Rules

Google Summer of Code 2025 Program Rules

Google Summer of Code 2025 (the “Program”) is sponsored by Google LLC. (“Google”), a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA.

Definitions.
1. “Acceptance Date” means the date accepted Project Proposals are announced on the Program Website, as set forth on the Program Timeline.
2. “Coding Period” means the period of time designated for GSoC Contributors to complete their projects.
3. “Community Bonding Period” means the period for accepted GSoC Contributors to get to know their Mentors and prepare to begin work on their Projects, as set forth on the Program Timeline.
4. “Evaluation” means an evaluation by the Mentor of their GSoC Contributor’s work or an evaluation by the GSoC Contributor of their Mentor, as applicable.
5. “Final Phase” means the final half of the Coding Period for a given Project.
6. “Final Project Materials” means a GSoC Contributor’s final source code and associated documentation for their Project.
7. “Final Submission” means the work submission URL and answers to the final evaluation questions a GSoC contributor submits at the end of their coding period.
8. “Final Results” means the list of GSoC Contributors who passed all of their Evaluations.
9. “GSoC Contributor” means the individual who registers for the Program as a GSoC Contributor.
10. “GSoC Contributor Agreement” means the agreement between Google and a GSoC Contributor that is presented during registration.
11. “Ideas List” means the list of ideas for Projects publicly published by an Organization on the Program Website.
12. “Members” means the Organization Administrators and Mentors for an Organization.
13. “Mentor” means the individual who registers for the Program as a mentor for an Organization.
14. “Mentor Agreement” means the agreement between Google and an Organization Administrator or Mentor, as applicable, that is presented during registration.
15. “Organization” means the open source organization that registers for the Program as an organization.
16. “Organization Administrator” means the individual who registers for the Program as an administrator for an Organization.
17. “Organization Application” means an application from an Organization for its acceptance in the Program, including a completed profile.
18. “Organization Agreement” means the agreement between Google and an Organization that is presented during registration.
19. “Organization Project Criteria” means the criteria for grading Project Submissions that an Organization determines at its sole discretion.
20. “Participants” means Organizations, Organization Administrators, Mentors, and GSoC Contributors.
21. “Payment Processor” means the third party payment processor selected by Google to process payments under the Program.
22. “Midterm” means the first half of the Coding Period of a given Project.
23. “Program Administrators” means Google’s administrators for the Program.
24. “Program Period” means the period of time between January 27, 2025 and November 19, 2025.
25. “Program Timeline” means the timeline for the Program on the Program Website.
26. “Program Website” means the website for the Program located at http://g.co/gsoc.
27. “Project” means an open source coding project to be worked on by a GSoC Contributor as an individual. For the avoidance of doubt, Projects do not include projects for documentation only.
28. “Project Proposal” means a GSoC Contributor’s proposal for a Project.
29. “Project Submissions” means the work product that a GSoC Contributor submits for a Project, including the Project Proposal and any software and documentation, including Final Project Materials.
30. The words “include” and “including” as used herein mean “including but not limited to.”
Privacy.
1. Google will process the personal information provided during registration and in any subsequent communications to administer the Program (including verifying eligibility to participate in the Program, running the Program and sending notifications regarding the Program).
2. Google will also use aggregated, non-personally identifiable information from Participants’ written responses for evaluations, surveys and feedback in order to analyze Program effectiveness and make adjustments to the Program.
3. The display name that Participants create during registration will be displayed publicly on the Program Website and any archives of the Program Website, and will be shared with Organizations for the purpose of communicating with the GSoC Contributors to answer their questions and reviewing their proposals and work.
4. GSoC Contributor’s Project Submissions and contact information (email address and display name) will be shared with the Organizations (including Members) they submit proposals to in order to administer the Program.
5. Google may publicize your participation in the Program and the results of the Program, including announcements of accepted Project Proposals, the text of accepted Project Proposals, and the resulting code from your work on the Project. Google may display your information, including your display name, Project abstract, and Final Project Materials, on Google-run websites, including the Google Open Source Blog (https://opensource.googleblog.com/) and the Program Website.
6. The personal information provided during registration and in any subsequent communications will also be processed by Google’s trusted service providers for the purpose of delivering stipends to successful GSoC Contributors and Organizations based on Google’s instructions and in compliance with Google’s Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. The personal information will also be used to issue tax forms as required.
7. Participants can access, update, and remove their personal information in their Program profile.
8. For Organizations, Google may publish your participation in the program and your Organization details supplied in your application, including organization logo, description, technology tags and topics, Ideas List, website, and your organization’s preferred contact methods for users.
