Summer 2021 Research Assistant Internship

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is looking for qualified students (advanced undergraduate or graduate) interested in being part-time research assistant interns in the Summer 2021 semester. An intern typically works 12-15 hours a week per scholar (the number of hours can be adjusted accordingly to fulfill academic requirements).

In support of the scholars, scholar interns spend much of their time searching for information using online academic databases or other publications. Other duties also include proofreading, editing, critiquing, checking references, compiling bibliographies, writing literature reviews, summarizing research materials, locating inter-library loan materials, and helping with software or presentations. There may be some administrative tasks involved like copying or filing, but such tasks will be limited. Consequently, a strong sense of responsibility and the ability to work with minimum supervision are strong assets. Foreign language skills are sometimes useful but are not required.

In addition, this program seeks to further the agency’s mission by providing the recipient with an introduction to the relationship between the world of learning and the world of public affairs. The recipients, as future scholars and/or leaders, will be afforded the opportunity to experience first-hand the importance of engaging academics and public servants toward a common purpose. It is hoped that these opportunities to work with distinguished scholars and practitioners will add a valuable practicum experience to one’s classroom training. 

The priority deadline to apply is March 31st, 2021. However, internship positions are open until filled, so it is strongly encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Please find below a tentative list of scholars needing assistant for the Summer 2021 semester:

 

Lawrence Altman, Medical Writer and “The Doctor’s World” Columnist, New York Times. “Reporting on the Health of Presidents and other Political Leaders.”

Nicola Casarini, Senior Research Fellow, Instituto Affari Internazionali, Italy. “US and EU Perspectives on China’s Trade, Financial and Monetary Power: Towards a Common Transatlantic Approach or Divergence?” (Chinese)

Haleh Esfandiari, Former Director, Middle East Program. Writing a book about women in Qajar, Iran during the nineteenth century. (Persian)

Kent Hughes, Former Director, Program on America and the Global Economy, Woodrow Wilson Center. Working on a research project about labor force development in the Middle East. (Mandarin Chinese, Arabic)

 

Bradley Jardine, Schwarzman Scholar, Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. “Containing Afghanistan: Central Asia’s Growing Sino-Russian Security Nexus.” (Mandarin Chinese)

 

Dalia Dassa Kaye, Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation. “The Making of U.S. Iran Policy: The Construction of Iran as an Abnormal State and its Consequences for American Foreign Policy.”

 

Conor McGlynn, Schwarzman Scholar. “China's Rise in International Standard Setting for High Technology.”

 

Ricardo Mora-Tellez, Professor of Social Science, Princeton University. “Is the Decline of Unauthorized Mexican Immigrants the Result of Worse Employment Prospects as a Consequence of the U.S. Recession or More Permanent Changes in the Mexican Economy and Demographics?”

Sergey Radchenko, Professor of International Politics, Cardiff University. “The First Fiddle: A History of the Cold War and After.”

 

Darren Touch, Schwarzman Scholar. “Middle Powers Navigating Great Power Rivalry.”

 

Earl Anthony Wayne, Former Career Ambassador to Afghanistan, Argentina, and Mexico, U.S. Department of State. “Deepening North American Economic Integration.” (Spanish)

 

Robin Wright, Former Washington Post Journalist and Joint Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace and Woodrow Wilson Center. “The Middle East at a Crossroads—from North Africa to the Persian Gulf.” (Arabic or Persian)

The following reading and writing foreign language skills are useful and applicants should indicate their level of proficiency on the application form:

 Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Persian, Russian, Spanish, Japanese

 

The WWICS Internship Application Form and detailed instructions can be found at:

The application materials consist of:

 

Please submit your application materials in ONE COMPLETE PDF (with file named as Last Name, First Initial_RA Application) via email to Elinor Harty at internships@wilsoncenter.org. Applications that do not follow these instructions will not be considered.

 

Website: www.wilsoncenter.org/internships