The Congressional Budget Office’s summer internship program provides an excellent opportunity for students to experience and observe the budget process and policymaking at the federal level. Most of CBO’s employees are in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and the internships will ideally be conducted in a hybrid manner. The summer internship program runs from May 28, 2024, to August 2, 2024; there may be some flexibility in those dates.
Interns contribute to CBO’s work on topics such as the slowdown in Medicare spending, the enrollment of immigrants in federal benefit programs, the availability and use of military aircraft, and financial risk in mortgage programs—as well as to estimating the budgetary costs of legislative proposals. In addition, interns participate in an educational program that includes briefings on CBO’s role in the budget process. Interns also have opportunities for networking with budget and policy professionals. Please see CBO’s page on internships for additional information.
Qualifications
All CBO summer internships require solid writing skills and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Familiarity with computer programming, statistics, econometrics, and other quantitative methods is required. Ideal candidates also have exceptional interpersonal and analytical skills. U.S. citizens are eligible for consideration, as are noncitizens who are permanent residents of the United States and seeking citizenship.
Students must also:
- Be enrolled as a current graduate student, have completed their undergraduate education during the 2023-2024 academic year, or expect to complete their undergraduate education during the 2024-2025 academic year.
- Have an undergraduate major in economics, data science, public policy, mathematics, computer science, or related field or be pursuing graduate study in such a field. (Those pursuing an MBA or JD will not be considered.)
- Be proficient with at least one type of data analysis software, such as SAS, STATA, Python, or R.
Students must submit a cover letter, a résumé, contact information for two references (who may know the applicant either from academic work or from employment), and an unofficial copy of transcripts that include coursework for the spring semester. First-year graduate students must submit both an undergraduate transcript and a graduate transcript. A complete application must be submitted through CBO’s website by April 28, 2024, EST, to be considered; there will be no exceptions.
This position is covered by the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998, as made applicable to CBO by the Congressional Accountability Act, as amended.
Salary and Benefits
The hourly rate ranges from $20 to $35 and will be commensurate with educational attainment and related experience.
Additional Information
Candidates who do not complete their application by the April 28, 2024, deadline will not be considered. Shortly after the deadline, hiring managers will review complete applications to determine whether candidates’ interests, background, and skills would complement the summer projects to be staffed. CBO may contact candidates to determine their interest in the internship and confirm their skills and availability. CBO expects to extend offers by the first week of April. All qualified candidates will be notified when internship positions have been filled, and the internship page of CBO’s website will be updated accordingly.
