GSoC, Outreachy and LFX Mentorship: Who Can Apply and How

Google Summer of Code (GSoC), Outreachy and the Linux Foundation's LFX Mentorship all pay newcomers a stipend to work remotely on open-source projects with experienced mentors. They differ in who can apply, how much time they need and when applications open. This guide sets out each programme's rules as its own pages state them in late 2026, then covers choosing an organisation, writing a proposal and contacting mentors early. Rules, dates and stipends change from year to year, so check the current official page before you plan around any figure here.

How do the three programmes compare?

• GSoC: run by Google for students and open-source beginners aged 18 or over. You write code on a project scoped at roughly 90, 175 or 350 hours; about three-quarters of projects last 12 weeks, and lengths range from 8 to 22 weeks.
• Outreachy: a paid, remote internship of about three months for people who face underrepresentation, systemic bias or discrimination in the tech industry where they live. Interns work 30 hours a week for a fixed stipend of 7,000 US dollars.
• LFX Mentorship: mentorships run by individual Linux Foundation projects. The full-time format lasts 12 weeks and the part-time format 24 weeks, and each project sets its own tasks and stipend arrangements.

None of these is a job. GSoC's FAQ describes participants as independent developers receiving a stipend, not employees or interns of Google or of the mentoring organisation. Treat any of them as structured, paid experience that you can later show to employers, not as a hiring pipeline.

Google Summer of Code: eligibility, proposal and stipend

Who can apply

GSoC's FAQ lists the conditions: you must be 18 or older when you register, eligible to work in your country of residence, a student or an open-source beginner, accepted into GSoC no more than once before, and not living in a US-embargoed country. Being a beginner still allows personal or class projects and fewer than ten issues or pull requests on open-source packages, but regular contributors to a project don't qualify.

How the proposal works and how long it takes

You apply during a short contributor window by submitting a written proposal for a project idea from one of the accepted organisations. You can send up to three proposals, but only one can be accepted. The FAQ describes a good proposal as having detailed goals, a methodology and a clear timeline, and says prior interaction with the mentor is the most critical factor. Projects are scoped at about 90, 175 or 350 hours. Check each organisation's AI policy first: GSoC warns that using AI to write your proposal can mean automatic rejection, depending on the organisation.

Stipend and timeline

Stipends are paid in two parts, each after a successful evaluation, and the amount depends on the project's size and the country you live in. Google's 2026 table listed India at 750, 1,500 and 3,000 US dollars for small, medium and large projects. Accepted participants also have to provide tax forms and proof of residency.

The calendar shifts a little each year. In 2026 the contributor application window ran from 16 March to 31 March, closing at 18:00 UTC (11:30 pm in India). Organisations and their project ideas are announced a few weeks before that window, which is the time to start talking to mentors. Check the official timeline page for the 2027 dates once they are published.

Outreachy: who it is for and how selection works

Outreachy offers internships to people from any background who face underrepresentation, systemic bias or discrimination in the technology industry where they live. Projects are not only programming; the applicant guide also mentions documentation, user experience, design and data science work. A few eligibility details matter a lot for readers here.

• You must be available full time: Outreachy interns work 30 hours a week.
• Students in India are treated as Northern Hemisphere students wherever their university is, so they can apply only to the May to August cohort.
• Anyone who has been a GSoC participant is ineligible, including people who didn't finish GSoC, so think carefully if you are weighing both.
• Check the separate rules on jobs, other internships and student visas in the current applicant guide before you apply.

Selection happens in stages. After an initial application with short essays, approved applicants enter a contribution period: they choose projects, contact mentors (mentors are not assigned, so you have to reach out first) and make at least one contribution recorded on the Outreachy site. Only then can they submit a final application, which includes a project timeline.

The stipend is 7,000 US dollars for the three-month internship. Mid-year internships run from May to August, with initial applications usually opening in early February and closing at the end of that month; the end-of-year round runs from December to March. If you are a student in India, the mid-year round is the one to watch.

