Healthcare internships can give college students practical experience while helping them explore the many roles within the industry. Opportunities extend beyond clinical care to areas such as public health, healthcare administration, research, health services, and healthcare technology.
According to NACE's 2026 Student Survey, Health Care & Social Assistance was the largest industry for internship opportunities, accounting for 20% of reported opportunities. With opportunities spanning both clinical and nonclinical roles, healthcare can be a strong field for students with a variety of academic and career interests.
This guide covers the types of healthcare internships available, where to find them, cities with strong healthcare industries, and what to consider when relocating for a summer internship.
Types of Healthcare Internships
Healthcare internships can vary widely depending on your major and career interests.
Public health internships can involve health education, community outreach, epidemiology, health promotion, or program development. These opportunities may be available through health departments, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and community health organizations.
Healthcare administration internships can introduce students to the business and operational side of healthcare. Interns may work with scheduling, finance, human resources, patient services, marketing, or other administrative functions.
Research internships can involve collecting and analyzing data, supporting clinical studies, conducting literature reviews, or assisting with research projects. These opportunities may be available through universities, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and research organizations.
Clinical internships can provide students in nursing, medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, and other health-related programs with opportunities to gain experience in patient care or clinical settings.
Other healthcare internships may focus on health services, healthcare technology, health informatics, medical communications, or nonclinical healthcare careers. Read internship descriptions carefully because responsibilities can vary between organizations, even when job titles are similar.
Where Healthcare Students Can Find Internships
Healthcare internships can be found through college career centers, internship platforms, healthcare organizations, hospitals, research institutions, and professional connections.
Students can search for opportunities through:
- Handshake, LinkedIn, and Indeed
- College career centers, career fairs, and healthcare-related career events
- Hospitals, health systems, clinics, and medical centers
- Public health departments, nonprofit organizations, and community health programs
- Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare technology companies
- Universities, research organizations, and professors
- Professional associations and student organizations
Don't limit your search to organizations that provide direct patient care. Hospitals and health systems also employ professionals in areas such as marketing, finance, human resources, information technology, data analysis, and administration.
It can also help to search by both healthcare career area and location. For example, a student interested in healthcare administration could search for terms such as "healthcare administration intern," "hospital administration intern," or "health services intern."
Cities With Strong Healthcare Opportunities
Healthcare internships are available throughout the country, but some cities have large healthcare systems, research institutions, universities, and related industries that can provide a variety of opportunities.
Boston has a large healthcare and life sciences presence, with opportunities connected to hospitals, universities, biotechnology, and medical research. Philadelphia is another major healthcare center with hospitals, universities, pharmaceutical companies, and health research organizations.
Other cities with significant healthcare industries include New York City, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, and Raleigh-Durham. The types of opportunities available can vary by location. For example, a city with major research universities may offer more research and clinical opportunities, while another may have stronger connections to healthcare technology, pharmaceuticals, or health administration.
When choosing where to apply, consider the type of healthcare experience you want to gain rather than focusing only on the size or reputation of a city.
Relocating for a Summer Healthcare Internship
A summer healthcare internship in another city can provide professional experience while allowing you to experience a new location. However, relocating for an internship involves additional costs and planning.
Before accepting an internship outside your hometown, consider the internship's compensation, work schedule, cost of living, transportation, and housing options.
Healthcare internships may take place in hospitals, clinics, research campuses, university facilities, or administrative offices. Consider the location of your internship when planning your commute, especially if your schedule includes early mornings, evening hours, or rotating shifts.
Ask the employer whether it provides housing, relocation assistance, or information about temporary accommodations. If it does not, begin researching intern housing as soon as you know your internship dates.
How to Find Summer Housing Near a Healthcare Internship
If you accept a healthcare internship in another city, temporary housing should be part of your planning from the beginning.
Start by determining your internship dates and workplace location. Then compare housing options based on price, distance from work, transportation, amenities, and lease length.
Students can consider university-based intern housing, furnished apartments, or short-term rentals.
Intern Housing Hub can help students search for temporary housing near internship opportunities in different cities. Starting your search early gives you more time to compare options and find housing that fits your budget and commute.
For healthcare internships, pay particular attention to your daily schedule and transportation options. If you have early morning clinical shifts or work at a hospital outside the city center, living close to your workplace may be more convenient than choosing housing based only on its proximity to downtown.
Start Your Healthcare Internship Search Early
Healthcare students should not assume they need to wait until spring to begin searching for internships. Handshake's 2026 Internship Report found that internship activity now peaks in early fall across class years, with students applying sooner, including underclassmen and even some freshmen.
Handshake's 2026 Gen Z hiring research also found that health and public health majors received a larger share of employer messaging campaigns in 2025 than in 2024. This is another reason for students to be proactive about identifying opportunities, researching organizations, and applying early.
Start by identifying the healthcare areas that interest you, then research organizations, locations, and internship requirements. Update your resume, connect with your college career center, attend career fairs, and apply to opportunities that match your skills and interests.
If an internship requires relocation, research housing, transportation, and other living expenses early. Planning these details alongside your internship search can make the transition to a new city easier.
Start your intern housing search on InternHousingHub.com today!