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ISW Internship Program Overview

ISW is offering in-person, remote, and hybrid internships for Fall 2026. Instructions to apply for the scholarship are below.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is committed to training the next generation of national security leaders through its innovative educational programs. ISW seeks motivated and experienced college students or recent graduates to join our intern team. ISW offers internships across diverse research portfolios and departments, including Russia, China, and Iran's Axis of Resistance. ISW also offers internships in Geospatial Intelligence and National Security Technologies, our Cognitive Warfare Task Force, and in Communications.

Why Work for ISW?

ISW believes that ground realities must drive the formulation of strategy and policy. In pursuit of this principle, ISW conducts detailed open-source intelligence analysis to provide timely and accurate information on current conflicts and security threats directly to policymakers and warfighters.

Interns at ISW have an unparalleled opportunity to analyze conflicts in ways that directly inform policymakers on some of the most pressing issues facing American national security. Our interns work directly with analysts. They receive classroom education, regular leadership engagement, and a chance to work with cutting-edge technologies employed in business and the intelligence community. Interns have the opportunity to stand at the front lines of military research and policy development, tackling the latest crises in the headlines.

The ISW Internship Program is one of three core education programs housed within The General David H. Petraeus Center for Emerging Leaders, launched to identify, educate, and develop the future cadre of leaders committed to America's national security. ISW views interns as an integral component of its team. ISW has worked with interns to draft, edit, and publish their own research under the mentorship of senior analysts. It has also hired many interns onto its staff.

Russia Occupation Research Internship: ISW is a leading source of innovative analysis and intelligence on global conflicts that threaten American national security. ISW publishes regular research reports and graphics to inform US and international policy-makers, warfighters, and journalists in Washington, DC, as well as the general public. Interns provide critical assistance to our analysts and receive hands-on training from their supervisors as well as a formal development program taught by our leadership. Interns will be trained to use innovative technologies to conduct open-source collection and analysis in a fast-paced environment.

Interns will support ISW's Russian Occupation Update product line and related research efforts, which examine the implications of Russian occupation strategy, governance policy, and coercive apparatus in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. Interns will be expected to collect, process, and analyze data from a wide-variety of open-sources and write sections of the Russian Occupation Update to publishable ISW standard. Interns will also support longer-term research efforts focusing on occupation administration, repression, sociocultural control, administrative integration, and the humanitarian and human rights implications of the occupation. Over the course of this internship, interns will develop a rigorous understanding of how military occupations are enacted and enforced,and how adversaries use occupation as a tool of influence and demographic management.This is a full-time internship (five days per week), but part-time work may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Qualifications

• Candidates must have a demonstrated interest in war studies, national security, or regional studies, particularly related to Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and the post-Soviet space.

• Candidates must also have a demonstrated interest in military occupations, irregular warfare and coercive activities, humanitarian and human rights issues in conflict zones, and internationalandhuman rights law.

• Candidates should preferablypossessstrong reading and listening comprehension in Russian and/or Ukrainian.

• Candidates mustpossessstrong analytical writing, editing, research, and communication skills.

• Candidates must be self-motivated, detail-oriented, independent, and capable of working in a constantly changing and fast-paced professional environment.

• Candidates should havedemonstratedprofessional or academic experience in using foreign languages (preferably Russian and/or Ukrainian) to conduct primary source research.

• Competitive candidates should also have professional or academic familiarity with open-source intelligence methodologies, including analysis of social media sources, government statements, satellite imagery, and local-levelreporting. Experience with mapping and data visualizationandorganization tools is also a plus.

• Candidates must show commitment to-and interest in-the core mission and values of ISW.

Fall 2026 Internship Program Dates: ISW internships starts on September 8, 2026. The program will run until December 11. Interns must both be authorized to work in the United States and be physically present in the United States during their internship tenure. Working remotely outside of the United States is not authorized. If you attend a US university on a student visa, you must be eligible for and obtain a CPT authorization before beginning at ISW.Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until July 24, 2026.

Instructions:Please upload your resume, cover letter, and writing sample. Your cover letter and writing sample should be no longer than five pages combined; the writing sample can be excerpted from a longer paper.

ISW will work with students to gain academic credit for internships where applicable.

ISW Scholarship Application

The Institute for the Study of War will offer intern candidates up to a $1,000 monthly living stipend as part of a scholarship program.* To be considered for the scholarship, candidates must upload a scholarship application as part of their internship application. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until July 24, 2026.

Candidates will be assessed based on the following criteria:

1. Ability to contribute as a member of one of ISW's research, operations, business development, or external relations teams; and
2. Financial need, such that an unpaid internship would not be possible without assistance.

Within the scholarship application, candidates should upload a 2- to 3-page cover letter which answers each of the following questions. (This should be a different cover letter than the one used for the internship application itself.)

1. Which ISW internship is your top choice? Why do you believe you are qualified?
2. What do you believe to be the most pressing national security problem the US faces today? What solution(s) would you propose?
3. Where do you see yourself in your future career? How will an ISW internship help you get there?
4. Why have you chosen to apply for this supplemental scholarship?
5. Are you currently receiving federal financial aid and/or need-based aid from your university? Feel free to describe using as much detail as you are comfortable.

*Please note that the up to $1,000 monthly scholarship is classified as taxable income.

Questions? Email internships@understandingwar.org for more information.