Undergraduate Intern, Data Science
Position Summary:
The summer undergraduate internship is a paid opportunity during the summer of 2023. The internship begins June 5 and ends on or before August 25. Interns are expected to work a minimum 30 hours/week and are paid $17/hour. The internship is specifically for undergraduate students with an interest in public opinion, survey research, data science, data journalism, digital publication, or nonprofit administration.
Interns will have a variety of tasks, depending on the team they are assigned (for a full list of teams see the bottom of the page). For example, an intern on a research team may assist the research team on various aspects of the survey process, including questionnaire development, data management, statistical analysis, reporting of survey results and quality control. An intern on the digital team will learn Center workflows and assist in the production of visually compelling digital content to disseminate Pew Research Center’s findings and analysis to its key target audiences.
For all these tasks, attention to detail and individual judgment are critical in maintaining the highest standards of accuracy and impartiality.
Interns will work closely with staff. The internship provides opportunities to learn new skills and have a firsthand experience in data analysis and research production. In the summer of 2023, interns will work a hybrid schedule, working on-site in our Washington, DC office at least 2 days per week. A modest relocation stipend is available for candidates that need it.
Education/Training/Experience
- College student pursuing a Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree (and completed a minimum of their sophomore year).
- Interest in political science, sociology, journalism, data science, data journalism, data analysis or other related field.
- Experience with working with data and data analysis.
Application Procedure
A complete application will include the following required items:
- A resume
- A cover letter. The cover letter is a crucial part of your internship application as it allows our staff to more wholistically understand your goals and interests that might not be present in your resume. We don’t expect you to have all the skills posted in the job description. What we do want is for you to be able to explain in your cover letter why the skills you do have make you a good fit, and whether you’re willing learn new skills that pertain to this position.
Here are some key themes that staff at the Center like to know when reading cover letter:
1. What are your research interests and how does this internship at Pew fit in with those interests.
2. What about a research career is interesting to you? How would an internship with Pew connect with your long-term career goals?
3. What do you want to achieve or gain through your internship with Pew?
4. What relevant experience/if any do you have in the fields of research at Pew or general experience that may be applicable to the work that the Center does?
Please visit our internship page on our website for additional information about our internships.
Teams accepting undergraduate summer interns include:
Data Labs: The Center’s Data Labs team of data scientists, computational social scientists and engineers uses computational methods to complement and expand on the Center’s existing research agenda. Interns will collaborate with other researchers in the team in the development background tasks for major research efforts. Tasks may include the preparation of literature reviews, the development and testing of codebooks, performing assessments and annotations of online data sources, and the evaluation of research tools in the areas of machine learning and natural language processing. Interns will assist with quality assurance and control tasks for research products such as code reviews.
Due to the volume of applications received, applicants will be notified only if they are selected for interviews.
The deadline for applications is February 3, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Interviews will take place virtually in February and March, with the goal of all hiring decisions being made by the end of March 2023.