LFX Mentorship: Linux Foundation project mentorships

LFX Mentorship is the Linux Foundation's platform for mentorships run by its projects, and each project designs its own programme, including tasks and stipends. To be eligible you must be at least 18 by the start, eligible to work in the country where you'll take part, not a past or current participant in another Linux Foundation mentorship, and free of obligations, such as an employer contract, that would stop you from taking part.

You apply by creating a mentee profile on the LFX Mentorship site and choosing a programme and term. Programmes can set prerequisite tasks, and applications without completed prerequisites are not accepted, so treat those tasks as the real application. Selected mentees complete a contract and onboarding steps before starting.

Full-time terms usually follow three windows: spring (March to May), summer (June to August) and autumn (September to November). Projects typically list spring mentorships in mid-January, summer ones in mid-April and autumn ones in mid-July, though the documentation notes that dates vary by project. Full-time mentorships last 12 weeks; part-time ones last 24 weeks.

On pay, the documentation is not fully consistent. The mentorship FAQ says mentees are not paid wages and that some projects offer stipends, with funding set by each project. The stipend pages, meanwhile, publish a location-based table, which lists India at 1,300 US dollars for programmes starting on or after 1 July 2026. Read the individual programme listing to confirm whether it pays, and how much, before you commit.

How do you choose an organisation and project?

Choose for fit rather than for the number of places on offer. You will spend weeks inside this codebase and community, and enthusiasm shows in your proposal and your questions.

• Start with software you already use or a field you care about, such as education tools, mapping or developer tooling.
• Compare your skills with the essential skills in the project listing, not every nice-to-have.
• Read past projects from the same organisation and see how quickly mentors reply in public channels.
• Narrow down to one or two projects so you can contribute properly to each, instead of spreading yourself thin.
• Where you can, pick work that resembles the remote roles you want later, such as documentation, testing or infrastructure tooling.

How do you write a proposal mentors want to read?

A proposal is a plan that a busy volunteer can judge in a few minutes. These habits help in GSoC, in Outreachy's final application timeline and in LFX tasks that ask you to describe your approach.

• Use the organisation's template exactly, if it has one.
• Open with a short summary of the problem and the outcome you plan to deliver.
• Break the work into weekly milestones with clear deliverables, and mark which are essential and which are stretch goals.
• Scope modestly. A smaller project you will certainly finish is safer than an ambitious one that stalls halfway.
• Be open about other commitments, such as semester exams, college placement season or a notice period, and show how your timeline allows for them.
• Link to the contributions you have already made to the project.
• Write it yourself, and follow the organisation's AI policy to the letter.

Why should you talk to mentors before applying?

All three programmes reward early contact. GSoC's contributor guide says not to wait until the application period to get in touch, and Outreachy expects applicants to reach out to mentors themselves because mentors are not assigned. A mentor who already knows your name and your first contribution reads your proposal differently.

• Introduce yourself in the project's public channel with your background, the idea that interests you and one specific question.
• Set the project up locally and say what you got working, or exactly where you are stuck.
• Make one small contribution early, so you have something concrete to discuss.
• Ask how mentors prefer to be contacted and how quickly to expect replies; many will be in other time zones.
• Keep messages short and public where the project asks for that, rather than sending private messages.

If you are selected and finish, describe it accurately on your CV and LinkedIn profile. GSoC says you can't claim the GSoC contributor title until you have passed the programme, and because participants are not Google employees, list it as a contributor role with the organisation, not as a job at Google.

Your plan for the next application cycle

1. Now to December: shortlist a few organisations from past GSoC lists and current LFX listings, and start using their software.
2. January: introduce yourself in their public channels, make a first small contribution, and watch for Outreachy's mid-year call and LFX spring listings.
3. February: when GSoC organisations are announced, pick one or two project ideas and talk to the mentors.
4. March: share a draft proposal early and submit the final version well before the GSoC window closes.
5. Throughout: keep a short log of your contributions, because you will reuse it in essays, proposals and later job applications.