U.S. Department of State Summer 2018 Internships Worldwide - Application deadline Oct. 5
Applications for Summer 2018 Internships with the U.S. Department of State are now being accepted. This year’s deadline to submit applications for assignments worldwide is Thursday, October 5, 2017.
Current
UCLA students who will graduate Fall 2018 or later may apply for
exciting, substantive assignments at many of the 294 U.S. Embassies,
Consulates and Missions abroad.
About half of State Department internships are based in Washington,
D.C., and a few are offered in New York City and other U.S. cities.
Department of State welcomes current undergrads and grad students from
every UCLA major to apply. The following link features
a helpful resource that invites candidates to search relevant offices
and positions based on their field of study:
https://careers.state.gov/intern/student-internships/which-office-is-right-for-you/.
The
State Department Internship application is notably detailed, and each
candidate’s personal statement is one of the deciding factors in
advancing to the interview stage.
In addition, this year’s deadline falls ten days earlier than 2017.
So, all interested Bruins are encouraged to start their applications as
soon as possible.
The
attached Candidate Tip Sheet was prepared for the 2017 Department of
State internship program. Note that application requirements and
questions may be updated for each
recruitment season. So, please read all 2018 application materials
carefully. Make sure to submit all information and documents requested,
and ask a friend to help you proofread thoroughly.
(Please email us at internships@career.ucla.edu if the Tip Sheet is not attached to this message).
The
Department of State internships offer an unmatched career experience
for Bruins from all majors who have an interest in foreign affairs and
public policy as well as science,
engineering, the arts, and other specialized fields. Candidates with
foreign language skills are always in demand. Although internships are
unpaid, assistance in housing arrangements may be provided by the
Department of State for some locations. Accepted
State Department interns may also be eligible for partial scholarship
funding through UCLA Career Center
(subject to qualifications and available funding).
Interested
and ready to apply? For further motivation, the following link features
a brief interview of UCLA Alumna and previous Department of State
intern Ana Karina Palacio.
Ms. Palacio interned in New York City at the U.S. Mission to the United
Nations:
https://www.facebook.com/hireUCLA/videos/1490657810984265/
When
you decide to apply, submit your application, interview, or accept a
Department of State internship, UCLA Career Center appreciates you
sending an email update to our
team at internships@career.ucla.edu.
Please note your major, class year, and the State Department
location/office you chose. We also welcome your questions; but, the
most detailed and current information is
provided on the Department of State website.
The
following announcement from Department of State also includes all links
you’ll need to research internships and apply. Or, just go to the main
Department of State Internship Page
to get started.
Best wishes from your UCLA Career Center Team, and Go Bruins!
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U.S. Department of State
Student Internship
Program for Summer 2017
Tips for Navigating the
Application and Preparing a Competitive Application
Step 1: The Basics
In order to apply for
the U.S. Department of State Student Internship Program, you must:
Have created a resume using the usajobs.gov resume
builder. Make it as long as you like; no
need to limit it to a single page.
Have an unofficial copy of your transcript ready
to upload.
Step 2: Read the Announcement and Brochure Thoroughly
Read the announcement carefully
from beginning to end. You can access it
at this website:
Download the brochure
and review it, bearing in mind that that some of placement options may not be
available for a particular season
If you have a smart
phone, download our app “DOSInterns”.
Step 3: Understand the Structure of the Application
The application consists
of two parts.
Part one consists of
some general questions; part two focuses on the internship position.
One somewhat confusing
aspect of part two is that it consists of a 28 primary questions, along with a
number of “branched questions” that you may or may not be asked to answer
depending on your answers to the primary questions.
The “branched questions”
are only presented, however, after you have answered “Yes” to question 28,
certifying that “all the information provided in this application is true,
correct, complete and made in good faith.”
To understand how this works, you may wish.to preview the questions in
part two, which you can do either by clicking on the plus sign (+) next to the
words “How to Apply” on the announcement and then clicking on the words
“Preview the questions” at the bottom of the page that appears or simply clicking
on:
Step 4: Selecting a First and Second Choice for
Placement
The key feature of our Student Internship Program is that the applicant directs the process by
selecting a first and second choice for placement from a list of 40 bureaus
and offices within the U.S. Department of State:
- A Bureau of Administration
- AF Bureau of African Affairs
- AVC Arms Control, Verification,
and Compliance
- CA Bureau of Consular Affairs
- CGFS The Bureau of the
Comptroller and Financial Services
- CSO Bureau of Conflict and
Stabilization Operations
- DRL Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights and Labor
- DS Bureau of Diplomatic
Security
- EAP Bureau of East Asian and
Pacific Affairs
- EB Bureau of Economic and
Business Affairs
- ECA Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs
- eDIP Office of eDiplomacy
- ENR Bureau for Energy Resources
- EUR Bureau of European Affairs
- FSI Foreign Service Institute
- H Bureau of Legislative Affairs
- HR Bureau of Human Resources
- IIP Bureau of International
Information Programs
- IJC International Joint
Commission
- INL Bureau of International
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
- INR Bureau of Intelligence and
Research
- IO Bureau of International
Organization Affairs
- IRM Bureau of Information
Resource Management
- ISN Bureau of International
Security and Nonproliferation
- M/OFM Office of Foreign
Missions
- NEA Bureau of Near Eastern
Affairs
- OBO Bureau of Overseas Building
Operations
- OES Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
- OIG Office of the Inspector
General
- PA Bureau of Public Affairs
- PM Bureau of Political-Military
Affairs
- PRM Bureau of Population,
Refugees, and Migration
- R Office of the Under Secretary
for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
- S Office of the Secretary
- S/CPR Office of the Chief of
Protocol
- SCA Bureau of South and Central
Asian Affairs
- STAS Office of Science and
Technology Adviser to the Secretary
- USUN United States Mission to
the United Nations
- WHA Bureau of Western
Hemisphere Affairs
- WHA/USOAS U.S.
Mission to the Organization of American States
Step 5: Some of the 40 Options Lead to Other Choices
Applicants who choose any of these 21 bureaus as their first or second
choice for placement will be presented with a branched question after answering
question 28 at the end of the application in which they are asked to choose a
particular office or country for possible placement:
- A Bureau of Administration
- AF Bureau of African Affairs
- CA Bureau of Consular Affairs
- CGFS The Bureau of the
Comptroller and Financial Services
- DS Bureau of Diplomatic
Security
- EAP Bureau of East Asian and
Pacific Affairs
- ECA Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs
- EUR Bureau of European Affairs
- FSI Foreign Service Institute
- HR Bureau of Human Resources
- IO Bureau of International
Organization Affairs
- M/OFM Office of Foreign
Missions
- NEA Bureau of Near Eastern
Affairs
- OBO Bureau of Overseas Building
Operations
- OES Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
- PA Bureau of Public Affairs
- R Office of the Under Secretary
for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
- S Office of the Secretary
- SCA Bureau of South and Central
Asian Affairs
- USUN United States Mission to
the United Nations
- WHA Bureau of Western
Hemisphere Affairs
For example, applicants
who chooses the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) will be asked:
18.1 Please indicate the Foreign Service
Institute office you are interested in as your first choice.
- FSI/FO Director’s Office (260100)
- FSI/EX Office of the Executive Director (260200)
- FSI/LMS Leadership and Management School (260400)
- FSI/SAIT School of Applied Information Technology
(260500)
- FSI/SLS School of Language Studies (260600)
- FSI/SPAS School of Professional and Area Studies
(260300)
- FSI/TC Transition Center (260700)
Applicants who choose
the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs (EUR) will be asked to specify placement
in Washington, DC, or at one of more than 42 overseas locations.
Per Step 3, you can the preview
the options for the bureau(s)/office(s) you are interested in at:
Step 6: Narrowing Your Options by Location
Depending on which
locations an applicant is interested in, the choice of bureaus/office can be
broader or narrower:
·
Those interested in a
placement in Washington, DC may choose any of the 40 bureaus/offices other than
USUN.
·
Applicants interested in
a placement at a U.S. embassy or other overseas diplomatic facility must select
AF, EAP, EUR, IO, NEA, SCA, or WHA as one of their choices
·
Applicants interested in
a placement in New York City must select DS, ECA, M/OFM, PA, or USUN as one of
their two choices.
·
Applicants interested in
a placement in a U.S. city other than New York City or Washington must selected
DS or M/OFM as one of their two choices.
Step 7: Narrowing Your Options by Interests or
Academic Major
Applicants may be able
to determine whether a bureau is a good fit for their academic major and/or
interests by using the feature “Which Bureau is Right for You?”:
To explain how this works:
·
The default setting is “All”
– meaning that all bureaus/offices are visible. Click on the plus sign (+) to
read the description of a particular bureau/office and see if it interests you
·
Alternatively, you can
use the drop down menu to choose a particular major, for example “European
Studies” – in which case you will see that nine bureaus/offices have indicated
an interest in students with that major. If a particular major is not listed, you may
need to be a bit creative. For example,
since “Sustainability” is not one of the majors listed, you might instead
choose “Environmental Studies” – in which case you will see that nine bureaus/offices
have indicated that they are interested in students with that major.
·
Some bureaus/offices
have indicated that they are interested in students in “any” major. If you chose “Any Major” from the drop-down
menu, you will see that 21 bureaus/offices fall into that category.
