The University of Mississippi

Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom

Student Opportunities

SEPTEMBER

Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom

Each year, the Declaration of Independence Center sponsors a number of student Freedom Fellows.  Fellows work to promote an academic campus culture that encourages reflection on the meaning, value, and legacy of American freedom.

 

Media Research Center

The MRC’s paid internship is the premier program for students looking to advance their career in conservative media. Interns work alongside industry professionals to play an active role in accomplishing the MRC’s mission: expose and neutralize left-wing media bias. Open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent grads.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-May, mid-September
  • Contact: clancaster@mrc.org

 

The Heritage Foundation

Ready, Set, HILL! distills the training and skill-building sessions you need into a two-day, intensive learning program. Heritage’s team of instructors are Capitol Hill veterans who teach the entry-level skills you need to be successful in any Hill office. You’ll hear from current and former Hill chiefs of staff, skill coaches, and other professionals on a wide range of practical knowledge. Whether you’re looking for opportunities as a legislative, communications, or scheduling professional, this program is for you. Those who fulfill all requirements of the program will receive a certificate of completion. Heritage’s Job Bank will work with credentialed graduates on placement into open staff positions in the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate.

  • Requirements: N/A
  • Deadline: September 30th (early applicants have priority)
  • Contact: kstumpf@heritage.org

 

OCTOBER

John Jay Institute

The John Jay Fellows Program is our flagship program and constitutes a semester-long fellowship-in-residence at our campus in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Each class of 12 Fellows grapple with readings and topics from interdisciplinary studies in theology, philosophy, ethics, history, politics, culture, and jurisprudence. The John Jay fellowship program is intended to prepare recent college graduates for careers in public service, whether they take shape in the public, non-profit, or for-profit spheres.

 

Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy

The CRCD’s Savannah Seminar provides students the opportunity to explore a wide range of topics related to the American founding, democratic ideals, and the important role that religious ideas and institutions play in the development of free and flourishing societies. The Savannah Seminar is designed primarily for upper-level undergraduate students, although outstanding recent graduates and other students are welcome to apply.

  • Requirements: Upper Undergraduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: October
  • Contact: crcd@firstlibery.org

 

The Fund for American Studies

  • Website:
  • Program Title: TFAS Washington Fellowship [Fully-Funded + Stipend]
  • Term: Spring
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

A transformative leadership program designed to immerse participants in the core concepts of free enterprise, personal liberty and the founding principles of America.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate
  • Deadline: October 20th (priority deadline), November 15th (final deadline)
  • Contact: lcusack@tfas.org

 

James Wilson Institute

Professor Hadley Arkes, joined by other distinguished scholars, will offer an in-person seminar over six days in Historic Old Town Alexandria, VA, on Natural Law and its bearing on our jurisprudence. The Institute will make a place for about 15 Fellows who are law students, clerks, or lawyers and legal academics no more than 8 years since graduated from law school.

  • Requirements: Law Student
  • Deadline: October 23rd
  • Contact: org

 

NOVEMBER

Hillsdale College

  • Website: https://university.acton.org/
  • Program Title: Steve and Amy Van Andel Graduate School of Government [Scholarships Available]
  • Term: Spring
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

Students are educated in the first principles of politics and how they apply in practice to the perennial challenge of restoring constitutional self-government in the United States. Consistent with Hillsdale’s mission and established liberal arts curriculum, the graduate school offers a Master of Arts in Government focused on the consideration and practice of those liberal arts that are required for truly just and excellent government.

  • Requirements: Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: November 1st
  • Contact: N/A

 

The Fund for American Studies

  • Website:
  • Program Title: TFAS Washington Fellowship [Fully-Funded + Stipend]
  • Term: Spring
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

A transformative leadership program designed to immerse participants in the core concepts of free enterprise, personal liberty and the founding principles of America.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate
  • Deadline: October 20th (priority deadline), November 15th (final deadline)
  • Contact: lcusack@tfas.org

 

Cato Institute

  • Website: https://intern.cato.org/
  • Program Title: Cato Institute Internships [Stipend]
  • Term: Fall, Spring, Summer
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

Cato’s paid internships are for undergraduates, recent graduates, graduate students, law students, and early-career professionals who have a strong commitment to individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace—principles that, taken together, constitute libertarianism, known alternately as “classical liberalism,” “market liberalism,” or, to many of our international friends, just “liberalism.”

