The Library of Congress/Congressional Research Service (CRS) is seeking to place students for up to ten weeks in the following paid summer internships. Students from all backgrounds who are looking to gain exposure to the work that supports congress and careers in public service are encouraged to apply.
CRS is based in Washington, D.C. however some summer internships may be eligible for telework outside of the Washington, D.C. region. The salary range for positions performed outside the D.C. region will be based on the locality pay of the remote location. Relocation expenses are not authorized under this posting.
Based on the level of work to be performed, these positions will be filled at the GS-05 to the GS-11 levels.
Qualifications: Must be an undergraduate student, graduate student, or have graduated no more than two years ago at the time of the internship. Undergraduate students must have completed at least two years of education to be considered for an internship. See individual positions for specific educational qualifications and additional requirements.
U.S. citizenship is required for all CRS positions, including internships. For more information about CRS, please visit https://www.loc.gov/crsinfo/.
How to Apply:
To apply, send an e-mail to studentinternships@crs.loc.gov that includes: 1) the position(s) you wish to apply for 2) your resume and 3) official or unofficial transcripts. The deadline to apply is
February 28, 2025. Upon review of their information, CRS may also consider applicants for other positions similar to what they have applied for.
Internships:
- Domestic Social Policy Division – Research Assistant/Research Associate
The intern will join the Domestic Social Policy Division. The intern will create an analytical data file using data fusion and imputation techniques on multiple publicly available surveys. The intern would work on coding the assembly of the analytical file. Work would also include evaluating the methods employed during construction of the file and validating the final file against the source files and independent files.
Applicants who have a Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Statistics, Economics, Social Science (quantitative), Data Science, or Statistical Science are desired. Those with experience programming in R, survey weighting and imputation methods are encouraged to apply. This position is eligible for onsite work, a combination of onsite and telework in the D.C. area, or telework from outside of the D.C. region.
- Resources, Science, and Industry Division – Research Assistant/Research Associate
The intern will join the Resources, Science and Industry Division’s Energy and Minerals section. The Energy Policy Intern will work closely with a senior CRS analyst conducting research related to energy policy. Potential topics of research include electricity technologies, net metering, interconnection policies, transmission planning, integrated resource planning, electricity affordability, energy efficiency, and international energy issues. The intern's research findings may be used in published CRS products or briefing materials for congressional clients.
Undergraduate or graduate students with a degree in Economics, Energy Policy, Environmental Policy, Law/Pre-Law, Political Science, Public Administration, or Statistics are desired. Those with experience using Word and Excel and conducting independent academic research using peer-reviewed journals, federal agency documents, white papers, and other authoritative sources are encouraged to apply. Familiarity with energy policy, climate policy, utility regulation, or international energy issues are preferred, but not required. This position is eligible for a combination of onsite work and telework in the D.C. area.
- Knowledge Services Group – Research Librarian/Library Technician Assistant
The intern will join the Knowledge Services Group’s Acquisition and Collections Section. The intern would have the opportunity to work on a variety of projects related to electronic resources management, including data analysis and data visualization related to subscription database and online serials usage; organization of user-facing internal e-resources staff assistance pages; assistance with database and serial title package descriptions in E-Resources Online Catalog to meet accessibility standards; user experience/user interface testing and feedback, and other projects as assigned.
Graduate students in Library and/or Information Science are preferred. Applicants with knowledge of data analysis, data visualization, SharePoint and other MS productivity tools, knowledge management, organization of information, online accessibility, user experience/user interface skills are greatly desired. This position is eligible for a combination of onsite work and telework in the D.C. area.
- Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division – Research Assistant/Research Associate
The intern will join the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division’s Middle East and Africa Section. The intern’s projects will relate to the intern’s skills, experience, and interests and the needs of the section but may include:
- Conducting literature reviews;
- Analyzing U.S. foreign assistance;
- Tracking ongoing political, military, health, and economic developments, including relevant legislation and U.S. policy statements;
- Attending hearings and briefings; and
- Helping analysts with research for reports or updates and potentially drafting material.
Undergraduate or graduate students with a focus in history, political science, government, public policy, public health, international relations, anthropology, languages and linguistics, literature, English, geography, environmental science, government, gender studies, behavioral sciences, regional studies (Africa or Middle East), peace and conflict studies, economics, honors programs, international development, or related fields are desired. The applicant should have an academic focus on or prior experience in Africa or the Middle East; strong research, writing, and analytic skills; ability to present information clearly and concisely; desire to work in a nonpartisan, collaborative setting; and ability to work creatively and accept feedback. Facility with Excel and data management and presentation is helpful; and relevant language ability is helpful but not required. This position is eligible for a combination of onsite work and telework in the D.C. area.
- Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division – Research Assistant/Research Associate
The intern will join the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division’s Asia Section. In cooperation with senior analysts, conduct research on issues related to U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region and contribute to the preparation of written analytical and descriptive products that inform congressional understanding of public policy issues and consideration of policy proposals. Specific projects may include producing or updating long-form reports on U.S. Alliances and partnerships in the region, Asia-Pacific governance structures, political developments in China, and U.S. relations with specific Asian and Pacific countries.
Applicants with knowledge of and/or research in Asian affairs, writing skills, working with data and capacity in an Asian language are strongly encouraged to apply. Undergraduate and graduate students with a focus in International Affairs, National Security studies, Asia area studies or political science are desired. This position is eligible for a combination of onsite work and telework in the D.C. area.
- Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division – Research Assistant/Research Associate
The intern will join the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division’s Europe and the Americas Section. The intern would support FDT/EA Europe analysts in responding to congressional requests. The intern would locate and organize requested information on European countries, the European Union, European relations with the United States, and other assigned issues. The intern may contribute to written CRS products and email responses. The intern may conduct research to assist analysts with longer-term projects or CRS reports. The experience would emphasize professional development with a focus on working with senior analysts to learn how to present information to policymakers.
Applicants who have a Master’s degree in International Relations or a focus on Europe are desired. Applicants with strong research and writing skills are encouraged to apply. This position is eligible for a combination of onsite work and telework in the D.C. area.
- Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade – Research Assistant/Research Associate
The intern will join the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division’s Defense Policy and Arms Control Section. The intern would help in researching DoD policy, security assistance and national security topics for the Defense Policy Section as required.
Applicants with experience in quantitative research, possess writing skills and the ability to work independently are desired. Undergraduate and graduate students with degrees in Political Science, International Relations, or International Security are desired. This position is eligible for a combination of onsite work and telework in the D.C. area.
- Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade – Research Assistant/Research Associate
The intern will join the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division’s International Trade and Finance Section. The IT Section has three specific projects in mind for an intern. Brief descriptions outlined below:
- Research project to build a database tracking tariff lines subject to additional tariffs, affected trade by partner, applicable exclusions, and the states and industries impacted. The intern would do this work in R, Stata, or another quantitative package, and would need coding and data analysis experience. This project builds on off previous efforts in FDT to track a fast-moving issue and be able to quickly respond to Member requests on the implementation of additional tariffs.
- Research project to collect data on U.S. government procurement policies/contracts (including a comparative look at other major economies) in support of updates to CRS reports on government procurement and international trade.
- Research project oriented on the European Union’s trade agreements and comparative analysis with U.S. trade agreements on selected issues. Anticipated outputs would include a literature review, tabular summary of key features of trade agreements, and written analysis of key themes or takeaways from the research.
Undergraduate or graduate students with a degree in Economics, Political Science, International Relations, Public Policy or Government are desired. Applicants with experience with data analysis, economic analysis, policy analysis, strong writing skills and capacity to write from a variety of perspectives are strongly encouraged to apply. This position is eligible for onsite work, a combination of onsite and telework in the D.C. area, or telework from outside of the D.C. region.
- Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade – Research
Associate/Research Librarian
The intern will join the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division’s Research and Library Services Section. The intern’s projects include updating FDT RL reports, responding to historical information requests, collection maintenance, and assisting with a serials review.
Applicants with a Master’s degree in History, Political Science, Government, Public Policy, Public Health, International Relations, Anthropology, Languages and Linguistics, Literature, English, Geography, Environmental Science, Government, Gender Studies, Behavioral Sciences, Regional Studies (Africa or Middle East), peace and conflict studies, Economics, honors programs, International Development, or related fields are desired. LIS graduate students with a basic understanding of Library Science are also encouraged to apply. The intern must work onsite in the D.C. area.
- American Law Division – Law Clerk/Assistant
The Law Clerk will assist ALD attorneys with a number of legal research projects related to the development of legal content for the online Constitution Annotated located at https://constitution.congress.gov. Accordingly, the main legal area the Law Clerk will be working within is constitutional law, including an in-depth examination of Supreme Court caselaw. The Law Clerk may also have the opportunity to assist ALD attorneys on legal questions that may arise during the internship.
Applicants with a Justice Degree are desired. Applicants that have the ability to conduct legal research, analysis, and writing; cite checking; and blue booking are encouraged to apply. This position is eligible for onsite work, a combination of onsite and telework in the D.C. area, or telework from outside of the D.C. region.
