Arizona Legislative Internship Program: Requirements and Benefits

Are you considering a career in public service? Do you want to learn more about the legislative process and work with professionals to support public policy development? If so, the Arizona Legislative Internship Program might be perfect for you. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the program, including its requirements, benefits, and application process.

Introduction

The Arizona Legislative Internship Program provides students and recent graduates with a unique opportunity to gain firsthand experience in state government. Interns work alongside legislators, committee staff, and other government officials, contributing to the legislative process and gaining valuable skills. This program offers insight you can only get from being in the center of the action. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t studying politics; if you’re curious about state government and want to be immersed in something new, get your application started.

What is an Intern?

An intern is an individual who provides assistance, paid or unpaid, to a congressional office on a temporary basis. The internship experience is typically considered to provide an educational benefit for that individual. An intern's role does not substitute for or replace the duties of regular employees.

Program Overview

The Arizona Legislative Internship Program is a competitive, university-wide program that allows participants to intern full-time at a state agency, the Arizona State Legislature, the Governor's Office, or the Arizona Supreme Court during the Spring semester. This internship provides insight you can only get from being in the center of the action. I strengthened my public speaking skills, made connections with brilliant people, and became inspired to pursue public policy. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t studying politics; if you’re curious about state government and want to be immersed in something new, get your application started.

Core Responsibilities

Interns support the legislative team with government relations matters, including state, local, federal, and tribal issues. They also assist the Public Information Officer (PIO) at the Arizona State Land Department. This support involves:

Read also: Arizona Education System

Researching legislative issues.
Drafting correspondence and summaries.
Attending hearings and meetings.
Tracking bills.
Performing general office tasks.
Listening to committee hearings and taking notes on bills the department is monitoring.
Monitoring state legislation impacting the department.
Managing the database used for tracking bills and communicating the status of the database to the staff on a regular basis.
Monitoring Legislative Committee calendars and communicate the upcoming hearings to the staff on a regular basis.
Communicating with legislators, lobbyists, constituents, and the general public.
Assisting in coordinating stakeholder meetings.
Responding to department inquiries.
Attending legislative and committee hearings, taking notes, and preparing summaries of key discussions and information.

Time Commitment

Interns are hired on a temporary basis and typically work part-time (under 20 hours weekly) unless otherwise specified by the hiring supervisor.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Arizona Legislative and Government Internship Program at ASU, applicants must:

Be enrolled full-time at ASU.
Have completed 75 total academic credits before the start of the internship (must be completed by the end of the fall semester).
Have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better at the time of application.
Bachelor's Degree in Government, Political Science, Public Affairs/Administration and Law.

Compensation and Benefits

Participants in the Arizona Legislative and Government Internship Program receive:

A tuition and fee waiver.
A stipend of approximately \$6,000 for the 18-week program.
12 undergraduate or 9 graduate internship credits.
Gain valuable experience working in a State Agency.
Work with a creative, collaborative team of people who enjoy sharing their knowledge and experience.

Remote Work

Upon successful completion of the required training and probationary period, some positions may offer the ability to work a hybrid remote work schedule, based on the department's business needs and continual meeting of expected performance measures. All work, including remote work, should be performed within Arizona. Remote work is a management option and not an employee entitlement or right.

Application Process

To apply for the Arizona Legislative and Government Internship Program, follow these steps:

Read also: Sun Devil Cheerleading

Complete the Program Application: Fill out the application form, ensuring all sections are completed accurately.
Gather Required Documents: Prepare the following documents for upload:
- Completed ASU cover page
- Program application
- Unofficial transcript
- Personal statement
- Resume
- Two current letters of recommendation
Submit Application: Upload all required documents to the application form by the listed deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure all materials, including recommendation letters, are received by the deadline.

Letters of Recommendation

Two current (e.g., within the last six months) recommendation letters are required. Letters can be from professors, employers, or community members who can speak to your work ethic and communication skills (e.g., your writing). Please do not include letters from colleagues, coworkers, family members or friends.

Additional Considerations for ASU Students

Graduate Students: Students admitted to a graduate program for spring can apply. Students can also apply to be a non-degree seeking graduate student through ASU Graduate Studies. See a graduate academic advisor to inquire whether or not these internship course credit credits can be applied to a specific degree program.
Information Sessions: Attend an Arizona Legislative & Government Internship Program open house and/or one of our pre-interview workshops at the Tempe and downtown campuses. The info session offers a chance for students to interact with the agencies and clear any doubts about the internships.
Interviews: Yes, you can Skype/Zoom in for an interview. However, we have found that often times we encounter technical difficulties that are beyond our control. This therefore adds a complication which may negatively impact the interview.

