Summer Undergraduate Fellowship
OVERVIEW
The Cicero Institute seeks talented undergraduate and non-traditional students to experience practical policy development by joining our research team for a summer in Austin, Texas. Summer fellows will identify a system-level social and/or public problem related to Cicero’s issue areas and develop a policy response. They will achieve this while immersed in our entrepreneurial culture in tandem with other projects that advance Cicero’s goals. Interns will gain professional development under the mentorship of our experienced policy team. Applications for the internship will be considered on a rolling basis through March 1, 2025.
REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must be:
- A high school graduate, not currently enrolled in a graduate program, and not the recipient of a graduate degree;
- Willing to relocate to Austin for the duration of the summer program;
- Ideologically aligned with the mission of the Cicero Institute;
- A strong writer and oral communicator;
- Intellectually curious;
- Self-driven and entrepreneurial;
- Organized and able to manage multiple tasks;
- Detail-oriented; and
- Genuinely enthusiastic to learn about public policy.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Interns will be expected to:
- Work approximately 8 hours per day, Monday through Thursday, in our Austin office;
- Support the Cicero Institute’s policy development through research, drafting, editing, and more at the direction of Cicero staff and under the supervision of the Internship Directors;
- Collaborate with the Cicero Institute’s staff to identify a system-level social and/or public sector problem and develop a policy response;
- Present the aforementioned identified problem and policy response for feedback once a month in all-team policy lunches;
- Attend weekly individual check-ins with the Internship Directors to receive support and discuss progress with the understanding that the Internship Directors will create tailored assignments to interns’ interests, providing broad exposure to policy verticals, and ensure all staff requests are completed in a timely manner;
- Attend bi-weekly cohort check-ins to share and present work, collaborate on projects, and gain familiarity with research across all policy verticals; and
- Write posts for Cicero staff to share upon completion of major assignments.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Professional development opportunities for summer interns will include:
- Professional development events with Cicero staff and guest speakers, to include advice for navigating a career in public policy and exposure to top innovators in the Cicero network;
- Publication of an opinion piece on the Cicero Institute’s website or in an external publication under guidance from the policy area lead, communications and media lead, and the Internship Directors;
- Individual writing workshopping with the communications and media staff and/or Internship Directors;
- Causal inference literacy and data workshop;
- A resume workshop;
- Alerts of events with other Austin-based policy organizations over the summer;
- One-on-one career advising from a Cicero staff mentor; and
- An exit interview with personalized professional development advice.
PROGRAM DATES
June 9, 2025 through August 11, 2025
Company Holidays:
June 19, 2025 for Juneteenth
July 3-4, 2025 for Independence Day
COMPENSATION
Interns will receive a $675 weekly stipend for 9 weeks.
TO APPLY
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis through March 1, 2025.
ABOUT THE CICERO INSTITUTE
The Cicero Institute is a nonpartisan group of policy innovators with deep experience in government, legislating, research, technology, and entrepreneurship. Together, we incubate, develop, and fight for policies that apply the principles of a free society and solve problems at the state level, impacting millions of Americans.
Just like the policies we advocate, we value experimentation, iteration, and honest assessment.
ALUMNI TESTIMONIALS
“Cicero is the perfect place for any student from any background to learn how to think, approach problems, and make a genuine impact at a very young stage in their career. There is no other institution that will give young minds an opportunity like this.”
—Shehryar Jafry, Summer 2022 Fellow
“I will be forever thankful to the Cicero Institute for this opportunity. I learned how to navigate policy research, formulation, pitching, and finalizing. I reinforced my writing skills, expanded my professional network, and met lifelong friends and mentors.”
—Jakob Dupuis, Summer 2022 Fellow
“What makes Cicero stand out from other undergraduate internships or fellowships is the degree of liberty and exposure they give you. You have the freedom to choose which departments and scholars to work with, and the work is not watered down. With practice, you quickly graduate to higher-level work. At Cicero, I was able to co-create a healthcare policy and publish two op-eds on it. In no other internships I’ve considered would I be able to do anything near that!”
—Kate Farmer, Summer 2022 Fellow
“Cicero provides enough structure and guidance to introduce fellows to the public policy world. This is balanced by immense freedom and trust to do original work. Everyone was supportive and genuinely excited to share their ideas with us and hear our own thoughts.”
—Anthony Perez, Summer 2022 Fellow
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