Current Internship Opportunities

Ideally situated in the nation’s capitol, the Democracy and Governance program has an established and comprehensive network of professionals who are eager to assist students in developing their careers. Over the years, DG students have proven that they are reliable and capable interns, which is why many potential employers reach out directly to us when they are searching for positions to be filled.  

Intership opportunities are highly recommended as they allow students to gain invaluable professional experience and bridge the gap between theory and practice. The Democracy and Governance program encourages students to pursue these prospects and up to two internships can be used for course credit. 

Spring 2016 Positions Offered to DG Students

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
Intern with the Africa Program

• Conduct research, assist in prepartion of weekly home office reports, website updates, attend and report on internal and external meetings, compile daily research from academic journals and print media and assist with program development. 
   

World Bank “Strengthening China Social Protection & Labor Systems Task”
Short-Term Consultant/ Research Assistant

• This team is currently engaged in an analytical task that aims to empirically asses the effects of China’s minimum wages on wages, formal and informal imployment, poverty and other individual-or household-level variables. The task relies on highly disaggregated macro data as well as on individual-level micro data and uses rigorous econometric panel data methods.
   

Ambassador Yellin
Research Assistant

• Conduct basic research on political and historic events for a political risk assessment.
   

International Republican Institute: Office of Monitoring and Evaluation
Internship

• Assists team with administrative and logistical support, including for events and training programs. 
• Conducts research on a variety of topics for briefing papers, program proposals and reports.

Democracy International
Graduate Internship

• The intern will provide programmatic and administrative support by performing the various tasks such as: researching about politics, governance and elections in foreign countries, report writing and editing, preparing proposals and budgets, and communicating with overseas consultants and staff members.

Student Spotlight

Brittany Gaddy (first year student)

I work for the CSO Lifeline Fund at Freedom House which provides emergency assistance as well as advocacy grants for civil society organizations (CSOs) globally that experience threats or violence due to their human rights work. I help with subgrant preparation and proposals, social media, and monitoring and evaluation for the Fund. 

I am learning so much about how subgranting works, both the process and language required. That technical knowledge will benefit me in most jobs in this field.  It’s been amazing to learn about the incredible human rights work that is happening all over the world.  I also appreciate that I am getting more exposure to other regions beyond my background of Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Many students have also interned at these organizations:

National Democratic Institute (NDI)
International Republican Institute (IRI)
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
Freedom House
Department of State
United States Institute for Peace (USIP)
World Bank 
International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Democracy International (DI)