Opportunities

Internships and Summer Funding

We offer an extensive database of opportunities to make the most out of your summer, school year, and graduate time. They are a great way to continue with the work and discussions we bring to campus through the Constitutional Studies and Menard Family Tocqueville Programs.

If you need assistance with applications, interview preparation, or summer planning, contact Debbie O'Malley (domalle2@nd.edu) for more information. The Center may be able to assist with travel and other expenses. To apply for funding, please complete this form. 

Undergraduate Internships and Fellowships Post-Graduate Opportunities Graduate Student Opportunities

Undergraduate Internships and Fellowships

• Academia Tocqueville: Academia Tocqueville is a one-and-a-half week summer seminar that provides an intensive introduction to the varieties of modern French conservatism. Sessions will take place in Paris, and the program will be conducted in English. Thinkers studied include Alexis de Tocqueville, Louis de Bonald, Joseph de Maistre, Georges Bernanos, Charles Péguy, Simone Weil, Jacques Maritain, and more. Alongside intensive daily seminars, participants will visit some of the most important cultural sites of Paris. A weekend excursion to the Tocqueville family château in Normandy will provide a capstone experience. 
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• Acton Institute: The Acton Emerging Leaders Program is an 8-week leadership development internship in Grand Rapids, MI. During the summer, Emerging Leaders will gain professional experience, grow their network, and go deeper into the ideas of a free and virtuous society. A core goal of the Acton Internship is that all leave better equipped to make a moral defense for free enterprise. As an intern, you will engage in substantive work in one of nine departments (Programs & Education, Development, Research, Marketing/Communications, Media, Accounting, Executive, The Center for Social Flourishing, The Collins Center for Abrahamic Heritage). This internship includes a $4,000 stipend for participants based in the US. Stipends for international participants will be based on VISA status. Housing is also provided for all participants.
   
• American Enterprise Summer Honors Programs: This opportunity is a fully-funded educational and professional development opportunity in Washington, DC, for top undergraduate students. Participants in the program have the chance to connect with the ideas, research, and network of AEI, by participating in an intensive one-week seminar with an AEI scholar or partner instructor. The core feature of the program is a series of discussion-based seminars that offer participants forums to delve deeply into policy areas of their choice. Outside of the seminars, students participate in briefings with distinguished guests, high-level networking opportunities, and site visits in Washington. Early Decision Deadline: February 1, 2024; Application Deadline: March 1, 2024. 
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• American Enterprise Institute Internships: This internship opportunity, based at AEI, provides students with an opportunity to work directly with some of America’s most renowned scholars, economists, political scientists, and foreign policy specialists conducting research on today’s prominent public policy questions. Deadline is rolling (the sooner the better!)
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• AEI Young Scholars' Awards Program: The AEI Values & Capitalism Young Scholar Award program seeks to foster high-quality academic research and writing by awarding $5,000 scholarships to up to six undergraduate students each year. Under the guidance of a faculty advisor at their school, selected students conduct year-long academic research projects on a topic of public policy or economics. Upon submitting their final projects at the end of the academic year, students travel to Washington, DC to present and defend their work before panels of experts.
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• Becket Law: Becket is a non-profit, public interest law firm (focused on religious liberty). Their undergraduate internship program allows students the chance to litigate high profile religious liberty cases in the court of public opinion. The deadline to apply typically falls around mid-December, with the website providing more detailed information.
   
• Brookings Institution: 10-12 week program. Interns will have the opportunity to attend internal meetings, local think tank events, professional development workshops, and public Brookings events. In addition, interns may participate on Brookings sports teams and network with other interns throughout the Institution.
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• Buckeye Institute: The Buckeye Institute gives talented undergraduate students the opportunity to obtain valuable skills for careers in public policy, research, and beyond. Interns at the Buckeye Institute work directly with our staff and contribute to economic, policy, and legal research, communications, administrative support, outreach, development, and the organization’s other daily operations. This is an unpaid internship. Candidates interested in applying for the Buckeye Institute’s internship program should demonstrate academic excellence, outstanding verbal and written communication skills, and a commitment to free-market public policy.

Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy:  Hosted in January in Washington, D.C. by First Liberty Institute, the First Liberty Fellowship is a fully-funded, week-long intensive seminar for talented undergraduates interested in law, political theory, and public policy. When you join the D.C. Fellowship in and around our national capitol, you will learn all about public policy–what it is, the role statistics play in research, opinion writing, job searching, and funding and management. This hands-on experience will help deepen your understanding of the foundational concepts our society is built on–and how you can bring those concepts back in focus for the public today

• Cevro Institute: This one-week seminar in Prague, Czech Republic focuses on the study of classical liberal ideas. 
   
• Charles Koch Internship Program: This paid, 10-14 week program provides motivated undergraduates with the opportunity to blend educational opportunities with meaningful work experiences. Through KIP, interns learn about impactful careers in social entrepreneurship, where leaders who come from walks of life and use their unique gifts to advance positive changes in society and help people improve their lives. See website for semester-based deadlines.
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• The Civitas Dei Fellowship: The Institute for Human Ecology at The Catholic University of America and the Thomistic Institute are pleased to announce the 2024 Civitas Dei Summer Fellowship: “Can War Be Just?” Civitas Dei is a competitive program for undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines. Lectures and seminars will draw on patristic, scholastic, and contemporary perspectives. Students will examine a wealth of scholarly resources on just war theory and consider the application of these principles in public life. If accepted, students will engage in a wealth of thought and have the opportunity to critically consider the application of these ideas to both public and private life. Accepted fellows attend a fully-funded, week-long seminar in Washington, DC where, under the leadership of distinguished scholars, they engage core questions of culture and public life in light of Catholic thought. It is fully funded, and accepted applicants will receive travel funding, lodging, and a waived registration fee. 
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• Collegiate Network Journalism Internships & Fellowships: The Collegiate Network, housed within the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, provides students interested in journalism with summer internship and year-long fellowship placements at some of the nation's leading publications. The CN Journalism Internship is a 10 week project for undergraduate students, and the CN Journalism Fellowship provides recent graduates who are looking to begin their careers in media with a full year of paid professional journalism experience. See website for a full list of participating publications and for application information. 
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• Dallas Forum for Law, Politics, and Culture: Formerly the American Public Philosophy Institute, The Dallas Forum on Law, Politics, and Culture supports a community of scholars, students, and professionals who seek to understand contemporary American life in light of timeless truths about human flourishing. Our programs offer intellectual formation to leaders – both current and future – in government, law, education, business, and society through events, fellowships, and internships.

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• First Liberty Institute: First Liberty’s internships offer real-world experience and the opportunity to impact the mission of protecting our First Amendment religious liberty rights. Qualified interns will have excelled at related college coursework and applied their skills through paid or unpaid positions and other leadership roles. Candidates should be comfortable working in a fast-paced team environment. By the end of the internship, interns will have broad exposure to in various aspects of marketing and communications for advancing the cause of religious liberty with donors, attorneys, and the public.
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• Forbidden Courses Summer Program: This summer, the University of Austin will be hosting two week-long sessions of the Forbidden Courses Summer Program in Dallas, Texas. Through this program, undergraduates, recent graduates, and graduate students will have the opportunity to meet and confront some of the most pressing issues of our time. Participants will also engage in seminars and attend lectures led by eminent scholars. The week long program is free to attend and includes a $300 travel stipend. 

 

The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) Liberty+Learning Fellowship: The Liberty + Learning Fellowship provides a full scholarship to live, learn, and intern during the TFAS summer program in Washington, D.C. The fellowship includes courses on freedom-based principles from George Mason University, an internship placement with organizations committed to advancing the cause of liberty, and furnished housing in the heart of Washington, D.C. Students participate in a variety of exclusive guest lectures, site briefings as well as professional development and networking events. The program runs from June 1 - July 26, 2024. The early deadline to apply is December 5, 2023, and the priority deadline is February 8, 2024. 

