The Director’s Internship is a signature program of the IOP. Since 1995, the IOP has partnered with high-profile organizations and elected officials around the world to provide substantive, career-oriented summer internships for undergraduate students interested in politics, government, and public service.
These are fully-funded internships that allow students to gain experience in the public sector that may otherwise be difficult to obtain or finance. Students have reported these internships as leading to careers, larger networks, and significant development of professional skills.
APPLY HERE • GENERAL INFORMATION • REQUIREMENTS • INFO SESSIONS • FAQs 
APPLICATION OPENING: Applications for summer 2023 (Round 3) are due by March 16, 2023 at 11:59pm ET.
ELIGIBILITY: All currently enrolled Harvard undergraduates who intend to be enrolled at Harvard College the fall semester following their internship are eligible. Students who participated in the IOP Summer of Service virtual program during Summer 2021 and 2022 are eligible to apply.
- STUDENTS ON LEAVE: If you are on leave during the Fall or Spring semesters before the internship is to take place, you may be eligible to apply. You will need to petition, and receive approval from, the Administrative Board for approval to use the CARAT Application Portal. Contact your Resident Dean to initiate the petition process as soon as possible.
- FORMER INTERNS: Students who interned with a Director's Internship host organization in summer 2021 and 2022 are eligible to apply for a Director's Internship for summer 2023. To promote equity of opportunity across applicants, students who participated in the Director’s Internship program in summer 2021 and 2022 are not eligible to apply to intern with the same organization. When the application is live, a list of our summer 2023 Director's Internship hosts is available here.
- NOTE: The Hometown Director’s Internship and U.S. Department of State (pre-select) opportunities are both exempt from this rule, and students who held those positions in summer 2021 and 2022 may apply for them again for summer 2023.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: Applicants will be required to submit a resume (one page), statement of interest (one page), and two references. Learn more here.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Round 1: Applications due by Sunday, February 12, 2023 at 11:59pm ET. Students may apply to a maximum of TWO Director’s Internship positions before the February 12th deadline.
Round 2: Applications due by Thursday, March 2, 2023 at 11:59pm ET.
Round 3: Applications due by Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 11:59pm ET.
STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE FINALIST EMAILS BEFORE MARCH 31, 2023.
ALL HOST DECISIONS WILL BE SHARED WITH STUDENTS BEFORE APRIL 16, 2023.
Students are eligible apply to a maximum of TWO Director’s Internship positions for Round 3, regardless of how many applications were previously submitted.
APPLICATIONS ARE STILL OPEN FOR THESE ORGANIZATIONS ONLY THROUGH APRIL 19:
- Bloomberg Harvard Summer Intern - City of Boise | Displacement Data Research and Analysis Intern
- Bloomberg Harvard Summer Intern - City of Boise | Sharing Economy Research Intern
- Bloomberg City of Charleston
- Bloomberg City of Grand Rapids, 311 Customer Service
- Bloomberg City of Grand Rapids, Communications Department
- Bloomberg City of Grand Rapids, Office of Organizational Strategy & Sustainability
- Bloomberg City of Pueblo
- Bloomberg City of Syracuse - Office of Accountability, Performance and Innovation
- Bloomberg Harvard Summer Intern - City of Springfield, IL - Springfield Police Department (SPD)*** Newly added
- Bloomberg Harvard Summer Intern - City of Springfield, IL | Bloomberg Harvard Summer Intern - City of Springfield, IL -The Office of the Mayor’s focus on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization*** Newly added
- Office of Senator Edward J. Markey | Legislative Intern
- Office of Senator Edward J. Markey | Communications Intern
- Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen
PROGRAM PARAMETERS:
-
FORMAT: Please be sure to review each internship description carefully, as there may be particular format requirements for individual internships.
-
PROGRAM DATES: Students who are selected for the IOP Director’s Internship program will receive a $5000/$5500 (in high cost cities) stipend for 10 weeks of full-time work to take place between June 5 and August 11.
-
HOST ORGANIZATIONS: A list of Director’s Internship host organizations is here. Students may apply to a maximum of TWO Director’s Internship positions for the March 16th deadline.
FUNDING POLICY: The IOP and other funding centers at Harvard aim to distribute summer funding across the undergraduate community. Therefore, students who receive an IOP Director's Internship may not accept any additional Harvard funding for their internship. Students are also prohibited from accepting more than one substantial Harvard-funded summer opportunity each summer. In general, substantial experiences are defined as 8 weeks or longer. Students must disclose if they are receiving Harvard funding for any other projects at any point throughout the summer, the amount of the award, and the dates of the other project as soon as possible and no later than June 1 of the year of the award. The IOP reserves the right to modify awards accordingly. Failure to promptly report other Harvard-funded summer activities may be reported to the Administrative Board.
*** For questions about the Director's Internship Program, please email IOP_ICS@hks.harvard.edu ***
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit the following for consideration:
RESUME: 1 page. 1” margins, 11 - 12 point font. You can find resources and templates for resumes here.
STATEMENT OF INTEREST: Write a one-page statement that demonstrates your knowledge of, and interest in, the organization to which you are applying.
- Basics: The statement should be one page in length, single spaced, with Times New Roman, 11 - 12 point font, and submitted in PDF format.
- Tone & Format: The tone and format of your Statement of Interest may vary depending on the organization(s) to which you're applying. The format can range between a college application essay and a traditional cover letter. This range is meant to allow you the freedom to choose what best suits you and fits the organization to which you’re applying. Your Statement of Interest can fall anywhere in that range (i.e. if you'd like to submit a traditional cover letter, you're free to do that).
- Salutation: If you’d like to use a salutation, you can address your Statement to the organization or to some variation of “IOP Director’s Internship Selection Committee.”
REFERENCES: In one PDF document, you will need to provide the following for TWO references: name, title (if applicable), email, phone number(s), and one to two sentences about how you know the reference. You can find a template here. A reference can be anyone you choose - a professor, a coach, a tutor, a boss, etc. Depending on your class year, you may decide to choose someone from your time in high school. Your reference should be able to speak in detail about the positive skills and traits you possess. Please inform your reference that they may be contacted by the Director’s Internship selection committee and/or the host organization during the course of the selection process.
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS: After the IOP application closes on Thursday, March 16 at 11:59 pm ET, some host organizations may request that finalists submit a letter of recommendation, writing sample, or other materials directly to their office. Please review the internship descriptions for the positions to which you are applying to confirm whether additional application materials are required of you AFTER the application deadline. NOTE: You DO NOT need to submit these additional application materials to the IOP application on CARAT.
NOTE: The IOP Director, Executive Director, and the Internships and Career Services program staff are not able to serve as references for the Director's Internship application.
Looking Back
Summer 2020
In light of Harvard University’s guidance regarding COVID-19, all summer 2020 IOP internships were conducted remotely. Meet the students in our Summer of Service cohort who participated in virtual internships in politics and public service.
Summer 2019
In the summer of 2019, the IOP offered 125 Director’s Internships.
Reflections from 2019 Director's Interns
Hosting a Director's Intern
The IOP partners with high-profile organizations and elected officials around the world to provide substantive, career-oriented summer internships for undergraduates students interested in politics, government, and public service. These opportunities are fully-funded by the IOP, and interns are responsible for completing 10 weeks of full-time work.
The IOP welcomes inquries from organizations interested in learning more about the program; please email IOP_ICS@hks.harvard.edu.
For questions about the Director's Internship Program, please email IOP_ICS@hks.harvard.edu