HACU National Internship – Federal Program

For national membership (U.S. and Puerto Rico), any regionally accredited, nonprofit tax-exempt (as determined by the IRS) institution of higher education, either college or university, is eligible to join HACU.

For international membership (outside of the U.S. and Puerto Rico), any institution of higher education abroad that is a legally constituted entity authorized to operate in its country according to the rules and regulations required by its government, is eligible to join HACU.

For school district membership (K-12), any school district in the U.S. or Puerto Rico, where total Hispanic enrollment constitutes a minimum of 25% of the total district enrollment, is eligible to join as a Hispanic-Serving School District (HSSD) affiliate of HACU.

For Educational Affiliation (nonprofits), any nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, association or council that supports HACU’s mission is eligible to join as an Educational Affiliate of HACU.

For-profit institutions of higher education (in the U.S. and Puerto Rico), companies and foundations are ineligible to join. These organizations, however, may consider partnering with HACU or donating to La Hache de HACU.

Contact HACU’s Development Department for more information on these opportunities at [email protected].

Yes, if you are a faculty or staff person at a nonprofit institution of higher learning, you are eligible to join HACU.  The Faculty & Staff Affiliation is an individual membership and is not transferable to another person.

Students at nonprofit institutions of higher education may also join as Student Affiliates and student organizations may join as Student Organization Affiliates.

HACU has five categories of membership and these listings are located on our website. For a compete list of our members or to research if your institution is a member, please visit HACU’s online Membership Directory by clicking here. 

Membership applications for new members can be found at Members/New Member Application. Individuals can join by using the Faculty and Staff Affiliate Application. HACU will review and approve your application within five working days from submission. If there are any questions regarding your application, HACU will contact the HACU Contact, Administrative Assistant and/or President (institutional membership) or the individual applying for Faculty and Staff Affiliate membership. Upon approval of your membership application, an invoice will be e-mailed to the Accounting/Billing Contact listed on the application or directly to the Faculty and Staff Affiliate for individual membership.

HACU’s membership year runs from January 1 to December 31. Institutions can join any time during the year.

The dues sheet is located on HACU’s website under Members/Membership Dues. Membership dues are published a few months prior to the start of the calendar year. Please base your payment on the official invoice submitted to you after the application or renewal approval. Do not base your dues on previous year’s invoices or applications.

Payment options include ACH/Direct Deposit, credit card, check, purchase order, and wire transfer (international members only). 

HACU maintains several contacts for each member institution, which may include:

• President/CEO*
• HACU Contact*
• Admin Assistant (to President/CEO or HACU Contact)*
• Accounting/Billing Contact*
• Dean of Students
• Director of Career Services
• Director of Communications
• Director of DEI or HSI Initiatives
• Director of Federal Grants and Contracts
• Director of Financial Aid
• Director of Government Relations
• Director of International Programs
• Vice President of Academic Success
• Vice President/Director of Advancement

*Contact required to process membership application.

For national members (U.S. and Puerto Rico), your institution’s undergraduate, graduate, and total enrollment statistics and the number of Hispanic students in each of these categories for the fall prior to the membership year will be required. For example, the 2015 membership year application will request enrollment statistics for Fall 2014. “Total Enrollment” is defined as including full-time and part-time students whether at the undergraduate or graduate level (including professional schools) of the institution, or both (headcount, for-credit students).

International members will be asked to provide total enrollment statistics for their institution and the date, month, year of these statistics. They will also be asked to list their institution’s three principal areas of study and the total enrollment in each of these programs.

Hispanic-Serving School Districts will be asked to provide total enrollment statistics at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels, as well as the number of Hispanic students at each of these categories for the fall prior to the membership year being applying for by the district.

Renewal notifications are sent via e-mail approximately two months prior to the start of the new membership year (January 1).

For institutional renewals, the President, HACU Contact, Administrative Assistant, and Accounting/Billing Contact receive this notification. Institutions can renew their membership here. Only the President’s, HACU Contact’s, Administrative Assistant’s, and Accounting/Billing Contact’s usernames and passwords are authorized to renew their institution’s membership. Existing member contacts data will populate the institutional renewal application and can be updated as necessary. However, enrollment statistics will be blank and must be updated for the renewal to be processed.

Faculty and Staff Affiliates can renew their membership using the Faculty and Staff Affiliate Renewal Application. Affiliates’ usernames and passwords authorize them to renew their membership. Existing member contact data will populate their renewal application and can be updated as necessary.

You can request a Password Reminder from HACU’s website under Members/Member Login Info.  Enter your user name, leave the password field blank and click on the “Login” button.  A red message will appear saying your password is being emailed to you. If you do not receive your password, please contact the Membership Department to double check your e-mail address on file to make sure what we have is correct.

Usernames and passwords are sent via e-mail to all institutional contacts and Faculty and Staff Affiliates upon approval of their membership. If you can not locate your username, please contact our Membership Department at [email protected].

Yes. You can visit HACU’s website at Update Your Individual Profile. You will need your user name and password to login, so please have these available. You will not be allowed to change your name or the name of your institution during the update. If these have changed, please contact our Membership Department at [email protected].

Only the President, HACU Contact, Administrative Assistant, and Accounting/Billing Contact usernames and passwords can modify the member institution’s profile by visiting Update Your Institutional Profile on our website. Institutions can add or remove contacts at the member institution or edit general institutional information. However, required contacts (Presidents, HACU Contacts, Administrative Assistants and Accounting/Billing Contacts) cannot remove themselves as contacts. For instance, if there is a new President, the current President cannot login with his/her username and replace him/herself with a new President. In this instance, the Administrative Assistant, HACU Contact or Accounting/Billing Contact could make this change or the President’s staff person could contact the Membership Department to make the change. The same applies to HACU Contacts, Administrative Assistants and Accounting/Billing Contacts. You are not allowed to change your name, the name of your institution, or enrollment statistics during updates. If these have changed, please contact the Membership Department at [email protected].

A fixed number of contacts is maintained per member institution and only the President, HACU Contact or Administrative Assistant can add or remove these.  You will need to contact your President, HACU Contact or Administrative Assistant and request that you replace one of the contacts that HACU currently maintains with your institution.  You can also consider joining as HACU a Faculty and Staff Affiliate, available to individuals at HACU-member and non-member institutions.

All Faculty and Staff Affiliates receive an additional discount on the already reduced member rate to attend HACU conferences and events. They also receive a subscription to The Voice and e-mail updates regarding advocacy, grants and contracts, student programs, internships, and scholarships.

Yes, the Member List Order Form is available on HACU’s website under HACU Members/Member Addresses. You may submit the completed form to HACU with payment to receive a list of our members. Payment is required in full before the order is processed. Purchased lists include the following contact information: contact name, contact title and institutional mailing address. An additional discount is available for addresses purchased by HACU members.

If you have questions or would like information on our Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSD) affiliation, please contact Jarvis Clark, Director of Student Services and PK-12 Initiatives, at (210) 576-3215 or [email protected].

Yes! HNIP (with federal agencies) is open to all students, whether your institution is a Hispanic-Serving Institution, HACU member, or not. Please see the eligibility section above for more information.

Yes! In accordance with state and federal law, HACU will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment because of race, disability, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, veteran status, or non-job related factors. Please see the eligibility section above for more information. 

HACU serves as your employer on record. HACU is a contractor of the federal government, making interns sub-contractors of the federal government. As your official employer, HACU pays interns. 

If you are selected for a hybrid or in-person internship position and are required to relocate to Washington, D.C., HACU will arrange housing for you.

When applicable, HACU does not pay for housing, but rather fully arranges it and supports interns so there is no upfront cost or burden.

HACU will arrange for you to live with other interns, choose an appropriate apartment and location close to work and necessities, and provide furnishings so you just need to bring your suitcase. HACU ensures that there is no credit check, no security deposit, and no upfront costs (e.g. administrative fees, move-in fees, or first month’s rent). Interns will have their total rent for the entire session equally divided and deducted from their bi-weekly paychecks.

All HACU interns can choose to instead arrange their own housing and manage payments on their own if they would like.

As a way to support interns if selected for a hybrid or in-person internship and relocating. Transportation to your housing for the first time will also be arranged and covered.

Most of the internship positions require interns to be currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program during the time of the internship. There are a limited number of positions available to recent graduates. One position that is available is HNIP’s Conduit Program with the Library of Congress.

No. Your pay rate is determined by your degree level at the time of the internship. Please see the pay rates information above. 

The only place in your application that we would suggest specifying positions or agencies is as a separate sentence before starting your actual essay. Otherwise, we highly encourage keeping your application generic since HACU can submit your application to multiple agencies. You don’t want to limit your options and miss out on the perfect opportunity. 

In general, we suggest that you complete your application in a way that demonstrates your skills and goals. In doing so, you keep your options open and will not miss out on a perfect match between your own goals and those of varying agencies. Please recognize that a generic application does NOT mean lacking details. Load your application with details as they are what truly paints a picture of you and your skills and goals. 

Internships are 40-hours per week. However, some agencies are able to accommodate part-time interns, with a minimum of 20-hours per week. 

Prior to being selected, the three statuses as an applicant you need to be aware of are as follows:

• In Progress – exactly as it sounds; you have not yet submitted your application 
• Submitted – you have submitted your application and either a) HNIP Staff needs to review it for completeness or b) it is incomplete, most likely missing the appropriate documents
• Eligible – HNIP Staff have reviewed your application and it is complete; your application is eligible for consideration

After submitting your application, you are only able to edit your general contact information. If you would like to upload different documents, please email the PDF(s) to [email protected], making sure to include your full name, application session, and document type(s). If you would like to edit the resume section, work history, and/or education portion(s) of your application, please email [email protected] with the details, and we will either complete the edits (if simple and quick) or change your application back to in progress for you to edit and resubmit. 

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Once your application status is switched to eligible, your application is considered for all available positions. When HNIP receives internship openings, staff reviews the eligible applicant pool and submits applications for consideration by the agency.

HNIP continually receives position requests from agencies. Some submit requests months in advance, whereas others submit their requests a few weeks before a session starts. After filling the last position for a session, likely a few weeks into the session, we will notify all applicants not selected via email. If you are not selected, we highly encourage you to apply again as opportunities are different session to session!