Crown Center for Middle East Studies

Internships

The Crown Center has compiled a list of Middle East-related internships, from which students may begin their search for opportunities to enrich their studies at Brandeis. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and the Crown Center has no connections to the institutions listed here. Students should also review the Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies program's page of scholarships, internships, and language study programs for additional opportunities that may be eligible for funding by the Crown Center grant.

• The Middle East Institute — The Middle East Institute offers a small number of research assistant internships with MEI Adjunct Scholars. MEI provides a venue for scholars and senior policy analysts of diverse backgrounds and nationalities to work on contemporary issues regarding the region. 
•  The American Enterprise Institute — The American Enterprise Institute's Summer Honors Program is an intensive, fully funded educational and professional development opportunity in Washington, DC, for top undergraduate students. Participants in the program have the chance to connect with the ideas, research, and network of AEI, one of America's preeminent policy think tanks.
• Arab Center Washington DC — Arab Center Washington DC (ACW) offers internship opportunities for undergraduate students, graduate students or recent graduates. Interns will have the opportunity to contribute to this unique growing think tank and learn through events and research activities related to the Arab world and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
• The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations — The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations' Internship and Summer Scholars Program offers undergraduate and graduate students a 10-week professional, academic and career opportunity internship with an organization from the nation's capital. The program features a demanding mix of professional involvement, intellectual challenge, career exploration and cross-cultural encounters designed to provide students with a rich and varied experience.
• Center for Strategic & International Studies — The Middle East Program takes on full-time, paid interns each spring, summer, and fall. The Middle East Program's analysis focuses on the drivers of change in the region. The Middle East Program will call for summer 2021 intern applications in late March.
• The Brookings Institution — The Brookings Internship program provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students from diverse backgrounds to engage in career exploration and development as well as a chance to learn new skills. The mission of the Internship program is to provide students and recent graduates with a pre-professional, meaningful, and practical work experience related to the student’s field of study or career interest. Interns may work with Brookings’s staff in research areas - Economic Studies, Foreign Policy, Global Economy and Development, Governance Studies, and Metropolitan Policy. Brookings also offers students the opportunity to intern in departments such as communications, human resources and central operations management.
• The Wilson Center —The Middle East Program was launched in February 1998 in light of the increased engagement of the United States in the region and to explore the profound changes the states in the region are experiencing. Rather than spotlighting day-to-day issues, the Program concentrates on long-term developments and how such issues impact stability and growth in the region and its relations with the United States. The Middle East Program's meetings, conferences and reports assess the policy implications of regional developments (political, economic, and social), the Middle East's role in the international arena, American interests in the region, strategic threats to and from the regional states, and the role and future prospects of the region's energy resources.
  
• The Washington Institute for Near East Policy — The Institute's prestigious intern and research assistant programs also provide a pathway for college graduates and graduate students to begin the transformation from young scholar to promising analyst and future policymaker. Since its founding in 1985, The Washington Institute has served as a training ground for future policymakers in both Democratic and Republican administrations. During its quarter-century history, an impressive array of talented scholars has been associated with the Institute.
  
