Virtual Internship and Summer Scholars Program

May 24 – July 30, 2021

The National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations’ 2021 Internship and Summer Scholars Program offers undergraduate and graduate students a ten-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.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the pandemic, the National Council’s 2021 Internship and Summer Scholars Program will be administered virtually.

• Professional work experience: Students are placed with one of over a dozen Near East and Arab region-related organizations with offices in Washington, D.C., where they are expected to work (remotely) 35-40 hours per week under the direct supervision of their host organizations. Internships are unpaid.
• Academic seminars: Students take part in online twice-weekly seminar sessions designed to provide them with greater depth of knowledge about the Arab region, to underscore the cultural, economic, and political diversity of Arab states, and to explore the intricacies of Arab-U.S. relations. There will be a particular emphasis, though not exclusively, on Arabia and the Gulf.
• Site visits: Students receive a virtual behind-the-scenes look at many of the central institutions of federal government, national security policymaking, international diplomacy, and international business.

About the Program

The National Council’s Summer Internship Program offers professional work experiences combined with twice-weekly online evening seminars that bring academic experts and experienced foreign policy practitioners to meet with the interns in candid off-the-record discussions and dynamic question-and-answer sessions. Its objectives are:

1. to provide a realistic work experience, which at present includes remote work, in a Washington, D.C.-based office that will provide pathways for career development;
2. to offer interns exposure to the foreign policy analysis and advocacy processes in the nation’s capital;
3. to incorporate a strong academic component focusing on U.S. political, economic, and cultural relations with Arabia and the Gulf region;
4. to help participants begin the process of career networking by introducing them to working professionals in government, business, journalism, and NGOs; and,
5. to highlight the wide range of career opportunities awaiting those who aspire to work in the field of U.S.-Arab relations, as well as to provide counseling on graduate school and fellowship application processes.

In the event that work experience opportunities are limited, select students may be invited to join the summer program with an academically-oriented project replacing the workplace internship experience.

Continue reading »