3M is seeking PhD students in science and engineering for its Summer 2027 PhD Research & Development (R&D) Internship Program. This 10–12 week, full-time internship offers current graduate students graduating in fall 2027 or later the opportunity to collaborate with innovative researchers, engineers, and technical experts on real-world product, technology, digital science, and engineering challenges.

What You’ll Do

As a PhD R&D Intern, you may contribute to projects in areas such as:

• Corporate technology — materials research, formulation science, synthetic chemistry, process design, analytical methods, materials characterization, and scale-up
• Product engineering and development — solving product challenges, supporting existing technologies, and developing new product concepts
• Digital science and engineering — applying machine learning, AI, modeling, simulation, data engineering, software tools, and computational methods to R&D problems

Interns will help advance technical solutions, analyze and communicate experimental results, collaborate across R&D teams, and build technical, leadership, and communication skills.

Who Should Apply

3M is looking for current students graduating in fall 2027 or later who are pursuing a PhD in science or engineering, including fields such as:

• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Chemistry or Polymer Science
• Computer Science or Computer Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Data Science or Software Engineering
• Biomolecular Engineering
• Related technical disciplines

Relevant experience may include laboratory research, materials characterization, polymer or small-molecule synthesis, process development, machine learning, AI, data science, software development, robotics, additive manufacturing, statistical analysis, or prior internship/co-op experience.

Application Details

Deadline

Applications are reviewed and filled on a rolling basis, so interested candidates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Many internship positions are filled by mid-October. The last date to submit an application is November 13.

Application materials

Candidates should include a resume and ensure their education and work history are included in the application.

How to apply

UW–Madison students applying through the Graduate School Industry Internship Program must submit both of these applications:

• 3M internship application
• Graduate School Industry Internship application

Applicants must meet the Graduate School Industry Internship Program eligibility criteria to be considered through this program.