CAPAL Public Service Internship Programs

The Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership (CAPAL) Public Service Internship Program places undergraduate and graduate students within the public sector in the Washington, DC area and their Public Service Field Internship Program Intern places undergraduate and graduate students within public sector positions throughout the United States.  Duties for the Public Service Internship Program may include policy or scientific research, project coordination and management, business, law, communications, and more. In addition to their internship requirements, interns will participate in CAPAL’s programming such as the Washington Leadership Program, be paired with professional mentors based on similar field interests, and reflect on their internships with other CAPAL interns and scholars during regular cohort sessions. Applicants are asked to specify their placement preferences on the application, and those selected will be placed based on their interests and skills. These internships are open to ALL MAJORS.

Public Service Field Internship placements may be in rural or urban areas, such as Alaska, Delaware, and California. Interns will be exposed to various duties such as conducting field research, performing site visits to local communities, and presenting their findings to various partners; they will be able to see their work directly benefit the communities around them. Field interns are also given the opportunity to interact with the DC-based CAPAL cohort via video chats and livestreams of various events. At the end of the program, field interns are flown to Washington, DC for CAPAL’s annual Closing Ceremony.