Participants are undergraduate and graduate students, have a minimum 3.0 GPA and are active in community and campus activities.
HACU reviews applications for completeness and eligibility. HACU staff matches academic backgrounds to internship descriptions provided by the host organizations. Representatives from the host organizations and HACU staff work to ensure that students’ skills and goals are considered in placement. Agencies and corporations review applications and make the final selection. Supervisors are encouraged to interview applicants before making the final student selection. Students who are selected, will be contacted by HACU and offered the position. Interns work in the Washington, D.C. area and at field sites throughout the country. It is not possible for applicants to select which agencies or corporations for whom they will intern.
In the past, interns have enhanced their professional skills through placements in departments of public affairs, accounting, human resources and information technology, as well as laboratories, hospitals, airports, and national forests and parks, among others. Some intern assignments have included completing and analyzing research, writing speeches, conducting audits, performing land surveys, creating web pages, conducting community health surveys, and developing outreach strategies for under-served populations.
