Microsoft Discovery Program

The Microsoft Discovery Program is a four-week paid summer internship at Microsoft's campuses in Redmond, Washington, and Atlanta, Georgia, for graduating high school seniors with an interest in technology. Interns, called Discoverers, work in small teams on a project for a Microsoft product group. The projects give them exposure to product design, software engineering, technical program and product management, and UX design, and they get mentorship from Microsoft employees while developing professional skills. Projects span several disciplines and require no previous technical experience. Interns work full time and onsite for four consecutive weeks between July and August and must attend the whole program. The 2026 program ran July 6 to July 31 in Atlanta and July 13 to August 7 in Redmond.

Graduating high school seniors who will start a bachelor's degree program can apply if they have completed pre-calculus or an equivalent course by the start of the program. For Redmond, applicants must attend a school in Western Washington, live within 50 miles of Redmond and be members or participants of a Microsoft-sponsored organization: Computing for All, College Success Foundations, Washington MESA, Rainier Scholars, Technology Access Foundation or the UW STEMsub Program. For Atlanta, applicants must live around Atlanta and attend a school in Atlanta Public Schools or the Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton or Gwinnett County districts. Applicants submit a resume with answers about colleges applied to or accepted at, intended major, and extracurricular or academic support organizations. Applications open in early February and are reviewed on a rolling basis, with interviews starting in March.