We offer fall, spring, and summer internships. General timelines are listed below. Each of the three internship semesters corresponds to the most widely-used academic calendar for college and university students, however; we are able to work with those on quarterly systems as well.

• Spring: Application now closed. Internship applications will be available in October 2024.
• Summer: Application now closed. Internship applications will be available in February 2025.
• Fall: Internship applications will be available in June 2024.

Our internship program currently accepts in-person and remote applicants. Our office is in Washington, DC, and in-person interns will need to be able to get to our office and provide their own accommodations. Remote interns can be from anywhere located in the United States.

Our internship program is 12 weeks during the Spring and Fall semesters and 10 weeks during the Summer semester.

Yes, our internships are paid. Full-time interns work 30-37.5 hours and receive $6,000 for the 12-week semester ($5000 for the 10-week Summer semester). Part-time interns work 15-25 hours and receive $3000 for the 12-week semester ($2500 for the 10-week Summer semester).

Interns at the Human Rights Campaign are encouraged to apply for full-time jobs as they become available, and many of our staff members are former interns. Our internship program, however, does not in any way guarantee employment after the completion of an intern’s semester.

Our Internship Application is a general internship application. HRC's Internship Committee reviews all applications. If selected for an interview, you will interview for a general internship position with the Human Rights Campaign. If selected for a second interview, we will evaluate your skills, experience, and interests, and place you with a best-fit team based on the department internships we have available. You will be given the opportunity to express your department & team preferences in the application and during the first interview, but we cannot guarantee department placement based on interest. The second interview will be conducted by the team that we have deemed to be your best fit. That team will make the final hiring decision.

We recommend reading all team descriptions and selecting a variety of teams. We cannot guarantee placement to a specific team and often place great candidates on teams they thrive on but didn't express interest in on the application.

Interns in each department or program undertake different tasks, so each internship requires a different level of skills, demonstrated interests, and prior experience. In general, we look for demonstrated interest and enthusiasm in the role of policy and advocacy around LGBTQ+ issues; the ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment; and experience with Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, and Outlook). Some teams, such as Video or Graphic Design, look for specific skills like Photoshop or video editing.

As long as you meet the basic eligibility above, you are qualified for an HRC internship.

Qualified international students have participated in the HRC Internship program. Non-U.S. citizens must have a valid student visa, green card, or other work authorization that permits them to work in the United States and are considered as a US person under IRS tax code. HRC is unable to offer assistance with obtaining a student visa – if you already have one you are welcome to apply. We generally do not accept applications that are facilitated by 3rd party groups, preferring that interns apply directly using our online application

The eligibility requirement of being located in the US during the internship semester does disqualify students living in other countries or those completing a study abroad program.

We require a resume, responses to essay questions instead of a cover letter, and email contact information for two references in the internship application.

We recommend focusing on the essay questions and writing good essays for each question. The essays are your chance to express yourself, your interest in LGBTQ+ civil rights and tell us about your commitment and connection to the LGBTQ+ community.

We realize that this is many of our applicants' first internship and that many have never created a resume before. You can use this website to help you with the template if need be. (Information provided as a courtesy and not an indication of endorsement)
https://www.resume.com/

We encourage your references to be supervisors, professors, or colleagues. Please avoid using friends or family members. We do not accept letters of recommendation from references at this time.

If your question is not answered above, please email intern@hrc.org.