Applications due by November 17, 2025

About The Program

AI for the Commonwealth Internship Program is a high impact undergraduate experiential learning and internship program jointly managed by the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CDSAI) and the Public Interest Technology Initiative (PIT@UMass) at the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS). CICS is partnering with The Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS) to recruit a cohort of UMass sophomores and juniors majoring or minoring in Computer Science or Informatics to work with state agencies during the spring and summer of 2026 on AI projects in the public interest and for social good. 

(Read about the 2025 interns and projects here. Read Governor Maura Healey’s press release about the 2025 cohort project presentations at the Massachusetts State House in September, 2025.)

Mentored by full-time CICS and PIT@UMass faculty and staff and state partners, student teams will work to improve the delivery of services and programs for Massachusetts agencies and residents. This program offers a rare opportunity for students to directly collaborate with state agencies and UMass mentors, applying cutting-edge AI to real-world challenges that impact communities across Massachusetts. 

Students who apply and are accepted to the program must commit to participate in both the spring and summer portions of the program.

• Spring semester 2026: students are required take CICS296x: PIT Clinic Group Independent Study for three credits:
  • This course will be offered T/Th 2:30-3:45 during spring 2026 semester.
  • Students will be enrolled after accepting the position in the program.
• Summer 2026: students will work 32 hours a week and be paid an hourly rate of $22 per hour during a 16-week summer internship

Students who are accepted into this program will sign a letter saying that they agree to complete CICS 296x PIT Clinic Group Independent Study in the spring semester and work through the end of the summer internship on August 21, 2026.

Eligibility

This program is open to sophomores and juniors who are majoring or minoring in Computer Science or Informatics at UMass Amherst. You must be a current student through the end of August 2026. Students who will graduate in May 2026 are not eligible.

Applications will be reviewed holistically and will consider factors including aligned interests with state agencies and identified projects, academic performance, teamwork, leadership, communication, and other professional skills.

Potential Projects

Potential projects this year might include leveraging generative AI to:

• Allow MA local boards of public health to navigate public health policy in plain language, or query food codes, housing regulations and other standards in real time
• Make MA Department of Public Health data directly available to 351 MA municipalities
• Provide data-driven public health recommendations by pairing results with evidence from the public health literature
• Build a multi-modal data classification tool to improve accessibility of MA Dept of Fish and Game Division of Ecological Restoration’s photos and videos and standardize land-use codes used in GIS data for analysis
• Translate handwriting from six languages on MassHealth forms

Responsibilities

Student teams will be responsible for collaborating with state agency stakeholders to define and implement AI solutions tailored to their problems including coding, testing and debugging programs for data engineering, data analytics, and machine learning. Exact responsibilities will differ depending on the project assignments, and may include:

• Participating with other students and mentors in an Agile/Scrum style software development environment to distribute tasks among team members
• Attending trainings and mentoring sessions throughout the program 
• Meeting with project partners and mentors weekly and present progress toward project goals
• Meeting with project partners and mentors to consider the ethical questions and implications of the solutions being developed and ensure that teams are realizing the promise of AI while mitigating risk
• Writing software in Python, Java, and JavaScript to implement desired features and bug fixes according to project requirements
• Writing code to train, evaluate and deploy machine learning models for natural language processing or computer vision tasks
• Configuring web applications and data storage solutions in Amazon Web Services
• Writing data pipelines and data schemas to process and store data
• Creating data dashboards, data visualizations or front-end web applications according to design specifications
• Testing programs to validate instructions work as written and gauge usability, conducting code reviews for other team members and reporting issues or bugs 
• Producing clearly written documentation that describes software features and expected behavior, including a final poster presentation or demo video
• Creating instructions for installing, configuring and using software programs

Preparing final presentations to be presented to state agencies and other stakeholders

Minimum qualifications

• Sophomore or junior majoring or minoring in Computer Science/Informatics
• Ability to work successfully on a software development team
• Teamwork, communication, and leadership skills gained through work experience, extracurriculars, or coursework
• Interest in and commitment to working on projects for the common good and in the public interest

Credit and Pay

During the spring semester, students will earn 3 credits.  During the summer, students will work 32 hours a week and be paid an hourly rate of $22.00

Work Environment

Participants are expected to be physically present in Amherst, MA and available to work in person during the spring semester and summer of 2026. Participants will be working onsite at the UMass Amherst campus. Periodic field trips to relevant state agencies may also be required. 

Application Process

Applications will reviewed on a rolling basis until November 17, 2025, or until all positions are filled. Applicants whose skills and experience are a good fit for the projects we have planned will be invited to a 20-minute interview with UMass faculty and staff.

Preference will be given to applications that do not utilize AI to generate responses to questions in the application. Use of AI for grammar or writing refinement is acceptable but ensure that your responses reflect your own voice.

During the interview, you will be asked to explain a previous project you have worked on in depth and answer questions about your approach, your experience working on a team, and how you overcome challenges. The interview will also include questions about your career goals and why this particular opportunity interests you.

All applicants will be notified by email when the positions for the program are filled. Note that due to the volume of applications, staff cannot respond to individual requests about application status.

Offers

Accepted applicants will receive an offer letter which must be signed and returned within five business days.

This is a significant commitment, and an important partnership between the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. An offer to this program means that we see you as a great fit for this program and we want to work with you. You are committing to:

• Taking 296x PIT Clinic Group Independent Study during the spring semester
• Working 32 hours a week during the summer
• Staying for the duration of the program through August 21, 2026

How to Apply

To apply you will complete the Qualtrics Form at the link below by November 17, 2026. You will be required to upload a PDF of your resume and a PDF of your unofficial transcript. (Please make sure there are no passwords required to open your pdf files.)

Questions?

Contact PIT@umass.edu for any questions.