“Are you looking for a unique opportunity to learn about The National Security Agency (NSA) mission while also directly contributing to the NSA’s civil liberties and privacy efforts? Would you like to join a team that promotes meaningful government transparency while helping NSA achieve the right balance between privacy and national security? During your tour in NSA’s Civil Liberties and Privacy Office (CLPO) you will see firsthand how fundamental privacy principles influence decision making at NSA on a daily basis.
The NSA CLPO Summer Intern Program offers a rising college senior exposure to a variety of cryptologic disciplines and civil liberties and privacy processes. The intensive 12-week program runs from mid-May through mid- August for select undergraduates entering the final year of an undergraduate degree program. This program permits summer interns to actively participate in or support on-going CLPO activities under the guidance of NSA professionals responsible for the following activities:
- Identifying and documenting existing Agency Civil Liberties and Privacy (CLP) activities.
- Identifying and making recommendations regarding improvements to existing gaps in CLP protections.
- Identifying topics for and providing input to external reports on activities.
- Creating written and briefing material suitable for both internal executive-level as well as public audiences.
- Establishing or coordinating mechanisms to ensure NSA complies with appropriate Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) regulations and standards to ensure that protection of civil liberties and privacy is incorporated into NSA policies and procedures.
- Managing or preparing, as appropriate, mandatory and adhoc internal and external reports.
Application Deadline
Applications are accepted 1 September – 15 October each year.
Salary
This NSA internship is a paid internship. Students will earn a competitive salary commensurate with their education level.
Benefits and Housing
- Annual leave, sick leave and paid federal holidays
- Participation in agency-wide extracurricular programs
- Round trip airfare ticket to and from school, or mileage reimbursement up to the cost of a government-issued airline ticket for students who attend schools in excess of 75 miles from Ft. Meade, MD
- Subsidized housing accommodations are available upon request if school is located in excess of 75 miles from NSA main HQs campus
- Interns are hired on a temporary appointment, and are not eligible for health insurance, life insurance, or Thrift Savings Plan benefits
Qualifications
- Must be a U.S. citizen.
- Must be eligible to be granted a security clearance.
- Must be a full-time undergraduate student entering the final year of a degree program or a graduate level student
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 is desired; strong candidates with slightly lower GPA will be considered on a case by case basis as space allows
- Must be available for the entire 12-week program.
- Must be available for an operational interview and other applicable processing between December 2016 and March 2017 or earlier.
Major studies areas of consideration
- International Affairs/Politics/Relations
- Intelligence/Security Studies
- Regional Studies
- Economics
- Psychology
- Decision/Information/Statistics/Data Science
- Note: Minors/Certificate programs or multiple courses in computer science, networking, technology, information assurance or telecommunications areas are highly sought.
Students attending schools designated by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as an Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence (IC CAE) in National Security Studies and designated as (IC Scholars) are particularly encouraged to apply. IC CAE schools are listed at the following link: http://www.nsa.gov/ia/academic_outreach/nat_cae/institutions.html
Clearance/Security Requirements
Applicants will be processed for a security clearance, and will be required to pass a psychological exam, lifestyle and counter intelligence polygraph, drug screening test, and complete a comprehensive history form that documents your foreign travel, educational background and employment history, among other areas.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted online at www.intelligencecareers.gov on or before 15 October 2016. Applications received after the deadline and incomplete packets will not be considered.
To submit a resume online during an open season:
- Click on any “Apply Online” link.
- Under “Basic Job Search,” type keywords “Civil Liberties”.
- Click on “Search” and select “Civil Liberties and Privacy Summer Intern Program”.
- Click “Apply Now” and follow the directions as prompted.
To be considered for the Civil Liberties and Privacy Summer Program, you application should include:
- Official transcripts through the current academic year (unofficial is acceptable if legible). Please see “Transcript” section below for more details.
- List of current Fall 2016 semester courses and proposed Spring 2017 course schedule.
- A resume. A well-written resume will include:
- Your contact information.
- Current and past degree seeking programs to include:
- Major
- Cumulative GPA
- Anticipated graduation date
- Degree concentration
- Lists of relevant courses taken, including the current semester’s course list.
- Computer languages known (indicate skill level – i.e. beginner, advanced, fluent, etc.)
- Awards, honors, and recognitions
- Relevant experiences or projects
- Relevant work experiences
- One letter of recommendation from a faculty member or employer familiar with your work.
As part of your application process and in an effort to better understand your ability to meet specific Mission needs, you will be asked to complete a set of online tests. The tests require a broadband internet connection (dial-up may affect performance) and can be completed at home or any other private, suitable location, 24 hours a day/7 days a week, and in less than 90 minutes. You will receive an email with testing login information after submitting your application, so please use a current email address when you apply.
Transcripts
Transcripts may be issued directly by the Registrar, or issued to you by the Registrar, then sent with your application materials. Only originals via post, photocopies of originals via post, scanned copies of originals via email (PDR format only) will be accepted. If your Registrar is capable of directly sending electronic transcripts, please have them sent directly to you and then email the transcript as an attachment. Please do not sent html transcripts accessible via a website or text versions thereof.
IMPORTANT: When applying online, you may only submit your resume. Please email all other required documentation to Summer_CLPO@nsa.gov
**Applications are not complete without the requested documentation. If you have applied to multiple positions, you MUST follow the instruction on each posting and send your requested documents to each program separately. Documents (including transcripts) will NOT be shared between programs.
Questions
If you have questions about the Intelligence Analysis Summer Program, please contact us at 1-866-NSA-HIRE. You may also e-mail Summer_Interns@nsa.gov or call (410) 854-4726.
For this and other student programs of the IC, visit: https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/icstudents.html“
