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Stanford
Stanford in Washington
School of Humanities and Sciences

Internships

All students in the BSIW Program are placed in a full-time internship in the Washington, DC metropolitan area through the combined efforts of the student and the Stanford in Washington staff.

"The internship experience was invaluable for me. Without it, I would not have found my passion for Education. Interning at the US Department of Education was the first step of my career in education. It inspired me to be a teacher, then get a Masters in Public Policy, then work in the ed-tech space, and finally land where I am now (working at a brand new institution of higher ed that trains teachers and principals)." 

Paulene Meyers
 

"At SIW, I interned with U.S. Department of State in the Office of Southern African Affairs, and I was working when Nelson Mandela passed away. I spent a long 24-48 hours at the State Department's OPS Center watching the State Department go over processes for large delegations of elected officials to travel to Johannesburg and supported my team and supervisor for the U.S. Funeral, held at the National Cathedral featuring Joe Biden." 

Stefan Norgaard

Internship Placement Process

In your application to the Bing Stanford in Washington Program you will outline your internship preferences. During the quarter before you come to Washington, you will meet with the Director to discuss your internship placement. Once you have come to a consensus on the goals for your quarter in Washington, the Director and the Assistant Director will work with you on arranging an internship. This is a combined effort and you may be asked to provide us with writing samples, updated transcripts, resumes, and other information, in addition to being prepared for interviews throughout the process. We cannot guarantee any specific placement; however, we will work as hard as possible to find you the best possible internship given your interests.

The internship locations listed on our site are  a sample of places that Stanford students have interned in the past.  Once we discuss your goals for your time in Washington our staff works to place you in an internship that will meet your individual goals.  We expand our list of internship locations every quarter.

White House and Department of State Internships

Please note that some internship applications deadlines such as those for positions at the White House and the Department of State may fall before the Program's application deadline. If you are interested in an internship with one of those organizations, you must meet all application deadlines for that internship, in addition to completing the BSIW Program application on time. The BSIW Program is unable to place students directly at the Department of State or the White House, students must apply separately.

Previous Internships

This list below is a sampling of some popular past Internships. Each student is individually placed in an internships based on their unique interests. Please do not limit yourself to these in your application. Your application should reflect that you have done research into various placements of your own interest beyond this list.

  • Department of State
  • Defense Digital Services
  • Department of Education: Various Offices
  • Department of Energy: Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • Department of Justice 
  • Offices of Senators
  • Offices of Members of the House of Representatives
  • Committees of the Senate
  • Committees of the House of Representatives
  • The Kennedy Center
  • Department of Health and Human Services
  • The National Institute of Health
  • DC Superior Court
  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  • The Federal Reserve
  • John Snow, Inc.
  • Freedom House
  • Office of Management and Budget
  • Smithsonian Magazine
  • The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
  • The Brookings Institution
  • The Nuclear Threat Initiative
  • The Natural Resources Defense Council
  • Human Rights Watch
  • The World Bank
  • The Millenium Challenge Corporation