Sample of Popular Federal Government Internships
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Undergraduate Internship Program
The application period for summer employment typically lasts through mid-September of the preceding year. Applications for winter, spring, and fall employment should be sent nine to twelve months before the desired start date.
National Clandestine Service Internship Program (Directorate of Operations)
For this opportunity, candidates apply during the spring of their freshman year to work in the summer after their sophomore year. For example, applications for summer 2019 internships will be due mid-April 2018.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Summer Internship (Pathways Program)
Applications open in the fall for the following summer. Internship opportunities will be posted on the CFPB website as they become available.
Defense Intelligence Agency
Academic Semester Internship Program
The agency offers a limited number of paid academic semester internships. Interns can be appointed for two semesters (depending on the university calendar) normally beginning in September. Search the DIA website for vacancies as they are updated frequently.
Summer Intern Program
Application deadline: November before the summer you wish to intern (all application material must be received by the deadline. Please be sure to include your GPA when submitting your application). Applicants will be notified as to their status no later than March the following year.
Cooperative Education Program
DIA’s Summer Intern Program provides promising undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to gain practical work experience in the areas of analysis, research, report writing, oral briefings, policy development, program management, and computer applications related to the intelligence field.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The Summer Internship Program provides internships to outstanding high school, undergraduate, and graduate students interested in pursuing careers in the biomedical/biological sciences to work on a research project that entails exposure to the latest biochemical, molecular, and analytical techniques in a given field. Participants are selected by scientific mentors from the NIEHS Division of Intramural Research. The application is available from mid-November 2016 to March 1, 2017 for Summer 2017.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The Honors Internship Program and the Volunteer Internship Program applications typically open in October and close at the end of November for positions the following summer. Check the FBI internship page for more details.
Federal Reserve Board
The Federal Reserve offers summer internships in fields as varied as economic research to public policy. Applications are typically posted between mid-January and March 1.
Library of Congress
There are many internship, fellowship, and volunteer program opportunities throughout the Library of Congress. Internship types and application deadlines vary. Check out the Library of Congress’s internship opportunities for more information.
National Security Agency (NSA)
The Intelligence Careers Community Website offers information regarding countless internships through the NSA in fields ranging from Cybersecurity to Human Resources to the famous Summer Language Program. Academic internships such as the Cooperative Education Program through the NSA require applications to be submitted online between Feb. 1st – March 31st and/or Sept. 1st – Oct. 31st. for the following semester. Applications for Summer 2017 will be accepted until October 15, 2016.
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The deadline for summer internships at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is typically April 30.
National Security Agency (NSA)
The NSA offers a variety of internship programs and experiences in fields from cryptology to human resources.
Summer Language Program
Undergraduate and graduate students will learn to analyze foreign communications for vital intelligence missions by apprenticing with experienced language analysts in NSA’s Summer Language Program. Applications for summer will be accepted until mid-October of the year before (e.g. mid-October 2018 for programs beginning summer 2019).
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State Student Internship Program
The State Department takes interns for three application periods (fall, spring, and summer). The spring internship application opens in July of the year before and the summer internship application opens in November the year before, and the fall internship application opens in February.
Pathways Internship Program (paid)
The Internship Temporary Program (ITEP) is a temporary internships program ideal for students looking for internships during seasonal and holiday breaks. Conversely, Internship Experience Programs (IEP) interns receive service length extended appointments with strong possibility off employment.
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum and research complex, with 19 museums, 9 research centers and more than 140 affiliate museums around the world. There are hundreds of internship, fellowship and research opportunities available for talented and motivated students. The Smithsonian offers internship opportunities year round in many of its various departments. Each program has its own deadline for application. To learn more about all the programs, visit the Smithsonian’s internship opportunities page.
U.S. House of Representatives & Senate
Individual congressional offices recruit for internships on their own timelines. Start your research by looking at members’ personal, committee or campaign websites. Some offices regularly post their openings on Handshake or communicate with the Georgetown University Office of Federal Relations about their needs. For more information, register with their Internship Resource Center.
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)
Fall internship applications are due July 15. Spring applications are due November 15 and summer applications are due by April 8.
White House
The application deadlines for the summer internship is mid-January of the semester before. The application deadline for the fall internship is mid-April. The application deadline for the spring is mid-September.