Sophomore programs at banks and investment firms: the 2026-27 guide

A sophomore program is an early program for second-year undergraduates, run a year before the junior-summer internship. For students graduating between December 2028 and mid 2029, they run from fall 2026 into spring 2027 and feed the summer 2028 internship class.

They come in three sizes. Some are events of a day or two: Guggenheim Securities' virtual Sophomore FOCUS program runs on Dec 3 and 4, 2026, and Bain Capital's Investors of Tomorrow runs a half-day Boston program on Nov 19, 2026 with a virtual panel on Dec 2. Some run for weeks: Citi's Early ID is three weeks of virtual mentoring, JPMorganChase's Fellowship Program was a five-week paid summer fellowship in 2026, and Goldman Sachs' Emerging Leaders Series runs from fall 2026 to spring 2027. A few are full summer internships for sophomores, such as Morgan Stanley Investment Management's and Apollo's 10-week programs for summer 2027.

What they lead to varies, so read each one. Guggenheim gives every FOCUS participant a guaranteed in-person interview on Jan 14, 2027 for its 2028 Summer Analyst Program. JPMorganChase considered 2026 fellows for a 2027 summer internship offer. Citi's Early ID includes interview preparation for summer analyst roles, and Goldman Sachs says its series prepares second-year students for future internship opportunities.

Second-year students on a four-year degree. The graduation windows line up: December 2028 or May 2029 for Guggenheim FOCUS, December 2028 to June 2029 for Goldman Sachs' Emerging Leaders Series (master's students too) and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and the Class of 2029 for Apollo. Citi's Early ID is for US sophomores on a four-year bachelor's degree. Guggenheim and JPMorganChase require US work authorization without sponsorship.

Some programs name who they are aimed at without closing the door to others. Guggenheim's FOCUS is geared to students who have shown resilience and excellence under challenging circumstances, personal, academic or professional. If you are a first-year student, Goldman Sachs runs its Possibilities Series for first-years; the spring 2026 edition was for students graduating between December 2028 and May 2029.

Guggenheim FOCUS opens with an evening session, then a full day of panels, an "anatomy of a deal" discussion and networking, and pairs each participant with a full-time banker as a mentor.

Goldman Sachs' Emerging Leaders Series combines business-specific training, interview preparation, networking and time with senior leaders, in one track: Investment Banking, FICC and Equities, Capital Solutions, Asset or Wealth Management or Research in New York; Controllers, Compliance, Operations or Risk in Salt Lake City; or Engineering in Dallas.

Citi's Early ID runs two to three hours a day for three weeks, online, covering Citi's businesses and preparation for its summer internship. JPMorganChase's fellowship began with a week of onsite training and orientation.

A sophomore summer internship is real work. Morgan Stanley Investment Management puts its summer 2027 sophomore interns on the Tactical Value team to help with diligence, build forecast and valuation models, draft investment memos and monitor portfolio companies, at $36.06 an hour.