The Center, dedicated to educating the Washington community on a wide variety of security, defense and foreign policy issues, requires volunteer interns year round. Although there is occasional clerical work, interns are primarily responsible for performing substantive research and analysis and for writing reports geared towards the Center's timely publications concerning national security affairs. An internship at the Center for Security Policy is a unique opportunity in this regard. As part of the program, interns work closely with Center executives gaining unmatched exposure to the policy community and national security arena.
The Center immediately assigns its interns to substantial research projects, from which they must produce reports, issue briefs, memoranda and oral evaluations to Center staff members. Research is primarily conducted in the office, but also involves work in the field including at the Library of Congress, Capitol Hill and related events across town. Interns are encouraged to attend and participate in the Center's working group meetings and other such symposia. Likewise, the Center's intern program encourages its cadre to attend research-related hearings on Capitol Hill.
Internships at the Center for Security Policy have proven an excellent first step toward a career in foreign and defense policy. In recent years, Center interns have been hired to work on Capitol Hill, the White House, the Foreign Service, Fortune 500 companies, and various intelligence agencies.
Who
Students, both undergraduate and graduate, and recent graduates.
Duties
- Perform original research and writing on current topics linked to US national security, namely: defense and homeland security issues, foreign policy and terrorism related studies.
- Assist and participate in Center symposia and other high-level meetings.
- Attend, monitor and report on congressional hearings and actions; track legislation, compile Congressional voting records and analyze votes for use in Center's activities and publications.
Interns work with the Center's director, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., its expert and distinguished fellows and core staff. The program provides a comprehensive, hands-on experience in American government, and uniquely exposes students to the fast-paced atmosphere of Washington to a degree seldom offered to most interns in the field.
Skills
Interns need formidable writing and communications skills, familiarity with computers and the ability to perform Internet-based research.
Hours
A minimum commitment of 15 hours/week during the school year and 25 hours/week during the summer is required, but hours and days are flexible, as are start dates and duration of internship. This is an unpaid internship.
