Washington DC Summer Internship and Research Program - Internships

Zach Zangl with Congressman Tom Petri

The primary responsibility of securing summer internships rests with the students, but they do so with the help and guidance of the Department of Political Science, the course instructor and alumni.

The program maintains relationships with several internship offices and will work with the student to help identify other opportunities that may be of interest. We have also found that being part of an academic program is a bonus for employers looking to hire summer interns.

Although the bulk of internships tend to be within the U.S. Capitol, past participants have worked in a huge array of offices and in different sectors around Washington. The only requirements for internships are that they are within Washington D.C. and are related to the political process. We recommend that students work at least 20 per week in their internships.

As students do not receive college credits for carrying out internship duties (credits for the program come from the work related to the class material and project) students have often been able to find paid internships to help cover some of the costs of the summer.

Previous internships enjoyed by students in the program include positions with:
The Brazilian Embassy
Center for American Progress
Citizens for Global Solutions
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW)
Fannie Mae
Human Rights Watch
NAACP
Office of Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin
Office of Congressman Dennis Hastert
Office of Congressman Ron Kind
Office of Congressman Tom Petri
Office of Congressman Kevin McCarthy
Office of Senator Russ Feingold
Office of Senator Edward Kennedy
Office of Senator Herb Kohl
Qwest Communications
Republican Main Street Partners
Senate Republican Conference
Henry L. Stimson Center
U.S.-Asia Institute
U.S. Department of Justice
Women's Foreign Policy