Center for a New American Security

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) established its flagship internship and mentoring program in honor of Dr. Joseph S. Nye, Jr., who has devoted his career to the preparation and mentoring of generations of Americans and global strategists.  The CNAS Joseph S. Nye, Jr. National Security Internship aims to follow Dr. Nye's leadership in this area by selecting six to eight up and coming practioners and policy makers in the national security field.  Candidates have the opportunity to apply for research, external relations, or development internships. Selected interns are given front row seats to some of the hottest national security debates and are actively involved in all the Center's activities, policy research, and report development.  

CNAS offers full-time (40 hrs/week) internships. In rare cases, part-time External Relations internships may be arranged. Competition for the six to eight spots is very tough. Interns work closely with CNAS staff and are given considerable responsibility. Participants are chosen based on merit in an open, competitive process.

Does CNAS offer summer internships?

Unfortunately, CNAS does not offer summer internships at this time. As an organization dedicated to developing and mentoring the next generation of national security leaders, CNAS recently suspended its summer internship program in an effort to lengthen the terms of its fall and spring internship periods, allowing the young national security professionals who join the center as interns a longer opportunity to get involved in our work and to develop the critical skills that will assist them in their professional development.

Meet our current interns here.

Available Internships

Research Internship: Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Research Interns work directly with specific programs including Natural Security, Asia Pacific, Future of the U.S. Military, the wars we're fighting (violent extremism, Iraq, Afghanistan-Pakistan), the contested global commons, nuclear proliferation, and U.S. national security policy. Please refer to the projects on our website and let us know which projects and topic areas interest you the most and why in your cover letter. We will do our best to pair selected interns with projects of their interest. 

External Relations Internship: Joseph S. Nye, Jr. External Relations Interns work directly with the External Relations team on media relations and monitoring, social media outreach, website administration, database management, multimedia support, event planning and execution, writing marketing materials and press releases, copy editing, and external relations writ large. Candidates with demonstrated interests in social media optimization, communications, journalism, photography, video editing, web and print design, public relations, and most importantly the mission of CNAS are encouraged to apply. Ideal candidates will be highly motivated, technically savvy, detail oriented, and have excellent verbal and written communications skills.

Development Internship: The Joseph S. Nye, Jr. Development Intern works with the Development team on donor and prospect outreach, communications and marketing collaterals, tracking and writing proposals and letters, scheduling internal and external meetings, tracking and processing internal fundraising activities, event planning, assisting with establishing new procedures and infrastructure, and other responsibilities related to fundraising. As CNAS is a small non-profit organization, development-related activities and donor cultivation are critical aspects of our day-to-day activities and long-term planning, providing the ideal candidate with an opportunity to understand the organization as a whole.  The ideal candidate has excellent verbal and written communications skills, self-motivated, able to handle sensitive and confidential information, and an interest in the mission of CNAS.

Compensation

Interns are compensated with a modest stipend of $400 a month intended to help cover the cost of transportation and other daily expenses incurred during the internship.

Academic Credit 

Interns may earn academic credit and are responsible for working out this arrangement with their academic institution and the Center's internship coordinator. Interns are responsible for obtaining their own housing.  

Applicants with Non-U.S. Citizenship

All new hires, when applying, are required to present appropriate identifying documents and documentation of authorization to work in the United States. Interns are responsible for obtaining their own travel and visa arrangements; CNAS does not serve as a sponsor for intern work authorization.  If you are not a U.S. citizen, please inform yourself as to the options available for gaining work authorization, the costs, and the time frame.

Deadlines

If you anticipate requesting a variance from the specified internship dates, or if you are available and flexible to start earlier, please indicate this in your cover letter.

A complete application includes:

• cover letter clearly stating the internship to which you are applying
• resume
• university-level transcripts (unofficial)
• writing sample

All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.