The Google Privacy Policy (policies.google.com/privacy) further explains how data is handled in this service.
Program Administration.
1. Changes to the Program.
  1. Google may suspend, cancel, or modify the structure of the Program if technical difficulties or events beyond Google’s reasonable control prevent or make it unfair to run the Program in accordance with these Program Rules.
  2. Google may modify these Program Rules to reflect any modifications to the Program. Any changes made will be effective immediately upon notice, which will be given by posting the revised Program Rules on this page. Continued participation in the Program after such notice will be deemed acceptance of such changes.
2. Verifying Eligibility.
  1. Google reserves the right to verify a Participant’s eligibility and to adjudicate on any dispute at any time. Participants must provide Google with any proof of eligibility requested by Google. Refusal or failure to provide such proof within 2 business days of Google’s request via email, may result in removal from the Program.
  2. Google may review all proof of eligibility during the Program at its discretion. If any such review determines, at Google’s sole discretion, the GSoC Contributor provided false or erroneous proof of residency or falsely stated their country of residence in their registration, or falsely stated their previous acceptance into GSoC as a Contributor or Student, the GSoC Contributor will be removed from the Program immediately and
    1. not receive any stipends and
    2. not be eligible to participate in any future Google Summer of Code programs.
3. Communications. All communications between Google and the Participants, including the Program Website and email communications, will be in English.
4. Conduct. Participants must use professional and courteous conduct when interacting with other Participants and Program Administrators. If a Participant does not use such conduct, Google may remove the Participant from the Program.
5. Program Removal. In addition to any terms regarding removal from the Program stated in these Program Rules, Google may remove a Participant from the Program if Google reasonably believes that the Participant has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Program, including:
  1. Providing false eligibility information during registration;
  2. Breaching or refusing to comply with these Program Rules;
  3. Threatening or harassing Google or other Participants including Organizations’ employees and representatives;
  4. Tampering or interfering with the administration of the Program or with the ability of other Participants to participate in the Program;
  5. Providing false country of residence during registration;
  6. Submitting Project Proposals through multiple Google accounts;
  7. Submitting content that:
    1. is not original;
    2. violates the rights of a third party;
    3. is lewd, obscene, pornographic, racist, sexist, or otherwise inappropriate to the Program; or
    4. violates any applicable law.
  8. If a Participant is removed from the Program for any reason:
    1. the Participant will no longer be eligible to receive stipends from Google;
    2. Google may delete the Participant’s profile and other data from the Program Website; and
    3. the Participant may be prohibited from participating in any future programs run by the Google Open Source Programs Office.
Organizations.
1. Eligibility. To participate in the Program, an Organization must:
  1. run an active and viable open source software project;
  2. have already produced and released software under an Open Source Initiative (OSI)-approved license;
  3. not be based in a United States embargoed country, or otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs.
2. How to Apply. Organizations who wish to apply for acceptance into the Program must:
  1. accept the terms of the Organization Agreement, and
  2. submit an Organization Application.
3. Organization Application.
  1. The Organization Application must be submitted by an Organization Administrator through the Program Website during the application period described in the Program Timeline.
  2. Each Organization may submit one (1) Organization Application.
4. Acceptance.
  1. Google may accept or reject any Organization at its sole discretion.
  2. Google will announce the Organizations accepted to the Program on the Program Website.
5. Responsibilities.
  1. Each accepted Organization will perform all necessary additional steps required for the Organization to participate in the Program, including:
    1. providing an Ideas List;
    2. determining the Organization Project Criteria, provided that the Organization may not discriminate on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, gender, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, marital or veteran status or any other basis that is prohibited by applicable law; and
    3. assigning two or more persons, as applicable, to:
      1. serve as the Organization Administrators;
      2. evaluate GSoC Contributor Project Proposals submitted to the Organization in accordance with Section 7.4 below and decide which Project Proposals to accept;
      3. help GSoC Contributors integrate with the Organization’s community during the Community Bonding Period;
      4. serve as Mentor(s); and
      5. serve as alternate Mentors in the event an existing Mentor is unable to fulfill their responsibilities.
  2. If Google reasonably believes that an Organization has failed to meet the foregoing responsibilities, Google may remove such Organization from the Program.
  3. Each Organization is responsible for its Organization Administrators and Mentors. If Google reasonably believes that an Organization Administrator or Mentor for an Organization has failed to meet any of the responsibilities set forth in Sections 5.3(a) or 6.3(a) below, as applicable, Google is not required to issue any stipends to the Organization.