 

The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) Washington Fellowship: This intensive, semester long program aims to equip future leaders with a deep understanding of the values on which America was founded and empower them to make a positive impact on their communities. Participants recieve a guarenteed internship, academic credit from George Mason University, and full tuition scholarships for the semester that includes fully furnished apartments and a $1000 living stipend. The program will run from 1/20/24 to 4/26/24. The deadline to apply is 11/15/23. 

 

Heritage Foundation Young Leaders Program: This paid, 12-15 week internship program includes working up to 37.5 hours per week, and experiences with policy briefings, in-house mentorship, Heritage events, and a First Principles Series for interns. Deadlines on website.

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• Hertog Foundation: Hertog offers funded seminars on political theory and public policy throughout the summer and school year. The summer "Political Studies" program is a seven-week, funded fellowship in which students take courses in a wide variety of subjects, from political philosophy to contemporary public affairs, from economics to foreign policy. Students can apply to the seven-week program or participate in one to two week seminars, offered throughout the summer. Hertog also offers funded, weekend seminars during the school year.  

Humanities at Hertog: The Humanities at Hertog fellowship is comprised of four online seminars, each devoted to enduring literary texts: Melville’s Moby Dick, taught by Robert C. Bartlett, Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment, taught by Jacob Howland, Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, taught by Cheryl Miller, and Revolution, Reaction, & Reform: Romantic British Poetry, taught by Christopher J. Scalia. Undergraduates, recent graduates, and graduate students are all eligible to apply. All fellows receive a small stipend and course materials. Download our course catalog here. The application deadline is November 15, 2023.

• Hoover Institution: The Stanford-based Hoover Institution runs a program in D.C. It accepts full and part-time interns for a 10-week period. Interns assist DC director, scholars, and staff with special projects, attend and report on briefings on Capitol Hill and other think tanks, and more.
   
• Hoover Institution Summer Policy Boot Camp: The Hoover Institution’s Summer Policy Boot Camp (HISPBC) is an intensive, one week residential immersion program in the essentials of today’s national and international United States policy. The program is intended to instruct college students and recent graduates on the economic, political, and social aspects of United States public policy. The goal is to teach students how to think critically about public policy formulation and its results. The program is funded, except for travel, program dates on website. 
   
• Hudson Institute: This internship is based at the Hudson Institute. Interns work a minimum of 15 hours a week in an unpaid capacity with expert researchers in areas ranging from National Security Studies to Food Policy and Political Theory. Deadline is rolling.
   
• Hudson Political Studies: This six-week, funded summer program is for undergraduates to broaden and deepen their understanding of public policy and American political principles. It combines the rigorous study of politics and political thought in a seminar setting, with policy workshops led by think tank scholars and experienced government officials, and also a distinguished speaker series of exemplary figures from public life. 

• HSLDA Legal Intern Opportunity: HSLDA seeks legal interns for the summer and fall semesters for the following projects: 
• • Supporting the work of HSLDA in advancing homeschool freedom and parental rights;
  • Legal research related to the issue of state laws regarding immunization, compulsory attendance, child labor, child protection, and homeschooling;
  • Legal research related to homeschooling at the international level;
  • Tracking state legislation;
  • Tracking federal legislation; and
  • Research and drafting work related to state and federal legislation.
• These positions are open to students in 1L through 3L law school programs, law school graduates who seek additional opportunities prior to entering the workforce, and highly qualified undergraduate students in special circumstances. These positions have flexible hours. These positions will be unpaid and fully remote. In addition, all interns will need to have their own computer and internet, and their own access to a legal research service such as Westlaw or Lexis (for legal research interns only). For interns who live near HSLDA’s Purcellville, Virginia location, there will be opportunities to meet the staff in person, work with them in person on occasion, and attend events in Washington, DC. Interns will be mentored by various HSLDA attorneys in weekly meetings conducted over Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and will receive numerous opportunities to interact with leadership and staff, and to advance their education and legal training through mentoring. 
• Interested applicants may send a resume and a writing sample of one page or more via email to William A. Estrada, Esq., Senior Counsel, HSLDA, will.estrada@hslda.org

• Illinois Policy Institute: Apply to work/intern in the largest state policy think tank in the nation. Based in Chicago and serving Illinois, IPI's mission is to take free-market principles, transform them into marketable policy solutions, and pass them into law. 
   
