CEQ Internship Program

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is responsible for advising the President and Vice President on national and international environmental policy matters and ensuring that federal agencies operate efficiently in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Internship application

Internship description: The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is a small agency, currently staffed with twenty-one people. Interns serve primarily as administrative and research support staff. This means sharing office duties with other interns and with permanent staff. Duties might include answering phones, routing mail, copying documents, filing and retrieving information (conventionally or electronically), assembling briefing materials and performing assigned research tasks. The pace is fast. Accuracy and attention to detail are absolute requirements. Interns can expect to begin with the basics and gradually add more specialized projects as they gain experience.

Qualifications Needed: We are seeking students who are committed to the preservation of our environment and our national economic strength. Applicants must be highly motivated, willing to contribute where needed and able to handle the inherent pressure that comes with working within the Executive Office of the President.

These positions are unpaid internships. Prerequisites include a 3.4 grade point average, excellent communications skills, computer literacy and relevant classroom or practical experience. We strongly prefer candidates who are available to work full time, but will consider applicants who cannot. CEQ will work with interns who are attempting to arrange credit with a college or university to help fulfill academic requirements

CEQ Legal Internship Program: CEQ has a very competitive legal internship program. We receive approximately 20 applications per session, both law students and recent law school graduates from across the nation. However, we typically accept only 2 to 3 law students per session. CEQ's limited number of staff, coupled with its important responsibilities, serve to make the legal internship program critical to the success of our office. We have unpaid internship opportunities available year round and are currently seeking legal interns for the spring, summer, and fall sessions.

Legal interns work for CEQ's General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel who are charged with handling a variety of matters concerning oversight of NEPA and other legal matters pertinent to CEQ's functions. Legal interns have the opportunity to work closely with the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel in important ways, including:

• Attending interagency working group meetings
• Responding to Freedom of Information Act requests
• Writing legal memoranda
• Compiling legal research on specific environmental issues
• Tracking federal agency actions on certain environmental issues
• Monitoring press and public interest on environmental issues
• Attending Congressional hearings

Requirements: We are seeking law students and recent law school graduates who are committed to the preservation of our environment and economic strength. Applicants must be highly motivated, willing to contribute where needed, and able to handle the pressures that come with working in an Executive Branch office. While there are no prerequisites for internships other than relevant classroom or work experience, we strongly prefer candidates who are available to work full time (four or five days per week). Our office will work with students who are attempting to make arrangements for credit from their schools.