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&lt;p&gt;One of the goals of the annual Vault Internship Survey is to identify trends in the internship space that affect the career aspects that young professionals care about most. The results of the 2025 Internship Survey (occurring during the summer months of 2025 and producing the 2026 Internship rankings) solidify two trends that we at Vault have seen developing for the past several years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The first of these trends is the continuing decrease in overall scores regarding full-time &lt;a href=&quot;/best-internships-rankings-search/best-internships-by-employment-factor/employment-prospects&quot;&gt;employment prospects&lt;/a&gt; after an internship. In the survey, interns are asked to rate their program in various aspects, including employment prospects, on a scale of 1–10. In 2022, the average score for employment prospects was &lt;strong&gt;8.628&lt;/strong&gt;. That score has dropped each year, resulting in a score of &lt;strong&gt;7.986 &lt;/strong&gt;for 2025. This represents an approximate 8 percent drop. Employment prospects is now the lowest-rated internship factor recorded by our survey.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We aren’t the only organization that’s noticed a shift towards fewer full-time offers following internships. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.naceweb.org/talent-acquisition/internships/intern-offer-and-conversion-rates-fall-acceptances-rise#:~:text=according[%e2%80%a6]%20intern%20class&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;published numbers&lt;/a&gt; in August that show post-internship offer and conversion rates at an all-time low since 2020. Meanwhile, the organization reports offer acceptance as higher than it has been since 2020. These figures seem to bear out &lt;a href=&quot;https://fortune.com/2025/10/19/us-job-market-trump-economy-approval-tariffs-electricity-grocery-financial-stress/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;current public opinions&lt;/a&gt; regarding the job market and the rising cost of living.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The other trend we’ve seen in the past several years of the survey goes in the opposite direction. Another factor we ask interns to rate from 1–10 is the &lt;a href=&quot;/best-internships-rankings-search/best-internships-for-inclusion/overall-inclusion&quot;&gt;inclusion&lt;/a&gt; within their internship program (which we referred to as diversity until the most recent survey). In 2022, the average diversity score across all internship programs was &lt;strong&gt;8.930&lt;/strong&gt;. That number has risen every year, with the inclusion score reaching &lt;strong&gt;9.352&lt;/strong&gt; in 2025, a 5 percent increase.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The rise in satisfaction with inclusion within internship programs is good news, particularly for the generation that makes up internship hires. Per a study by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Pew Research&lt;/a&gt;, Generation Z is the most diverse generation in American history, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that diversity and inclusion are important to them. Monster’s 2025 &lt;a href=&quot;https://monsterworkwatch24.my.canva.site/state-of-the-grad-2025&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;State of the Graduate&lt;/a&gt; report finds “DE&amp;amp;I remains a priority among new graduates looking to enter the workforce”, stating that 35 percent of graduates say they would never accept a job at a company that doesn’t offer a diverse workforce and leadership. It also reports that 32 percent of candidates say that non-diverse interviewers are a “red flag” during the interview process. Diversity is not just a value in the incoming class of candidates—the lack of it is often a nonstarter. And internship programs seem to be rising to meet these expectations, providing interns with more inclusive environments where they can learn from and connect with all kinds of people.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The internship market is a fascinating cross-section where overarching employment trends intersect with the priorities and goals of the newest generation of workers. The Vault Internship Survey and its subsequent Internship Rankings aim to both quantify intern sentiment and solicit qualitative data on the internship experience. Check out the &lt;a href=&quot;/most-prestigious-internship-rankings&quot;&gt;2026 Internship Rankings&lt;/a&gt; to see which companies offer the best internship experiences.&lt;/p&gt;

Kaitlin McManus

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