• Intercollegiate Studies Institute Honors Program: This year-long fellowship begins in the summer with a funded, week-long seminar. It continues through the year with invitations to weekend seminars and contact with mentors and other members of the ISI network.
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• Institute for Human Ecology Summer Programs: The IHE is pleased to announce that applications are now open for our international summer programs. Grace, Law, and Virtue Rome Seminar (June 22-29); Recusancy and Revival: The Persecution and Rebirth of Catholicism in Our Lady’s Dowry England Pilgrimage (August 22-29). Upper level graduate students and young academics are encouraged to apply. While background in this or related subject matter is preferred, applicants from all disciplines will be considered.
  

   

   

• Institute for Humane Studies: These funded, week-long summer seminars bring together aspiring academics and esteemed faculty for rigorous academic discussion that examine the merits and challenges of a free society. Graduate students and advanced undergraduates explore the profound necessity of liberty through interdisciplinary panels, lectures, and discussions.
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• Institute for Justice: The Institute for Justice offers opportunities for students to contribute to IJ’s cutting-edge constitutional litigation and advocacy work throughout the year. The Arthur D. Hellman Fellowship in Public Interest Law and Strategic Research Internships are offered in the summers, and the Development Internship is offered on a year-round basis. Stipends offered. 
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• James Wilson Institute: This internship is based at the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding. Are you looking for a substantive internship that fosters intellectual growth while honing professional skills? Are you interested in law, philosophy, and America’s founding principles? James Wilson Institute interns perform critical work in carrying out our mission to transform the legal culture. Offering part-time and full time internships, both in-person and remote. Rolling applications, stipend provided. 
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• Knights of Columbus: Work for 8 weeks in New Haven, CT with the Knights of Columbus. Interns will be partnered with a mentor, assigned measurable projects, gain real-world work experience, and build a professional network of like-minded Catholics and mission-oriented individuals. This is a paid internship. 
   
• Lumen Christi Institute: Now in their fifteenth year, the Lumen Christi Institute Summer Seminars in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition introduce participants to central themes, figures, and texts spanning a range of topics, but all rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition. This year, they are offering seminars for undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty.
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• Napa Legal Institute: Napa Legal is a Catholic nonprofit which works to protect faith-based organizations so they can achieve their missions. Specifically, Napa Legal educates nonprofit leaders, attorneys, and supporters of religious liberty by publishing resources such as webinars, toolkits, and self-assessments in key issue areas like tax law, employment law, and religious liberty.
• Interns will work full-time, splitting projects between Napa Institute and Napa Legal either remotely or in Napa Legal’s DC office. Specific responsibilities include supporting both organizations’ marketing and outreach efforts, including social media and e-mail marketing, in addition to assisting with Napa Institute and Napa Legal network events. The intern will also assist with content and graphics for the annual launch of Napa Legal’s Faith & Freedom Index. Strong candidates for the fellowship have a strong work ethic and sense of self-motivation, excellent organizational skills, understand the role of faith-based institutions in our society, and desire to serve and strengthen these institutions. Napa Legal is a faith-based organization, so interns must be committed to their faith traditions, aligned with and supportive of Catholic values and teaching, and willing to work collaboratively with Napa Legal leadership and representatives of other organizations at the forefront of efforts to preserve religious freedom and freedom of conscience.
• Applicants should provide a resume, transcript, writing sample, and cover letter. The cover letter should describe: (1) the candidate’s interest in Napa Legal; (2) a brief explanation of the candidate’s personal faith journey and call to serve in the nonprofit sector; and (3) a summary of the candidate’s experiences working or volunteering in programming and event planning and any lessons learned through these experiences. Start and end dates are flexible. Application materials should be submitted to info@napalegalinstitute.org. 

