View Telecommuting and Seattle Internships at The Borgen Project.

 

Looking for a little bit of extra motivation for finishing that college degree? Need a little more incentive to pursue graduate study? The perks of a well-rounded academic background in foreign policy are many.

However, lectures and papers can only inspire so much excitement. If you are interested in a dynamic and interactive experience to set you on the path of being a global advocate, here are five of the top organizations that offer International Affairs internships.

1. Council on Foreign Relations

Take your pick between a yearlong experience in New York or a semester’s worth of study in Washington, D.C. In the Big Apple, the Council on Foreign Relations offers an editorial internship for those interested in pursuing advocacy-based journalism as a potential field. In the capital, students have the opportunity to help with the council’s board and development strategies. Also in Washington, students interested in Middle Eastern Affairs have two unique internship opportunities to further develop policy and advocacy in that area.

2. Senate Foreign Relations Committee

What better way to influence United States global policy than by interning with Congress? This intern will have the ability to attend meetings both on and off Capitol Hill, follow and influence congressional legislation and cultivate research projects for the committee.

3. USAID

USAID is the government agency responsible for executing U.S. policy concerning global development. An internship with USAID entails working at USAID headquarters in Washington and supporting international agriculture programs, immunization initiatives, hunger programs, and much more. Internships with the USAID vary between paid and unpaid as well.

4. United Nations, Social Policy and Development Division

Not only does an internship with the U.N. offer all of the prestige and influence of the world’s most collaborative decision-making body, it also gives students a wonderful opportunity to intern abroad. Whether you are interested in working on development programs from the New York office or promoting HIV/AIDS research in Geneva or Humanitarian Affairs in Nairobi, Kenya, the U.N.’s vastness is a resource waiting to be used.

5. The Borgen Project

Interested in writing for a broad readership? Fascinated by the idea of working for a true non-profit? Are you a self-motivated and independent worker? Then the Borgen Project could be the internship for you! Borgen allows you the creative freedom to find your own niche within the advocacy world and express it to a diverse audience through either writing and/or editing internships as well as front line regional advocates.

– Taylor Diamond

Sources: UN Social Policy and Development Division, Council on Foreign Affairs
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