ISW Internship Program Overview

ISW is offering remote, hybrid, and in-person internships for Fall 2022. There is a separate application for the up to $1,000 per month scholarship stipend.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is committed to training the next generation of national security leaders through its innovative educational programs. ISW seeks motivated and experienced college students or recent graduates to join our intern team. ISW offers internships across diverse research portfolios and departments, including Russia, China, Afghanistan, and Iran's proxy networks. ISW also offers internships in National Security Innovation and Emerging Technologies and in non-profit management, including Business Development and Editorial.

Why Work for ISW?

ISW believes that ground realities must drive the formulation of strategy and policy. In pursuit of this principle, ISW conducts detailed open-source intelligence analysis to provide timely and accurate information on current conflicts and security threats directly to policymakers and warfighters.

Interns at ISW have an unparalleled opportunity to analyze conflicts in ways that directly inform policy-makers on some of the most pressing issues facing American national security. Our interns work directly with analysts. They receive classroom education, regular leadership engagement, and a chance to work with cutting-edge technologies employed in business and the intelligence community. Interns have the opportunity to stand at the front lines of military research and policy development, tackling the latest crises in the headlines.

The ISW Internship Program is one of three core education programs housed within The General David H. Petraeus Center for Emerging Leaders, launched to identify, educate, and develop the future cadre of leaders committed to America's national security. ISW views interns as an integral component of its team. ISW has worked with interns to draft, edit, and publish their own research under the mentorship of senior analysts. It has also hired many interns onto its staff.

Editorial and Non-Profit Management Internship: ISW's Operations Team offers a unique opportunity to candidates interested in learning more about non-profit management with an eye towards national security. Interns will hone their skills working on a variety of projects, including assisting in copyediting ISW products. Over the course of their semester, interns will receive guidance from ISW's professional editing staff, gradually expanding their knowledge of written language and sharpening their ability to improve written products. Interns have the opportunity to support the review of graphical products, maps, and podcasts as well as assisting in special projects and company initiatives. Interns will help develop and execute social media campaigns across platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, and more. The internship provides a great opportunity to train alongside a small and flexible management team operating in an engaging and fast-paced working environment. This is a full-time internship (five days per week), but part-time work will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Qualifications

• Candidates must be motivated and organized college students or recent graduates with demonstrated expertise in a related field;
• Candidates must possess excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills;

• Candidates should have experience adhering to a codified writing style guide such as the AP Stylebook, the Chicago Manual of Style, or the American Psychological Association Stylebook;
• Candidates should have experience reviewing the written work of others; this can include peer reviews of papers, work in a college writing center, or other copyediting experience in a professional or academic setting;

• Candidates should be self-motivated, independent, creative, and capable of working in a dynamic and fast-paced environment;
• Candidates must show commitment to-and interest in-the core mission and values of ISW;
• Experience with Adobe products (InDesign, Illustrator) or graphic design services like Canva is a plus.

Fall 2022 Internship Program Dates: ISW internships start September 6, 2022. The program will run until December 16, 2022. Interns must both be authorized to work in the United States and be physically present in the United States during their internship tenure. Working remotely outside of the United States is not authorized.

Instructions: Please upload your resume and cover letter. Please include a writing or editing sample in the same document as your cover letter. If submitting an editing sample, make sure the sample demonstrates the effect of your edits in some manner. Embedded tracked changes work for this purpose as do screenshots of your communications with the writer. You may include full-page screen captures or scans of edited content, but make sure the resolution is high enough for the image to be readable. You may also include a short synopsis explaining how your edits improved the document. Your cover letter and work sample should be no longer than five pages combined; the work sample can be excerpted from a longer paper.

ISW will work with students to gain academic credit for internships where applicable.