AEI internships provide students with an opportunity to learn from some of America’s most renowned scholars, economists, political scientists, and foreign policy specialists conducting research on today’s prominent public policy questions. The Institute provides an intellectually stimulating environment, rich with critical thinking, scholarship, and lively debate.
AEI internships are available in the Fall, Spring, and Summer to experienced undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates. A minimum 3.0 GPA is required; however, most successful candidates have at least a 3.5 GPA.
Due to the volume of applications, only candidates selected to move forward in the interview process will be contacted.
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The Critical Threats Project, led by Senior Fellow Frederick W. Kagan, tracks and analyzes current and emerging challenges to American national security. An intern will work with Africa Team Lead Liam Karr to support the project’s research on US national security interests in Africa, including state powers such as China, Iran, and Russia and non-state groups like the Islamic State and al Qaeda. Research will include open-source tracking and analysis of key state and non-state actors and related political and security dynamics across the continent, especially in the Horn of Africa, West Africa, and the Great Lakes region. Interns will also assist in research and production tasks for the...
The Critical Threats Project (CTP), led by Senior Fellow Frederick W. Kagan, tracks and analyzes current and emerging threats to American national security. An intern will complete operations projects and tasks for the team, gaining skills transferrable to many professions.
The intern will curate content for CTP’s website and social media platforms. Social media work will include researching and implementing new creative strategies to increase social media engagement, monitoring and...
The Critical Threats Project (CTP), led by Senior Fellow Frederick W. Kagan, tracks and analyzes current and emerging challenges to American national security with its partner organization, the Institute for the Study of War. Interns will support analysis of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Iran’s Axis of Resistance, and Iranian regional activities and domestic politics. Interns will be responsible for monitoring regional media, translating, assisting with and conducting research, providing oral briefings on CTP analysis, and contributing to CTP’s daily Iran Update newsletter. The internship includes educational modules for developing...
The American Enterprise Institute seeks an intern who will assist Nicholas Eberstadt, the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy. Dr. Eberstadt focuses on global demographic trends, human capital, and economic development, with a current emphasis on China, Russia, and developing nations. He also researches North Korea, poverty in the United States, foreign aid, global health, and mortality. The intern will do quantitative analysis, background research, fact-checking, and editing for articles and ongoing projects. Experience with Python, R, or Stata and familiarity with Microsoft Excel are required. Professional working capacity in Mandarin is preferred. Candidates who can participate in the program in...
American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Mackenzie Eaglen specializes in defense strategy, defense budgets, military readiness, and the defense industrial base. Interns on the military strategy and US defense budget team will assist with compiling and preparing background information on issues of congressional oversight, examining defense investments across the services, drafting memos and report text, and collecting data. Assignments may also include attending congressional hearings on the defense budget and responding to current events related to military strategy.
The American Enterprise Institute seeks interns to work with two scholars covering topics in international security and South Asian studies. The interns will support Senior Fellow Sadanand Dhume’s regular column and book research on South Asian politics, economics, and security. Projects will focus on India but may also include Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other regional topics. Tasks will include gathering newsclips from Indian and international news sources; researching Indian politics, economic issues, and demographics; fact-checking and editing articles; and producing literature reviews. The interns may also be asked to help with individual research tasks pertaining to...
The American Enterprise Institute seeks an intern who will assist Distinguished Senior Fellow Danielle Pletka and Senior Fellow Marc A. Thiessen in research tasks for regular opinion columns, long-term projects, and events. Typical research will relate to the Middle East, China, America’s role in the international community, and occasionally domestic politics.
The intern will assist with research for the What the Hell Is Going On? podcast. They will also provide research and communications support for Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies Kori Schake on...
The American Enterprise Institute seeks an intern to assist with research and writing on a wide range of national security and defense issues. Interns will support the work of Senior Fellows Elaine McCusker, Todd Harrison, and William C. Greenwalt and Nonresident Senior Fellow John G. Ferrari, and they will assist with the Defense Futures Simulator.
Key responsibilities include
- Conducting quantitative research and...
The American Enterprise Institute seeks an intern for the Coalition Defense of Taiwan who will conduct research in support of scholar Dan Blumenthal and others. The team’s portfolio focuses on US defense policy and security issues in the Indo-Pacific, including China’s military modernization, US allies’ interests and objectives, and cross-Strait relations.
Key responsibilities include
- Monitoring...
The Asian security and technology intern at the American Enterprise Institute will conduct research in support of Fellow Ryan Fedasiuk. The Asian security and technology portfolio focuses on US defense policy and security issues in the Indo-Pacific, including US-China technology competition, China’s approach to industrial policy, and integrating policy and innovation.
Key responsibilities include
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Intern in the press office of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a distinguished Washington, DC, think tank. Learn about strategic media communication, track our scholars’ research, and familiarize yourself with the media landscape.
AEI is a great place to learn about the interaction between the government and media. Join a select intern program that offers unique learning experiences such as exposure to research in foreign policy, politics, economics, technology, and education; instruction about the media industry; and personal mentoring by the press team....
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Coalitions team helps AEI scholars connect their research with audiences inside and outside Washington, DC. We focus on getting scholarly work from the website to the community. Interns must have a startup mentality and an ability to identify new ways to add value across the organization. The most successful interns will be interested in and familiar with AEI scholars’ work, exhibit strong writing and organizational skills, and be curious about nonprofit management and public relations.
Academic Programs connects undergraduate institutions, faculty, and students across the country to the work of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the broader public policy world. The Academic Programs intern is responsible for supporting the planning and execution of program events at AEI and on college campuses, compiling internal surveys, and aiding the team in the preparation and execution of the 2026 Summer Honors Program. Other responsibilities might include researching college campuses, managing databases, and providing logistical support for events hosted in Washington, DC, and virtually. Strong candidates will demonstrate familiarity with and an appreciation for AEI, strong...