Coming Soon to Your Agency: Virtual Internships

A virtual internship program at the State Department this fall will expand to include more federal agencies, opening up more than 450 online jobs to college students.

The government will begin accepting applications on July 2 for the Virtual Student Foreign Service Program, an eInternship program that enables U.S. college students to work on special projects at select federal agencies. Previously, the program was only available at State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, but this year, the Broadcasting Board of Governors and the Commerce and Agriculture departments also will offer virtual positions through the program.

Bridget Roddy, program manager for the VSFS program, said Friday that there has been strong demand from employees to have eInterns, with the number of projects increasing 76 percent from last year.

“By offering American college students the opportunity to contribute to the work government does, not only are we able to harness energy, excitement and enthusiasm from an audience outside our organization, but we are able to accomplish more with more,” Roddy said.

The program is offering 276 unique projects and more than 450 positions this year to college students. Students will be required to spend 10 hours per week contributing to projects for an office or section from September 2013 through April 2014.

Students interested in the internships can apply to up to three on USAJobs.gov from July 2-20. Students are required to submit a copy of their school transcript, a statement of interest and a resume. The virtual internships are unpaid and do not require a security clearance.

Once selected, virtual interns will be invited to join a closed online community and will receive recognition from the State Department for successfully completing the eInternship.

“In addition to diplomacy and development, students can apply to contribute to projects focused on commerce, agriculture, journalism, education and culture,” Roddy said.

Roddy said this year’s VSFS program may also help move forward State’s microtasking platform initiative, which allows State employees to post unclassified, short tasks out to college students.

To learn more about this year’s VSFS program, click here.