- Office of Legislative Information Services – Legislative Research Assistant/Associate
The intern’s work will support the operations and development of the Congress.gov website. Tasks may be in support of these, or similar, projects: Committee authority records, Statutes at Large historic digitization, Action Code analysis, regression tests, data mapping, controlled vocabulary management.
Applicants with a Master’s degree in History; Information Science; Information Technology; Law; Legal Studies; Library Science; Management Information Systems & Services; Political Science and Government; or Pre-Law are desired. Applicants with experience with digital literacy; digital information management; collaboration, creativity, and innovation; and/or record keeping are encouraged to apply. This position is eligible for telework from outside of the D.C. region.
- Office of the Director – Communications Assistant/Associate
The intern will assist communications staff with the weekly staff newsletter: writing, editing and posting to SharePoint intranet site; writing articles spotlighting the work of CRS staff for internal website; assist communications staff to compose social media posts on CRS analytical work; and assist with staff forums and other meetings.
Undergraduate or graduate students with a degree in Journalism, Communications, Public Policy, Political Science, English, or Writing are desired. Applicants with experience with writing and editing of a weekly newsletter; SharePoint; Html coding; and/or social media are encouraged to apply. This position is eligible for a combination of onsite work and telework in the D.C. area.
- Government and Finance Division – Research Librarian/Research Associate
The intern will be joining a team of CRS research librarians that work in the Government & Finance Division (G&F) of CRS. G&F is responsible for wide-ranging issues such as congressional administration, workload, and funding; executive branch operations and management; government finances; oversight of banking and insurance; and cybersecurity; firearms regulations; and emergency management. Our intern will gain experience working collaboratively with CRS research librarians and public policy experts on research projects. In particular these experiences will offer an opportunity to develop research, writing, and client-service skills.
Specific research projects to be completed in 2025 include the following.
- Researching available data from House committees on hearings and related activities. This would involve searching online for activity reports and potentially interacting with House committee clerks to identify possible sources for missing information. Depending on how the work proceeds, it may also involve compiling the information that was identified. This project would benefit congressional clients interested in understanding and improving the important work of congressional committees.
More generally, other research projects may include researching G&F-covered topics of interest to Congress on Congress.gov, government websites, news sources, and sources for academic literature. The intern will then report the results of their research to CRS research librarians. The CRS research librarians will then consider whether or how to integrate the intern’s work into products that will be delivered to congressional clients.
Examples of research projects completed by previous interns include the following.
- Obtained congressional documents produced during prior impeachment investigations and trials.
- Contributed to a research project for a congressional client that was published by GPO and in which the interns were named as contributors.
- Collected amendments offered on legislation using Congress.gov.
- Provided state-level roll call votes on the 13th amendment, and gathered contact information for state government archives.
- Searched for articles recounting or reporting on recent predictions for congressional agendas.
- Updated content of a CRS report for congressional staff on useful phone numbers, internet addresses, and twitter feeds.
- Evaluated CRS reports against a set of criteria to establish relevance for inclusion in a digitization project.
- Tracked and reported on the results of special and primary elections.
- Located a 1958 Department of Agriculture report using various online databases.
Interns may also attend training sessions presented by CRS to congressional staff on the legislative process and public policy issues of interest to the Members. Volunteer interns may attend internal and external training sessions on topics such as tracking action on bills throughout the legislative process, compiling Member voting records on public policy issues, understanding the appropriations process, searching within commercial and proprietary databases, and the effective use of commercial software and web tools.
Examples of CRS seminars and trainings attended by previous interns include the following.
- Congress: An Introduction to Process & Resources
- Research Orientation to the Library of Congress Collections
- Tracking Congressional Activities: An Overview of Resources
- Working with Congressional Clients
- United States Industry in a Globalized Economy
- Emission Reduction Opportunities for Non-Carbon Dioxide Greenhouse Gases
- The Economics of Health Care Reform
- Introduction to Federal Legal Research
- Overview of the Federal Budget Process
- Information Security Training
- Multiple vendor trainings for subscription products such as CQ, LexisNexis, and S&P Global Intelligence
Applicants with an undergraduate or graduate degree in Library Science, Information Studies, Information Science, or other ALA accredited library degree are desired. Students with experience or an interest in developing research, writing and Excel skills are strongly encouraged to apply. This position is eligible for onsite work, a combination of onsite and telework in the D.C. area, or telework from outside of the D.C. region.
