State Department/START Internship - Fall 2020 UNPAID
*NOTE: you must submit an application through START's Website. Applications submitted via Handshake only will NOT be considered.*
START is excited to be able to offer a limited number of highly selective intern positions to students interested in working on projects for the U.S. State Department using START data (such as the GTD) and other open sources. Students will be tasked with developing materials that create a realistic scenario based on extensive research on history, geopolitical situations, and internal religious or ethnic cleavages in a region in support the Bureau of Counterterrorism training efforts. This internship will be co-supervised by START on-site staff at the University of Maryland and by project leads at the U.S. State Department. The U.S. State Department leads will set and give feedback on tasks.
*Please note: This is an internship with the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) and not with the U.S. Department of State.
Supervisor: Eva Coll (escoll@umd.edu)
Deadline: Sunday, June 14, 11:59pm
US Citizenship Required: Yes
Other Requirements: Must be currently enrolled as a student (no recent graduates).
Team Meeting Times: Tuesdays 11:00-12:00pm *you must be available for this team meeting time to undertake this internship*
Responsibilities:
Students will gather and analyze statistics on terrorist organizations over time. Projects will include collecting the number and type of attacks over time, looking at trends, and possibly even modeling group capacity out into the future.
Required/minimum qualifications:
- Interest in terrorism and terrorism research
- Record of superior academic achievement
- Strong interest in research
- Undergraduate applicants must have a minimum of 60 university credits
- Familiarity with accessing multiple types of information resources (including texts, journal articles, media sources, web sites, etc.)
- Ability to work independently
- Proficient with Microsoft Excel and use of the internet
- Any regional expertise, language skills, or prior research experience would be a definite asset
- In addition to being able to commit to work 20 hours per week on site at the START offices for the semester, students must attend at least two meetings in downtown D.C. with the U.S. State Department project supervisors.
* Note: Due to the popularity of, and therefore competition for, this internship project, if you are interested in being considered for this project you must select it as your first choice project. There is no option to select it as a second or third choice.
General Information for all START Internships
Location:
START Headquarters is located in the Discovery District in College Park, MD. Our exact address will be provided upon being invited for an interview.
Schedule Requirements:
Orientation Date: Thursday, August 20th, 2020. All interns are required to attend orientation. You may be required to attend an additional day of orientation on Friday, August 21st, 2020. Your supervisor will inform you if you are required to attend both days.
Internship Duration: Thursday, August 20th, 2020 to Friday, December 4th, 2020. All interns must be able to commit to the duration of the whole program.
Work Hours: All interns must work at least 10 hours per week during the fall 2020 program. Work hours are scheduled from Monday to Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm. Interns may not work longer than 8-hour or shorter than 2 hour shifts.
Other Information:
- All internships are UNPAID and START is unable to provide travel stipends or housing arrangements. However, the University of Maryland has several opportunities for students to apply for unpaid internship stipends. Please note START is not involved in the application or review process for these stipends.
- https://careers.umd.edu/students/internships/how-financially-support-your-internship
- The Ammerman Foundation Student Veteran Professional Development Fund: http://sagiving.umd.edu/ammermanvetsfund/index.html
- We strongly encourage and recommend that interns seek academic credit for their internship through their home institution or department, if possible.
- If undertaking the internship for credit, you must indicate this on your application form. Be sure to notify your internship supervisor if you need to work more than 10 hours per work for this reason.
- Applicants interested in applying for an internship for any semester other than or in addition to fall 2020, must submit a separate application for each semester with the correct application form for that semester.
How to Apply for START Internships:
START is currently accepting applications for the fall 2020 semester. Please make sure you check the dates for the projects you’re interested in to make sure they’re available during the semester you intend to apply. The fall application form will be open until 11:59pm on Sunday, June 28th, 2020. However, some projects for the fall semester require the application be submitted by the priority deadline (Sunday, June 14th at 11:59pm) so please be sure to note the deadlines in the project descriptions. Late, incomplete, or applications not submitted correctly will not be considered. To access the application: click here.
Notes:
- Applicants must pay close attention to the requirements of each internship they are applying for, including attendance to team meetings and minimum time commitment. Inability to attend compulsory meetings or work the minimum required hours will result in the revocation of any offer made.
- Address your cover letter to the internship supervisor of your first choice project.
- Failure to complete the application form in full, including the selection of 1-3 internship preferences could result in your application being rejected without further consideration.
- Failure to submit the proper materials according to the directions provided in the project description could result in your application being rejected without further consideration.
- Due to the high volume of applicants, only top candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
- Applicants may be asked to attend more than one interview.
- Any successful candidate will be asked to respond with a firm acceptance within 48 hours of the offer being made. Failure to respond could result in the vacancy passed to another candidate.
- Any questions regarding the specific requirements for the internship vacancy should be directed to the supervisor(s) listed for the project.
- Any questions regarding the application process should be directed to the START Education Team at internships-start@umd.edu.
Application Materials:
All internship applicants must submit all materials in one .pdf file using the file name format:
LastName, FirstName_InternCandidate.pdf or .doc.
The internship application packet should include the following documents in the following order:
- One page cover letter
- One page resume
- Official or unofficial transcript(s)
- Two-page writing sample (Communications applicants must submit two writing samples.)
Note for International Students:
START welcomes applications from international students for all of our internships where US citizenship is not a requirement (see the qualifications listed for each project for details).
It is, however, the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that their visa or immigration status permits them to undertake an unpaid internship. It is also the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all proper paperwork, like documented approval from your home institution, is available and processed in time for the start of the internship. Failure to comply with these stipulations, or provide the paperwork required to verify your status, will result in your internship offer being rescinded without further consideration. START is unable to sponsor visas for non-US Citizens due to the short timeline of our program and the lengthy processing time for visas. Unfortunately, this largely limits our ability to accept anything other than F-1 visas on regular, not OPT, status.
START recognizes and abides by the Department of Labor regulations regarding unpaid internships. Not only does START encourage students to seek college credit for their internships, but START ensures that the internship experience is exceptional. START interns make a positive contribution to vital, real-world research that directly supports the work of policy makers and other shareholders. START interns do not perform administrative tasks - they work alongside our researchers and receive mentorship and guidance. START interns are also able to participate in an enrichment program throughout the semester with roughly 2-3 training sessions, lectures, book talks, career profile sessions, or research round table events per week. More information on the Department of Labor regulations can be found here: https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm.