<p>First, a bit of background. I'm currently a Freshman Political Science major at Case Western Reserve University (looking to transfer elsewhere), and am looking for an internship this summer.</p>
<p>Location, as long as it is somewhere in the United States, doesn't matter too much. Nor does pay. I'm not in it to make alot of money. I would however like to not lose money doing this, so a small living stipend would be of critical importance if it is more than 30 minutes outside of Grand Rapids, as I expect it will be.</p>
<p>As I'm a political science student that plans to get an MBA and a JD, and perhaps upon retirement serve in the Knesset, I'd like an internship that is political in nature, either with a think tank (ex: Cato Institute, American Enterprise Institute) or politically involved organization (Ex: Zionist Organization of America, CAMERA). Based on the examples I provided, it should be clear that I am looking for something of a conservative/libertarian outlook. I'd especially be interested in something that has to do with Israel and zionism, Islam and Islamofacism, or American constitutional law. </p>
<p>I am trying to put together a list of places to apply in the US, that will offer interesting and meaningful internships with small stipends that consider freshmen. Right now, I plan to apply to:</p>
<p>The Cato Institute
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Zionist Organization of America</p>
<p>One place to check out might be the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy. They do lots of things related to Israel and are quite neoconservative. Also, look at AIPAC (the main pro-Israel lobbying group in the US). You also have the big conservative think tanks: The Heritage Foundation, The American Enterprise Institute, and The Project for a New American Century. These are all in DC. If you want to work for a think tank or political organization, be prepared to lose money. Most of these internships don't come with stipends and living in DC for the summer will probably run you a couple thousand dollars. If you are serious about not losing money, you should look at lobbying and political consulting firms and other for-profit organizations.</p>
<p>AIPAC is too liberal for my taste generally, but I'd certainly consider it, as they do <em>some</em> good work, and also offer paid summer internships (according to their site). Sadly, their site doesn't provide me with too much information.</p>
<p>American Enterprise Institute would be great, but as I see it, has two problems (which is why I used it as an example, but wasn't planning to apply): cost and standing. They provide no money or assistance whatsoever, and generally take rising juniors and seniors.</p>
<p>The second problem also applies to the Heritage Foundation. They expect summer interns to be rising juniors. </p>
<p>As per PNAC, I was unable to find internship information anywhere on their site by way of the search, or through google. So that is unfortunately yet another non-option.</p>
<p>The lobbying and consulting idea is quite a good one. So I'd like to find more in the way of that sort of offering. But I'm generally up for anything that meets the above criteria. As such, please provide me with any more suggestions you might have.</p>
<p>You might want to look into interning at a think-tank in your state so you gain experience (and be somewhat close to home). Those internships tend to be less competitive than ones at a place like Cato. Interning as an aide with your local congressperson wouldn't be a bad idea either. However, you should send out a lot of resumes to a number of places because as a freshmen you will have a harder time getting into the door. Find somewhere to get started and look into the Cato institute after you have some experience (you can also look into a research project on campus if you can find nothing else).</p>
<p>There are also places out west - Hoover Institute (CA), Goldwater Institute (AZ), Claremont (CA). Also, the Ludwig Von Mises place which I think is in Alabama, or the Heartland Institute in Chicago. I myself might be looking for a similar job, so I should probably get on this as well, though I am also looking at the possibility of a Congressional internship or campaign work (though neither of those is likely to be paid). There is also the Young America's Foundation (Santa Barbara and Virginia offices) and the Leadership Institute that pay a small stipend (and I think LI gives you housing too).</p>
<p>I do love the Hoover Institute, but was unable to discover any information about such internship offerings anywhere on their site. The Goldwater Institute wants only older students according to what I read. And the Claremont Institute appears to be in bed with the Discovery Institute, which is pushes intelligent design. So that is a non-option. Leadership Initiative requires that I attend one of their seminars first, which is quite far away, and would therefore cost money without any security. Heartland seems to lack any such offerings, or so their site's search engine would suggest. </p>
<p>I had however forgotten about the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Though I'm having a bit of trouble finding useful information, I know they offer something, and it is certainly an appealing option.</p>
<p>And for the record, especially in cases where it may be relevant, I am not a registered Republican, nor do I plan on becoming one. If I ever do register with a party, it will be the Libertarian Party, until such a time as a better party comes along.</p>
<p>Hey gprime I am also a freshman planning to start looking for internships at a few think tanks and political consulting/lobbying firms.</p>
<p>I'm more of a social liberal and identify more with liberal and centrist think tanks, not really a big fan of PNAC haha but yeah I do find some libertarian economic ideas interesting and have read and viewed and some of the ludwig von mises institutes material.</p>
<p>Their ideas on the federal reserve and monetary policy seem to echo ron paul's monetary policy.</p>
<p>I would say check idealist.org its a great site also use wikipedia for directories or lists of think tanks and firms you think would be interesting and check if they are offering internships for freshman.</p>
<p>Another good resource is the foreign policy associations website, Foreign</a> Policy Association: Homepage they have a job listing with a bunch of internships I have not checked it in months but I plan to soon as I now have some first semester grades to put on a resume.</p>