PGPF FIscal Internship Program in Washington, DC
About the Program
Overview
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s Fiscal Internship program engages students in fiscal policy by providing them with first-hand research experience at public policy institutions in Washington, DC. Over the summer, PGPF Fiscal Interns will have the opportunity to:
- Gain substantive policy research experience at a leading organization
- Work under the direct supervision of a respected scholar
- Join a diverse community of experts and students interested in budgetary and economic issues
Fiscal interns will be expected to live and work in Washington DC for the duration of the 2025 fiscal internship.
Program Description
The PGPF Fiscal Internship program offers full-time paid internships at leading policy organizations to a select group of college and graduate students interested in fiscal policy. Interns live and work in Washington DC for ten weeks during the summer while gaining professional experience, skills, and contacts that will serve them throughout their careers.
PGPF Fiscal Interns will:
- Work as a research intern for ten weeks at a leading policy organization
- Receive a stipend for the duration of the summer
- Attend seminars on fiscal issues featuring leading scholars from participating organizations
- Participate in other social, educational, and career-oriented events
- Travel to the PGPF office in New York City to meet Foundation staff
Organizations
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation partners with think tanks in Washington DC to provide interns with real world experience working on national fiscal issues. The institutions’ work spans a variety of issues including healthcare, Social Security, taxes, and economic policy.
When applying, candidates may indicate a preference for placement at one or more organizations. The following is the current list of participating organizations in the PGPF Fiscal Internship Program in Washington, DC.
- The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC):The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a non-profit organization that combines the best ideas from both parties to promote health, security, and opportunity for all Americans. Founded in 2007 by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchel, BPC drives principled and politically viable policy solutions through the power of rigorous analysis, painstaking negotiation, and aggressive advocacy. As the only Washington, DC-based think tank that actively promotes bipartisanship, BPC works to address the key challenges facing the nation.
- Brookings Institution: The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions. For 100 years, Brookings has analyzed current and emerging issues and produced new ideas that matter for the nation and the world.
- Cato Institute: The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.
- Center for American Progress: The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country.
- Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget: The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization committed to educating the public about issues that have significant fiscal policy impact. The Committee is made up of some of the nation's leading budget experts, including many of the past Chairmen and Directors of the Congressional Budget Committees, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Federal Reserve Board.
- Employee Benefit Research Institute: The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) — a nonpartisan, tax-exempt organization — was created in 1978 for the purpose of contributing to sound employee benefit programs and public policy through independent, objective, fact-based research and education.
- Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity: The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP) seeks to expand economic opportunity to those who least have it, using the tools of individual liberty, free enterprise, technological innovation, and pluralism.
- Kaiser Family Foundation: The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) is a leader in health policy analysis, health journalism and communication, and is dedicated to filling the need for trusted, independent information on the major health issues facing our nation and its people.
- Niskanen Center: The Niskanen Center works to change public policy through direct engagement with the policymaking process; looks to develop and promote pragmatic proposals for policymakers, build coalitions to facilitate action, and marshal the most convincing arguments in support of our agenda.
- Progressive Policy Institute: The Progressive Policy Institute's Center for Funding America’s Future works to promote a fiscally responsible public investment agenda that fosters robust and inclusive economic growth. To that end, the Center champions "radically pragmatic" proposals for strengthening public investments in the foundation of our economy, modernizing federal health and retirement programs to reflect an aging society, transforming our tax code to reward work over wealth, and putting the national debt on a downward trajectory.
- R Street Institute: Founded in 2012, the R Street Institute is the leading think tank engaged in policy research and outreach in support of free markets and limited, effective government. We work to bolster American innovation, increase consumer choice and protect individual liberty and believe in smaller, smarter government.
- Urban Institute/Tax Policy Center: The Tax Policy Center (TPC) is a joint venture of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, both nonpartisan research organizations in Washington, D.C. (This listing relates to the Urban Institute.) The Center is made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy who have served at the highest levels of government. TPC provides timely, accessible analysis and facts about tax policy to policymakers, journalists, citizens, and researchers.
Applying
Applications for the 2025 PGPF Fiscal Internship Program will open in mid-December, 2024.
Eligibility
Rising juniors, rising seniors, and current graduate students are eligible to apply. Students must have taken at least two courses in economics, math, statistics or political science, and have a working fluency with numbers. Experience with Microsoft Excel is highly recommended.
