Google Summer of Code

The 20th year of the Google Summer of Code (GSoC) program gives new contributors an opportunity to be part of open source projects and gain real world experience by working on a 12+ week coding project with one of ~150 open source organizations under the guidance of dedicated mentors.

Since 2005, GSoC has brought more than 20,000 students and new contributors from 116 countries into open source software development.

Program Goals

• Motivate developers to begin participating in open source software development.
• Help open source projects bring in new developers into their communities.
• Give new contributors exposure to real world open source software development scenarios (e.g., testing, version control, software licensing, etc.).
• Create more open source code for everyone.

To learn more visit our Google Summer of Code program site.

Candidates must be:

• 18 years or older on date they register for program
• Not be a resident of an United States embargoed country
• Eligible to work in the country in which they reside for the duration of the program
• New or beginner contributors to open source software development

Applicants must:

• Register to be a GSoC Contributor on the program site g.co/gsoc between March 18 - April 2
• Research which organization(s) they wish to apply to (can apply to up to 3) - Orgs announced February 21st at g.co/gsoc
• Submit a written proposal through the program site g.co/gsoc to the organization(s) they are applying to be a GSoC contributor for GSoC 2024 between March 18 - April 2

Review the Program Rules and FAQ.

The general timing and steps of the 2024 program include:

• February 21: Google selects ~150 open source organizations to mentor students.
• Feb 21 - March 18: Proactive participants reach out to 1 or 2 of the selected orgs that interest them and discuss project ideas and learn more about the open source organization.
• March 18 - April 2: Participants register on program site (g.co/gsoc) and submit proposals to the open source orgs
• May 1: Orgs announce their selected GSoC contributors.
• May 1 - May 27: Selected GSoC contributors spend 3 weeks bonding with the open source community to learn the codebase, best practices, and work on milestones and project schedules with their mentor. Some GSoC contributors and their mentors may decide to extend the program schedule from 12 weeks up to 22 weeks) based on the contributor’s availability
• May 27 - September 2: GSoC contributors spend 12+ weeks coding on their project, meeting milestones and receiving evaluations from mentors at the halfway point, and in their final week of the program. With each passed evaluation, GSoC contributors receive a stipend.
• September 3: All successful GSoC 2024 contributors doing the standard 12 week project are announced.
• By November 4: GSoC contributors with extended program timelines will wrap up their projects
• After the program ends, the code GSoC contributors wrote will be available for all to use, and will be easy for GSoC contributors to reference when applying for jobs and internships.

To learn more visit our Google Summer of Code program site.

Reach out to organizations early!

• Review the GSoC Contributor/Student Guide. It has all the best tips on having a successful GSoC! It’s short and to the point. We highly encourage all interested participants to read through this guide.
• Once the open source organizations that will act as mentoring orgs have been announced (on February 21), it is time to do your research and find the 2 or 3 that interest you. You can also look now at the orgs that participated previously (in 2023) as many of those orgs will be accepted again.
• Review the Projects Ideas list of the orgs and think about what matches your interests and skills.
• Reach out to the org and talk to them about the project idea and why you are interested in working with them. Communication with the org before submitting your proposal is vital if you wish to be selected.
• Write your Project Proposal and share with the org to get feedback on your proposal, the earlier the better.
• March 18 - April 2: Register as a GSoC contributor on the GSoC program site g.co/gsoc and submit your proposal (you can submit up to 3).
• Apply to an open source organization that is doing work that interests you, it will be a much more enjoyable experience if you are working on a project you are excited about.

Good luck!

Visit the Resources page for additional info!