Middle East Studies

Research Assistant Internships at the Middle East Institute

February 5, 2018

Research Assistant Internships - Next Cycle Deadline: March 1, 2018

All materials and questions should be sent to internships@mei.edu. Research Assistant internships are available for three terms annually. Please refer to internship program page and FAQ page for more information.

ABOUT

The Middle East Institute offers a small number of research assistant internships with MEI Adjunct Scholars. MEI provides a venue for scholars and senior policy analysts of diverse backgrounds and nationalities to work on contemporary issues regarding the region. MEI's scholars are frequently quoted in leading U.S. and international newspapers. Their articles are published on MEI's popular website and distributed through a powerful social media network and direct e-mail outreach platform reaching tens of thousands of subscribers.

Research Assistants support scholars with their current research and writing projects. In many cases, interns have attended high-level briefings and co-authored articles with their scholars.

Availability Requirements: 20-35 hours/week

DESIRED SKILLS

Qualified undergraduates and recent graduates are encouraged to apply, though Master's students are preferred. Language skills are preferred and may be required depending on scholars' needs. Previous research experience is a plus.

THE BENEFITS

Interns represent more than half of MEI's staff. As a result, you will be presented with exciting opportunities to do real work that has real outcomes. There is no filing or coffee-running in this job. Instead, you will immerse yourself in issues relating to the Middle East, and be expected to complete substantive assignments with personal guidance from your supervisor. All internships at the Middle East Institute are unpaid, though the Leadership Development Internship Program is packed with other benefits:

  1. Free language courses at the Institute in an intimate classroom setting with native-speaking professors
  2. SmarTrip card which is reloaded with $100 per month for travel to and from MEI
  3. Opportunities to discuss career paths with experts in government, academia, and non-profit and private sectors through the Intern Development Series
  4. Workshops to build skills such as resume and cover letter writing, networking, HTML/CSS coding, how to write news articles and op-eds
  5. Encouragement to attend conferences at MEI and other think-tanks in the DC area to foster your understanding of current topics in the Middle East, and to expand your professional network
  6. One-year electronic subscription to the MEI's flagship publication, The Middle East Journal, the oldest peer-reviewed journal dedicated to Middle East scholarship
  7. Access to a network of MEI intern alumni, who work in a wide variety of fields both in DC and around the world

APPLICATION PROCESS

The applications are accepted on a rolling basis until:

Fall (September – December): June 1
Spring (January– May): November 1
Summer (June – August): March 1

To apply for an internship, please send the items below in PDF format to Shabnam Jafari at internships@mei.edu. Format the email's subject according to the following model: Last Name- Fall Internship Application. Please note that due to the large volume of applicants, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

  1. Cover letter
  2. Resume
  3. One professional and two academic references (contact information only; no letters, please)
  4. Five-page (maximum), double-spaced writing sample on a topic relevant to current events in the Middle East
  5. College transcript (unofficial preferred).