Internship Funding

Pastor Center offers funding for both full-time and part-time internship opportunities

• Full-time internships are eligible for up to $3,000
• Part-time internships are eligible for up to $1,500 

Students will indicate their internship type in their application. 

All awardees will be expected to complete a pre and post survey regarding their internship

Local, state, or federal government, public interest groups, non-governmental organizations, political organizations, political journalism  and media, think tanks, political campaigns, nonprofits;  special attention given to those internships in transportation, political offices and rural communities. 

The Pastor Center does not curate a list of eligible organizations. If you are unsure if your internship site meets the program criteria but believes it constitutes politics and/or public service, we encourage you to still apply. 

All political or public service internships that are low-paying or non-paying are eligible. There is not one definitive list of eligible organizations, and if you aren't sure if your internship is eligible, we encourage you to submit an application and to share why the internship is a fit for the Stipend program in your Statement of Interest. All prospective host organizations must abide by ASU's nondiscrimination policy. You can find more information about that policy here. 

The Pastor Center is able to support in-person, remote, and hybrid internships.

Students must work full-time (at least 8 weeks and 350 hours) or part-time (at least 8 weeks and 150 hours). 

While there is no definitive list of eligible organizations, any prospective host organization must abide by ASU's nondiscrimination policy. You can find more information about that policy here. Applicants are encouraged to address prospective host organizations' role in the public service/political environment in their application. 

Not at this time

No. While financial need is taken into account when applications are considered, students who do not receive financial aid are eligible for the Public Service Internship Award  Program.

No. This Award is limited to once per person. 

Yes, if you are a graduating senior interested in pursuing politics and public service after graduation, you are eligible for the Public Service Internship Award.

If you are on leave during the Fall or Spring semesters, you may be eligible to apply. You will need to petition and receive approval. Please note that students on leave will not be eligible to apply until the Administrative Board has approved any request. We recommend that students on leave begin this process as soon as possible.

No. Right now, term-time internships are not eligible for this Award, and the Pastor Center does not offer a term-time internship Award.

Yes, though there are limits to the total number of students funded each academic year.

Since the application pool is considered as a whole, we're not able to say how competitive any given year will be before the application is closed. Each year, the program receives more applications than it is able to fund, and we encourage students who are applying to or have accepted a low-paying or unpaid internship in politics and public service to submit an application before the deadline. 

No. We will only award funding for one internship.

An application consists of three basic parts: a statement of interest, a resume, and an internship confirmation.

The Statement of Interest is somewhere between a cover letter and a college application essay — it's more professional than your college application essay but more personal than a typical cover letter. While it should be no longer than one page, the format and tone can vary depending on the organizations you're applying to and an organization's public persona — it's up to you! You should be sure to address basic things like: internship description, your interest in the organization, and what you hope to learn from your summer experience.

• Yes! If your summer plans aren't all the way finalized, you can still submit an application and begin the process while you make your selection. Remember, only one internship will be funded by the Center. 
• When applying, let us know what relevant pending applications you have submitted or where you've been accepted. We can offer a conditional Award based on your submitted applications (e.g. if you have five potential internships, you may receive a Public Service Internship award for one internship). You can read more about conditional offers in the "After the Application Deadline" section below.
• It's important to remember that you must have submitted an application before your internship starts in order to be considered.

No. Each student should only submit one application to the Public Service Internship Award  Program. The application allows you to indicate if you have multiple potential internships for the summer and to list them in full.

We do not consider applications on a rolling basis. Therefore, once the application is received, we try to notify all applicants within four weeks.

• If you are offered a conditional award, this means we haven't yet received confirmation of your internship, and funds will not be distributed until we receive that confirmation. It is your responsibility to submit confirmation. A conditional offer may expire if we do not receive confirmation in a timely manner.
• Conditional awards are not transferable to another internship placement, and if you choose an internship other than the one for which your conditional offer was made, you must notify us immediately of your decision.
• We understand each internship has its own selection timeline, and we try to be as accommodating as possible with regard to when internship confirmations need to be submitted to us. However, as we near the end of the Spring semester, if we have not received an internship confirmation, a conditional offer may expire. If you have received a conditional offer and are concerned about this, please reach out to us directly.

A Public Service Internship Award is up to $3,000. Funding amounts are dispersed on the basis of application strength, presence of outside funding, financial need, and meeting of eligibility requirements.

If you receive a stipend, you'll receive more information about this with your award letter.
Generally, if you are a domestic student, you will receive your Public Service Internship Award via ASU funds. 

Per the office of Risk Management at ASU, any liability claims would go through the internship placement because the injury/accident happened on their property.