Organization Administrators.
1. Role.
  1. Each Organization must have at least two (2) Organization Administrators.
  2. All Organization Administrators must accept the terms of the Organization Member Agreement.
  3. An Organization Administrator who has the full legal authority to bind the Organization must register the Organization for the Program and accept the terms of the Organization Agreement on behalf of the Organization.
2. Eligibility.
  1. Requirements. To participate in the Program, an Organization Administrator must:
    1. be eighteen (18) years of age or older upon registration for the Program;
    2. be a contributor to an active and viable open source project run by the Organization; and
    3. not be a GSoC Contributor in the Program.
  2. Ineligible Individuals. An Organization Administrator may not participate in the Program if they are:
    1. a resident of a United States embargoed country;
    2. ordinarily resident in a United States embargoed country;
    3. otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs; or
    4. an immediate family member (including a parent, sibling, child, spouse, or life partner) of an accepted GSoC Contributor in the Program with the same Organization or a member of the same household (whether related or not) as an accepted GSoC Contributor in the Program with the same Organization.
3. Responsibilities.
  1. The Organization Administrators for an accepted Organization will:
    1. act as the main points of contact between Google and the Organization and will respond to any inquiries from Google within thirty-six (36) hours;
    2. oversee the overall progress of the Organization and its GSoC Contributors throughout the Program;
    3. perform administrative tasks regarding the Program for the Organization, including publishing the Organization’s Ideas List and designating one or more Mentors for each accepted GSoC Contributor through the Program Website;
    4. edit GSoC Contributor project schedules when requested by Mentors from their Organizations;
    5. oversee and manage Mentors to ensure that they meet their responsibilities as set forth in Section 6.3 below;
    6. complete the necessary forms required to receive (or decline) the applicable stipends by the posted deadlines as set forth by Google Program Administrators;
    7. complete the followup questionnaire from Google sent at the six month and one year mark post program; and
    8. review the “Roles and Responsibilities” document published on the Program Website and be sure they, and each of their Mentors, are meeting the responsibilities outlined therein.
  2. If Google reasonably believes that an Organization Administrator has failed to meet any of the foregoing responsibilities, Google may require the Organization to designate a replacement Organization Administrator.
Mentors.
1. Role.
  1. Mentors must be designated by an Organization Administrator through the Program Website.
  2. Mentors must accept the terms of the Organization Member Agreement.
2. Eligibility.
  1. Requirements. To participate in the Program, a Mentor must:
    1. upon registration for the Program, be eighteen (18) years of age or older
    2. be a contributor to an active and viable open source project run by the Organization; and
    3. not be a GSoC Contributor in the Program.
  2. Ineligible Individuals. A Mentor may not participate in the Program if they are:
    1. a resident of a United States embargoed country;
    2. ordinarily resident in a United States embargoed country; or
    3. otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs.
    4. an immediate family member (including a parent, sibling, child, spouse, or life partner) of an accepted GSoC Contributor in the Program with the same Organization or a member of the same household (whether related or not) as an accepted GSoC Contributor in the Program with the same Organization.
3. Responsibilities.
  1. Each Mentor for an accepted Organization will:
    1. participate in the Community Bonding Period;
    2. provide guidance to their GSoC Contributor(s) on their Projects for the Organization;
    3. use best efforts to respond to GSoC Contributor requests within thirty-six (36) hours;
    4. provide Evaluations of their GSoC Contributor(s)’ work as described in Section 8.1 below in accordance with the Organization Project Criteria; and
    5. review the “Roles and Responsibilities” document published on the Program Website and be sure they are meeting the responsibilities outlined therein.
  2. If Google reasonably believes that a Mentor has failed to meet any of the foregoing responsibilities, Google may require the Organization Administrators to designate a replacement Mentor and remove the former Mentor from the Program.
GSoC Contributors.
1. Eligibility.
  1. Requirements. To participate in the Program, a GSoC Contributor must:
    1. be eighteen (18) years of age or older upon registration for the Program;
    2. for the duration of the Program, be eligible to work in the country in which they reside;
    3. not be an Organization Administrator or Mentor in the Program; and
    4. be a student or a beginner to open source software development.
  2. Ineligible Individuals. A GSoC Contributor may not participate in the Program if:
    1. They are:
      1. a resident of a United States embargoed country;
      2. ordinarily resident in a United States embargoed country; or
      3. otherwise prohibited by applicable export controls and sanctions programs.
    2. They are an employee (including intern), contractor, officer, or director of:
      1. Google or its affiliates, or
      2. an Organization or any of its affiliates.