Required Application Materials
- Résumé
- Personal Statement
- Statement of Policy Interest
- Unofficial copy of school transcript
- Contact information for two academic or professional references
Application Deadlines
- December 13, 2024: Applications Open
- January 26, 2025: Application Deadline
- April 2025: Interns Notified of Selection
- June 2 – August 8, 2025: Fiscal Internship in Session
What we Look For
This internship is ideal for upper-level college and graduate students with:
- An academic background in economics, political science, public policy, public administration, or a related field
- A demonstrated interest in fiscal and economic policy
- An open mind and willingness to engage with those who share different opinions and beliefs
- A natural curiosity for learning new things
- A desire to live and work independently in Washington, D.C.
The Selection Process
After your application is submitted, the Peterson Foundation staff will check your application for completeness. Then, within a couple weeks, all completed applications will be made available to the host organizations. Host organizations will be responsible for assessing, interviewing, and hiring candidates from that point on. Candidates may be contacted directly by one or more of the host scholars for an interview. Interviews typically take place in March and April. If offered an internship by a host scholar, applicants will have 5 days to decide to accept or reject the offer.
FAQ
We believe participating in the internship program in Washington DC is a valuable experience, and as such, interns are expected to live in and work from the DC area for the duration of the program. While the program’s events will be held in person, some participating organizations may have a hybrid work schedule. Therefore, the fiscal intern’s work schedule may follow the hybrid work schedule consistent with that of the host organization. If you have any questions, please email our team at fiscalinternship@pgpf.org.
The application website will go live in mid-December 2024. Once it does, you can create an application profile and follow the directions on how to submit your application. In the meantime, take a look at the required application materials listed in the "Applying" section.
Rising juniors, rising seniors, and current graduate students are eligible to apply. Those who are graduating in May 2025 and PhD Students are not eligible. Students must have taken at least two courses in economics, math, statistics or political science, and have a working fluency with numbers. Experience with Microsoft Excel is highly recommended.
Yes. In the application process, you can signal interest in all organizations for whose internships you would like to be considered. The host organizations vary considerably in their missions, focus areas, and political ideologies. Students are highly encouraged to research the participating organizations before applying.
Please keep in mind that your application materials will be read directly by the host organizations for which you have applied, so your application should be tailored appropriately to highlight your skills and areas of policy interest.
Interested applicants should submit all required application materials no later than 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, January 26, 2025.
No, you only need to submit the contact information of two academic or professional references. Due to the number of applications received, letters of recommendation are not accepted and will not be reviewed by program staff.
Your application will be checked for completeness by PGPF staff. Then, within a couple weeks, all completed applications will be made available to the host organizations. Host organizations will be responsible for assessing, interviewing, and hiring candidates from that point on.
Hiring decisions are typically made throughout April and we aim to have all interns selected by the end of April. However, that time frame may vary for each organization.
Yes, international students are encouraged to apply. If offered an internship, international interns will work directly with their host organization to resolve any related visa concerns. While not every participating organization will be able to accommodate international students, a number of the host organizations have indicated that they would be able to accept students in the US on a visa, and we have had many international students successfully participate in the program in the past.
No. However, if you are selected to participate in the PGPF Fiscal Internship Program, the program coordinators can help you find resources to secure housing for the summer.
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation Fiscal Internship program is looking for a diverse group of talented students who are passionate about policy and good with numbers. The most successful candidates are ambitious, actively involved on campus or in their communities, and have demonstrated superior academic performance.
There is no "typical" fiscal intern — participants come from schools across the country, and vary widely in their political beliefs, backgrounds, and extracurricular involvement. Most participants are early on in their career, majoring in economics or public policy. Interns tend to have working knowledge of fiscal issues prior to the summer, but are not expected to be an expert by any means.
The PGPF Fiscal Internship program provides students with a strong introduction to U.S. fiscal policy by exposing interns to a wide range of fiscal issues, challenges, and potential policy solutions throughout the summer. Interns work closely with a scholar at their host organization on major policy research and are paid directly by the institution for which they work.
The program is best suited for those who feel comfortable navigating a major city on their own. Interns live and work independently in Washington DC and come together about once a week to attend educational or social events offered by the program.
If you are interested in talking to a past intern about their experience, please contact fiscalinternship@pgpf.org.
