Program Dates, Eligibility, and Details

About the program

What is Hack Your Summer?

Hack Your Summer is FREE! It’s a 4-week, high-velocity production sprint for undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates who want to build something real this summer.

You’ll learn how to identify a project, make steady progress, get support from mentors and peers, and create tangible, public-facing work you can actually show future employers.

Not fake assignments. Not busywork.

Real work. Real projects. Real momentum.

Who can join?

Hack Your Summer is designed for U.S.-based college students and recent grads.

Specifically:

Undergraduates: any year
Graduate students: master’s or PhD students
Recent grads: graduated within the past 12 months

What’s the age requirement?

You must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Why? Because Hack Your Summer involves working independently with minimal direct supervision, joining a Discord community with other adult participants, engaging directly with industry mentors and professionals, and taking responsibility for your own learning and output.

These elements require maturity and independent decision-making that we expect from participants who are 18+.

What’s the story behind Hack Your Summer??

We kept hearing the same thing from students across the country: the internship pipeline feels broken. Students are applying to hundreds of roles and getting nowhere. Offers are getting pulled. Companies are overwhelmed. People are scared.

So we’re doing something about it.

You can read the original post that kicked this off here.

Is everyone accepted?

You’ve applied to college. You’ve applied to clubs. You’ve applied for jobs. You’ve applied for internships. Enough. We believe in you!

This is not another hoop to jump through. We want you to build. We’re keeping Hack Your Summer as open as possible because the point is not to impress us. The point is to create work that future employers, collaborators, and mentors can see.

If you’re eligible, you’re in.

How is this different from an internship?

In an internship, you usually work at a company. A manager gives you assignments. You learn their processes, and their culture. You might, or might not, get a job offer at the end.

Hack Your Summer is different. You work on your own problem or project. You set the direction. Mentors help you unblock and pressure-test your thinking, but they do not manage you. You leave with a project that proves what you can do, connections to mentors and other builders, and evidence you can show in job interviews.

How is this different from a class or workshop?

Classes usually have a structured curriculum, lectures, assignments, grades, and credit.

Hack Your Summer has no grades, no credit, and no busywork. You set your own goals. You get feedback from mentors and peers. Success means you shipped something you’re excited to talk about.

Who is running this?

Hack Your Summer is hosted by Coding It Forward, a proven leader in civic tech fellowships with a decade of experience managing student communities and supporting early-career technologists.

How can I get involved to support the program?

Thank you for stepping up! Our community relies on the energy and expertise of experienced operators.

Whether you want to mentor students or discuss sponsorship opportunities, please fill out this simple form (it takes only a few minutes to complete and we’ll follow up with you directly).

Logistics

When does the program run?

There will be two sessions in summer 2026:

Session A: starts Monday, June 15, and runs until Friday, July 10
Session B: starts Monday, July 13, and runs until Friday, August 7

What if I can only do one of the two sessions?

That’s completely fine. Register for whichever session works for your schedule. We’re running two sessions so more people can find a window that fits.

If you want to join for both, that’s great too. Some people may build different projects in each session. Others may take what they built in Session A and expand it in Session B.

Where can I join the program from?

We’re focused on U.S.-based students this summer because of time zones and coordination. We’re moving fast, and the first version needs to be simple enough to run well.

We hope there will be international versions in the future. Better yet: start one in your region! If you want to help build a local version, tell us. We’ll help however we can.

What’s the weekly schedule like?

The core of the program is flexible. You build on your own time, set your own schedule, and use the community and mentors to keep moving.

There will also be structured touchpoints throughout the week:

Weekly kickoff meetings to set your goal for the week
Daily standups with a pod of peers, organized by time zone
Mentor office hours across different domains
Quick check-in surveys to help track progress
End-of-week demo sessions to share what you’ve built

There will also be optional events, including guest speakers and subject-matter workshops.

How much time will this require per week?

The minimum time commitment is 10 hours per week for 4 consecutive weeks.

We think many participants will spend more like 20-30 hours per week, but it will vary. The more consistently you build, the more you’ll have to show. That’s the whole game.

The time commitment includes building your project, attending office hours, participating in standups, joining feedback sessions, and optionally attending speaker events or workshops.

If you have a full-time job, major coursework, significant caregiving duties, or other major commitments during the program, be honest with yourself about whether this pace is a fit. That said, you do not need a perfectly empty summer. You might be a barista. You might be caring for family. You might be working shifts. You can still Hack Your Summer if you can protect the time to build.

Will there be any in-person components?

No. Everything is virtual for summer 2026.

Once the session kicks off, participants are welcome to self-organize local meetups or in-person co-working sessions if they want to.

Is this program paid?

No. Hack Your Summer is unpaid.

It is free to participate, but it is not a paid internship or job.

What you get instead: a project you can point to on your resume and in job interviews, a supportive community of peers, access to mentors and industry leaders, and a network of people who may be able to help with future opportunities and introductions.

Will I get academic credit?

No. We do not issue college credit.

Project work

What should I build?

Build something that excites you!!!!

Not because it sounds impressive. Not because someone told you it belongs on a resume. Build it because you’ll be spending real time on it, and the point is to make something you’re excited to talk about and share with other people.

The only real requirement is that you build something tangible and that you can explain how you made it.

