The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ Internship and Summer Scholars Program offers undergraduate and graduate students a ten-week professional, academic, and career opportunity internship with an organization from the nation’s capital. The program features a demanding mix of professional involvement, intellectual challenge, career exploration, and cross-cultural encounters designed to provide students with a rich and varied experience.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the pandemic, the National Council’s 2021 Internship and Summer Scholars Program will be administered virtually.
- Professional work experience: Interns are placed with one of over a dozen Near East and Arab region-related organizations with offices in Washington, D.C., where they are expected to work 35-40 hours per week under the direct supervision of their host organizations.
- Academic seminars: Interns take part in twice-weekly seminar sessions designed to provide them with greater depth of knowledge about the Arab region, to underscore the cultural, economic, and political diversity of Arab states, and to explore the intricacies of Arab-U.S. relations. There will be a particular emphasis, though not exclusively, on Arabia and the Gulf.
- Site visits: Interns receive a behind-the-scenes look at many of the central institutions of federal government, national security policymaking, international diplomacy, and international business.
Sponsorship: The program is administered by National Council professionals and staff, together with more than two dozen of America’s foremost scholars and leading foreign affairs practitioners. The programs, activities, and functions represented by the organizations and corporations that provide the professional work experience component of the program are varied. Included among placements in recent years have been educational development and exchange organizations, bimonthly and quarterly publications, humanitarian relief groups, broadcasting networks, area studies centers, international transportation companies, foreign trade associations, peace and justice advocacy groups, and a variety of non-governmental organizations.
Program Dates: May 24 – July 30, 2021
Application Deadline: All materials must be postmarked by Friday, February 26, 2021.
Email internshipprogram@ncusar.org with any questions. Do not apply through Handshake.