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Law Student
  • Deadline: mid-February, mid-November
  • Contact: N/A

 

American Enterprise Institute

This new program is an intensive, fully-funded educational and professional development opportunity, the core feature of which is a series of Socratic, discussion-based seminars that offer participants forums to delve deeply into policy areas of their choice. Outside of the seminars, when together in San Diego students will participate in briefings with distinguished guests, high-level networking opportunities, and meals with other public-spirited students from a wide range of campuses and academic backgrounds.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate
  • Deadline: November 25th
  • Contact: N/A

 

DECEMBER

Partnership for Public Service

The Rosenthal Fellowship is a prestigious program that offers our country’s most outstanding and civic-minded graduate students in international affairs the opportunity to spend a summer working to solve some of our biggest national and global challenges. Interested students must ask their career or placement office for an application.

 

Institute for Justice

The Institute for Justice recruits only the most talented law students from across the country for its summer fellowship program. The program offers an unparalleled professional opportunity to substantively contribute to active and future strategic litigation in both state and federal courts.

  • Requirements: Law Student
  • Deadline: December
  • Contact: N/A

 

Gingrich 360

Gingrich 360 offers internship opportunities for college students, graduate students, and recent graduates. As part of this once in a lifetime experience, interns will explore the world of Gingrich 360 – where politics, history, and media intersect.  Interns will gain invaluable career experience by learning firsthand from Speaker Gingrich, Ambassador Gingrich, and the Gingrich 360 team, while conducting research, drafting briefings, producing content for documentary films, podcasts and social media, and attending meetings.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: December, late-April, late-July
  • Contact: N/A

 

Competitive Enterprise Institute

  • Website: https://summit.cei.org/
  • Program Title: Annual Policy Summit [Not-Funded]
  • Term: Summer
  • Location: Bar Harbor, ME 

The CEI Summit is an annual destination conference featuring CEI experts and guest speakers. The Summit is a private, invitation-only event for CEI friends and supporters.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: December 31st
  • Contact: N/A

 

JANUARY

Forge Leadership Network

The Forge Leadership Summit is a five-day intensive experience filled with dynamic trainings, professional development, and renowned speakers. Accepted students represent talented conservative students and young professionals, ages 18-25, from across America wanting to engage in politics, culture, and business.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate
  • Deadline: January
  • Contact: scholarships@forgeleadership.org

 

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Learn how you can apply for one of ISI’s prestigious graduate fellowships. Receive up to $15,000 in funding and join a community of more than five hundred alumni now teaching in higher education.

  • Requirements: Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-January
  • Contact: awards@isi.org

 

FEBRUARY

The Heritage Foundation

  • Website:
  • Program Title: Young Leaders Program [Stipend]
  • Term: Summer, Fall
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

The Young Leaders Program promotes the mission of The Heritage Foundation to the next generation by developing and implementing outreach to younger audiences. Interns work on outreach programs as well as attend seminars and network with the nation’s leading policy-makers. Open to college juniors through graduate students.

 

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

 We place students who are seriously considering a journalism career in positions that offer writing opportunities at some of the nation’s leading publications. Our paid summer internships provide current college students with the opportunity to explore a media career for ten weeks.

 

The Witherspoon Institute

The Institute accepts applications from outstanding undergraduate students and recent college graduates for an extremely limited number of full-time, paid summer internships. Summer interns generally work on a variety of research and administrative projects at the Institute in addition to attending various summer seminars. Some interns also work as RAs for the high school seminars. Interns receive mentorship from staff and intellectual formation in weekly reading groups.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: early-February
  • Contact: N/A

 

American Enterprise Institute

The American Enterprise Institute’s Summer Honors Program is an intensive, fully-funded educational and professional development opportunity in Washington, DC, for top undergraduate students of diverse ideological backgrounds. Participants in the program have the chance to connect with the ideas, research, and network of AEI, one of America’s preeminent policy think tanks.

 

Cato Institute

  • Website: https://intern.cato.org/
  • Program Title: Cato Institute Internships [Stipend]
  • Term: Fall, Spring, Summer
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

Cato’s paid internships are for undergraduates, recent graduates, graduate students, law students, and early-career professionals who have a strong commitment to individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace—principles that, taken together, constitute libertarianism, known alternately as “classical liberalism,” “market liberalism,” or, to many of our international friends, just “liberalism.”

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Law Student
  • Deadline: mid-February, mid-November
  • Contact: N/A

 

Claremont Institute

Every summer, the Claremont Institute brings together a selective group of promising young conservatives (college grads to young professionals) to study the distinctive moral and political principles of the American constitutional order. In over forty intensive daily seminars and relaxed evening symposia, Publius Fellows discuss political philosophy and American government with distinguished scholars.

