The Office of the Legal Adviser typically selects about twelve highly qualified second-year law students to participate in its Summer Intern Program. This provides a unique opportunity for students interested in public service and international law to become acquainted with the work of the Office as well as the Department (and to demonstrate their legal and interpersonal skills and acumen). Summer interns are normally given the same level of work as junior attorney-advisers. Interns are usually assigned to two offices in which they serve consecutively to ensure that they receive as broad an exposure as possible to the various facets of the Office’s practice within the time allowed. Interns are encouraged also to take advantage of special summer programs and activities sponsored by the Department, the Federal Bar Association, the Department of Justice, and others.

The Office of the Legal Adviser’s summer intern program is highly competitive. Outstanding academic achievement, relevant international experience and/or extracurricular activity, strong interpersonal skills, references, and demonstrated professional potential and interest in public service are important factors in the selection process. Consideration is given only to U.S. citizens. We recognize that many students endeavor to divide the summer before their third year between two employers to broaden their exposure to the practice of law and finance their education. The Office is flexible in allowing students to schedule their internship any time between May and September with a minimum of six weeks of employment.

Learn more about practicing law in the Office of the Legal Adviser

The Council of American Ambassadors provides six fellowships in honor of Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg. The Fellowship program combines mentoring by former U.S. ambassadors and alumni peer mentors, practical training through internships at the U.S. Department of State and, in cooperation with The Fund for American Studies, academic studies in international affairs at George Mason University, as well as residential housing at George Washington University. The Fellowship provides a $8,695 award to each student that is applied to cover the cost of the summer program.

The Fellowships are open to undergraduate students:

• who have completed their junior year prior to the commencement of their internships.
• who possess a strong interest in pursuing a career in diplomacy/international affairs,
• whose backgrounds reflect a high level of academic excellence and leadership in extra-curricular activities.

Compensation and Benefits

• Tuition paid for two courses, totaling six credit hours at George Mason University
• Eight weeks of paid residential housing on George Washington University’s campus

The Fellowships are available only during summer sessions.

The U.S. Department of State will forward applicants chosen for internships in Washington, D.C., and who have authorized the Department to provide their information to other organizations, to the Council of American Ambassadors for consideration. The Council will invite eligible candidates to apply for the Fellowship and provide the application instructions.

How to Apply

For more information about this program, please visit www.americanambassadors.org. Inquiries may be sent to council@americanambassadors.org.

The Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowships, sponsored by the College of William and Mary, will provide a $5,000 award for two U.S. college students to work in the U.S. embassies in Paris and London and one U.S. college student to work in a component of the Office of the Secretary. The Fellowships are available during summer sessions only.

The U.S. Department of State will forward applicants for internships in London or Paris or in a component of the Office of the Secretary, and who have authorized the Department to provide their information to other organizations, to The Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship Program for consideration.

Eligible candidates will be contacted with instructions on applying for a Harriman Fellowship. The Harriman Board has determined that only undergraduate students entering their junior or senior year and graduating seniors continuing their studies will be considered for a Fellowship.

How to Apply

Inquiries should be sent to: harriman@wm.edu or mailed to:
The Pamela Harriman Foreign Service Fellowship Program
PO Box 8795
The College of William and Mary
Williamsburg, VA 23187

If you are a student with a disability, the U.S. Department of State has opportunities for you. We have partnered with the Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment and Policy, and the U.S. Department of Defense, who administer the Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP), to hire college students with disabilities. The WRP is a recruitment and referral program that connects us to highly motivated postsecondary students and recent graduates with disabilities. We offer paid, full-time summer positions in Washington, D.C.

Eligibility Requirements and How to Apply

To be eligible for the WRP, students must be current, full-time undergraduate or graduate students with a disability, or have graduated within one year of the release of the database each March.

If you are an eligible student, share this information with your school’s disability services or career services coordinator, and ask him or her to contact the WRP Coordinator at wrp@dol.gov. Please understand that we work directly with college coordinators, and cannot respond to inquiries from individual students.