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Policy internships

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Policy internships are among the best ways to test your fit for policy careers and advance your professional development. Interning allows you to gain a valuable credential, expand your professional network, build relevant knowledge and skills, and (occasionally) transition into full-time roles.

Ideally, you’ll intern in Washington DC if you are interested in federal government policy. DC is where most federal policy jobs are, which shape national-level policy. Since networking benefits are significantly tied to a geographic location, building a network in DC is the most helpful option for future federal-level US policy careers. 

Given these benefits, if you’re considering a career in US policy, try to complete at least one (DC-based) policy internship while in college or after graduation. If you’re highly confident in policy over other career paths, seek to complete multiple policy internships in different policy institutions.

Sadly, many internships in policy are still unpaid or underpaid (though this has gotten slightly better in recent years). If you need support in pursuing internships, we note a few suggestions here, and organizations like Pay Our Interns may also have helpful resources. We hope to compile a longer list of resources related to this question soon.

Why apply for a policy internship?

While individuals’ experiences vary, the most important benefits of a policy internship are, in no particular order, (1) credentials, (2) networking, (3) learning, and (4) testing fit. See our professional development guide for more details.

Benefits of completing a policy internship

Credentials

By completing a policy internship, you get a valuable credential and a credible signal of your policy knowledge and interest. These are highly valued by policy organizations, especially for junior positions in Congress, think tanks, and executive agencies. 

Internships can help you get a full-time job. Many organizations offer internships as a pathway to junior positions. But since there are many more interns than there are jobs, you need to perform well and get (very) lucky for your internship to translate directly into a full-time job offer. Still, having relevant intern experience is often a big plus in policy job applications, so your internship will boost your chances when applying for entry-level or even mid-level positions. For example, more than half of full-time Congressional staff are former interns.1

Networking

Policy positions can be highly competitive, and hiring is frequently driven by professional networks. If you’re not already in these networks, it can feel like a catch-22: you need to know policy people to get a policy job, but you need a policy job to develop your network. Because they are often truly entry-level, internships offer a well-trod pathway into further full-time policy jobs.

As a policy intern, networking is one of the most valuable skills you can develop. In the policy world generally—and especially for certain positions, such as congressional staffer roles—you typically need some level of competence at networking to be successful. Internships can provide an enabling context to network with policy professionals, as you’ll have a recognizable role/title that allows you to request informational interviews and build relationships with other policy professionals. As an intern, you’ll be able to network with other interns and staffers in your organization/office and beyond, professionals you meet at events, and others through personal referrals.2 These individuals may provide mentorship,  give you feedback on your career plans, connect you to future policy opportunities, and recommend you for later roles.

If there’s someone that you’d like to meet but don’t have a connection to, you can always cold-email them and ask to grab a coffee. There’s a culture of giving back in DC, and many people—from recent graduates to late-career professionals—want to give advice to interns because they’re grateful for the help they received when they were starting out. Sending a simple, respectful email that connects your interests to their expertise and asks if they have time for coffee can go a long way. It may be worthwhile to find people on LinkedIn that you’d be interested in speaking with, both during and while you’re applying for an internship.3

Once you have a policy network, it’s much easier to learn about new roles, land a position, get context on your policy area, and get high-quality input on your career plans. In fact, there are two main avenues to securing a job in DC: (1) the traditional, formal approach of responding to job postings and submitting applications online, and (2) the more personal, informal approach of leveraging your network to uncover hidden opportunities.4 If done correctly, a policy internship provides a wealth of valuable experiences and connections and sets you up for success in pursuing future job opportunities through the informal method. 

If you’re interning in DC the summer after your junior year, aim to keep up with your network (e.g. through emailing/reaching out occasionally) in case you plan to apply for a full-time position after graduation. 

Learning

As a policy intern, there’s much to learn that will help your future policy career. Of course, the specific knowledge and skills you’ll develop depend on your organization, role, and tasks.

For instance, as a congressional intern you’ll learn about many policy issues through researching, attending, and reporting on briefings and hearings; you’ll do constituent correspondence, where you’ll learn about how citizens influence lawmaking; you’ll (ideally) draft memos for legislative staff; and you’ll learn to answer questions like: “What’s an item of special interest?”, “What’s the Rules committee?”, “How do you offer an amendment?”, and more.

As a think tank intern in a research program, you will generally be tasked with a combination of research, communications, and operations-type work, not unlike entry-level full-time jobs. You can also intern on a think tank’s external or internal affairs teams, which are respectively dealing more with communications and administrative work. 

Testing fit

Interning in policy organizations is a great early-career opportunity to test your fit for policy work. Internships allow you to explore whether you’d enjoy and excel in different types of policy work and to compare public policy to your other sectors of interest. 

Of course, there is much variation among policy jobs in terms of work culture, tasks, and required skills—so you can’t always generalize from one internship experience to all potential policy roles. In addition, while internships can be great fit tests, they generally differ from full-time employment: interns typically have much less responsibility than full-time staff, less context on the organization, and less experience performing the particular tasks. So, as an intern, pay close attention to the work of your full-time colleagues and supervisors, and reflect on whether you’d enjoy and be good at their work. If at all possible, speak with your full-time colleagues to help you answer these questions.

Still, if an intern leaves an impression of general competence, that is a good predictor of their fit for similar future policy work. During your internship, some useful questions to assess your fit might include:

  1. Are my colleagues more often impressed or frustrated by the work products I hand in? 
  2. Do I find my work tasks motivating? Which ones? (Particularly focusing on the tasks that seem central to the future roles I’m evaluating my fit for)
  3. How easy is it for me to build rapport with others in this environment?
  4. What are the traits I observe in the people who seem to perform well in this environment? Do I share any of these traits, or do I see a way I can further develop them?

A note on partisan affiliation

Be mindful that some policy internships (e.g. in Congress, partisan think tanks, or the White House) can tag you as partisan. This partisan affiliation can have career benefits, but it can also limit your future career options.

How to apply

To get a policy internship, apply ambitiously but also widely, and ideally target multiple opportunities at different levels of competitiveness (e.g. an internship at the White House, with your member of Congress, with your state senator, and with the VSFS program). 

Undergraduates without prior experience often have a hard time—though there are exceptions5—getting internships with prestigious institutions, such as top think tanks, the White House, or influential federal agencies (like the Departments of Defense or State). Your first policy internship or position doesn’t need to be the perfect one—what’s most important is to get your foot in the door. It is common to start with less competitive policy internships and positions, which further your professional development to strengthen your future applications for more competitive roles while still offering good chances to test your fit. Less competitive internships include those at less prestigious think tanks, state-level or city-level legislative offices, and lesser-known government agencies.

Use your network when applying for policy internships, such as professors with policy contacts, your professional communities, or alumni from your school. Your network can help you both in identifying and successfully applying for internships by sharing relevant opportunities (especially opportunities that aren’t widely publicized or even publicly advertised at all, which makes them much less competitive), providing application advice, and making warm introductions or providing recommendations. Whenever possible, politely ask someone from your network if they’d be easily able to flag your application, which can significantly improve your chances.

To improve your application, get help with your resume and cover letters, such as from your school’s career service—after all, helping students find internships is their job! If the option is available to you, it’s also frequently worthwhile to ask mentors or people with hiring experience to give feedback on your application materials.

Where to apply (general internship categories)

Internship categories in Washington DC

The most common DC policy institutions to consider for internships are:

  1. Congress (see our congressional internship guide for more details): Virtually all committees and personal offices in the Senate and House take interns, with each of the 535 personal offices running its own internship program. Committee internships are generally more prestigious and competitive than personal office internships. The three congressional support agencies—CRS, CBO, and GAO—also offer internships. Interns typically perform a wide range of tasks, including serving at the front desk of the office and giving tours, answering constituent calls and letters, conducting legislative research, attending hearings and briefings, drafting memos, and assisting with administrative tasks. Congressional internships are particularly well-suited for policy generalists rather than specialists and are often a broadly useful step toward many types of policy work. 
  2. Executive branch: Nearly all federal agencies and the White House offer internships. Although some are advertised via the centralized job portal USAJobs (see this USAJobs guide and this federal internship FAQ), you should not rely on that source alone to find relevant opportunities, but should also visit specific agency sites and other sources (such as this federal internship database).6 Among the most prestigious (and competitive) executive branch internships are the White House7, the State Department8, and the Department of Defense9, but there are many smaller and lesser-known internships across federal agencies. Internships as part of the Pathways Programs are especially well-suited for exploring policy work and acquiring a full-time federal position following graduation. Internships in national security-relevant agencies may allow you to get a security clearance, which can be a strong asset for future internships and jobs. 
  3. Think tanks (see this think tank internship section): Many DC think tanks offer internships, but the more established, well-known ones can be highly competitive and often favor graduate students. Think tank internships are well-suited for those interested in policy research and advocacy on a particular topic. Research interns will generally be tasked with a combination of research, communications, and administrative work; alternatively, you can also intern on external or internal affairs teams. For examples of relevant technology policy think tanks in DC, see this section (not all of these organizations offer formal internships). Think tanks seeking to influence Congress often prefer former congressional interns.

