Frequently Asked Questions

Our internships are hosted at the Carter Center headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.  At this time, our programs will be held fully in person. If you have any questions, we encourage you to reach out to us at [email protected].

No. At this time, all sessions will be held fully in person in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Our internships are 20 hours per week. An intern's schedule is arranged with the supervisor and includes regularly scheduled blocks of time during normal business hours (e.g., four days of five hours each, five days of four hours each).

The internship roughly follows an academic calendar. Interns are required to make a commitment of 15 weeks for the fall and spring. During the summer session, interns must make a 10-week commitment within a 13-week window.

Yes. Interns will receive a stipend:

Spring: $5,100.00 (15 weeks)
Summer: $3,400.00 (10 weeks)
Fall: $5,100.00 (15 weeks)

No, you do not need to be a U.S. citizen to apply. However, you do need to have work authorization to intern in the United States. International students enrolled in U.S.-based colleges or universities are eligible with approval from your host institution. Please email [email protected] to check your eligibility before filling out an application.

Unfortunately, we cannot. The Carter Center internship is 20 hours of work per week, and the U.S. State Department requirement for a visa is 40 hours of work per week. For this reason, The Carter Center cannot assist in obtaining a visa.

No. If a program area is not listed as an internship/graduate assistantship preference, it means that program is not accepting interns or graduate assistants for that particular session.

Yes, the writing sample submitted can be a portion of an academic paper that was written previously. If you choose to do so, please include a sentence at the top of the paper indicating that it is a truncated paper.

All transcripts must be received electronically or postmarked by the application deadline.

We require transcripts from a current university as well as any university from which an applicant has received a degree.

Yes. Most universities now offer secure, official, electronic copies of transcripts. Transcripts submitted in this way should be sent to the attention of Educational Programs at [email protected].

A recommender should be a former teacher, professor, advisor, supervisor, or colleague. A recommender should not be a family member.

Letters of recommendation are due one calendar week after the application deadline.

Because the emails sent to recommenders are generated automatically by our online application system, they often get filtered into spam bins. You may wish to advise your recommender to monitor his/her spam box. You also may prompt our online application system to resend the email by logging in to your application and clicking the "resend" button next to your recommender's name.

All candidates will be notified concerning the status of their applications no later than six weeks following the deadline.

Yes, you may reapply as long as you still meet the eligibility requirements. To reapply, a candidate will need to email Educational Programs at [email protected]. Applications will be transferred to the session for the session for which he/she would like to be considered and revisions can be made prior to submitting the application by the deadline. Transcripts and letters of recommendation are held on file for up to one year.

Yes. If an applicant's college or university offers academic credit for internships/graduate assistantships, The Carter Center will work with the school to match academic requirements with the requirements of the intern's/graduate assistant’s host program. Upon acceptance, necessary forms from the college or university should be submitted to the intern's/graduate assistant’s program supervisor as well as the Carter Center's Educational Programs office.

All internships and graduate assistantships are based in Atlanta, Georgia. Occasionally, opportunities arise for interns to travel with staff on Center-related trips (e.g., election-monitoring missions, domestic and international conferences, training workshops). Graduate assistants do not typically travel.

The Carter Center does not provide housing for interns or graduate assistants, but will provide information on available housing in staff and neighborhood resident homes, local apartment complexes, and the like. Educational Programs staff members are available to provide guidance during your adjustment to Atlanta.

Candidates who have completed at least two years of study, recent graduates (graduated within 24 months of the internship start date), and graduate/professional students are eligible. For example, a qualified candidate within the United States will have a minimum of 60 credit hours earned toward a bachelor's degree at the start of the internship. There is no age limit. Still unsure? Take our Eligibility Quiz!

Yes, many in our program form lifelong friendships. We also have an active alumni Facebook group for intern and graduate assistant alumni who choose to stay connected!

Interns are required to work 20 hours per week. This means that it is possible for interns to work part-time jobs in addition to their internships.

In order to be eligible for an assistantship, applicants must be enrolled in a graduate or doctoral program throughout the duration of the assistantship. At the start of the assistantship, qualified applicants must have completed a minimum of two semesters of their academic coursework in a master's or post-master's level program.

Yes. Graduate assistants receive a stipend of $15/hour for 20 hours per week.

The graduate assistantship lasts anywhere from 9-12 months depending on the need of the program.

Graduate assistants are required to work 20 hours per week. A graduate assistant’s schedule is arranged with the supervisor when the session begins and includes regularly scheduled blocks of time during normal business hours. Graduate assistants should be at the Center in blocks of at least four hours.

Educational Programs
The Carter Center
453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway
Atlanta, Georgia 30307
[email protected]