If you are applying for your first internship, build the letter from what you have done in classes, campus jobs, clubs and volunteer work, because that is the record an employer expects a student to have. They know you are still in school.

Getting an internship without a cover letter might be possible at a large company with an online form, but students who write one for the particular internship will have an edge over classmates applying for the same spot. The letter is where you show that you picked this internship on purpose and that you will show up ready to work.

What to Include

  • Your school, major and class year, with your expected graduation date.
  • The internship's name and term (for example, Summer 2027) and where you found it.
  • Two pieces of proof from classes, projects, campus jobs or clubs, each with something you made or changed.
  • What you hope to learn there, tied to work the organization does.
  • Your availability: start and end dates, hours per week and whether you need academic credit.
  • Skills from the posting you already have, such as a software program, a language or lab work.

Internship Cover Letter Example

Sample letter. Names, organizations and details are fictional.

Kai Morimoto
Harbor Point College, Box 2417
Tacoma, WA 98405
(555) 019-3025 | kai.morimoto@example.com
November 2, 2026
Diane Holloway, Programs Manager
Fenwick Slough Watershed Council
Portland, OR 97217

Dear Ms. Holloway,

I'm a junior studying environmental science at Harbor Point College, and I'm applying for your Summer 2027 watershed monitoring internship. I grew up fishing the slough your council has spent ten years restoring, and I would like to help measure whether that work is paying off.

Last spring my hydrology class spent six weeks sampling a creek near campus. I was in charge of our team's temperature and dissolved-oxygen readings, and I built the spreadsheet and maps we used to compare our results with state data. Our final report went to the city's stormwater office, which used two of our maps at a public meeting.

Since my first year I have also worked 12 hours a week in the college's mapping lab, helping other students clean up their map data. I'm comfortable in waders, in the rain and in front of a spreadsheet, and I have a driver's license for getting to field sites.

I'm available from June 14 to August 20 and can work full time. My resume is attached, and I'd be glad to talk whenever suits you. Thank you for considering me.

Sincerely,
Kai Morimoto

When you have no work experience yet

Whenever possible, choose examples that tie your skills to something you made or changed in a class, a club or a part-time job. Any student can say they are hardworking and eager to learn. To be remembered, you need to show the reader two or three examples of those qualities in action.

  • A class project: the assignment, your part in it and what came out of it.
  • A campus job, and a problem you solved for the people you served.
  • Something you organized for a club or team, with how many people it involved.
  • Volunteer work you stuck with, and what you were trusted to do by the end.

High school students

The same letter works for a high school internship or summer program, only shorter, and it should name your school and grade, the classes or activities that connect to the internship and the dates you are free. Keep it to half a page. A teacher or school counselor who knows the program can often tell you who reads the applications.

Tips

  • Don't sell yourself short by apologizing for having little experience. Everyone applying for the spot is a student too.
  • Put your available dates in the letter itself, because internships run on fixed schedules and coordinators plan around them.
  • Ask your campus career center to look over your draft. The staff there read internship letters all year and can point out what is missing.
  • Use your college email address or a plain one built on your name.
  • If the internship is for credit, say so, and mention any paperwork your school needs from the employer.
  • Send a thank-you note after any interview, even a short phone call. Plenty of students skip it, so a good one gets noticed.