    3. They are an immediate family member (including a parent, sibling, child, spouse, or life partner) of a Mentor or Organization Administrator with the same Organization or a member of the same household (whether related or not) as a Mentor or Organization Administrator with the same Organization.
    4. They have previously participated as a GSoC Student or GSoC Contributor in Google Summer of Code two (2) or more times.
2. How to Apply. GSoC Contributors who wish to apply for acceptance into the Program must:
  1. accept the terms of the GSoC Contributor Agreement, and
  2. submit a Project Proposal through the Program Website during the application period described in the Program Timeline.
3. Project Proposals.
  1. GSoC Contributors must submit Project Proposals to Organizations through the Program Website during the application period described in the Program Timeline.
  2. Each GSoC Contributor may submit up to three (3) Project Proposals; however, only one (1) Project Proposal may be accepted per GSoC Contributor.
  3. Project Proposals may, but are not required to, be for Projects on an Organization’s Ideas List.
  4. If a Project Proposal is for a Project that the GSoC Contributor is already working on, the GSoC Contributor must note this in the Project Proposal. Any work done on the Project prior to acceptance of the Project Proposal will not be considered for Evaluations.
4. Acceptance.
  1. Project Proposals will be reviewed by the Organizations to which they were submitted. An Organization may accept or reject any Project Proposal at its sole discretion. In the event that two (2) or more Organizations wish to accept Project Proposals from the same GSoC Contributor, the Organization that ranked the Proposal the highest will be granted the GSoC Contributor for their Organization. When the GSoC Contributor submits their proposal they will have the opportunity to note their preference of which proposal they prefer should they have multiple accepted by different organizations. Their preference will be considered but is not guaranteed. Google will announce the Project Proposals accepted to the Program on the Program Website.
  2. Each GSoC Contributor with an accepted Project Proposal will be matched with at least one (1) Mentor from the applicable Organization.
  3. GSoC Contributors without an accepted Project Proposal may not continue with the Program and their Google Summer of Code 2025 account will become inactive.
5. Responsibilities.
  1. Each accepted GSoC Contributor will perform all necessary additional steps required for the GSoC Contributor to participate in the Program, including:
    1. participating in the Community Bonding Period;
    2. providing Evaluation of their Mentor as described in Section 8.1 below;
    3. working diligently to complete the Project as it may be modified with the agreement of the Organization;
    4. following the coding and documentation standards set out by their organization;
    5. actively participating in the Organization’s community and adhering to the Organization’s rules and codes of conduct; and
    6. publishing their Project code in a publicly accessible location and under an Open Source Initiative approved license of the Organization’s choice.
  2. If Google reasonably believes that a GSoC Contributor has failed to meet the foregoing responsibilities, Google may remove such GSoC Contributor from the Program.
Program Participation.
1. Evaluations.
  1. Multiple Mentors. If a GSoC Contributor has more than one (1) Mentor:
    1. the GSoC Contributor is only required to submit an overall Evaluation of the Mentors; and
    2. only one (1) Mentor is required to submit an Evaluation of the GSoC Contributor. If more than one (1) Mentor submits an Evaluation, only the final Evaluation submitted before the deadline will be accepted.
  2. Form. Evaluations must be in the form of responses to questions provided by Google through the Program Website.
  3. Deadlines. GSoC Contributors and Mentors must submit Evaluations through the Program Website by the deadlines set forth in the Program Timeline. Evaluations are given at two (2) points: at the Midterm, and at the end of the Final Phase.
  4. Visibility.
    1. Except for any fields labeled “shared with GSoC Contributor” (“Shared Comments”), Evaluations submitted by a Mentor will only be visible to the Organization Administrators, the GSoC Contributor’s other Mentor(s), if applicable, and the Program Administrators. The GSoC Contributor will only see a pass/fail grade result and any Shared Comments.
    2. Evaluations submitted by a GSoC Contributor will only be visible to the Program Administrators. The Organization Administrators and Mentor(s) will only see the parts of the evaluations explicitly indicated Viewable by Mentors and/or Organization Administrators.
    3. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subsections (i) and (ii) above:
      1. Google may make Evaluations available to other Google employees, third parties, or the Organization or GSoC Contributor, as applicable:
        
        upon the GSoC Contributor’s or Organization’s prior written consent, as applicable; or
        
        if Google deems such action necessary to administer the Program (e.g., where the Program Administrators need assistance from other Google employees in their review to reconsider a GSoC Contributor’s grade or where the feedback may be vital to arbitration with the GSoC Contributor or Organization regarding payment or non-payment of a stipend).
