Fall 2024 Public Citizen Congress Watch Research Internship

Congress Watch Research Internship

Congress Watch, a division of Public Citizen, is seeking a research intern for the fall 2024 academic session.  Public Citizen is a national, non-partisan, public interest group with more than 500,000 members and activists. The Congress Watch division engages in public education, grassroots organizing, and advocacy before Congress and administrative agencies on money in politics, open government, corporate accountability, financial regulation, health and safety, and access to justice.

The intern will participate in investigative research projects and write time-sensitive reports and other materials in support of Congress Watch’s public education and advocacy campaigns.

Possible issue areas the intern will work on include money and politics, civil justice, financial reform, good government, healthcare, regulatory policy, and worker safety.

Responsibilities

Investigate policy issues, individuals, corporations, political fundraising issues, and trade associations by using traditional investigative methods. Help conceive and produce written materials in collaboration with the research director and other team members, including:  reports, editorial board memos, op-eds, and blog posts. Provide a wide range of research support including database management, data entry, data cleaning, and other tasks as assigned.

Requirements

Skills: Excellent research, analytical thinking, oral and written communication, and organizational skills. Experience with database management, data entry and data cleaning.

Qualities: Conscientious, accurate, and tenacious. Strong commitment to public interest work. Willingness to assist with all aspects of research.  A preference will be given to applicants seeking academic credit for this internship placement.

To Apply:

We accept unpaid internship applications on a rolling basis and currently are accepting applications for paid internships for fall 2024. Public Citizen offers unpaid internships (credit can be arranged) and a small number of paid internships ($17.50 an hour). To be considered for a paid internship for Fall 2024, candidates must apply by August 2, 2024, and submit materials listed below.  Chosen applicants will be notified on August 23, 2024.

If you are applying for a paid internship, please include an essay / cover letter outlining why you want to intern at Public Citizen and any other information about you that you wish to have considered, including your need for financial support (500 words or less). If you have completed the FAFSA, please also submit a copy of your Student Aid Report (SAR).

Submit cover letter, resume, and writing sample as attachments to Mike Tanglis, (mtanglis@citizen.org) with the subject line “CW-Research Fall 2024 Paid Internship” or “CW-Research Fall 2024 Unpaid Internship.” No phone calls please. Please note: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are only able to contact those students who will be moving forward in the application process.