Beyond the above, consider also applying for internships with:

  1. Government contractors or consultancies (i.e. private companies consulting for the government or implementing government programs): Potentially less competitive than government internships by virtue of having a lower profile. As with executive branch internships, if you intern in a national security-related position, you may be able to get a security clearance.
  2. Advocacy organizations (e.g. non-profit or for-profit interest groups): Some internships at well-known, mission-driven interest groups may attract lots of qualified applicants.
  3. DC-based international organizations (e.g. the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, or Pan American Health Organization). There are also several United Nations organizations with DC offices (though their headquarters are elsewhere). If you’re interested in this, see also our multilateral governance career guide.
  4. Policy-relevant media institutions, like the Washington Post or Politico (very competitive), or more niche policy outlets that cover particular areas such as Defense News or FedScoop.
  5. Volunteering for a political campaign (e.g. in a congressional race): This may be a lower-commitment, more accessible way to start working toward a policy career, and is a common stepping-stone toward work/internships in Congress.

Internship categories outside of Washington DC

If you are looking for policy internships outside of DC, consider remote opportunities or those in state capitals (e.g. in your home state, your college’s state, or other states relevant to your policy issues of concern) or overseas:

If you are an international student in the US, you generally cannot intern/work in the US executive branch and are much less likely to be hired by Congress (though there are exceptions), so you should likely prioritize non-governmental institutions, like think tanks, non-profits, academic institutions, or international organizations. 

There’s a list of specific opportunities here, which are omitted from this narration.

Where to apply (specific opportunities)

This section serves as a living document of some recurring policy internship opportunities we’ve come across, with a focus on opportunities related to science and technology policy or national security. 

We aim to expand this page over time but don’t expect it to become anywhere near comprehensive, given the immense breadth of opportunities across US public policy; instead, we simply want to highlight some specific opportunities we’ve come across which we believe will be relevant to our readers.

If you’re a student, check out our list of 150+ semester in DC programs to get policy internships less competitively (e.g. during the fall or spring semesters), receive support in your internship search, and earn academic credit. Some programs anyone can apply for, while others support students from particular demographic groups or from specific schools.

Where else to find policy internships

Internship opportunities

Executive branch

Check out these databases if you want to intern with a federal agency:

The Federal Internship Finder lists agency internships, fellowships, and other early-career opportunities
The Federal Internship Portal on USAJobs.gov lists many federal agency internships currently open

Programs with opportunities at multiple agencies

  • Pathways Internship Program (more details) – internships with federal agencies for students and recent graduates, potentially leading to permanent employment
  • Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) – 7-10 hours/week part-time, remote semester internships with federal agencies for current students
  • Rosenthal Fellowship in International Relations – paid summer internship for international affairs graduate students at an executive agency or Congressional office
  • Paragon Fellowship – a part-time (5 hours/week) fellowship to “connect students with opportunities in the science and tech policy space [by] researching and writing a policy brief on key issues for their state and local governments”

Opportunities at specific agencies related to science & tech or national security

Congress

→ How to learn about congressional internship opportunities

Think tanks and non-profits

→ To find many more opportunities, check out the career webpages of our listed think tanks working on emerging technology policy

→ See also our general think tank internship advice

Demographic internship programs

Related articles

If you’re interested in pursuing a career in emerging technology policy, complete this form, and we may be able to match you with opportunities suited to your background and interests.

Policy career interest form
Footnotes
  1. Furnas et al., “The Congressional Capacity Survey,” ch. 5 in LaPira et al. (eds.), Congress Overwhelmed, Table 5.2. Most junior staffers who did not previously intern either worked on their Member’s campaign or had some pre-existing personal connection to the Member. ↩︎
  2. This is more likely to happen if other people know your interests and goals and if you ask others who they think you should talk to. ↩︎
  3. A few resources on cold-emailing are available here, here, and here. ↩︎
  4. The Washington Post states that over 70% of jobs are landed through networking, and DC is no exception. The more someone knows, trusts, and respects you and your work, the more likely they will recommend you for a job. In DC, individuals often get jobs or recommendations even when the contact with the hiring manager or recommender in question is relatively light-touch. ↩︎
  5. We know several undergraduates without prior policy experience who were accepted for White House internships and other highly competitive DC policy internships. ↩︎
  6. Some internships are only posted on an agency’s website, not on USAJobs. Also, when there’s information on an internship available both from an agency website and from USAJobs, the agency site will often be more informative. Finally, USAJobs can be a pain to deal with and has a high noise-to-signal ratio (in terms of sorting through lots of irrelevant postings and legalese to get to useful information on relevant opportunities). ↩︎
  7. Most White House internships fall under the “White House Internship Program” (WHIP), but several White House offices have their own internship programs with separate applications. These are all listed under the link above. ↩︎
  8. In addition to its regular student internships, the State Department also runs the Rangel Summer Enrichment Program. ↩︎
  9. In addition to its regular internships, the DOD also runs the X-Force Fellowship and the SMART Scholarship (which includes an internship component). ↩︎