VSFS is a nine-month, unpaid Internship. Internships are virtual; students have a flexible schedule. The government needs the talent, fresh ideas, and digital excellence of U.S. college students. VSFS Interns will increase the digital capacity of federal agencies participating, whether technically, artistically or via increased communication. Interns have the opportunity to connect with each other and work collaboratively.
VSFS is a nine-month, unpaid Internship. Internships are virtual; students have a flexible schedule. The government needs the talent, fresh ideas, and digital excellence of U.S. college students. VSFS Interns will increase the digital capacity of federal agencies participating, whether technically, artistically or via increased communication. Interns have the opportunity to connect with each other and work collaboratively.
The Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) Internship program is open to U.S. citizens in post-secondary student status (college, graduate, or PhD - online, certificate, part-time, associates, etc.) This year’s list of projects can be found at: https://vsfs.state.gov/projects. For questions about VSFS, please visit https://vsfs.state.gov. For technical assistance with this application, please contact the Help Desk at 1-866-656-6830 or mgshelp@monster.com
VSFS Intern duties and responsibilities will vary according to the location and needs of each office and VSFS project. VSFS projects may be research based, contributing to reports on issues such as human rights, economics or the environment. They may also be more technology oriented, such as working on web pages, or helping produce electronic journals. Students are expected to work virtually on an average of 10 hours per week on VSFS Internship projects. Most work and projects are internet-based.
All work recognizes that VSFS Interns do not have U.S. Government security clearances.
IMPORTANT: You are eligible to apply for the Department's Virtual Student Federal Service Internship program if you will be enrolled as a half or full-time student (as defined in the Education Qualifications section above.) If applying, you must have proof that you have registered, or have been accepted for enrollment.
You must meet the requirements and submit the application on time. You should write a dynamite statement of interest which will be seen by all three project mentors. Make sure to confirm through this site that you have successfully submitted your application through USAJobs.gov. The project mentors will evaluate your application further based on their needs and your skills to make the final decision.
An applicant must be:
You must be a high school graduate in "student status" to be eligible to apply to a VSFS internship.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
The Interview Process
If a mentor is considering you as a candidate, you might be interviewed. Project mentors will determine the extent to which an applicant's education, experience, and background indicates that he/she possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for the specific VSFS Internship.
In addition to using the USAJobs resume builder, you must complete an online application, which includes a Statement of Interest. Your application will not be considered if you fail to include your statement of interest in your application.
Recommendation letters and transcripts should not be attached.
Don’t wait until the last minute! Applications must be submitted electronically through the "Gateway to State" system. To begin the application process, please click on the "Apply Online" button to the right. As part of the application process, you will need to pick your top three projects from the list of offerings: https://vsfs.state.gov/projects
You have until 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the closing date of this announcement to complete the application process. This includes submitting your online application as well as any required documents as defined in the Required Documents section.
The VSFS team (vsfs@state.gov) will confirm that you have successfully submitted your application by early August. August is interview month so double check your contact info for that period. Also, make sure to periodically check your spam folder in case our email doesn’t make it to you. All offers will go out by Labor Day.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
