The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is now soliciting interest for unpaid, part-time Interns in the Bureau of Economics for Fall 2026. This is a great opportunity for rising juniors and seniors with coursework in Economics, Statistics, Data Science, or Computer Science.
Duties
In this role, you will gain real-world experience by working alongside PhD economists to protect consumers and promote competition in the US economy. Interns work with economists to support FTC matters, including:- Providing economic and statistical analysis in support of antitrust investigations, consumer protection cases, and rulemaking.
- Conducting academic research and developing reports on the functioning of markets in the economy.
The ideal candidate for this position has
- A strong interest in and intuition for applied microeconomics.
- Proficiency in programming languages widely used in economics, statistics, and/or data science such as Stata, R, or Python.
- Excitement about conducting data analysis on a wide range of datasets in support of consumer protection and competition missions of the FTC.
- Interest and aptitude in working with PhD economists on economics research projects that serve the mission of the FTC.
- A desire to grow and build on skills in data analysis and microeconomics.
Position details
- All recruitment is for positions starting August/September 2026 for a position overlapping with the academic Fall term, through to the beginning of Winter 2026.
- The job location will be on site at the FTC Headquarters Building in Washington DC.
- Candidates should plan to be on-site part-time at the FTC during the duration of the internship. We are flexible with the exact number of weekly hours; for reference, our former interns have worked between 10-15 hours per week.
How to apply
- Send a resume, cover letter, and unofficial transcript to econ_interns@ftc.gov
- The deadline for applications is 6/14/2026 at 11:59PM EST.
- The position is only available to US Citizens and Nationals.
Tips for the application
Cover letter: A strong cover letter will include the following:
- A discussion of your interest in economics and the FTC.
- Details on your experience with statistics, econometrics, and programming, including through coursework, class projects, employment, or any other experience.
- Details about your interest and experience with economic research, including any noteworthy projects, employment, or oral presentations.
- Details about your interest and experience in public policy, including in any topics related to antitrust or consumer protection, though these are not required.
- Any other relevant experience or interest.