   

   
• Philos Leadership Institute: The Philos Leadership Institute is a fully subsidized, 2-week summer institute designed for Christian men and women between the ages of 18-35 who have a serious interest in working in a field that impacts the Middle East. 
  
  
• Röpke-Wojtyła Fellowship: Through the Busch School of Business at Catholic University of America, this fellowship for undergraduate seniors is a call on young Catholics to explore important questions of social philosophy, such as the makings of a good society, the civilizing aspect of commerce, and the tensions between markets and community. It consists of, throughout the year, three one-day colloquia in Washington, DC, with a fourth gathering in Rome. Fellows' receive a stipend of $3,500 in two installments.
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  The Savannah Seminar:  The CRCD’s Savannah Seminar provides students the opportunity to explore a wide range of topics related to the American founding, democratic ideals, and the important role that religious ideas and institutions play in the development of free and flourishing societies. Students selected for this this five-day event will participate in interactive lectures from leading scholars, join expert-led tours to explore some of the city’s most beautiful historic area, and develop lasting relationships with peers and mentors. All expenses paid for upper-level undergraduate students.
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  Shaftesbury Fellowship: Ten-week residential fellowship in Dallas for high-performing upper-level undergraduates and recent graduates.  Acceptance includes a stipend and housing as well as reading materials and a book and research budget.
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• Susan B. Anthony List: Students can intern at this pro-life think tank during the Summer, Spring, or Fall semesters in Washington D.C. The interns are responsible for a variety of duties at Susan B. Anthony List. Their time is partly devoted to assisting in the day-to-day operations of the organization. They are also involved in larger departmental projects such as political and legislative research, fundraising, and communications. Applications are due approximately one or two months before each semester begins. 
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• The Tertio Millennio Seminar on the Free Society: This two-week seminar was founded in 1992 by Michael Novak, Rocco Buttiglione, Father Richard John Neuhaus, Father Maciej Zięba OP and George Weigel to deepen the dialogue on Catholic social doctrine between North American students and students from the new democracies of central and eastern Europe. Taking place in Cracow, Poland, the seminar features classes and lectures on the topics revolving around culture, politics and economy of the free society, democracy and capitalism. In addition to two weeks of intense intellectual work, the seminar includes visits to sites that highlight Poland’s distinctive history and culture: Częstochowa, Auschwitz, the old Jewish quarter of Cracow, the shrine of St. Faustina, Wawel Castle and cathedral, and a walking tour of “Karol Wojtyła’s Kraków”. The program also offers an opportunity to partake in prayer and daily mass.
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• Thomistic Institute Study Abroad:  The Thomistic Institute in Washington, D.C. has partnered with one of the great Roman universities, the Angelicum (the Dominican Order’s “Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas” in Rome), to offer a unique and exciting study abroad program.

  This one-semester study abroad program runs in the Spring semester of each academic year. It is open to students currently enrolled in a university-level degree program. All courses and program activities will be in English (except for an optional language elective course in beginning Italian).

• Witherspoon Institute: Hosted at Princeton University, these seminars explore vital moral questions in social, philosophical, legal, and political thought. Topics include "Natural Law and Public Affairs" and "First Principles," as well as "Moral Foundations of Law" for law students. Applications for Witherspoon's summer seminars are due February 2nd. 

Post-Graduate Opportunities 

• The Fund for American Studies: TFAS's Public Policy Fellowship is a year-long networking and education program designed to develop young leaders with a shared commitment to improving public policy. To apply, you must live and work in public policy in DC.
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• The Herzog Foundation: The Herzog Foundation offers year-long ambassadorships to recent college graduates seeking to advance and support Christian K-12 education nationwide. Each ambassador will become fully immersed in the Herzog Foundation's programs and operations in Smithville, Missouri (right outside Kansas City, Missouri) with the opportunity to travel around the country.
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• Illinois Policy Institute: Apply to work in the largest state policy think tank in the nation. Based in Chicago and serving Illinois, IPI's mission is to take free-market principals, transform them into marketable policy solutions, and pass them into law. 
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• John Jay Institute Fellows Program: This fellowship-in-residence brings together twelve fellows to live in community in the Philadelphia area. Fellows spend a full year engaging with readings on theology, philosophy, ethics, history, politics, culture, and jurisprudence to develop a vision for flourishing human societies, and receive the intellectual, professional, and spiritual training to become effective leaders for such societies.
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• Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism: The Joseph Rago Memorial Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism provides a nine-month internship with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial team. This annual fellowship is open to recent college and journalism school graduates and journalists with less than five years’ experience. 
   
