Internship Opportunities
Purpose
LCSSP was founded in 2023 to facilitate greater engagement between the science happening at Caltech and essential public policy issues. One important part of this mission is empowering Caltech students and postdocs with a better understanding of the interplay between scientific knowledge and government decision making. Since there is no real substitute for hands-on experience, we are eager to provide guidance and support for individuals interested in pursuing policy-related internships, fellowships, and similar experiences.
The Linde Science Policy Internship
The Linde Science Policy Internship entails spending 3 months away from regular campus activities in order to complete a full-time internship working directly with a federal, state, or local government agency within the U.S. that is materially involved in science and technology issues. During this time, candidates explore how their skills and knowledge as scientists might be applied to public sector activities like:
- Measuring the incidence and/or costs of societal problems
- Scoping potential policy solutions and analyzing tradeoffs introduced by competing courses of action
- Revising existing decision-making frameworks to incorporate the latest scientific knowledge and/or methods
- Navigating challenges of program implementation introduced by resource constraints, scale, and context-specific variation
- Evaluating policies for both intended and unintended impacts across disparate populations
By working alongside government officials, interns also have the opportunity to hone competencies related to effective communication, public engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and decision-making under uncertainty.
LCSSP supports interns by working with candidates to identify placements with host agencies, distributing funding to cover living and travel expenses, providing preparatory educational content, and arranging opportunities for reflection and professional development during and after the internship.
Applicants must be Caltech graduate students or postdocs who will still be enrolled/employed at the Institute at the time they intend to complete the internship.
For all interns, eligibility is subject to approval of an appropriate voluntary leave-of-absence petition, the requirements for which vary depending on division requirements, immigration status, etc. LCSSP is providing the following guidelines for general reference only. Please consult the Graduate Studies Office's page on Leave Policy for the most up-to-date requirements.
For non-international grad students, LCSSP's working assumption is that most Linde Science Policy Internships will be conducted while the candidate is on either detached duty (so long as a case can be made that the internship bears sufficient relevance to their thesis) or internship leave (if no such case exists).
For international grad students, F-1 visa holders will need to receive approval via a Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Recommendation, while J-1 visa holders will need to complete an Academic Training petition.
For non-international postdocs, detached duty petitions are subject to a division-specific approval process.
International postdocs are advised to consult with International Scholar Services to verify eligibility. Please note that, at this time, we are not able to support internships for postdocs on H1-B visas.
In general, LCSSP's goal is to identify placements that roughly correspond to Caltech's academic terms (i.e., starting in September, January, March, or June). Prior to applying, applicants must work with their advisors to determine when they can plan on being away from campus.
No two interns will have the same experience. Science policy work takes many forms, including designing and executing experiments to estimate the effects of a new regulation, communicating complex technical information to diverse audiences in writing and speech, and developing standard operating procedures to implement evidence-based best practices at scale. Prior to finalizing placement for Linde Interns, we anticipate having conversations with the hosting agencies about identifying one or more substantive, interesting, and impactful projects that will serve as the focal point(s) of the 3-month period.
Interns will receive a stipend from LCSSP matching the standard stipend amount they would have otherwise received in their roles while on campus. LCSSP will also cover up to $1,500 in travel expenses.
Interns are expected to working on-site at the appropriate government office for the duration of their internship. Please note that we do not support fully remote internships.
Identifying appropriate housing and commuting arrangements for the duration of the internship is up to the individual. Whether or not students must give up their on-campus housing during this time depends on the nature of their leave-of-absence petition.
Linde Interns will be expected to attend at least two 90-minute orientation sessions in the month leading up to their internship. Depending on the nature of your placement, we may also recommend additional preparatory work, such as online trainings or policy-relevant reading materials. Upon return from the internship, a written product will also be expected, with the specific format to be agreed upon halfway through the 3-month period.
Please use this form to submit your application.
You will be asked to provide a recent copy of your CV, in addition to a 1-2 page letter explaining your interest in the internship. Examples of relevant topics might include:
- Policy conversations that you are motivated to contribute to
- Experiences you've had at Caltech that led you to think more about the real-world applications of research
- Reasons you're interested in public service
- Gaps in existing knowledge and skills that you hope to fill through the internship
- Research you've worked on at Caltech that you would like to see applied in a policy context
Your application must also be accompanied by a letter of support from your advisor. This does not need to be a full letter of recommendation. We are simply looking for a statement indicating that you have discussed the opportunity with the faculty member and agreed upon a 3-month period when you can plan on being away from campus.
Please reach out to Sara Kassir with any questions.
Additional Policy-Relevant Opportunities
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