Internships

Interns participating in the general internship program in both DC and in state assist staff in a wide range of areas including constituent services and legislative policy. While intern duties are largely administrative, candidates should expect to be given more and more responsibilities as they progress through their internship, depending on their individual interests. 

Legal interns will conduct legal and policy research, draft letters, reports, and memos, help staff prepare Senator Gillibrand for relevant hearings, and participate in meetings with stakeholders and constituents. 

Interns participating in the press internship help coordinate logistics for press conferences in the U.S. Capitol, answer press calls, assist with media monitoring, rapid response, and the Senator’s daily clips collection and distribution. 

The deadline for both the Regional, Legal, and Legislative internships are listed on their application links, but are approximately a month and a half before the internship start date.  

The Press Internship admission is rolling based on availability. 

All materials, including letters of reference, must be submitted by the application deadline. Any materials submitted after the deadline will result in an incomplete application which may not be considered.

Internships in our Regional and Press office are eligible for a stipend. The DC Legislative and Legal internships are not paid positions. Applicants may also seek financial assistance on their own from outside sources. However, Senate rules require that receiving financial assistance from outside sources does not create a conflict of interest with your Senate work. Please indicate on your application if you plan to receive funding from an outside source. 

In order to qualify for consideration for an internship, an applicant must:

Be a US Citizen or meet one of the following requirements:

1. Is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B); or
2. Is (1) admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and (2) has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible; or
3. Owes allegiance to the United States

   While not requirements, first consideration will be given to applicants who are a resident of or a student in New York State and eligible for a Pell Grant.

Although preference is given to applicants who are from New York, students from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Awarding academic credit for an internship is at the discretion of your college or university. However, we will assist you in providing appropriate information as requested by your school.  Arrangements for accreditation should be made before you begin the internship.

No. Unfortunately we receive a high number of applicants and we must limit the available positions to high school graduates only. 

The Regional, Press, and Legislative Internship programs are designed to enhance a course of study for an undergraduate student. While we may consider an application from students pursuing higher degrees (Law, Masters, etc.) it is important to keep in mind that the level of work is appropriate for those recently graduated or currently pursuing their undergraduate degree. For those in Law school, we highly encourage you submit an application to the dedicated Legal internship program.

As we receive applications from many qualified applicants, the application process is fairly competitive. However, our office always has a lot of work to do, which means we have many intern positions to fill. While summer is the most competitive session, spring and fall sessions tend to be somewhat less competitive.