Course Credit Information for ASU Students

Course Number: There is no one course number for this program; almost every major has an internship course (for example, POS 484). If your school or department will not award internship course credits under these conditions, please meet with an advisor in the School of Politics and Global Studies to complete the form and receive the information needed to register for POS internship course credits.
Course Permission: Before you can register for internship credit, you first need to obtain a course permission. This form is your first step and is required to participate in the internship program.
Course Credit Form: You have to complete and sign the Course Credit Form. POS484 (and other variable credit courses) default to “1 credit” so you must select the correct number (e.g., 12 credits, or 6 POS484 and 6 HIS484).
Enrollment: It is YOUR responsibility to enroll in classes that fit your program of study and financial circumstance. Undergraduate students receive 12 course credits for the internship, graduate students receive 9 course credits. Although additional coursework is discouraged based on the full-time nature of this internship, students may take an additional course if approved by the internship supervisor on the course credit form.
Evaluations: The government agency intern supervisor will complete mid- and end-of-term evaluations. Most internship supervisors also require a paper, portfolio, or some written summary of the experience.
Internship Course Alignment: POS 484/584 internship courses align with ASU and the Legislature’s Agreement for the Internship Program and Dr. Tara Lennon is the POS484 “faculty submitting grade” (for the form below). If you plan to enroll in a different department’s internship course, you will need to review that department’s internship requirements because the AZ Legislative and Governmental Internship Program does not allow regular class attendance or additional research essays.
Final Reflection Paper: The internship supervisors provide midterm and final evaluations of your performance and you write a final reflection paper which includes samples of your written work during the session.
CPT Eligibility: If you are a Political Science major in a catalog year prior to the 2025-2026 catalog year, POS 484 is not a planned option in the major and therefore you cannot be approved for CPT. We would suggest discussing the option of pre-OPT with your ISSC advisor and/or discuss with your SPGS Academic Advisor whether moving your catalog year forward would allow you to be eligible for CPT. If you are a Political Science major in a catalog year 2025-2026 and after, POS 484 is a planned option in the major and therefore can be approved for CPT.
Grading: It is up to the school or department issuing the internship course credits to determine if the credits will be pass/fail or letter graded. Some schools and departments, such as those under The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, do not allow pass/fail credits to count toward major, minor, or certificate program requirements.
Degree Application: Depending on the total credits completed and the credits required in your program of study, these internship course credits may or may not be applied toward your degree program.
Course Schedule: Yes, have your course schedule set in advance as you normally would. You can drop courses later if you are accepted into the internship program. Students are strongly discouraged from taking any courses beyond the internship courses while serving as interns, as overtime may be required on any given day.

Congressional Internships

Many opportunities exist for individuals who are not regular congressional employees to provide assistance to congressional offices. The titles used to describe these positions are sometimes used interchangeably, but there can also be some key differences. An intern is an individual who provides assistance, paid or unpaid, to a congressional office on a temporary basis. The internship experience is typically considered to provide an educational benefit for that individual. An intern's role does not substitute for or replace the duties of regular employees. If an intern is paid, then some of the rules applicable to congressional employees may apply.

Read also: Understanding ASU Tuition

Volunteers vs. Fellows vs. Pages

Volunteer: A volunteer also provides assistance to a congressional office, and the experience is generally considered to be of educational value for the volunteer. In many cases, a volunteer's role in a congressional office can be similar to that of an unpaid intern. A volunteer cannot receive financial compensation for his or her service from any source. The volunteer's assignments are not to replace the regular duties of paid employees.
Fellow: A fellow is an individual who also performs services in a congressional office on a temporary basis, but typically through participation in an established, graduate-level or mid-career education program. Fellows often receive compensation from a sponsoring employer, professional association, or other organization while working in Congress during the course of the fellowships.
Page: A page is a high-school junior, at least 16 years old, who participates in a more structured program for a semester or summer. Pages continue to serve in the Senate, but the House program was discontinued in 2011. Although they are appointed by individual Senators, the pages provide assistance as a group in the Senate chamber, and receive housing, education, and a stipend from the Senate.

Rules and Regulations for Congressional Interns

Few statutes or standing rules of the House or Senate make specific references to congressional interns. In many cases, the distinction between a paid internship and an unpaid internship affects which formal rules apply to interns. Fewer House or Senate rules may apply to unpaid interns than to paid interns. The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR) notes that interns are covered by the Congressional Accountability Act under certain limited circumstances.

