Fellowships and internships refer to short-term (typically no more than one year) professional or work opportunities at various organizations or government agencies. They can help Emerging Leaders gain real-world experience in a specific area of focus. 

Check out one of the four types of Fellowship / Internship opportunities:

• Disability / Social Justice
• Health
• Policy
• Research

Disability/Social Justice

• Rockville, MD RespectAbility: The National Leadership Program. The National Leadership Program is for young leaders who are committed to disability issues and plan to go into careers in public policy, advocacy, communications, fundraising, nonprofit management or faith-based inclusion.
• Several locations American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Internships and Fellowship opportunities. The ACLU has evolved in the years since from this small group of idealists into the nation’s premier defender of the rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Health

• Rockville, MD – Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA): Internship opportunities. There are opportunities within the Public Health Program and the Division of Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development.
• Washington, D.C. and several other locations – Administration for Community Living (ACL): Internship Opportunities. ACL’s internships give students the chance to gain valuable professional Federal experience with one of the most comprehensive disability and aging services and research programs in the federal government.

Policy

• Washington, D.C. – American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD): Summer Internship Program. AAPD places college students, graduate students, law students, and recent graduates with all types of disabilities in summer internships with Congressional offices, federal agencies, non-profits, and for-profit organizations in the Washington, DC area.
• Washington, D.C. – American Political Science Association (APSA) Congressional Fellowship Program. The American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship Program is a highly selective, nonpartisan program devoted to expanding knowledge and awareness of Congress.
• Washington, D.C. – American Psychological Association (APA) Congressional Fellowship Program. The purpose of this fellowship is to provide psychologists with an invaluable public policy learning experience, to contribute to the more effective use of psychological knowledge in government and to broaden awareness about the value of psychology-government interaction among psychologists and within the federal government.
• Washington, D.C. – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Health Policy Fellows. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows program provides the nation’s most comprehensive fellowship experience at the nexus of health, science, and policy in Washington, D.C.
• Los Angeles, California. – The Coelho Center Law Fellowship Program. The Coelho Center Law Fellowship was designed to increase the pipeline of disabled law students to go on to sit on the bar and bench.

Research

• Bethesda / Baltimore / Frederick, MD – National Institute of Mental Health: Summer Internship Program. The Summer Internship Program (SIP) in Biomedical Research is open to high school, college and graduate students who are interested in pursuing careers in biomedical research.
• Remote – William T. Grant Foundation: Scholar Awards. The William T. Grant Scholars Program supports career development for promising early-career researchers. The program funds five-year research and mentoring plans that significantly expand junior researchers’ expertise in new disciplines, methods, and content areas. We recognize that early-career researchers are rarely given incentives or support to take such risks, so this award includes a mentoring component, as well as an emphasis on community and collaboration.

Fellowship / Internships

Fellowships provide a more professional and/or academic experience. They are usually paid positions awarded to graduate and post-graduate students.

Internships are about getting work experience, and are great way to learn whether you want to pursue or further explore a specific career path. Internships can either be paid or unpaid, so you will want to read descriptions carefully if this is an important consideration for you.