D.C. internship opportunities for students

University of Texas System students have an opportunity to earn credit for coursework while getting hands-on work experience through a full-time internship in Washington D.C. for the fall, spring and summer semesters.

The Archer Center, founded in 2001, provides talented undergraduate, graduate and medical students from across the UT System with the opportunity to live, learn and intern in the nation’s capitol by offering varied experiential learning programs, according to its website. 

UTRGV undergraduate students that are selected attend during the fall or spring, while graduate students attend during the summer.  

Mark Andersen, dean of the Honors College and campus coordinator for the Archer Fellowship Program, said there have been students from every major and different kinds of programs. 

“There are literally thousands of other internships available in Washington, D.C., not just with the government,” Andersen said.

He said undergraduate students complete 15 credit hours of academic coursework, of which six are covered by the internship. Graduate students complete nine hours, of which three are covered by the internship. 

Leslie Hernandez, a May 2023 graduate from the College of Business and Entrepreneurship and current Archer alumni ambassador, said 50 applicants are selected from all over Texas.

Hernandez said applicants are selected “based on what they have done as service leaders and to improve their community, extracurriculars of academics, as well as their interests in policy.”

She interned with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the Reporting Analytics Monitoring Team.

“What I did was compile a bunch of Excel sheets and information into pretty little graphs and Power BI created dashboards for them,” Hernandez said. “It turns out that from this, I created the most useful dashboard in the entire bureau.”

Andersen said the application process is online through archercenter.org. 

“The students are also interviewed for 20 minutes to half an hour,” he said. 

The interview questions cover information in the students’ applications and their personal statements. 

“They need to have some sort of personal history and experience of volunteering or leadership in community organizations or student organizations,” Andersen said. “That’s pretty important.” 

The Archer Fellowship program offers scholarship opportunities for students and any financial aid they have will apply. The program receives a funding line from the Board of Regents, which provides support for the students, according to Andersen. 

“As long as you can figure out some way to make those courses fit into your degree plan, the financial aid will cover them,” he said. “There’s also support from the Archer Center itself.” 

Isaac Salas, a marketing junior, was a recipient of a scholarship. 

“I know they do provide very good scholarships to people because I got a good amount, which I benefit greatly from,” Salas said.

He is currently an intern in the digital team for The National Education Association.

“We go to congressional hearings relating to educational policy,” Salas said. “Based on what they hear, they’ll go back to their headquarters and create strategies as to whether or not advocate for this policy or vice versa.”

Hernandez earned a scholarship for her community involvement. 

“That was one of the bigger scholarships,” she said.

Asked how students can benefit from the experience, Hernandez replied, “ … They offer full-time offers and then networking is also so big in D.C., like, you’ll meet so many people automatically as soon as you’re an Archer fellow.”

According to the Archer Center website, the 2024-2025 Archer Fellowship Program application will open in mid-November and close at 11:59 p.m. Feb. 15, 2024.

The Summer 2024 Graduate Archer Fellowship Program is now open and closes Nov. 3.

For questions, contact Andersen at mark.andersen@utrgv.edu.