• Junior Fellows, First Things: This program is for graduating seniors and recent graduates. Fellows work closely with the editors to produce the magazine and its website. The one-year, full-time fellowship includes housing and a modest stipend. 
   
• Koch Associate Program: The Koch Associate Program (KAP) is a funded, year-long opportunity––job placement and coursework through Koch's Market-Based Management––for high-performing, early-career individuals to accelerate their professional growth. KAP equips associates with the principles, network, and resources to succeed as social entrepreneurs: leaders who come from all walks of life and use their unique gifts to advance positive changes in society and help people improve their lives. 
   
• Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship: Participants will have the opportunity to find placement as a paid, full-time journalist at a participating news outlet, joining colleagues who are passionate about journalism and the critical role of the free press in society. You’ll learn from each other, on the job, and from a robust, real-world curriculum presented by seasoned, professional journalists. 
   
• Public Interest Fellowship: A two-year program offering paid, full-time employment. Fellows will typically complete two professional rotations, each lasting approximately nine to 12 months. Outside of their jobs, fellows will complete studies in the tradition of freedom and the contemporary challenges to individual liberty and democratic self-government delivered through twice-monthly evening seminars and academic retreats; attend monthly dinners with prominent public figures; participate in professional development sessions; and take advantage of extensive networking opportunities.
  
  Shaftesbury Fellowship: Ten-week residential fellowship in Dallas for high-performing upper-level undergraduates and recent graduates.  Acceptance includes a stipend and housing as well as reading materials and a book and research budget.

University of St. Thomas, Master of Arts program in Catholic Studies:   Challenging and fulfilling MA program which examines the impact of the Incarnation on human thought and culture. Several generous scholarships available for full-time students beginning in Fall 2024. Degree can be completed online or through a combination of online, in-person, and summer courses. 

 

Graduate Student Seminars and Fellowships

• Claremont Institute, Publius Fellowship: Each summer, Claremont brings together a selective group of promising young conservatives to study the distinctive moral and political principles of the American constitutional order. In over 40 intensive daily seminars and relaxed evening symposia over three weeks, Publius Fellows discuss political philosophy and American government with distinguished scholars. 
   
• Clements Center: Join the University of Texas-Austin's Clements Center for National Security in Beaver Creek, Colorado for their graduate summer seminar in History and Statecraft. Applicants should be advanced doctoral students in history, political science, or policymaking.
   
• Institute for Humane Studies: These funded, week-long summer seminars bring together aspiring academics and esteemed faculty for rigorous academic discussion that examine the merits and challenges of a free society. Graduate students and advanced undergraduates explore the profound necessity of liberty through interdisciplinary panels, lectures, and discussions.
   
• Intercollegiate Studies Institute: Offers the Richard M. Weaver Fellowship for graduate students who intend to use their advanced degree to teach and the Henry Salvatori Fellowship to students doing graduate work related to the American Founding.
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• Lumen Christi Institute: The Lumen Christi Institute Summer Seminars in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition introduce participants to central themes, figures, and texts from the Catholic tradition. This year, we are offering seminars for graduate students, junior faculty, and undergraduates. See the individual application pages for details and application requirements.
   
• Witherspoon Institute: Hosted at Princeton University, these seminars explore vital moral questions in social, philosophical, legal, and political thought. Topics include "Natural Law and Public Affairs" and "First Principles," as well as "Moral Foundations of Law" for law students.