United States Senator Patty Murray

Senator Murray is looking for legislative and press interns in D.C. and constituent advocacy interns in the Seattle, Spokane and Vancouver state offices. Applicants should be eager to learn more about the legislativeprocess, and want to be part of a hardworking team,dedicated to serving the citizens of Washington state.

Qualifications

Applicants must be undergraduate or graduate students who have completed at least one year of college. Additionally, upperclassmen and students withstrong ties to the state of Washington will be given preference in the application process. Interns should be interested in government and have excellent writing and research skills, a positive attitude anda willingness to complete tasks as assigned. Legislative interns must be willing to work at a variety of activities, and have the ability to work independently and as part of a team. For press interns, a communications or journalism background is preferred.

Program Outline

In order to best accommodate all applicants, internship sessions are scheduled both on academic quarters and semesters (i.e., an intern could work either a semester or quarter internship, based on their academic institution’s credit system). Internships are unpaid but are available for school credit if approved by a college/university. We encourage Washington, DC interns to work full time (40 hours/week), though this is not a requirement. In our state offices, internships are available primarily on a part-time basis (10-15 hours/week).

Legislative Internship

The Washington, D.C. intern experience is very structured. It is designed to immerse interns in all areas of a senate office while empowering interns to pursue their policy interests while serving the constituents of Washington state. Legislative internships are writing intensive and successful applicants will exhibit strong written and verbal communications skills. Typical legislative intern responsibilities include: research, writing and editing responses to constituent letters and requests; attending hearings and briefings in specific legislative areas; carrying out projects in specific issue areas, and performing a variety of administrative tasks including fielding calls from constituents and leading constituent tours of the U.S. Capitol.

Application Procedure

Applicants may contact the appropriate Intern Coordinator (see below) for an application or use the online DC application or State application. In addition to the application, the following supporting materials are required:

• Cover letter & Resume
• Writing Sample no longer than 2 pages.
• 2 Letters of Recommendation

Note: Due to mail screening delays e-mail is the only method of submission for applications for Washington, D.C. internships.

For more information on a Washington, D.C. internship, please contact:

Intern Coordinator
Office of Senator Patty Murray 
154 Russell Senate Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20510 
(202) 224-2621 
e-mail: dc_internship@murray.senate.gov

Application Deadlines:

July 22 for fall (September-December)
November 15 for winter (January-March)
January 15 for spring (April-June)
March 15 for summer (June-September)

Late applications will be considered if positions have not yet been filled. All students are welcome to apply.