The Congressional Budget Office’s summer internships for graduate students provide excellent opportunities to experience and observe the budget process and policymaking at the federal level. The internships are located in Washington, D.C. Interns contribute to CBO’s work in areas such as budget and tax policy, health care, national defense, the environment, education, retirement assistance, other income assistance, regulation, and public investment. In addition, interns participate in an educational program that includes briefings on CBO’s role in the budget process. Interns may also participate in seminars such as the Congressional Summer Intern Lecture Series, which has featured Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and journalist Cokie Roberts. Please see CBO’s page on internships for additional information.
Students must be pursuing graduate academic programs in economics, public policy, health policy, financial management, mathematics, statistics, or a related field. We are unable to consider undergraduate students for the Summer Internship Program.
All CBO summer internships require solid writing skills and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Familiarity with computer programming, statistics, econometrics, and other quantitative methods is desirable. Ideal candidates also have exceptional interpersonal and analytical skills.
Students must submit a cover letter, résumé, contact information for two references (who may know the applicant either from academic work or from employment), and an unofficial copy of transcripts that includes coursework for the spring semester. First-year graduate students must submit both an undergraduate transcript and a graduate transcript. A complete application must be submitted through CBO’s website by February 28, 2019, EST to be considered; there will be no exceptions.
The hourly rate ranges from $18 to $30 and will be commensurate with educational attainment and related experience. Housing and relocation expenses are not provided, but CBO’s interns are eligible for a local transportation subsidy of up to $265 per month.
Candidates who do not complete their application by the February 28, 2019, deadline will not be considered. Complete applications submitted by the deadline will be forwarded to hiring managers after the deadline. Candidates may be contacted so that we may determine their interest in the internship project and confirm their skills and availability. We expect to extend all offers by April 5, 2019. When all internship positions have been filled, we will update the internship page of CBO’s website, and we will email all qualified candidates to whom we are unable to offer an internship.
The Summer Internship Program runs between May 28, 2019 – August 2, 2019; there may be some flexibility in those dates.
CBO may only consider US citizens or noncitizens who are permanent residents of the US seeking citizenship.
This position has been posted on Handshake but any assistance you can provide to encourage graduate students, especially those studying for their doctorate, would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Annita Gulati Cox, PHR, SHRM-CP
Human Resources
careers@cbo.gov