  • Requirements: Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-February
  • Contact: N/A

 

Institute for Justice

The Institute for Justice seeks a highly motivated undergraduate student or recent graduate with an interest in social science and policy research to join IJ as a paid strategic research intern. IJ’s strategic research program is a unique initiative combining high-quality social science and policy research with IJ’s cutting-edge litigation. The ideal candidate has facility in exploring online databases and data sources, the ability to create and manipulate spreadsheets, and persistence and good judgment in soliciting information and data from state and non-profit agencies.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: late-February
  • Contact: training@ij.org

 

Mississippi Office of the State Auditor

The government accountability division conducts independent, objective reviews and evaluations of state programs and activities with a focus on effectiveness, efficiency, and economical use of resources to assure accountability of state functions. As part of the government accountability team, interns contribute to the advancement of the OSA mission while gaining real-world experience and exposure to government programs and processes.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate
  • Deadline: February 28th
  • Contact: 601-576-2670 (Government Accountability Division)

 

MARCH

National Review Institute

  • Website: CVENT Page
  • Program Title: Ideas Summit
  • Term: March 20-21
  • Location: National Harbor, MD

A biennial conference that brings together leading public intellectuals, conservative leaders and policymakers, and philanthropists to discuss the state of conservatism and the American experiment, the 2025 Ideas Summit will be a momentous celebration of William F. Buckley Jr., the founder and architect of the conservative movement, kicking off a year of events to commemorate his 100th birthday. Our two-day program will focus on the inspirational aspects of his legacy, with a look forward to ensuring that our movement remains vibrant and moored to the principles Buckley championed during his lifetime—and the disposition that made him so effective.

Institute for Justice

Institute for Justice Legal Intensives are intended to supplement the legal theory and skills that students learn in the classroom. The experts at IJ will teach attendees about public interest law and how to take what students have learned so far in law school and put it into action.

  • Requirements: Law Student
  • Deadline: early-March
  • Contact: N/A

 

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

We place students who are seriously considering a journalism career in positions that offer writing opportunities at some of the nation’s leading publications. Our yearlong fellowships provide recent graduates who are looking to begin their careers in media with a full year of professional journalism experience—paid.

 

The Fund for American Studies

TFAS is looking for undergraduate students who want to make a difference in the world and are excited to spend a summer or semester studying and interning in the Nation’s Capital. We welcome students from all majors and backgrounds.

 

Hertog Foundation

The Hertog Foundation offers several highly competitive and selective educational programs for outstanding individuals who seek to influence the intellectual, civic, and political life of the United States. We offer programs in three main areas: Political Thought & Philosophy; War & Foreign Affairs; and Economics & Domestic Policy.

  • Requirements: Upper Undergraduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: March
  • Contact: N/A

 

Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy

The Shaftesbury Fellowship is a highly selective summer-long fellowship for upper level undergraduate students and recent graduates who intend to pursue graduate study in any field related to the advance of liberty.

  • Requirements: Upper Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: March
  • Contact: info@crcd.net

 

Claremont Institute

A one-week program teaching the natural law jurisprudence of the American Founding to the next generation of legal thinkers and practitioners.

  • Requirements: Law Student
  • Deadline: mid-March
  • Contact: N/A

 

Mercatus Center

The Adam Smith Fellowship is a co-sponsored program of the Mercatus Center and Liberty Fund, Inc. Adam Smith Fellowships are awarded to graduate students attending PhD programs at any university and in any discipline, including but not limited to economics, philosophy, political science, and sociology.

 

Mercatus Center

The Frédéric Bastiat Fellowship is a one-year, competitive fellowship program awarded to graduate students attending master’s, juris doctoral, and doctoral programs in a variety of fields including economics, law, political science, and public policy. The aim of this fellowship is to introduce students to the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy as academic foundations for contemporary policy analysis, policy-relevant academic research, and other applied topics.

 

Mercatus Center

The Oskar Morgenstern Fellowship is a one-year, competitive fellowship program awarded to graduate students with training in quantitative methods who are attending PhD programs from any university in a variety of fields including economics, political science and sociology. The aim of this fellowship is to expose students to strategies for utilizing quantitative techniques to explore key questions and themes advanced in the Austrian, Virginia, and Bloomington schools of political economy.

