Summer Intelligence Internship 2025 - British Intelligence Agencies (MI5, MI6 or GCHQ)

GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 are the UK’s Intelligence Services. We work together to safeguard Britain’s people, interests and businesses from various threats at home, overseas and online, including cyber-attacks, espionage, terrorism, and organised crime. Through the ingenuity of our people, we gather secret intelligence and work closely with our partners in the UK and overseas to detect threats and work out ways to stop them.

Internship dates

As part of the internship, you’ll get pro-rata annual leave. So, you’ll have up to five days off during the periods below.

• GCHQ: 30th June to 5th September 2025 (10 weeks)
• MI5: 16th June 2025 to 29th August 2025 (11 weeks)
• MI6: 12th June 2025 to 29th August 2025 (11 weeks and two days)

About the internships 

We’re running three internships in our intelligence teams at GCHQ, MI5 and MI6 during the summer of 2025. Whichever agency you choose to join, you’ll help piece together intelligence and identify possible threats. As part of a cohort of fellow interns, you’ll gain unique insights into the Intelligence Services – while sharing your own, because everyone's perspectives contribute to making our operations a success.

You’ll get access to specialist training and lots of support from a dedicated internship manager, plus mentors, line managers, and the wider team along the way. It’s a great chance to gain new skills and develop your abilities, as well as figure out if a career in intelligence is something you want to pursue after your degree. If it is, you’ll have the opportunity to apply for a role with your chosen agency once the internship is over (you’ll still need to go through the usual application process if you do).

Choosing the right agency for you

Whichever agency you choose, you’ll have a brilliant experience ahead of you. You can only apply to one of us, so here’s some insight about each internship to help you pick:

GCHQ

Location: Cheltenham (accommodation provided)

Dates: 30th June 2025 to 5th September 2025 (you’ll have five days of annual leave during this time)

If you’ve got a passion for data and analysing information to see what it can reveal, GCHQ might be the right agency for you.

We’re the UK’s Intelligence, cyber and security agency. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats to protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks and espionage. We focus on five main areas: Cyber Security, Counter Terrorism, Strategic Advantage, Serious and Organised Crime and Supporting Defence.

As an intern at GCHQ, you’ll be working in one of our intelligence mission teams. Our Intelligence Data Analyst teams work in a rapidly changing technological environment, problem solving every day. We use bespoke technology, finding information from different places, including a high volume of data generated by many internet-connected devices. If you do have specialist skills such as cyber, data science, or coding experience, you may get the opportunity to use and develop these skills on the internship. However, these are not required and are not an essential part of the role.

MI5

Location: London (accommodation provided)

Dates: 16th June 2025 to 29th August 2025 (you’ll have five days of annual leave during this time)

If you’re an enthusiastic problem solver who’s interested in looking after the UK’s security at home, you might want to consider joining us at MI5.

We keep the country safe from serious threats like terrorism and attempts by states to harm the UK, its people and way of life. We carry out investigations by obtaining, analysing and assessing intelligence, and then work with a range of partners, including MI6 and GCHQ to disrupt these threats.

On the MI5 internship you’ll be placed in one of our investigative teams where you’ll experience what life as an Intelligence Officer is like. You’ll work closely with your development partner and as part of the wider team, learning how live investigations are run. You’ll also spend time shadowing people in different roles and departments who are crucial to the Intelligence Officer role, gaining exposure to a variety of different areas across MI5.

MI6

Location: London (accommodation provided)

Dates: 12th June 2025 to 29th August 2025 (you’ll have five days of annual leave during this time)

If you’re passionate about world events, curious about different cultures and work that’s focused overseas, you’ll be fascinated by what we do at MI6.

MI6, also known as SIS (the Secret intelligence Service), protects the security and economic wellbeing of the UK from overseas threats such as regional instability, terrorism, and cyber-attacks. Using innovative technologies, we work across the globe developing foreign contacts who can help the UK government counter these threats, through the provision of secret intelligence.

At MI6, you’ll be working with a dedicated internship manager for the duration of the 11-week, 2-day internship, to ensure you have a varied experience within one of our exciting mission teams. You’ll be introduced to all sorts of operations, whether that be from a data perspective, a requirements perspective, or many others. More importantly, you’ll see the human side of how we operate across the many strands of our work. You’ll also be given the opportunity to see and experience our training via a short residential trip.