The application period for the December to March 2017 Outreachy internships is now closed. We currently going through the intern selection process and trying to find additional sponsors for the accepted interns who applied to work on many different projects.
In order to be accepted as an Outreachy intern, applicants need to make at least one contribution to the free and open source project they're applying to. During the six week application period, applicants get in contact with mentors and try to complete tasks. Some project have a longer bootstrapping process, which is why we recommend applicants start making a contribution at least three weeks before the deadline.
This round, 42% of applicants made a contribution to their project. We accept around 30-50 interns each round (depending on funding). That means people who successfully make a contribution to a project have a 30% to 50% chance of getting accepted.
Outreachy is a full-time, 40-hour a week internship. We have specific rules for students who apply to be an Outreachy intern to ensure they have at least seven consecutive weeks free from full-time school. Some times that means dropping credits down to half time, or using the Outreachy internship for university project or research credits.
Each Outreachy round, we get enthusiastic applicants who aren't eligible due to full-time school commitments. This round, we added additional questions to our application to check credits, time off between classes, and more. After checking the answers, some students were clearly not eligible (the ineligible bar below).
Some students didn't fill out all the information required, or misunderstood the questions. Some applications were blank, and some applicants stopped filling out the form once they understood they didn't meet the eligibility rules. Those applicants are all included in the 'Unknown' bar below.
Outreachy mentors were told a week before the application deadline which applicants were ineligible, and which applicants needed to provide more information. Mentors could then ask their applicants to provide additional information. Only Outreachy applicants with confirmed eligibility will be accepted as interns.
We're working on a clearer application system for next round, so that applicants can understand as soon as they start looking at projects whether they are eligible for the Outreachy internship.
Outreachy is an international program, and our applicants come from all around the world! In general, the December to March round is best for people from the southern hemisphere, where the internship period coincides with their university summer vacation. However, some northern hemisphere applicants are also eligible because they switch jobs, complete a bootcamp, use university project credit, take less than half-time classes, or even have a longer university break.
The countries that had the most Outreachy applicants this round are:
One of the Outreachy organizers' goals this year was to reach out to communities that are especially under-represented in tech. It's estimated that tech companies in the U.S. have around 1-3% Black and 2-4% Hispanic employees in technical roles, while the population of the U.S. is 13% Black and 17% Hispanic. Outreachy organizers have been promoting the program to people of color in the United States that meet our demographic requirements
We're pleased to announce that this round, of the 61 applicants from the United States, 34% of those applicants (21 people) were Black/African American, Hispanic/Latin@, Native American/American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander.
Applicants of color from the United States made up for 8.3% of the total Outreachy applicants. We don't track racial demographics for applicants outside the United States, so it's unknown how many applicants of color from other countries applied.
The list of Outreachy accepted applicants will be announced on Thursday, November 9!
