Puerto Rico's Treasury pays college students $18 to $24 an hour: how the Manuel Díaz Saldaña Internship works as its third cohort begins

While the island debates budget cuts and debts across the education system, one government agency is paying college students to learn. On Tuesday, August 26, the Department of the Treasury (Hacienda) welcomed the 11 students of the third edition of the Manuel Díaz Saldaña Internship Program (IMDS), a paid experience that runs through December 2026 and pays between $18 and $24 an hour depending on the participant's academic level ¹². Secretary Ángel L. Pantoja Rodríguez and former Treasury secretary and former comptroller Manuel Díaz Saldaña, for whom the initiative is named, greeted the group at the agency's headquarters in Old San Juan ²³.

"We welcome a new group of university students interested in expanding the knowledge acquired in the classroom and seeing government operations up close," Pantoja Rodríguez said as he received the interns ²³.

This is not a symbolic, photocopy-fetching internship. The 11 selected students will work 22.5 hours per week —about 90 hours a month— in the agency's operational areas: Legal Affairs, Internal Revenue, Fiscal Audit, Public Finances, Taxpayer Service and Public Insurance ²³. Every week they must submit performance reports to their supervisors on assigned tasks and progress ².

The IMDS was created by Law 187-2024 and held its first edition in the summer of 2025 ⁴. It honors the career of certified public accountant Manuel Díaz Saldaña, who led Hacienda and later served as comptroller of Puerto Rico ⁴. In just over a year, the internship is already showing concrete results: three participants from the first edition are now on Hacienda's payroll, and several from the second —which ended in June 2026— are in recruitment processes ²³.

The program by the numbers

Pay scales with academic level, according to the internship's official portal: $18 an hour for bachelor's students, $21 for master's students and $24 for Juris Doctor and doctoral students ¹. For reference, a bachelor's-level intern earns more than 70% above the state minimum wage of $10.50, on a part-time schedule that leaves room for coursework.

This third cohort includes students from the Río Piedras, Ponce, Cayey and Bayamón campuses of the University of Puerto Rico, from the Law School and Barranquitas campus of Universidad Interamericana, from Universidad Ana G. Méndez and from the Pontificia Universidad Católica in Ponce ²³. Most are pursuing bachelor's degrees in business administration; others study law or graduate programs ².

The requirements published by Hacienda are clear: for the bachelor's track, a minimum of 100 approved credits and a 3.00 GPA; for the graduate track, enrollment in a master's, Juris Doctor or doctoral program; in both cases, active enrollment at an accredited university in Puerto Rico or the United States ¹. The majors the agency seeks include accounting, finance, business administration and law ¹. Executive Branch employees cannot participate, and selected students must pass a controlled-substances screening test ¹.

What it means for you

If you study accounting, finance, business administration or law —or have a son or daughter in those fields— this is one of the few government internships with competitive pay and a documented path to permanent employment ¹². The 22.5-hour weekly schedule is designed to fit around classes, and experience in areas like Internal Revenue or Fiscal Audit carries weight on any resume, whether you aim for public service or the private sector ¹². The application window for this edition closed on July 3, 2026 ¹, but the program has run three editions in just over a year: the advantage will go to whoever has their documents ready when the next window opens.

How to do it / Checklist

1. Confirm you meet the requirements: 100 approved credits and a minimum 3.00 GPA if you are an undergraduate, or active enrollment in a master's, Juris Doctor or doctoral program ¹.
2. Gather your documents now: credit transcript, resume, letter of intent stating your career goals, proof of active enrollment, criminal background certificate and two recommendation letters, at least one academic ¹.
3. Monitor the official portal internado.hacienda.pr.gov, where the call and the online application are published; the current cohort's window closed on July 3, 2026 ¹.
4. Send questions by email to [email protected] ¹.
5. Make sure you can truly commit 22.5 hours per week; the internship takes place at Hacienda's headquarters at Paseo Covadonga #10 in Old San Juan ¹.
6. Remember: you cannot hold an Executive Branch job and you will have to pass the drug screening ¹.

What's next

The third edition runs through December 2026 ²³. Interns will file weekly performance reports and, if the pattern of the first two editions repeats, several will finish with recruitment processes underway ²³. Hacienda has not announced a date for the fourth call, but with three cohorts in just over a year —summer 2025, first semester 2026 and August through December 2026— everything points to the next window opening in early 2027 ²⁴. CoquiList will be watching and will publish the details when they are announced.

Sources

1. Department of the Treasury — Official Manuel Díaz Saldaña Internship portal: internado.hacienda.pr.gov
2. WIPR — "Departamento de Hacienda inicia la tercera edición del Programa de Internado Manuel Díaz Saldaña" (August 26, 2026)
3. Foro Noticioso — "Hacienda inicia la tercera edición del Programa de Internado Manuel Díaz Saldaña" (August 26, 2026)
4. Department of the Treasury — Press release: "Departamento de Hacienda anuncia su Programa de Internado a partir del verano de 2025"