 

The Fund for American Studies

  • Website: https://www.dcinternships.org/
  • Program Title: Academic Internship Program [Scholarships Available]
  • Term: Summer, Fall, Spring
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) hosts Washington, DC-based and virtual Academic Internship Programs for undergraduate students each summer, fall and spring. TFAS programs include academic credit from George Mason University, an internship placement and furnished housing in the heart of Washington, D.C. Students participate in a variety of exclusive guest lectures, site briefings as well as professional development and networking events.

 

Cicero Institute

  • Website:
  • Program Title: Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program [Stipend]
  • Term: Summer
  • Location: Austin, TX

The Cicero Institute seeks talented undergraduates or non-traditional students to apply for a summer fellowship in Austin, Texas. Available fellowships include Healthcare and Education Policy, Tax and Regulatory Policy, and External Relations. Fellows will be immersed in Cicero’s uniquely entrepreneurial culture, which empowers people at every level of the organization to take on self-driven projects, author pieces for publications, and meaningfully contribute to the success of the Cicero Institute’s mission.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate
  • Deadline: mid-March
  • Contact: N/A

 

American Enterprise Institute

The American Enterprise Institute’s inaugural 1789 Fellowship will provide 15 graduate students and early career professionals the opportunity to study political theory and public policy with prominent scholars and professors from AEI and partner organizations. The 2022 Fellowship features seminars and roundtable discussions that examine documents of the American Founding, speeches and writings of Abraham Lincoln, selections from Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, and current commentary on American domestic and international politics.

  • Requirements: Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-March
  • Contact: sRiley@aei.org

 

APRIL

North Mississippi VISTA Project

  • Website: https://vista.olemiss.edu/about/
  • Program Title: McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement [Stipend]
  • Term: Summer, Academic Year
  • Location: Mississippi

The North Mississippi VISTA Project (NMVP) is seeking undergraduate students and recent graduates  for paid full-time summer and yearlong terms of service to fight poverty and build capacity for Title I school districts and non-profit organizations working to improve quality of life in Mississippi.  While building valuable professional development skills, VISTA members work on projects that support educational attainment, economic opportunity, and healthy lifestyles.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: early-April
  • Contact: vista@olemiss.edu

 

John Jay Institute

The John Jay Fellows Program is our flagship program and constitutes a semester-long fellowship-in-residence at our campus in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Each class of 12 Fellows grapple with readings and topics from interdisciplinary studies in theology, philosophy, ethics, history, politics, culture, and jurisprudence. The John Jay fellowship program is intended to prepare recent college graduates for careers in public service, whether they take shape in the public, non-profit, or for-profit spheres.

 

Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society

Our newest program, Key into Public Service, highlights the wide range of opportunities for liberal arts graduates to pursue rewarding careers in local, state, or federal government. The Society will award Service Scholars with a $5,000 undergraduate scholarship and participation in a virtual conference. First-year students and graduating seniors are NOT eligible.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate (non-Freshmen)
  • Deadline: April
  • Contact: N/A

 

The Heritage Foundation

The Academy is a virtual educational and leadership program that is crafted to educate students, young professionals, and civic leaders on the foundational principles of American political thought and the important policy debates facing our country. This program is designed to increase leadership capabilities and to help participants engage more meaningfully in their communities and more confidently in policy debates.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-April, early-August
  • Contact: academy@heritage.org

 

Mercatus Center

The Don Lavoie Fellowship is a competitive, renewable, and online fellowship program for advanced undergraduates, recent graduates considering graduate school, and early-stage graduate students. The aim of this fellowship is to expose students, from any discipline, to the key ideas in political economy and how to utilize them in academic and policy research.

 

Gingrich 360

Gingrich 360 offers internship opportunities for college students, graduate students, and recent graduates. As part of this once in a lifetime experience, interns will explore the world of Gingrich 360 – where politics, history, and media intersect.  Interns will gain invaluable career experience by learning firsthand from Speaker Gingrich, Ambassador Gingrich, and the Gingrich 360 team, while conducting research, drafting briefings, producing content for documentary films, podcasts and social media, and attending meetings.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: December, late-April, late-July
  • Contact: N/A

 

MAY

John Jay Institute

The John Jay Institute’s Saratoga Fellows Program is the leadership “topoff” that best prepares young military officers to live out their faith in a thoughtful, compelling and winsome way while serving their country in uniform. For those officers wanting to positively influence military culture for the good of the nation, this program is an unparalleled experience.

