When do consulting internships open for undergrads?
Management consulting internships for the junior summer open in the summer and early fall before junior year, roughly June through September, and most firms set one or two fixed deadlines instead of reviewing on a rolling basis. Early identification and diversity programs for sophomores open earlier, from the spring, and the live table below shows what is open now.
Updated November 6, 2026. Live data checked against each firm's own careers site 1m ago.
Which consulting programs are open right now?
The table below is read from each firm's own careers site. Open means we have seen the live posting there, Expected means last cycle's public record says it is coming, and No data yet means neither applies.
Consulting firms often post one internship per office or per region. A firm can read Open for one city and still be quiet in the office you want, so look at the office line on each row.
What does a fixed deadline change?
With a fixed deadline, the firm collects applications until a set date and then reviews them together. Applying on the first day does not put you ahead of someone who applies the day before the deadline, which is the opposite of banking.
What it does change is your planning. Missing a fixed deadline usually means missing the cycle at that firm, with no late window to catch. Write each deadline down the day the posting goes up, and give yourself a buffer for a cover letter or a school transcript.
- Fixed deadline: no advantage to day one, no second chance after the date.
- Rolling review: earlier is better, the way most banks work.
- Round one and round two deadlines: some firms run two, and round one usually has more seats.
- Office choice: some firms ask you to rank offices on the application, so decide before you apply.
What are early identification programs?
Early identification programs are short events, workshops, or mini internships for first and second year students. Many consulting firms run them from the spring, often with a focus on students from groups the industry underrepresents. They are not the junior summer, but they are often the clearest way to get an interview for it.
They also have fixed deadlines, and they come earlier than students expect. If you are a sophomore, track them now as their own programs, so the spring deadline does not pass while you are still thinking about the junior summer.
When does a sophomore need to start?
Start in sophomore fall. The early identification deadlines come in the spring, the junior summer applications open the summer after, and case interviews take months of practice to get good at. Waiting for junior year means doing all three at once.
- Sophomore fall: pick the firms and offices you would take and track their programs.
- Sophomore fall: start case practice with a partner, a couple of cases a week.
- Sophomore winter: talk to consultants from your school at your top firms.
- Sophomore spring: apply to early identification and diversity programs before their deadlines.
- Summer before junior year: apply to the junior summer before each fixed deadline.
- Late summer and fall: first round and final round case interviews.
What do consulting interviews look like?
Consulting interviews are a case plus fit. In the case you get a business problem, lay out a structure for it, ask for data, do math out loud, and end with a recommendation. In the fit part you tell short stories about leading, solving problems, and working with people.
Some firms add an online test or a written case before the first round. You cannot memorize a case. You get good at it by doing dozens with a partner and learning to keep your structure clear when the numbers get messy.
Questions students ask
- Is consulting recruiting rolling?
- At most strategy firms, no. They set one or two fixed deadlines and review together, so the date that matters is the deadline, not the opening day.
- Do I need a business major for consulting?
- No. Consulting firms hire across majors, including engineering, sciences, and humanities. What they test is how you think through a case, not what you studied.
- Can I recruit for consulting and banking in the same year?
- Yes, because the windows mostly do not overlap: banking fills in sophomore winter and spring, consulting opens the summer after. The cost is prep, since case practice and banking technicals are separate skills.
- Are early identification programs worth applying to?
- Yes. They put you in front of the people who run junior summer recruiting a year early, and at some firms they lead straight into an interview for the internship.
- Does networking matter for consulting?
- It helps, especially for knowing which office and practice fit you, but it is less of a gate than in banking. Case performance decides most outcomes.