The Department of Government, Public Service, and International Studies at the University of Central Arkansas encourages all students majoring or minoring in political science, public administration, and international studies to apply for one or more professional internships during their undergraduate careers. Internships provide students with valuable experience working full-time or part-time for one or more semesters in a governmental agency, a non-governmental organization, or an inter-governmental organization in Little Rock, Washington DC, New York City, and other locations throughout the United States and the world. See a listing of recent internship openings.
Several possible internship programs and opportunities are listed below in three different broad categories: (1) United States Government and Politics; (2) Arkansas Government and Politics; and (3) International Studies (International Relations and Comparative Politics). Depending on a student’s particular interests and goals, there are several different internship programs located in Arkansas, New York City, Washington DC, and elsewhere. Students are responsible for doing their own research on the various internship programs and choosing an internship that best fits their own requirements.
Students may receive three or more political science credit hours for an internship, depending on the particular internship. The Department of Political Science has been very successful in assisting students applying for and receiving political science internships in recent years, including political campaigns, congressional offices, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies. For more information regarding the department’s internship program, please contact Dr. Kim Hoffman, Department of Political Science Internship Coordinator, at khoffman@uca.edu. For more information about the guidelines regarding political science/international studies internships, please see the following link:
Political Science/International Studies Programs – Internship Guidelines
1. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS
U.S. Federal Government Agencies (mostly in the Washington DC area, unless otherwise indicated):
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
— Office of Global Affairs (OGA)
— Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
— Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs (IEA)
— Office of Inspector General (OIG)
— Office on Women’s Health (OWH)
U.S. Department of the Treasury
William J. Clinton Foundation (including the Clinton Presidential Center) – Little Rock, AR
Advocacy Groups, Non-Governmental Organizations, Professional Associations, and Think Tanks:
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – Washington DC
American Conservative Union (ACU) – Washington DC
American Enterprise Institute (AEI) – Washington DC
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – Washington DC
Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) – Washington DC
Brookings Institution – Washington DC
Cato Institute – Washington DC
Center for American Progress (CAP) – Washington DC
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) – Washington DC
Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) – Washington DC
Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) – Washington DC
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) – Washington DC
Common Cause – Washington DC
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) – Washington DC
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) – Washington DC
Emily’s List – Washington DC
Family Research Council (FRC) – Washington DC
Freedom Works – Washington DC
Greenpeace USA – Washington DC
Heritage Foundation – Washington DC
Hudson Institute – Washington DC
Judicial Watch – Washington DC
Leadership Institute – Washington DC
Log Cabin Republicans – Washington DC
Media Research Center (MRC) – Alexandria, VA
NAACP – Washington DC
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) – Washington DC
National Governors Association (NGA) – Washington DC
National Organization for Women (NOW) – Washington DC
National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) – Washington DC
Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) – Washington DC
Project on Government Oversight (POGO) – Washington DC
Public Citizen – Washington DC
RAND Corporation – Arlington, VA, Pittsburgh, PA, and Washington DC
Sierra Club – Washington DC
The Century Foundation – New York, NY and Washington DC
United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) – Washington DC
Urban Institute – Washington DC
Vote Smart (PVS) Internship Program – Des Moines, Iowa
William J. Clinton Foundation – Little Rock, AR and New York, NY
General:
DC Internships: Capital Semester Program – Washington DC
The Washington Center (TWC) for Internships and Academic Seminars – Washington DC
Washington Internship Institute (WII) – Washington DC
National Political Party Organizations:
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) – Washington DC
Democratic Governors Association (DGA) – Washington DC
Democratic National Committee (DNC) – Washington DC
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) – Washington DC
National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) – Washington DC
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) – Washington DC
Republican Governors Association (RGA) – Washington DC
Republican National Committee (RNC) – Washington DC
2. ARKANSAS GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS
Congressman Rick Crawford (1st District of Arkansas) Internship Program – Jonesboro, AR and Washington DC
Congressman French Hill (2nd District of Arkansas) Internship Program – Conway and Little Rock, AR and Washington DC
Congressman Steve Womack (3rd District of Arkansas) Internship Program – Rogers, Fort Smith, Harrison, AR, and Washington DC.
Congressman Bruce Westerman (4th District of Arkansas) Internship Program – Hot Springs, AR, and Washington DC
Democratic Party of Arkansas – Little Rock, AR
Office of the Governor of Arkansas – Little Rock, AR
Office of the Lt. Governor of Arkansas – Little Rock, AR
Office of the Attorney-General of Arkansas – Little Rock, AR
Republican Party of Arkansas – Little Rock, AR
Senator John Boozman Internship Program – Little Rock, Fort Smith, Lowell, Jonesboro, Stuttgart, Mountain Home, El Dorado, AR and Washington DC
Senator Tom Cotton Internship Program – Springdale, AR and Washington DC
3. INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (COMPARATIVE POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS) INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS
U.S. Federal Government Agencies:
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – Washington DC
National Security Agency (NSA) – Washington DC
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) – Washington DC
U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Washington DC
U.S. Department of State – Washington DC
Voice of America (VOA) – Washington DC
Advocacy Groups, Non-Governmental Organizations, Professional Associations, and Think Tanks:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) – Washington DC
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) – Washington DC
American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) – Washington DC
American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) – Washington DC
Amnesty International USA – Washington DC and New York, NY
Arms Control Association (ACA) – Washington DC
Atlantic Council of the United States – Washington DC
Carter Center – Atlanta, GA
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation – Washington DC
Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) – Washington DC
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) – New York, NY and Washington DC
Middle East Institute (MEI) – Washington DC
National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR) – Washington DC
National Democratic Institute (NDI) – Washington DC
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) – Washington DC
Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) – Washington DC
RAND Corporation – Arlington, VA, Pittsburgh, PA, and Santa Monica, CA
The Century Foundation Institute – New York, NY and Washington DC
The Truman Center – Washington DC
United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) – New York, NY
Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) – Washington DC
William J. Clinton Foundation – Little Rock, AR and New York, NY
Winrock International – Arlington, VA and Little Rock, AR
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWC) – Washington DC
Inter-Governmental Organizations:
European Union (EU) – Washington DC Office
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) – Brussels, Belgium
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – Vienna, Austria and Prague, Czech Republic
Organization of American States (OAS) – Washington DC
United Nations (UN) – New York, NY
United Nations (UN) – Vienna, Austria
United Nations (UN) – Nairobi, Kenya
United Nations (UN) – Geneva, Switzerland
World Bank – Washington DC