Internships Outside of Iowa
Many students are interested in interning outside of Iowa, and while this is not limited to the Washington D.C. area, that is often where Political Science/Public Administration students go to experience their internship away from home.
Washington D.C. Opportunities
UNI students have regularly interned at Iowa’s congressional offices in Washington D.C. If this is something that sounds interesting to you, there is often an internship coordinator in each of these offices that you can contact, otherwise Dr. Renfro can help put you in touch with the office that you are interested in.
D.C. internships are not limited to congressional offices. Other governmental departments like the Treasury Department, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Agriculture all have highly professional internship programs. Think tanks, lobbying firms, consulting firms, and media outlets also have internships available.
UNI does not provide housing or transportation for students who travel out-of-state to do their internships, however there is sometimes grant money to help defray costs. Consult the internship advisor about availability. Additionally, UNI has some resources in place to assist students in finding housing.
If you are considering an out-of-state internship you should give yourself plenty to time to prepare in advance. Finding housing takes time. Moving across the country, even if it is temporary is a massive undertaking. Additionally, if your internship is during the school year, you will want to make sure that you are prepared to either not take classes that semester or arrange for online classes or the like.
