The U.S. Department of State Paid Student Internship Program is an experience offering U.S. citizen students a chance to participate in the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy.
The U.S. Department of State Paid Student Internship Program is an experience offering U.S. citizen students a chance to participate in the formulation and implementation of U.S. foreign policy.
U.S. citizen, undergraduate and graduate students with a strong interest in the U.S. Department of State. All applicants must be returning to an academic program upon conclusion of their internship to be eligible.
The Department of State aims to provide student interns with opportunities both educationally and professionally substantive in nature. The purpose of the program is to provide students with insight into the work of U.S. foreign policy and the administration of the U.S. Department of State and its diplomatic facilities around the world. Specific duties and responsibilities vary according to the domestic office or overseas post of assignment. Generally, interns may: participate in meetings with senior-level U.S. Government or foreign government officials; draft, edit, or contribute to cables, reports, communications, talking points, or other materials used by policymakers in furthering U.S. foreign policy objectives; support events, including international and/or multilateral meetings and conferences; engage directly with U.S. audiences in helping to explain the work of the Department of State or foreign audiences in helping to promote U.S. foreign policy and improve understanding of U.S. culture and society.
Student interns may be required to do some routine administrative work.
To qualify you must:
Please see the "Requirements" section for a list of qualifications.
Applicants should be pursuing a baccalaureate or graduate degree, on at least a part-time basis, with at least a 3.2 GPA or higher. College juniors, seniors, or graduate students with at least 60 credit hours earned by the time the internship begins are encouraged to apply for this opportunity. Note: Applicants are considered a college junior if they will be starting the junior year of college immediately following the completion of the internship. Applicants must also be a continuing student with the expectation and intention of returning to their course of study the semester/quarter immediately following the completion of the internship – i.e., returning to school in the Fall of 2023. Proof may be requested.
If your academic plans change after your application and you are no longer a continuing student or have a break in classes longer than five months before your internship begins, you will no longer be eligible for the internship.
All interns selected for a position will be officially notified by the Student Internship Program office by e-mail.
Participants in the Paid Student Internship Program are considered temporary employees. As such, they are eligible to accrue annual leave and sick leave but not eligible for Federal Employee Health Benefits or TSP coverage. Their internship service is not creditable for retirement benefits unless and until the intern is subsequently appointed into a federal career position. The program covers reasonable travel expenses to and from the internship and assists with housing.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Students will be evaluated by the bureaus to which they have applied based upon a completed application denoting the applicant's education, experience, training, and background.
All interns selected for a position will be officially notified by the Student Internship Program (unpaid) Office by e-mail per the timeline provided via https://careers.state.gov/intern/student-internships/.
Participants in the Paid Student Internship Program are considered temporary employees. As such, they are eligible to accrue annual leave and sick leave but not eligible for Federal Employee Health Benefits or TSP coverage. Their internship service is not creditable for retirement benefits unless and until the intern is subsequently appointed into a federal career position. The program covers reasonable travel expenses to and from the internship and assists with housing.
Once you have completed the online questionnaire and Statement of Interest, you will be prompted to attach your transcript to your application for it to be considered complete. Applications submitted before the deadline without the required documents attached will not be considered.
Transcripts: your current or most recent school transcript that must be included in your online application via the instructions below. Both official and unofficial transcripts are acceptable. However, if you are selected for an internship, you may be required to provide an official transcript before starting your internship. Should your official transcript indicate that you are not an eligible student, your internship offer will be rescinded. Transcripts can be added to the job application by uploading them.
Resume: Resume: You must build a resume in USAJOBS to be considered. No other resumes will be reviewed. A carefully crafted resume should include clubs and organizations, research experience, work experience, volunteer experience and internships. Please limit your resume to 2-pages.
Technical questions about attaching the required document to your application should be addressed to the Help Desk at 1-866-656-6830 or mgshelp@monster.com.
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.
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. Candidates are encouraged to complete their applications well before the application deadline to be assured of consideration.
Please read all instructions carefully.
There are three parts to the application process:
Part I-Applicant Profile
Applicants new to USAJOBS must create an applicant profile by providing biographic and prior Federal government employment information, if any. You must answer all "required" fields in order to proceed through the application process. If you are not new to USAJOBS, you can proceed directly to the intern application. All applicants must also "build" a USAJOBS resume. You must complete these two steps in order to be able to move forward to the application in the Gateway to State.
Note: Attaching a personal resume to your USAJOBS profile is not sufficient. You must build a USAJOBS resume.
Part II-Internship Application
The second part of the online application process is specific to the internship program. In this section, you will be required to:
Note: The selection process relies heavily on statements of interest in making their selections. Therefore, your statement of interest should be concise, well written, and it should tell your story. Explain how your academic courses and other personal experiences relate to the domestic or overseas assignment to which you are applying. You may discuss what you will bring to the work of the office or post, and what you hope to take away from the internship experience. You might highlight any disadvantages you may have overcome or relevant unique experiences. Also, you can expand on any of your answers to questions asked in the application, such as language ability or other special skills.
Application Status
After the close of the announcement, the application status in USAJOBS should say "Reviewing
Applications." This status on USAJOBS will not be updated further. You can click on "Track this application" for more information.
Note: Any prospective intern whose educational institution requires them to execute an agreement with the Department regarding terms of the internship should review their internship offer letter. We will not enter into any agreements, even if non-binding, with an educational institution. The host bureau or office may provide a letter of verification confirming internship selection, and if needed, more once an intern successfully undergoes the background investigation process and is cleared to begin the internship.
Internship On-boarding Deadlines
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
