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NOTE: Deadlines for summer internships in the Intelligence Community are in the fall (October and November) for the following summer.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR CURRENT STUDENTS
The members of the Intelligence Community (IC) offer high school and college students a variety of temporary employment opportunities, including paid internships and co-operative education programs. Such programs allow interested students to experience first-hand what it is like to work in the IC and if it is a “fit” for them. At the same time, the IC agency is able to evaluate the students’ work performance and consider them for permanent employment upon graduation.
In addition, many IC agencies offer scholarships or fellowships, some of which provide a salary and full government benefits as well as tuition and other educational expenses. Interested students should consult the Student/Special Programs web page at the various agencies to learn exactly what programs each offers.
TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
You can contribute to the work of the nation before you graduate as most of the IC components offer summer internship programs and some offer internships during the academic year.Some of the IC components also offer co-operative education programs which are formal programs linking a student’s major with relevant work experience. Most of the co-op programs are for college level students, however the National Security Agency does have a high school co-op program. Interns and co-op students engage in substantive and meaningful work assignments, while earning a competitive hourly wage and gaining valuable practical experience. Competitive is particularly keen for these programs with application deadlines six to nine months in advance of the period in which you wish to work.Applicants are expected to meet the same employment standards as permanent employees.Applicants must be U.S. citizens and should have a strong academic record (GPA of 3.0 or better). Foreign language skills, previous study or residency abroad and military service are pluses. Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills are essential.Some agencies require medical examinations and/or polygraph examinations as well as a background investigation. Some agencies also offer unpaid internships.
SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMS:
Most members of the IC are participating in the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program (PRISP) to recruit and train analysts and linguists. The program is decentralized and demand-driven and allows each IC component to tailor its PRISP program to meet its critical needs.Many agencie are focusing on critical language or scientific skills. PRISP funding can be used to pay for hiring incentives, including reimbursement for previous educational expenses, or to provide additional education or training for those selected for the program.There is a service obligation of 18 months in an analytic or linguistic position in the IC.
Prospective PRISP applicants should consult the website of the various IC components for specifics on that component’s program. Each participating IC component will advertise their program and is responsible for identifying their critical skills and recruiting, selecting, processing and placing chosen candidates in suitable positions or in additional education or training programs.
Currently, CIA, DIA, and NSA participate in the Undergraduate Training Program, also known as the Stokes Program. This program targets high potential high school seniors and high performing college sophomores majoring in areas critical to the needs of the participating agencies. If selected for the program, students receive a government salary and full benefits as well as tuition and other educational expenses.The service obligation for this program is one and one-half times the length of the funded educational program.
The National Security Agency also has several other scholarship and fellowship programs.Additional information can be found at http://nsa.gov/careers/students.cfm.
The Defense Intelligence Agency sponsors the National Consortium for MASINT Research (NMCR) Scholars Program which provides scholarship funding for students attending consortium universities.
The intelligence agencies who are part of the Department of Defense also participate in some specialized scholarship programs such as the Information Assurance Scholarship Program for students at NSA-designated Centers of Academic Excellence (http://www.nsa.gov/isso/programs/nietp/index.html) and the NDEA/SMART Scholarship Program for math, science, engineering, and other critically needed technical skills (http://www.asee.org/fellowships/SMART).
The military services offer a number of scholarships and fellowships, including ROTC programs, some of which may apply to the service’s intelligence component. Consult the web site of each service for additional information.
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