Your project could be:

Code & tools: a mobile app, browser extension, GitHub repository, data dashboard, API, automation, or other technical tool.
Creative content: a zine, podcast, music release, short film, digital archive, interactive experience, art show, game, puzzle, anthology, or media project.
Analysis & strategy: a research report, white paper, policy memo, data analysis, investigative journalism piece, playbook, or market map.
Community initiative: a plan for starting a nonprofit, a deployment of a new project in a neighborhood, an advocacy campaign, or a mutual aid project.
Physical prototypes: a hardware rig, 3D-printed object, tabletop asset, sensor project, robotics concept, or tangible prototype.

The common thread: it should be public-facing. A recruiter, hiring committee, future manager, collaborator, or mentor should be able to see it, experience it, or engage with it in some way.

What domains can projects be in?

We’ll bring in guest speakers and resources across a range of domains, including:

Tech & Security: software infrastructure, developer tools, cybersecurity tools, data privacy audits, trust and safety systems.
Science, Climate & Energy: environmental data tracking, green tech strategy, decarbonization plans, resource management, climate communication.
Creative Media & Games: game mechanics, puzzle logic, interactive narratives, digital archives, immersive multimedia storytelling.
Policy & Community: civics, urban planning, municipal tech ethics, digital accessibility audits, community-led mutual aid infrastructure.
Healthcare & Public Health: health-tech tools, clinical data dashboards, public health communications, biotech case studies, healthcare operations.

What if I don’t have a project idea yet?

That’s totally fine.

We’ll spend the first week in discovery mode: identifying problems, brainstorming, narrowing your scope, and figuring out where to start.

By the end of that week, you should know:

What problem you’re solving
Why you care about it
What success looks like

You do not need the perfect idea. You need a place to start.

Can I build something I’ve already started?

Yes, but the new work you do this summer should be significant.

This should not be just fixing small bugs or polishing an old project. You should be able to clearly explain what existed before Hack Your Summer and what you built during the sprint.

Is this solo work, or a team project?

Both are fine. But remember that part of a great summer experience is learning to work with a team!

You can work on your own project, or you can form a small group of 3-4 people max. If you work in a group, each person should have a specific role and a clear output they are responsible for.

The goal is to build evidence of what you can do and practice explaining your process. That means your contribution should be real, clear, and meaningful.

Will AI tools be part of the program?

Yes. We expect students to use modern tools, including AI tools, to move faster and learn faster.

The goal is not to pretend these tools don’t exist. The goal is to use them thoughtfully: to research, prototype, write, design, code, analyze, organize, and improve your work. You are still responsible for what you make.

Is this just a coding project? Do I need to be technical? What if I’m not technical?!

YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE TECHNICAL! We are here to give you access to tools that will help you get up to speed.

Hack Your Summer is not just for coders, and your project does not need to be a coding project.

We want you to use technology to help you build faster, think better, research deeper, organize your work, tell your story, or reach more people. But you do not need to be a software engineer to participate.

You can build with research, writing, design, media, community organizing, policy, product thinking, operations, storytelling, data, AI tools, or code. Technology can be part of your toolkit without being the whole project.

How does mentorship work?

Mentors will sign up for availability across domains like data, design, civic tech, policy, product, writing, creative work, and more. Participants will be able to sign up for office hours or support accordingly.

Mentors are there to help you think through problems, pressure-test your logic, and unblock technical or strategic hurdles.

You still own the work. Mentors help you move.

p.s. If you’re interested in mentoring students this summer, please fill out this simple form.

What do I need to participate?

You need internet access, enough time to commit to the program, and a willingness to build in public.

You do not need fancy credentials. You do not need a perfect resume. You do not need to already know exactly what you are doing.

You do need to be ready to make steady progress, ask for help, give feedback, and keep going when the project gets messy. Because it will. That’s part of building.

Can I be removed from the program?

Yes. We want this to be a serious, generous, respectful building environment.

Participants, mentors, and organizers will be expected to follow our Code of Conduct. People who violate the Code of Conduct or disrupt the community may be removed from the program.

Outcomes

What do I walk away with?

You should leave with something you can point to: a project, a demo, a report, a repo, a portfolio artifact, a public page, or a clear story about what you built and why it matters.

Something where you can say: “I made this.”

Will this help me get a job?

We cannot guarantee a job, but we sure can improve your chances!

Hack Your Summer is designed to help you become easier to notice. Instead of only saying what you can do, you’ll be able to show it.

Will there be a job board or recruiting help?

We are not promising job placement.

That said, the program is designed to help you build work that is easier to share with future employers, mentors, and collaborators. We also expect that mentors, speakers, and community members may point students toward opportunities when there is a good fit.

What happens after the program?

You’ll have work you can share, a clearer story about what you built, and a community of people who saw you build it.

Our hope is that you leave with momentum: a project to keep improving, people to stay connected with, and a much stronger answer to the question, “What did you do this summer?”

How do I sign up?

That’s it. No elaborate application theater. Tell us who you are, what you’re interested in, and get ready to build.

What happens after I sign up?

You’ll get an email soon with more details.

What if I still have questions?

Did we miss something? Can’t find what you need? Send your questions to hackyoursummer@codingitforward.com.

Asking your questions helps us make this FAQ better for everyone. Let’s figure it out together!