Standards of Conduct

To enhance accountability for unpaid interns, the House or Senate ethics committees or individual congressional offices can set standards for unpaid interns to abide by that mirror some of the same rules that paid interns or congressional employees follow. The House Committee on Ethics, for example, advises that offices obtain an agreement in writing from unpaid interns at the outset of an internship. The Senate Select Committee on Ethics requires that unpaid interns file a disclaimer with the Financial Clerk of the Senate acknowledging that their service is voluntary, or gratuitous, in nature. The committee also notes that the conflict-of-interest provisions in the Standing Rules of the Senate "apply to any intern, fellow, or volunteer providing Senate services," even if the individual is only working for a single day.

Computer and Internet Usage

Because information sent and received from a congressional computer or network may be traced back to a particular office, an office may choose to implement additional standards for interns' incidental computer and internet usage.

Gift Rules

Paid interns are required to follow the House or Senate gift rules that apply to regular employees, and the House and Senate ethics committees advise that unpaid interns should also abide by the gift rules. Generally, these rules prohibit (1) receiving gifts from lobbyists or foreign agents, (2) receiving any individual gift valued at over \$50, and (3) receiving \$100 or more in gifts (each valued at \$10 or more) from a single source.

Office Policies and Resources

Offices often provide additional information or guidance to interns about congressional operations or resources. Offices, for example, might provide an overview of the House or Senate rules that apply to interns, or clarify their own office policies regarding attendance, technology use, phone etiquette, and other expectations. Information about emergency procedures and contact information for the appropriate police or medical services is commonly provided (the Capitol Police and Office of the Attending Physician, for staff in Washington, DC, and local contacts for interns in district or state offices). Some offices may provide interns with a basic overview of the legislative process or how to perform legislative research. Locations of buildings or offices within the Capitol Complex and information on dining facilities and other on-site services may be useful for interns on Capitol Hill, and similar information about the area surrounding a state or district office could be provided to interns in those offices.

Intern Selection

House and Senate offices are able to set many of their own requirements for intern selection, just as they are with general personnel decisions. Some offices, for example, may require that interns are currently enrolled students, have reached a certain level of education, or that interns live in a Member's district or state.

Non-Citizens

In many instances, Members of Congress have broad discretion to determine who works in their offices, but different laws, rules, and considerations may apply to a noncitizen's potential service, based on the individual's status, particularly if the individual receives pay. House offices may wish to contact the Office of the General Counsel, Committee on Ethics, or the Committee on House Administration before employing a noncitizen as an intern. The House and Senate ethics manuals provide some general guidance for congressional offices on working with foreign-national interns. Conflict-of-interest considerations may affect the responsibilities an office chooses to assign to a foreign-national intern. policy in a way that benefits the intern's home country.

Campaign Activities

The respective ethics manuals remind Member offices to be careful not to mix official congressional resources with campaign resources. Interns working in a congressional office may also work for a political campaign, but the two responsibilities are to be carefully delineated and kept separate so that congressional time, property, facilities, equipment, or other resources are not used for electoral campaigns.

Nepotism

If an intern is paid, then the standard prohibitions regarding nepotism or employment of relatives established in law and House or Senate rules apply. Because each congressional office is its own hiring authority, an intern may be related to another Member or staff in a different office without violating these rules.

Age

Often, interns in congressional offices are college-age individuals or recent college graduates between 18 and 24 years old. Historically, individuals under 18 generally served Congress as pages. There is also no maximum age for interns. Older individuals returning to higher education, considering a career change, or seeking a congressional internship for other reasons could also receive an educational benefit from such service and may have useful experience to share with a congressional office.

Internship Length

Internship lengths often reflect time periods designated by the academic calendar, occurring, for example, over the course of the fall or spring semester, or during the summer. There are no minimum lengths for House or Senate internships in statute, but certain considerations may affect the parameters offices choose for how long an internship should last. More detailed guidance is available for the maximum length of internships.

Compensation

Interns may receive pay from the congressional office in which they work, if the office chooses to provide it. The continuing resolution for FY2025 and the FY2024 appropriations bill provide some designated funding for internships in House Members' personal offices, in House committees, in House leadership offices, and in Senators' personal offices. Members may also use their own office resources, such as from the Members' Representational Allowance (MRA) in the House and the Senators' Official Personnel and Office Expense Account (SOPOEA) in the Senate, to provide compensation for interns. Committees or other congressional offices may provide compensation for interns through their appropriate accounts designated for staff salaries. In the House, the Committee on House Administration has typically set a maximum and minimum gross annual rate of pay for interns for Member and committee offices. Previously, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Congressional Intern Program operated in the House from 1973 to 1994 and made two-month paid internships available for each Member office.

