At a glance
- Use it to: offer an internship with dates, pay, hours, and what the student will actually work on.
- When to send: Many companies make summer offers in the fall for the following year, and smaller employers often hire in early spring.
- Inside: 2 ready-to-edit versions (summer internship offer and return internship or co-op extension), 5 subject lines, and a printable PDF.
- Compliance: this email touches legal requirements, so read the compliance notes before you send it.
When to use this template
Use this for paid summer, semester, or co-op internships. Interns are often making their first professional decision, and parents, career centers, and advisers may all read your email. Clear details about dates, pay, hours, location, housing help, and the project they will work on make it easy to say yes.
Students with multiple offers compare them on pay, the work itself, and whether a return offer is realistic. Be honest about each. A strong internship program is also one of the best early-career recruiting channels you have, and the interns who have a good summer become your full-time hires and campus advocates.
The email templates
Copy either version, replace everything in [brackets], and read it once out loud before you send it. If it doesn't sound like you, change it.
Summer internship offer
Hi [Student first name], Congratulations! We are excited to offer you a [Season Year] internship as a [Internship title] on our [Team] team. Here are the details: - Dates: [Start date] to [End date], [Number] weeks - Schedule: about [Number] hours per week, [Days and hours] - Pay: $[Hourly rate] per hour, paid [Pay frequency], including overtime for any hours over 40 in a week - Location: [Office address, hybrid, or remote] - Manager: [Name], [Title] - Your project: [One or two sentences about the real work] - [Housing stipend, relocation help, or transit benefit, if any] Your formal offer letter is attached. Please let us know by [Date] whether you accept. If your school's career center needs anything from us for credit or a co-op program, just ask. We look forward to having you on the team. [Recruiter or university recruiting contact] [Company]
Return internship or co-op extension
Hi [Student first name], Your manager, [Name], spoke highly of your work on [Project] last [Season], and we would love to have you back. We are offering you a [Season Year] internship on the [Team] team from [Start date] to [End date] at $[Hourly rate] per hour. Please reply by [Date] to accept. If you would rather talk through options, including a full-time role after graduation, reply and I will set up a call. [Recruiter name] [Company]
Subject lines to try
The subject line decides whether the email is opened today or next week. Keep it specific and short enough to read on a phone.
- Your [Season Year] internship offer from [Company]
- Congratulations, [Student first name]! Internship offer inside
- Join us again: [Season Year] offer
- [Company] internship: details and next steps
- Your internship on the [Team] team
How to personalize it
- Describe the actual project so the student can picture the summer.
- Give a reasonable deadline that respects school career center policies.
- Mention mentorship, events, and any return offer process honestly.
- Copy the manager so the student meets them early.
Mistakes to avoid
- Exploding offers with a 48-hour deadline.
- Calling an unpaid role an internship without checking the legal test.
- Vague descriptions like support various projects.
- Forgetting overtime rules for hourly interns.
Legal and compliance notes
For-profit employers that don't pay interns must meet the Department of Labor's primary beneficiary test, which asks whether the intern, rather than the employer, is the main beneficiary of the arrangement. Most for-profit internships are paid and are subject to minimum wage and overtime rules like any other nonexempt job. Interns also need Form I-9 completed. International students on F-1 visas usually need Curricular Practical Training authorization through their school before they start.
This is general information for US employers, not legal advice. Laws change and vary by state and city, so confirm the current rules or talk to employment counsel before you rely on them.
When to send it
Many companies make summer offers in the fall for the following year, and smaller employers often hire in early spring. Follow your target schools' guidance on response deadlines, which often ask employers to give students at least two to three weeks.
Before you hit send
Run through this quick check. It takes a minute and catches most of the mistakes that cause follow-up emails.
- The job title, pay range, and dates match what is in your applicant tracking system.
- Every placeholder in brackets has been replaced or deleted.
- Candidates who will be interviewed or assessed are told how to request an accommodation.
- Nothing in the message comments on age, family, health, or other protected characteristics.
- A real person is named as the contact, with a reply address someone checks.
Where to go from here
Templates fix one email. The right process and software fix the whole workflow.
Automate emails like this
Frequently asked questions
Do interns have to be paid?
Are interns eligible for benefits?
How early should we make return offers?
Written by the HRTally Research Team
Our guides are written and reviewed by people with hands-on US HR, payroll, and HR technology experience. Legal and tax facts are checked against primary sources, such as the Department of Labor, IRS, EEOC, and USCIS, and linked at the end of each guide. Vendors never review or pay for our editorial content.