 

Media Research Center

The MRC’s paid internship is the premier program for students looking to advance their career in conservative media. Interns work alongside industry professionals to play an active role in accomplishing the MRC’s mission: expose and neutralize left-wing media bias. Open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent grads.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-May, mid-September
  • Contact: clancaster@mrc.org

 

Acton Institute

Acton University is not your typical conference. It’s a four-day celebration with hundreds of your newest liberty-loving friends from all over the world. Each day is packed with thought-provoking presentations on the intellectual foundations of a free society.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-May
  • Contact: N/A

 

JULY

The Heritage Foundation

  • Website:
  • Program Title: Young Leaders Program [Stipend]
  • Term: Summer, Fall
  • Location: Washington, D.C.

The Young Leaders Program promotes the mission of The Heritage Foundation to the next generation by developing and implementing outreach to younger audiences. Interns work on outreach programs as well as attend seminars and network with the nation’s leading policy-makers. Open to college juniors through graduate students.

 

Gingrich 360

Gingrich 360 offers internship opportunities for college students, graduate students, and recent graduates. As part of this once in a lifetime experience, interns will explore the world of Gingrich 360 – where politics, history, and media intersect.  Interns will gain invaluable career experience by learning firsthand from Speaker Gingrich, Ambassador Gingrich, and the Gingrich 360 team, while conducting research, drafting briefings, producing content for documentary films, podcasts and social media, and attending meetings.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: December, late-April, late-July
  • Contact: N/A

 

AUGUST

The Heritage Foundation

The Academy is a virtual educational and leadership program that is crafted to educate students, young professionals, and civic leaders on the foundational principles of American political thought and the important policy debates facing our country. This program is designed to increase leadership capabilities and to help participants engage more meaningfully in their communities and more confidently in policy debates.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: mid-April, early-August
  • Contact: academy@heritage.org

 

ROLLING / ROTATING

Herzog Foundation

The ambassadorship program is designed to develop young leaders professionally and provide them with tools to make a lasting impact nationwide. Each Ambassador will have the opportunity to travel the country and make valuable connections with Christian and conservative thought leaders. There are many issues facing the future of education in the United States, and we want to equip the next generation of leaders with the tools necessary to change that future.

  • Requirements: Recent graduate
  • Deadline: N/A
  • Contact: N/A

American Enterprise Institute

 AEI internships provide students with an opportunity to work directly with 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. Open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and recent graduates.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate, Graduate, Recent Graduate
  • Deadline: Rotating
  • Contact: internships@aei.org

 

Americans for Tax Reform

Americans for Tax Reform offers the chance for undergraduate and graduate students to work alongside some of the best political advocates in Washington, as well as the opportunity for increasing responsibility. Interns are assigned to work on policy issues side by side with members of our staff. As a key part of the ATR team, interns work on projects such as the Taxpayer Protection Pledge (both federal and state candidates pledge not to raise taxes) and tax battles across the country.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate
  • Deadline: Rotating
  • Contact: ideas@atr.org

 

Hillsdale College

Interns for Hillsdale in D.C. assist in the pursuit of the College’s mission in the nation’s capital: to teach the Constitution, the debate that brought it to life, and the principles that give it meaning. Hillsdale in D.C. offers full-time, paid internships to current students of other undergraduate institutions. Internship dates are flexible, and applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate
  • Deadline: Rolling
  • Contact: N/A

 

Arizona State University

In the Master of Arts in Classical Liberal Education and Leadership, we look to the past, with its rich heritage of texts and tradition of liberal education, to inform the future of education, citizenship and statesmanship. We prepare civic leaders, educators, scholars and citizens to think about contemporary issues within the broader context of the abiding human questions.

 

Magnolia Tribune

We are in search of an enterprising reporter hungry to tell the whole truth. If you are a curious and critical thinker with strong relationship skills, willingness to dive deep into a story, and compelling written product, you could be the perfect addition to our growing team. In your new role, you will have the power to: hold government accountable; tell stories of human triumph and struggle; cover developments in education, health care and our justice system; address important social questions; and explore issues surrounding economic progress and poverty. In this role, you will spend 3-4 months of the year covering the Mississippi Legislature and the remainder of the year working on more enterprise and investigative stories. We cover the things that matter most to Mississippians to make an impact.

 

OTHER

The Elise Richmond Show – Conservatively Thinking

The Elise Richmond Show, a conservative talk radio show in New Albany, is looking for a student to be an apprentice. The duties will be to organize the social media weekly, maintain an email and text list, and also maintain a program to post past radio shows on the website. You will also have an opportunity to operate the board during the show. You may, if you are so inclined, do research for show content and be an on-air contributor.

  • Requirements: Undergraduate
  • Deadline: N/A
  • Contact: 760-409-5297 (Elise Richmond)
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