HACU National Internship – Federal Program

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!  

Yes, absolutely! The positions we have change each session. We highly encourage students to apply routinely throughout their studies.

Please make sure to update your application each session to include new accomplishments and activities, including updated transcripts.