·
Bureaus/offices listed
in “Which Bureau Is Right for You?” which are not accepting interns for Summer
2018 are NOT listed in the application:
Step 7: (continued)
·
Some bureaus/offices
listed in “Which Bureau is Right for You?” are as listed an option under one of
the 40 primary bureaus/offices in the application. Applicants interested in these particular
offices must first choose the primary bureau/office, then choose the particular
office in response to a follow-on question:
Listed as an option under HR Bureau of Human
Resources in the application:
FLO
Family Liaison Office
Listed an option under A Bureau of
Administration in the application:
M/FA
Fine Arts
Listed an option under R U/S for Public
Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Policy,
Planning, and Resources for PD and PA (R/PPR)
Listed as an option under S Office of the
Secretary
Office of the U/S for Civilian
Security, Democracy and Human Rights (J)
Management Policy,
Rightsizing, and Innovation (M/PRI)
Office of the Under
Secretary for Political Affairs (P)
Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (S/GAC)
Office of Civil Rights (S/OCR)
Policy Planning Staff (S/P)
Arms Control and International Security Affairs
(T)
·
Two bureaus/offices
listed in “Which Bureau is Right for You?” are listed with a different
abbreviation in the application:
Office of eDiplomacy
(IRM/EDIP) listed as eDIP in the application
Office of Foreign
Missions (DC/OFM) listed as M/OFM in the application
·
A description for one option
in the application, the International Joint Commission, is included in “Which
Bureau is Right for You?” For
information about this organization, see:
http://www.ijc.org/en_/
Step 8: Learn More About the Domestic Bureau/Office
or Overseas Diplomatic Facility Where You Might Be Placed
If a placement in
Washington or other U.S. domestic location is of interest, learn more about the
bureaus and offices you are interested in by going to the following website,
which contains an “Alphabetical Listing of Bureaus and Offices” with links to
the webpages of the various bureaus and offices that make up the U.S.
Department of State:
If you are interested in
an overseas placement, go to the following website, which contains links to
“U.S. Embassies and Other Posts”:
Step 8: (continued)
If you are interested in
going to Europe, for example, you should click on the area marked
“Europe-Eurasia” on the map, which will take you to this page:
An “embassy” is always
in the capital of a country, for example Paris in the case of France. Other diplomatic facilities including
“missions” to international organizations, for example the U.S. missions to
UNESCO and the OECD in Paris. Other diplomatic
facilities in France are located in Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseilles, Rennes,
Strasbourg, and Toulouse. In terms of
how the application works, an applicant who chooses “EUR” as a first or second
choice and then “FRANCE” in response to the follow-on question would be
considered for all of these options.
Step 9: Preparing a Competitive Application
Two of the most
important pieces of the application are your responses to questions 18 and 26:
18 List any special skills (e.g. computer),
experiences, current licenses, honors, awards, special accomplishments, and/or
training (with date completed) relating to the position for which you are
applying. Maximum length of 1000 characters.
26 Now we are going to ask you to include a
one-page Statement of Interest that describes your objectives and motivation in
seeking an internship. As bureau representatives use this statement in making
their selections, you should use the statement to explain how your academic
courses and other personal experiences relate to the bureau(s) or office(s) to
which you are applying. Please use this opportunity to tell us about any
specific disadvantages you may have overcome. Please include your statement of
interest below. (You may copy or cut and paste your statement from a word
document.) Maximum length of 2500 characters. Answer to this question is
required
Bearing in mind that
your potential supervisor will compare your answers to those of other
applicants in order to determine who can become an effective member of the
staff:
In your response to question 18, ask yourself
you have provided enough information to enable your potential supervisor to
determine whether you have the necessary skills to become a productive member
of the staff of the office, for instance not providing a list of computer
application, but providing an example of how you have used that knowledge.
In your response to question 26, ask yourself
whether you have only discussed what you hope to get out of the experience,
rather than a) your understanding of the mission of the
embassy/mission/bureau/offices to which you have applied and b) how you can
contribute to those goals. Many
statements of ignore the latter two points and focus only on what applicant
hope to gain from the experience rather than what they can contribute.
Step 10: Submit your application before the deadline,
review it, and revise if necessary
You have until 11:59
p.m. eastern time Thursday, October 5, to complete your application.
Bear in mind that it is
possible to correct, change, or update your application up to the deadline. Rather than wait until the last minute, it is
recommended instead that you:
·
Complete your
application before the deadline.
·
Follow all instructions,
including uploading your transcript.
·
Save a copy of your
application as a pdf and your Statement of Interest as a Word document.
·
Print out a copy of your
application, review it for errors, and have someone whose opinion you value
review it as well.
·
Make any needed
corrections or updates (you can even change your mind about which bureau/office
to apply to) prior to the deadline.
Step 11: What Happens Next
·
After the October 5 deadline
has passed, the Office of Student Programs reviews the applications,
eliminating those that do not meet the minimum qualifications, for example failing to include a transcript or indicating
that the applicant is a not a current student who is planning on continuing
their studies in Fall 2018 after finishing the internship.
·
In November the
applications are distributed to the intern coordinators for each bureau, who in
turn distribute them to the various offices within that bureau or the various
sections that make up a particular embassy or mission.
·
Applicants may be
contacted for an interview.
·
In late November or
early December, bureaus inform the Office of Student Programs of their
selections.
·
In early January, the
Office of Student Programs informs students whether or not they have been selected
and provides instructions to those who have been chosen either as primary or
alternate selectees of next steps, including the security clearance process.
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