Donate to the Internship Program
Currently accepting applications for fall 2011 and spring 2012 internships, including a paid development internship and paid communication internship.
Send questions to henchman [at] taxfoundation.org. No phone calls please.
Note: Second-year, third-year, and part-time law students should apply for our clerkship program. First-year law students are welcome to apply for our summer internship program.
About the Tax Foundation
Since its founding in 1937, the Tax Foundation has been looked to for non-partisan and principled research and analysis of tax issues at all levels of government. Best known for our annual calculation of "Tax Freedom Day," we work to raise economic awareness among taxpayers, lawmakers, and media.
While there are a number of Washington, D.C.-based public policy groups today that cover a broad range of policy issues, only the Tax Foundation provides a principled voice on the impact of tax and fiscal policy at the federal, state, and local levels.
About Our Internship Program
We offer a unique internship program designed to introduce undergraduate and graduate students to tax policy principles, and apply them in assessing and advancing public policy.Working directly with our staff in various areas of tax policy, interns gain valuable professional experience and learn about all aspects of our operation.
While data entry and routine tasks are part of the internship, the majority of the work is substantive. Interns are afforded flexibility to attend events, lectures, and seminars around Washington, D.C. As a non-partisan research institution, we encourage interns to develop a broad sense of our principles and find innovative ways to contribute to our mission.
The Tax Foundation is happy to work with outside fellowship programs to host interns, and to assist in arranging for school credit. We also accept placements from the Foundation for Teaching Economics Internships for Leaders program, the Institute for Humane Studies Koch Fellowship program, and the Koch Internship Program.
Internship Areas:
Federal Policy interns work with our team of economists with emphasis on data analysis. Economics interns should be comfortable with mathematics and statistics and computer coding skills are a plus.
State Policy interns track major state fiscal issues, research trends, and conduct policy analysis, supporting our efforts to report and comment on current state tax topics.
Legal interns (first year law students only) assist with legal research and analysis.
Communications and Outreach interns contribute to our outreach efforts, strategizing about marketing tools, drafting and revising press releases, and substantively contributing to our podcast and video efforts.
Development and Fundraising interns creatively support fundraising activities through a campaign designed to involve innovative social media use, e-mail fundraising, print campaigns, and corporate networking.
Graphic Design interns are expected to produce images and documents for web and print publication, thinking creatively about our marketing efforts. This internship can be virtual (outside the office), allowing interns can build their graphic design portfolio in a flexible environment.
Examples of Intern Projects
Past interns, with the assistance of our staff, have researched and published commentaries on policy in newspapers and journals, participated in area events, and posted on our tax policy blog. Examples include:
Applying
Tax Foundation internships are available each fall, spring, and summer, and applications are considered on a rolling basis (see the notation at the top of this page for which applications are being considered currently). (Applicants for summer 2012 internships are advised to submit their materials no later than April 15, 2012.)
Internships (except virtual internships) are located at our office in downtown Washington, D.C., and are unpaid unless indicated otherwise. We are committed to responding to completed applications within 2 weeks of submission.
To apply, please fill out the form below.
Donate to the Internship Program