Stipends

Many educational institutions or other organizations sponsor congressional internships, and interns may receive stipends from these groups for their internships.

Academic Credit

The House and Senate expect that a congressional internship provides an educational experience but, institutionally, make no requirements that an intern receive school credit or be a currently enrolled student. Some congressional offices may choose to select interns on the basis of whether they will receive, or will not receive, academic credit for the experience. Each educational institution sets its own requirements for granting academic credit, and while some schools or academic departments encourage internships and grant academic credit for them, others do not allow students to receive academic credit for internships. School requirements may prevent a student from receiving academic credit for an internship experience that the intern may have personally found to be highly educational. A short internship, for example, may not meet a school's requirement for the number of hours served to receive credit, or students may be responsible for paying tuition on any academic credits earned.

Number of Interns

There is no minimum required number of interns for each congressional office; offices are not obligated to hire any interns unless they choose to. If interns are unpaid, there is no cap on the maximum number of interns for either the House or Senate. Offices, however, may want to ensure there is enough office space for interns to work in, and that there is enough work available to provide interns with a sufficient educational experience. If interns are paid, there may be a maximum number of interns an office can employ, based on applicable staff ceiling rules for the office. The number of interns in offices can fluctuate from year to year and within seasons during the year. During the summer, for example, offices commonly have more interns than during other parts of the year. For Member offices, the location of an internship in Washington, DC, or in a state or district office may also affect the number of interested and available interns.

District/State Offices vs. Washington, D.C. Offices

The substance of the work performed in an internship may vary between district/state offices and Washington, DC, offices if the roles assumed by those different Member offices vary. For example, an intern's tasks may involve more constituent service activities in a district or state office than they would in a Washington, DC, office where the emphasis may be more on legislative activities. The same House and Senate rules and policies generally apply to district or state office interns and to Washington, DC, office interns. Due to the high concentration of congressional interns on Capitol Hill, some training opportunities and congressional programs may be available to Washington, DC, interns, but not to interns serving in district or state offices further away. House interns who are paid under the House Paid Internship Program may work in Washington, DC, in the office of a Member, in a committee office, or in a House leadership office, or interns may work in a Member's district office. The Committee on House Administration has also stated that paid House interns may be eligible for telework in the event of a disaster, pandemic, or other emergency. For security purposes, interns in Washington, DC, offices can obtain a congressional ID badge, available from the Office of the Sergeant at Arms for the appropriate chamber. District or state office interns are also eligible to receive ID badges at the request of the employing Member office. ID badges are to be returned to the Office of the Sergeant at Arms upon completion of an internship.

Mandatory Trainings

If interns are paid by Congress, then they are to take many of the mandatory trainings discussed below that new House or Senate employees are required to take. If interns are unpaid, however, fewer House or Senate trainings are mandatory for them. Because interns may be working with Congress or in a professional environment for the first time, congressional offices may want to have their interns attend additional trainings to better ensure they are prepared for their work and can represent the office appropriately. All interns in the House of Representatives are required to complete a training session on workplace rights and responsibilities. Also in the House, any individual who has access to the House network needs to complete an information security training online. A paid intern who is employed for 60 days or more is to take a House ethics training, which is mandatory for new House employees. In the Senate, all interns or fellows are required to receive the same antiharassment training as paid employees. The Senate Office of Education and Training has provided a number of courses specifically designed for interns. A few, including harassment prevention and an overview of the Senate Code of Conduct, have been listed as required courses, whereas others, like information security training, have been listed as recommended or optional. Many of these courses are online and can be accessed via the Senate intranet in a state or Capitol Hill office. Other courses offered by the Senate Office of Education and Training or the Senate Library may be open to interns if space permits.

CRS Programs and Courses

Some programs and courses offered by CRS are open to congressional interns, provided that they have completed the CRS intern orientation. Many summers, the Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration have cosponsored the Congressional Summer Intern Lecture Series, providing congressional interns with insights about politics and policymaking from Members of Congress, other government officials, and journalists.

Additional Internship Opportunities

NAU Career Development

NAU Career Development is a small team of professionals with a collective 40 years of experience both inside and outside of education, in Flagstaff and across the United States. Our mission is to empower students and alumni to confidently navigate their careers as citizens of an evolving and global world.

Skills Development

As a nonpartisan research intern for the Senate Education Committee, my job was to explain bills to state senators. Because senators’ choices affect all seven million people in the state, it’s crucial that they are well-educated before each and every vote. This internship provides insight you can only get from being in the center of the action. I strengthened my public speaking skills, made connections with brilliant people, and became inspired to pursue public policy.

tags: #arizona #legislative #internship #program #requirements #benefits