      2. Google may use Evaluations internally to improve Google Summer of Code.
  5. Grading; Missing Deadlines.
    1. The Mentor will evaluate the GSoC Contributor’s Project Submissions based on the work from the beginning of the work period until the start of the evaluation period. Any work done during the evaluation period itself will be considered for the next evaluation period.
    2. The Mentor will evaluate the GSoC Contributor’s Project Submissions against the Organization Project Criteria.
    3. If a GSoC Contributor receives a failing grade at the Midterm Evaluation, the GSoC Contributor will be removed from the Program.
    4. If an Organization Administrator does not agree with the grade given by the Mentor to a GSoC Contributor, the Organization Administrator may submit an updated Evaluation, which will supersede the original Evaluation. This updated Evaluation must be complete before the original Evaluation deadline.
    5. If a Mentor fails to submit an Evaluation by the applicable deadline, the Organization will not receive any offered stipend for that GSoC Contributor mentored.
  6. Final Project Materials. GSoC Contributors must submit their Final Project Materials through the Program Website by the Final Submission deadline. If a GSoC Contributor fails to do so, the GSoC Contributor will be deemed to have received a failing grade on the Final Evaluation, regardless of the actual grade the GSoC Contributor received from the Mentor.
2. Payment.
  1. Stipends. Stipends are offered at Google’s discretion and, if offered, are subject to subsection (b) below. GSoC Contributors and Organizations may receive stipends from Google as follows:
    1. GSoC Contributors. Stipends for GSoC Contributors are at Google’s sole discretion, and are adjusted to cost of living based generally on the country in which the GSoC Contributor is currently residing. GSoC Contributors will be required to provide proof of residency in their country along with other compliance documentation when registering for their Payment Processor account, which is how they will receive their stipends.
      1. Each GSoC Contributor who has received a passing Midterm Evaluation may receive a stipend after the Midterm Evaluation deadline.
      2. Each GSoC Contributor who has received a passing Final Evaluation and who has submitted the Final Submission form on time may receive a stipend after the Final Evaluation deadline.
      3. Google will endeavor to issue stipends within 5 business days to all GSoC Contributors who received passing evaluations from their Mentor and have an active Payment Processor account.
      4. If the GSoC Contributor is unable to create an account with Google’s Payment Processor within the specified time period, Google may not issue any funds to that GSoC Contributor.
    2. Organizations. If Google, in its sole discreption, decides to issue Organization stipends per GSoC Contributor mentored, Organizations will be required to meet deadlines as specified by Google Program Adminstrators in order to recieve any payments. Google is not required to pay amounts requested after any announceed deadlines.
      1. Google shall not issue any funds to any government agency or public university (U.S. or non-U.S.).
      2. Google shall not issue any funds to government or public university employees (United States or outside the United States).
      3. Google shall not issue any funds to Google led Organizations.
      4. Google shall not issues any funds if the Organization is a part of the U.S. federal government.
      5. If the Organization is unable to create an account with Google’s Payment Processor within the specified time period, Google may not issue any funds to that Organization.
    3. Google is not required to pay any stipends to any GSoC Contributor or Organization that violates any applicable law or regulation, including money laundering regulations.
      1. GSoC Contributors and Organizations must be able to create an account and pass the Payment Processor’s compliance checks. If a GSoC Contributor or Organization does not pass the Payment Processor’s compliance check they cannot receive any stipend for the Program.
  2. Tax Documentation. Tax-related documentation must be submitted by June 30, 2025 for GSoC Contributors and July 31, 2025 for Organizations. GSoC Contributors submitting tax-related documentation after the above dates will be disqualified from receiving any stipends. Google is not required to issue any payments if tax-related documentation is submitted after these dates.
3. Final Results. Google will announce the Final Results on the Program Website.
Disclaimer. PARTICIPANTS’ USE OF THE PROGRAM WEBSITE AND PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM IS AT EACH PARTICIPANT’S SOLE RISK. THE PROGRAM WEBSITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. GOOGLE DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES (EXPRESS OR IMPLIED), INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. GOOGLE IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INCOMPLETE, FAILED, OR DELAYED TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION DUE TO THE INTERNET, INCLUDING INTERRUPTION OR DELAYS CAUSED BY EQUIPMENT OR SOFTWARE MALFUNCTION OR OTHER TECHNICAL PROBLEMS.
Translations. In the event of any discrepancy between the English version of these Program Rules and a translated version, the English version will govern.