2027 Legal, Policy, Research, or Technologist Internships (Graduate Students)

Intern at DC’s Top Tech Policy Think Tank this Summer! 

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is now accepting applications for graduate student internships for the summer of 2027. We welcome applications from students currently enrolled in graduate, law, and PhD programs with an interest in technology policy, human rights, civil rights, and civil liberties. The summer internship program is a 10-week opportunity for students to apply the principles they have learned in the classroom in real policy environments.

Summer interns work closely with CDT policy experts, researchers, technologists, and lawyers on an array of civil rights, civil liberties, and international human rights issues related to technology policy, including AI governance, consumer privacy, online expression, digital surveillance, equity in civic technology, competition, and elections. Interns and fellows conduct research, produce independent writing, attend events, participate in strategy meetings, and join meetings with outside stakeholders as appropriate. 

This listing describes the application process for our Legal, Policy, Research, or Technologist Internships (Graduate Students). This internship is for MA or MPP, JD, PhD, or dual degree candidates only. Undergraduate candidates are eligible to apply for our Communications, Development, or State Engagement Internships.  

Interns in the Legal, Policy, Research, or Technologist Internships will work closely with at least one of CDT’s teams, which include: 

• The AI Governance Lab develops practical, technically-grounded resources to advance AI auditing, and accountability, and safety — engaging directly with companies and policymakers to protect people most affected by AI. The Lab works with practitioners to define, shape, and implement standards and norms around priorities like AI auditing and safety evaluation, supports CDT’s policy teams in advising policymakers on how to achieve effective auditing, safety, and accountability solutions, and conducts technical and policy analysis on emerging topics in artificial intelligence to shape best practices. 

• The Equity in Civic Technology project provides balanced advocacy that promotes the responsible use of data and technology while protecting the privacy and civil rights of individuals. As governments expand their use of technology and data, it is critical that they do so in ways that affirm individual privacy, respect civil rights, foster inclusive participatory systems, promote transparent and accountable oversight, and advance just social structures within the broader community. We engage with these issues from both technical and policyminded perspectives, creating solutions-oriented policy resources and actionable technical guidance.

• The Elections & Democracy project works to support secure, accessible, informed, and trustworthy elections by working with election officials, AI companies and online platforms, legislators, voting rights organizations, and other stakeholders. Our team supports election administrators in defending election infrastructure against cybersecurity threats and helping voters access authoritative information about elections and campaigns. We monitor trends and conduct research to understand how AI is impacting elections — from new campaign uses, to cyberattacks, to the risks of deepfakes and manipulation, to ensuring that widely-used AI tools return accurate information about when and how people can vote.

• The Free Expression project is dedicated to protecting free expression from government and private party censorship. We focus on First Amendment protections for online speech, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and preserving access to a free and open internet. In that work, we engage with policymakers, company representatives, civil society partners, academics, and technical experts. Our goal is to extend the highest level of free speech protections to the internet and to keep new technologies, including AI, free of government censorship and content gatekeepers. We also work to ensure private online service providers are international human rights principles as they design and implement their content policies.

• The Privacy & Data team covers almost anything related to commercial or consumer privacy. Our projects include disability and tech policy, civil rights and algorithmic bias, the privacy and civil rights impacts of artificial intelligence, health privacy, transportation privacy, and surveillance pricing, as well as legislative work on those issues and comprehensive privacy legislation. We engage with policymakers at both the federal and state level, with companies and academics, and other civil society groups, especially through coalition work.

• The Research team conducts rigorous, independent, and empirical research to help CDT anticipate and respond to emerging technology policy challenges. We work closely with CDT’s policy teams and with external partners on projects spanning human-centered research on emerging digital harms, computational audits of information quality in AI systems, and case studies on how existing AI safety measures hold up for people using new technologies in Global Majority languages and contexts.

• The Security & Surveillance project is dedicated to protecting civil rights, civil liberties and human rights in the face of government surveillance. We focus on the use of AI in law enforcement and national security contexts, reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, immigrant surveillance, expansion of the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement to sensitive data, and global promotion of encryption to protect data security. To further our work, we nurture lines of communication among tech companies, NGOs, academics, and technologists.

Depending on an applicant’s skills, expertise, and background, the tasks and projects performed over the course of the internship could include qualitative and quantitative research, legal research and analysis, and research and writing about technical and policy issues. In general, students in PhD programs are placed in policy or research roles, law students are placed in legal or policy roles, technologists are placed in technical and policy roles, and policy students are placed in policy roles.

Successful candidates typically have:

• Experience with legal or academic research tools.  

• Excellent writing skills for technical, policy, and lay audiences.

• Ability to work independently on assigned projects.

• Genuine curiosity and motivation to work at the intersection of technology, policy, civil rights, and civil liberties, with an imaginative approach to their work.

• An understanding of how technology, policy, and law may have a disparate impact on individuals and communities based on race, gender, disability, income, immigration status, or other circumstances or characteristics.

Please apply below by submitting a current resume and a cover letter. In your cover letter, please explain your interest in an internship at CDT and answer one of the following prompts. If you have any questions, please contact internapps@cdt.org. 

Writing prompts

Graduate Legal, Policy, Research, or Technologist Internships:

Choose one of the following prompts and answer it in your cover letter.

1. What is one technology policy problem you would be interested in working on during your time at CDT and why do you think it is important?

2. Describe a time where you advocated for or supported a specific technology policy or issue. What motivated you to get involved, and what impact did your efforts have, if any? Please note that advocacy can take many forms, including writing a column, working on a school project, or collaborating with colleagues to raise awareness about an issue. 

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis beginning on November 2, 2026. Applications for this role will close on January 18, 2027. In general, it takes 4–12 weeks to review applications after they are submitted, and internship offers are made between March and May. Interviews will begin in January 2027. 

Internships usually begin after Memorial Day and last for 10 weeks. Although we can accommodate remote participation, we encourage all interns to join in-person at CDT’s office in Washington, DC, for the most engaging experience. 

Interns who are not receiving funding from another source such as a school stipend or fellowship will receive a stipend of $7,500 over the course of the 10-week program. If you have questions about funding, please contact internapps@cdt.org.

Due to the large number of applications we receive, we cannot guarantee communication with candidates unless they are selected for an interview.

We would be happy to consider applications from international applicants who are authorized to work in the U.S. (like on a practical training program through an F-1 visa). Unfortunately, we are not able to sponsor an employment visa at this time.