Outreachy is a paid, remote internship program. Outreachy's goal is to support people from groups underrepresented in tech. We help newcomers to Free and Open Source Software make their first contributions.

What is Free Software and Open Source?

Are you new to the free software world? Outreachy is for you! The term "free software" or "open source" means that you have the freedom to use, copy, study, change, and improve a project. Examples of open source projects include software like Linux or Firefox, documentation projects like Wikipedia, or graphic design projects like OpenClipArt.org. If you're new to open source, we encourage you to read an introductory article.

Open source projects are built collaboratively. Open source contributors work together publicly. Working publicly creates a fun collaborative community around a project. It allows anyone to make innovative changes that reach many people.

Open source contributors work on a lot of different things! You can contribute by developing software. Or you might want to improve user experience by contributing design work. You can help with documentation, community management, marketing, identifying issues and reporting bugs, helping users, event organization, graphic design, and translations.

Sometimes people work on open source in their spare time. Many contributors are employed by companies and non-profit organizations to work on open source. That includes the companies that are sponsoring Outreachy!  Experience with open source is highly valuable in the professional world. Your contributions to open source provide a public portfolio for you. Employers can see your history of public collaboration, which will give them confidence when making hiring decisions.

Why Apply to Outreachy?

• Get the most out of your Outreachy Intern application process
  
• How I got into Outreachy's open source internship program
• Getting into Summer of Code Programs
• The End of My Internship - note Outreachy used to be called OPW
• Suggestions for Outreachy applicants
  

Outreachy internships were inspired in many ways by Google Summer of Code. Our program is designed to support people from groups underrepresented in tech. We reach talented and passionate participants, who are uncertain about how to get started in free and open source software. We hope this effort will help many people learn how exciting, varied and valuable work on FOSS projects can be and how inclusive the community really is. This program is a welcoming link that will connect you with people working on individual projects in various FOSS organizations and guide you through your first contribution.

We're so excited to have you apply! The application process for Outreachy is longer than most internship applications, so we highly encourage applicants to start their application at least 2-3 weeks before the Outreachy application deadline.

The application process consists of five steps:

1. Make sure you're eligible to apply for Outreachy. We have strict eligibility rules for people who are students, so it's important that you confirm you're eligible.

2. Pick 1-2 projects. Look at the proposed projects and pick 1-2 projects that look interesting to you. There will be more information on each community's landing page, including community chat channels and mentor contact information if you need to ask questions about the projects. You will need to complete the eligibility check and be eligible to apply in order to see project details.

3. Make small, consistent contributions to the project(s) you've chosen. Each project will have a set of tasks for you to complete to see if you like working on the project. It's less important that you make a big, last minute contribution, and more important that you're in contact with the mentors, asking questions, and sending small contributions at a steady pace.  Only applicants that make at least one contribution, record that contribution on the Outreachy website, and submit a final application will be able eligible to be accepted as an intern. We find that the strongest applicants make multiple contributions throughout the application process, including after the application deadline.

4. Record in-progress contributions on the Outreachy website. You'll need to go to the community landing page linked from the projects listing page. Then click the 'Record Contribution' button. Add links and descriptions to your contributions and the project timeline before the application deadline. You can always go back and edit your recorded contributions. A contribution doesn't have to be merged or accepted to be recorded.

5. Complete your final application. You'll need to go to the community landing page linked from the projects listing page. Then click the 'Update Contributions and and Apply to This Project' button below the project you want to apply for. You will need to submit a final application to each project you've made a contribution to. The button to add the final application will only appear once you have recorded at least one contribution. Also, when applying for May internship rounds, check if there is an opportunity to apply for Google Summer of Code with the same project and complete an application for it as well.