• The Atlantic Council — The Atlantic Council’s Young Global Professionals Program is designed for individuals in their junior or senior years of undergraduate studies or graduate students with a passion for learning and contributing to the Atlantic Council's mission to shape the global future together. This new initiative is designed to provide exceptional young people with in-depth exposure to international affairs and an opportunity to play an active role in shaping real-world solutions to global challenges.
• Project on Middle East Democracy — The Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) offers a number of summer internships in policy (regional, Egypt, Tunisia, Gulf, Turkey), research and communications.
• SETA Foundation Internship (focus on Turkey) — Intern responsibilities include research and administrative assistance for current projects related to Turkish foreign policy and US-Turkey relations. Specific duties include assisting with research, data gathering and analysis, conducting literature review, writing research papers, and public event planning, among other things.
• Council on Foreign Relations Middle East Studies Internship — The intern will have the opportunity to build a base of knowledge about the Middle East and North Africa region through drafting memos and background briefs. Additionally, the intern will improve upon their research, writing, editing, proofreading, organization, and time management skills.
• Council on Foreign Relations Blavatnik Internship Program — Blavatnik interns are recruited year-round on a semester basis for positions in CFR’s New York and Washington, DC, offices. An intern’s duties generally consist of research, editing and writing, event coordination, and/or departmental support. Internships are offered in Digital Content, the Studies Program, Global Communications, Corporate Program, Washington Program, Meetings Program and many more, including Foreign Affairs.
• The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Field Offices) — The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
• Project Nur Outreach Coordinator Internship — An Outreach Coordinator Intern serves as a leader for our Project Nur chapters across the country. In this internship, you will assist Project Nur’s efforts through its wide array of programs to build bridges between communities by promoting understanding, acceptance, and responsible leadership. Project Nur empowers its student leaders to utilize their creativity to implement meaningful initiatives focused on human rights around the world and the United States.
• University of Cairo Post Graduate Internship — Associates spend one year working at AUC. Each associate fulfills a full-time position in an AUC office or department that aligns with their professional and academic interests. Through their work, associates gain substantive skills and professional experience that will contribute to the AUC community and their own professional development. Past associates have utilized the knowledge and networks that they develop during the program to progress their careers and pursue opportunities, including in the fields of government, higher education, academia, journalism and law.
• Project on Middle East Democracy Internship — All interns will have the opportunity to take part in our intern development program, which includes professional development sessions, opportunities to meet with former POMED interns working in the field, roundtables with subject matter experts, and connections with POMED’s international alumni network.
• Middle East Forum Internships — Tasks include research, editorial, writing, web publishing, and fundraising.
• Carnegie Endowment Research Internship — The Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, the Beirut center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, encourages graduate and post-graduate students to apply to be Research Interns in Beirut. Research interns are selected for period of three to six months on a full-time basis. The research interns will assist the Center’s scholars in their research on political, economic, security and education reforms topics related to the MENA region. Interns can expect to benefit directly from working at an international think-tank, with exposure to its inner mechanisms and the opportunity to contribute to our scholars’ work. Successful applicants will also have access to all Carnegie meetings, symposia and other events.
• Wilson Center Internship — Selected candidates to the Middle East Program paid internship will gain hands-on experience at one of the world’s most premier think tanks, as well as exposure to leading international public policy experts and practitioners. Interns will also gain insight into the dynamics and operations of policymaking, the private sector, activism, and academia, as the Middle East Program strives to elevate the voices and experiences of diverse communities in the region. The selection committee prioritizes candidates who have a demonstrated interest or experience in Middle East-related issues and policy, and seek to refine their professional capabilities.
• Inequality.org Next Leader Intern' Institute for Policy Studies — We’re looking for a bright and passionate intern to join our editorial team for the fall of 2023. The Inequality.org intern will work with the managing editor and Global Economy project director to ensure that our website stays up to date with the latest inequality news and analysis.
• CPO Internship (International Peace Institute) — This internship is situated in the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations (CPO), which covers IPI’s work on the full spectrum of peace and security issues, including prevention, mediation, peace operations, peacebuilding and sustaining peace, preventing violent extremism, and UN reform. The intern will report directly to CPO’s Research staff. The successful candidate will work with all members of the CPO team and will interact regularly with other IPI programs. The intern will gain knowledge and skills from on-the-job experience, with the CPO Team providing guidance and feedback to facilitate the learning process.
• Chatham House Internship — Working closely with a host team, you will enjoy dedicated development time and opportunities to improve skills like public speaking and event chairing. Your assigned mentor will support and guide you throughout the internship, suggesting training opportunities and helping you define your professional and career goals.
• Jerusalem Fund Internship Program — For college students in the Washington, DC area, The Jerusalem Fund is currently offering fall internship positions with its educational program, the Palestine Center, for graduate and undergraduate students. These positions are based in our office which is located within walking distance from the U.S. Department of State, the K Street lobbyists’ corridor, Embassy Row, historic Georgetown, and Dupont Circle. The Palestine Center internship program provides students who have an interest in the Middle East, and Palestine in particular, with an opportunity to conduct research, develop writing and organizational skills, build valuable DC contacts, gain hands-on experience, and observe the extensive political and policy-related happenings in the metropolitan DC area. As important members of our team, interns gain valuable exposure to the functions of a highly productive non-profit organization working on issues of national and international significance. Duties will include drafting transcripts of Palestine Center briefings; archiving, cataloguing and digitization; supporting event and organizational planning; conducting research and drafting articles; setting up Palestine Center events; and limited administrative support.
• UNRWA Social Media and Content Internship — The Social Media & Content Intern is a part-time, compensated role that will assist UNRWA USA’s Communications Manager with content development, promotion, and engagement on social media platforms (creating reels for Palestine Grapevine newsletter, Let’s Talk UNRWA and Voices of UNRWA blog) and creating reels to stay up to date with reel/TikTok trends. The intern will also assist with content promotion and audience engagement during UNRWA USA campaigns, virtual events, and in-person event promotion/recap.
• U.S. Senate FRC Chariman Internship — Interns will work with staff teams to provide research, track hearings and legislation, draft memos, and take notes at high-level meetings.
• U.S. Senate FRC Ranking Member Internship — An internship in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Office of Ranking Member James E. Risch offers a variety of opportunities to learn about foreign policy in congress, the legislative and committee process, and the operations of an office on Capitol Hill. Interns are be tasked with helping support office operations and assisting staff in their policy work. Some of these tasks include: attending briefings and writing summaries, daily news clips, research reports on policy and legislative issues, managing office correspondence and legislative documents, preparation of hearing and meeting materials
• World Affairs Council of Philadelphia — Internships with the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia provide college and graduate level students with experience in international affairs student programming, speaker events, travel programming, membership management, and development. Tasks will include (but are not limited to) research, planning and development of programs, events, and tours, on-site assistance for student and public programs, digital communications and social media support, attendance at staff meetings, support for donor and member relations, and other administrative support as needed.
• Religious Freedom Institute Internship — Through the National Center for Religious Freedom Education (NCRFE), the Religious Freedom Institute (RFI) provides an opportunity for emerging leaders to learn, grow, and actively contribute to RFI’s efforts to secure religious freedom for everyone, everywhere.
• Cato Institute Internship Program — The Cato Institute is one of the world’s leading libertarian think tanks and one of the most prominent public policy research organizations in the country. Cato’s prestigious internship program offers interns the opportunity to develop hands‐​on research experience while learning professional skills and building their professional network.
• Middle East Policy Council Programs — The Middle East Policy Council encourages undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of backgrounds - political science, international relations, history, foreign language, regional studies, communications, and more - to apply for our internships. Interns should expect to gain valuable insight into the inner workings of a nonprofit, while fostering informed and productive policy making towards the Middle East.
• CSIS Middle East Program Internship — The CSIS Middle East program is currently seeking candidates for a full-time, paid spring 2024 internship running from January through mid-May. CSIS interns mostly work downtown at our office in DC, but some flexibility is offered to work remotely part of the time. All candidates must be legally eligible to work in the United States.