Congressional Internship Program

• For the last 40 years, CHCI has forged a critical pathway to Educate, Empower, and Connect our nation’s future Latino leaders, creating a transformative and lasting Impact on Latino youth and our nation. Learn more about CHCI’s history. 

• CHCI hosts a platform of leadership development programs, which equip young Latino leaders with the tools they need to be successful in the public and private sectors. Through our educational and leadership development programs, CHCI is committed to our mission of Developing the Next Generation of Latino Leaders®. 

CHCI hosts interns two times a year: 

• Summer 2025: May 21 – August 2, 2025 (10 weeks) 

• Fall 2025: August 20 – November 14, 2025 (12 weeks) 

• Students must be enrolled full time and working towards their undergraduate degree in the academic period before participation.  

• Summer 2025 Program: Must be enrolled full time during Spring 2025. Spring 2025 quarter/semester graduates may apply. 

• Fall 2025 Program: Must be enrolled full time during Spring 2025 OR Summer 2025 (Summer enrollment not required). Summer 2025 graduates may apply.

• We highly encourage recent graduates to also consider and apply to the Public Policy Fellowship Program. 

• Summer is a time when Washington, DC is a popular destination for internships, creating many networking opportunities; in the Fall, interns have the opportunity to participate in CHCI’s Hispanic Heritage Month events. 

• No matter which semester sounds best to you, we encourage all applicants to apply to every session they are eligible for, as our application pools are very competitive year after year. 

A complete application consists of: 

• a one-page PDF version of your resume or curriculum vitae 

• your most recent unofficial transcript 

• one professional recommendation 

• three essays (300-600 words each)  

2025 Congressional Internship applications are due at 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the following dates:

• Summer 2025 Internship Deadline: December 1, 2024
• Fall 2025 Internship Deadline: March 1, 2025

We encourage all applicants to apply as early as possible to facilitate the review process and avoid any technical complications. 

CHCI’s Congressional Internship requires one professional recommender to complete a recommendation questionnaire. You should identify and ask your recommenders to complete a recommendation as early as possible in the application process. Be mindful of who you identify as a potential recommender – be sure the provider indicates having a positive working relationship with you and speaks well to your interests in public policy. 

Yes, based on the written applications submitted, a number of candidates will be selected for a pre-recorded video interview. 

A candidate is selected based on their demonstrated leadership experience, commitment to advancing the Latino community, quality of writing, recommendation, and resume. Candidates are reviewed after the closing of each application stage by program alumni, members of the CHCI Board of Directors and Advisory Council, and CHCI staff. While we strive to provide a timely decision to all candidates, this time period can vary between applications. 

While we are always interested in individuals with a political science background, we are also very interested in candidates from the following backgrounds: 

• Business and related fields, including finance, economics, and accounting 

• Communications and journalism 

• Engineering and hard sciences 

• Health 

• Technology, computer science, cybersecurity, and/or data systems 

• Energy 

• We encourage anyone interested in better understanding how public policy impacts their area of expertise to apply, regardless of their major! 

Your essays are the best opportunity to tell us about you. We understand that each applicant’s story is unique; we encourage you to take advantage of this space to indicate how you have exercised leadership in your family or community and how that has contributed to your interests in public policy. Please also ask a friend, professor, or mentor to review your essays in advance or to help you brainstorm what to talk about. 

Yes. Applicants are not required to disclose their citizenship status during the application process. Once admitted, CHCI would ask for that disclosure for onboarding purposes. Any DACA applicant accepted must have their permit at the start of the program and maintain valid employment authorization for the program’s duration. 

• Yes. CHCI provides housing for all interns at no cost to them. The housing structure reflects a traditional dorm style accommodation.  

• Interns’ dorm with other program participants, and selected interns receive additional guidance with a suggested packing list and residence hall layouts. 

No. CHCI strongly discourages participants from enrolling in any courses outside of those that relate to receiving credit for their internship. CHCI interns cannot enroll in more than 8 online credits while participating in the program. The internship experience is intense and time consuming; interns who have tried to maintain a full-time course load while completing the program have not had positive experiences.

• After an 8-day orientation, Congressional interns are assigned to a Congressional Office where they gain first-hand knowledge of how the U.S. legislative process works.  

• Intern duties may include, but are not limited to, responding to constituent inquiries, drafting correspondence and memos, attending congressional hearings, conducting legislative research, data entry and analysis, supporting departmental meetings and telephone conferences, and assisting with general office operations. 

• As part of the internship experience, CHCI also provides weekly programming sessions based on developing and strengthening legislative knowledge, cultural competency, professional and leadership skills. 

• Congressional interns are placed by CHCI; interns do not choose their office. In many cases, interns are placed in offices that primarily align with their regional background.  

• The program’s priority is to provide participants with the opportunity to explore a new professional space and learn ways in which to approach public policy issues.  

• When possible, CHCI will consider political party affiliations and work styles; however, we cannot guarantee placement in any specific office.  

• If you are only interested in interning in a specific member’s office, we recommend you complete their office internship program. 

Applicants interested in making an investment in the Latino community and/or working on policies that affect the Latino population are welcome to apply to any and all CHCI programs.

• Please return to your application page and press the “Save for Later” button. This will allow our application system to consider your application active for your recommender to provide their letter on your behalf. You may need to populate required fields before saving if you have not already done so. “N/A” is acceptable in our system until you go to submit your application. 

• If your recommender continues to have issues, please have them email programs@chci.org   

This happens sometimes, particularly with schools out-of-country. Please send the following information on your school to our programs team, programs@chci.org: 

• School Name 

• City, State, Country