The 2025 program will run from June 2, 2025 – August 8, 2025. Internship positions are full-time and interns are expected to participate fully throughout the program’s duration.
If you have additional questions, please send an email to the PGPF Fiscal Internship Program Director fiscalinternship@pgpf.org.
Previous Recipients
Congratulations to the 2023 fiscal intern cohort. Over the summer, these individuals will work at leading think tanks in Washington, DC, to conduct research and analysis on some of the nation’s most pressing fiscal and economic issues.
Sujan Garapati
Bowdoin College
Interned at American Action Forum
Riley Stotzky
Clemson University
Interned at Bipartisan Policy Center
Gillian Tisdale
Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs
Interned at Center for American Progress
Santiago O'Neil
American University
Interned at Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Emily Zhang
Yale University
Interned at Economic Policy Institute
Rei Kubota
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at University of Michigan
Interned at Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
Meghan Salaga
College of William & Mary
Interned at Kaiser Family Foundation
Leon Kamenev
George Washington University
Interned at Mercatus Center
Stephen Verral
University of Michigan
Interned at Progressive Policy Institute
Sadie Bograd
Yale University
Interned at Urban Institute/Tax Policy Center
Congratulations to the 2022 fiscal intern cohort. Over the summer, these individuals will work at leading think tanks in Washington, DC, to conduct research and analysis on some of the nation’s most pressing fiscal and economic issues.
Esther Lee
University of Pennsylvania
Interned at Bipartisan Policy Center
Ian Berlin
Yale University
Interned at Brookings Institution
Julian Wang
Georgetown University
Interned at Cato Institute
Richa Upadhyay
Stanford University
Interned at Center for American Progress
Shoshana Singer
University of Maryland, College Park
Interned at Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Marc Edayadi
University of Pennsylvania
Interned at Economic Policy Institute
Adedeji Ogunrinola
Georgia State University
Interned at Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies
Julia Lotan
Vanderbilt University
Interned at Kaiser Family Foundation
Anna Pate
The University of Texas at Austin
Interned at Mercatus Center
Jin Zhang
San Francisco State University
Interned at Niskanen Center
Mary Grace Boyce
Clemson University
Interned at Progressive Policy Institute
Paul Odu
University of Missouri–Columbia
Interned at Urban Institute/Tax Policy Center
Testimonials
"The program really gave me a better sense of how top-notch think tanks function. Scholars rely on people like interns to do much of the background work for any project, and this work ends up influencing the final project, so even lower level people have great power to shape policy in DC!"
–Fiscal Intern, Brookings Institution
"The Fiscal Internship Program was an invaluable opportunity to learn about fiscal policy and engage in a meaningful way with other students with similar interest and experts in the field"
–Fiscal Intern, Brookings Institution
"Great exposure to ideas and people"
–Fiscal Intern, Economic Policy Institute
"I was really glad to have the opportunity to work at an organization whose work I’ve been following. My team here was great and they were really committed to giving me substantive work to do."
–Fiscal Intern, Kaiser Family Foundation
"My favorite thing about the internship was the opportunity to hear from speakers at various different think tanks. The range of opinions and perspectives was enlightening."
–Fiscal Intern, American Action Forum
"I really enjoyed the opportunity to hear from a wide variety of other top policy organizations in DC and learn about their research. It gave me a better picture of both the policy issues and career opportunities in various policy fields."
–Fiscal Intern, National Governors Association
"The PGPF program was a phenomenal internship experience overall. I am ending the internship knowing a significant amount more on budget issues than I did on my first day of interning. I would absolutely recommend this program to my classmates and peers."
–Fiscal Intern, Economic Policy Institute
"I would absolutely recommend this program, the internship was fantastic, as were the seminars. I learned so much."
–Fiscal Intern, Bipartisan Policy Center
"The PGPF Fiscal Internship Program solidified my passion for economics and public policy. I definitely see myself pursuing this field in the future."
–Fiscal Intern, American Action Forum
"This summer, I did not feel like an intern, I am part of the team with the same respect and responsibilities as a full team member. My supervisors’ knowledge in the field is invaluable and they are always willing to pass that knowledge on to others."
–Fiscal Intern, Kaiser Family Foundation
"My host scholar was approachable, trusted me with significant responsibility, and encouraged my independent research exploration on the topics I was interested in. He was a great mentor throughout the summer."
–Fiscal Intern, Center for American Progress
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