, but so is rent. Consider ux design internship dc and ux design internship boston as East Coast alternatives.

San Francisco & Bay Area — ux design internship san francisco, ux design internship bay area

Hyper-tech hub. Many design system roles. Also consider ux design internship san jose and ux design internship palo alto ca.

Seattle — ux design internship seattle, ux design internship seattle wa

Amazon + Microsoft central. Great for ui/ux design internship seattle. Check seattle ux design agency internship for agencies.

Los Angeles & San Diego — ux design internship los angeles, ux ui design internship san diego

Media, gaming, mobility. Explore ux web design internship san diego, data vis ux design internship santa monica, rakuten ux design internship san diego.

Chicago — ux design internship chicago

Agencies + enterprise. Roles also appear as internship ux design chicago or ux design jobs internship chicago.

Toronto & Vancouver — ux design internship toronto

Fintech, AI, e‑commerce; cross-border experience helps if you want ux design internship usa later.

London — ux design internship london

Fintech, gov, and global agencies; great for ux/ui design internship experience.

Bonus: Austin, Boston, D.C., Portland, Philadelphia

Fast-growing scenes with lower cost than SF/NYC in many cases; search strings like ux design internship austin tx, ux design internship dc, ux ui design internship portland, ux design internship philadelphia.

Salary, Benefits & Housing

Keywords: paid internship for ux design in usa, unpaid ux design internship, ux design internship salary, average ux design internship salary new york city.

Interview Prep: Portfolio Review, Whiteboard, Challenge

What they’re assessing

• Clarity of problem definition and research depth.
• Systems thinking and component reuse.
• Tradeoffs, constraints, and collaboration.
• Iteration speed and feedback integration.

40 common questions

1. Walk me through your favorite case study.
2. How did research inform your decisions?
3. Tell me about a time feedback changed your direction.
4. How do you measure design success?
5. Describe a complex flow you simplified.
6. How do you prioritize accessibility?
7. What’s your process for information architecture?
8. How do you partner with engineers?
9. When did you disagree with a PM? Outcome?
10. Show your iterations. Why did you change X?
11. Whiteboard: design a check-in kiosk for a clinic.
12. Whiteboard: redesign a transit app for tourists.
13. Heuristic critique: pick any onboarding and improve.
14. Give feedback on this mock: what’s working/not?
15. Design for edge cases: low signal, wrong input, etc.
16. How do you test with 5 users? What do you learn?
17. How do you handle conflicting feedback?
18. What’s a design system token?
19. Explain Figma variants and constraints.
20. How do you document decisions?
21. Biggest failure? What did you change?
22. What inspires your visual style?
23. Explain a time you improved a KPI.
24. When do you use surveys vs interviews?
25. How do you avoid bias in research?
26. Define JTBD for a feature you shipped.
27. How do you design for privacy?
28. Tell us about motion and microinteractions.
29. What’s your handoff process?
30. Talk through a cross-platform adaptation.
31. What do you want to get out of this internship?
32. What would your manager say you need to grow?
33. How do you learn quickly in a new domain?
34. Favorite component you’ve built and why.
35. How do you ensure inclusivity?
36. What’s the hardest constraint you faced?
37. How do you estimate research effort?
38. What metrics matter for onboarding?
39. How do you present to execs?
40. Why this company?
41. Any questions for us?

Most Search words: ux design internship interview questions, google ux internship design exercise, google ux design challenge internship.

No Experience? How to Get a UX Design Internship

1. Pick a domain (healthcare, education, finance) and do a 4‑week sprint.
2. Ship a case study with research, IA, prototypes, and a usability round.
3. Volunteer for a campus org or nonprofit. Real stakeholders = real feedback.
4. Compete in design challenges/hackathons. Time-boxed practice = interview ready.
5. Network: 3 messages/day to designers; ask for 15‑min portfolio feedback.
6. Apply weekly to ui/ux design internship roles + ask for referrals.

Most Search words: how to get a ux design internship, ux design internship no experience, ux design internship without experience, where should you start your first ux design internship.

Remote & International

Remote ux design internship roles exist across startups and agencies; time zones and communication become key skills. Internationally, explore ux design internship london, ux design internship tokyo, ux design internship india (and google ux design internship india), ux ui design internship asia, and ux design internship toronto.

Niches: Healthcare, Government, Nonprofit

Healthcare (e.g., EHR, telehealth), gov/civic tech (service design, accessibility), and nonprofits (mission-driven) are excellent training grounds. Keywords: ux design in healthcare internship, planned parenthood ux design internship, american specialty health ux design internship.

Action Checklists

Weekly application loop

• Apply to 5–8 ux design internship jobs (mix enterprise + startup).
• Send 3 referral requests.
• Iterate one case study (add a metric or test).
• Practice 1 whiteboard prompt.

Portfolio QA

• Readable on mobile; nav is obvious.
• Each case states problem, process, and outcome.
• Alt text for images; color contrast OK.
• Links to Figma prototypes where possible.

FAQs

Glossary

IA: Information Architecture. JTBD: Jobs To Be Done. HCI: Human–Computer Interaction. WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.