Google Summer of Code

The Google Summer of Code (GSoC) program gives university students the opportunity to gain real-world experience by working on a three month coding project with one of more than 200 open source organizations under the guidance of a mentor.

For 15 years GSoC has brought thousands of students into open source software development.

Program Goals

• To motivate university students to begin participating in open source software development.
• To give students exposure to real world software development scenarios (testing, version control, software licensing, etc.).
• To help students develop their technical skills and build their networks.
• To help open source projects bring in new developers into their communities.
• Create more open source code for everyone.

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

Eligibility and application

Candidates must be:

• Enrolled in or accepted into an accredited university program as of May 6
• 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 duration of program

Application Process

Students must:

• Register as a student in the program on the program site g.co/gsoc between March 25 - April 9
• Submit proof of enrollment in an accredited university program
• Research which organization(s) they wish to apply to (can apply to up to 3)
• Submit a written proposal through the program site to the organization(s) they are applying to be a student with for GSoC 2019 between March 25 - April 9

Review the Program Rules and FAQ.

Timeline

The general timing and steps of the 2019 program include:

• Google selects 206 open source organizations to mentor students. (February 26)
• Proactive students reach out to 1 or 2 of the selected orgs that interest them and discuss project ideas and learn more about the open source org. (February 26 - March 25)
• Students register on program site and submit proposals to the open source orgs (March 25 - April 9)
• Orgs announce their selected students. (May 6)
• Selected students spend 3 weeks “bonding” with the open source community to learn the codebase, best practices, and work on milestones and project schedule with their mentor. (May 6 - May 27)
• Students spend 12 weeks coding on their project, meeting milestones and receiving evaluations from mentors at the 4, 8, and 12 week points of the program. With each passed evaluation students receive a stipend. (May 27 - August 19)
• All successful GSoC 2019 students are announced. (September 3)
• After the program ends the code the students have written is available for all to use and is easy for students to point to when applying for jobs and internships.

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

Helpful tips

Reach out to organizations early!

1. Review the GSoC Student Guide. Has all the best tips on having a successful GSoC! It’s short and to the point. We highly encourage all interested students read through this guide.
2. The 206 open source organizations that will act as mentoring orgs have been announced, now is the time to do your research and find the 2 or 3 that interest you.
3. Review the Projects Ideas list of those orgs and think about what matches your interests and skills.
4. Reach out to the org and talk to them about the project idea and why you are interested in working with them.
5. Write your Project Proposal and share with the org to get feedback on your proposal, the earlier the better.
6. March 25 - April 9 Register as a student on the GSoC program site g.co/gsoc and submit your proposal (you can submit up to 3) and your proof of enrollment in a university program.
7. Apply to an open source organization that is doing work that interests you, it will be a much more enjoyable summer if you are working on a project you are excited about.
8. Good luck!

Visit the Resources page for additional info!