2024-33i: 2025 Paid Evidence-to-Practice Internship

Are you a master’s student with experience running, managing, or working on programs operated by public or nonprofit agencies or organizations serving underrepresented or underserved populations? Are you interested in learning more about what education and social policy research organizations do and how practitioners fit into this work? Are you curious about how evaluation studies can inform public policy and support program practices?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be an ideal candidate for the MDRC Gueron Scholars Program’s paid Evidence-to-Practice Internship. At MDRC, “evidence to practice” refers to work focused on providing program improvement supports grounded in evidence, building strategic collaborations and implementing programs in education and social policy fields, and working at the intersection of practice, policy, and research.

Directed by MDRC’s Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Inclusion, in collaboration with The Policy Academies, and coordinated by MDRC’s Evidence to Practice team, the mission of the internship is to provide individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the social and education policy research community with an opportunity for professional experience in the field.

The benefits of the internship are many: working directly with experts who understand how programs operate, learning how evaluators apply research methods to answer important policy questions, discovering how to provide technical assistance to organizations interested in building a learning agenda, and catapulting one’s career in this exciting field of policy research.

In the summer of 2025, MDRC will offer a paid eight-week internship for two master’s students who are interested in working with organizations at different stages of building evidence. This includes learning how to support organizations to: use data to learn the best ways to support their clients; identify and solve challenges that get in the way of strong services; answer questions about how their program or services make a difference; or launch a new program, service, or strategy to improve the well-being of those in communities with low incomes.

The internship is designed to provide opportunities for master’s students to gain “hands-on” exposure to social policy research and technical assistance (that is, providing collaborative consultation to support programs and improve service delivery), gain insight into employment options beyond the academic and public sectors, and benefit from the guidance and support of MDRC’s staff.

Interns will have the opportunity to support projects within one or more of MDRC’s five policy areas, two centers, or one of its research support units:

• Family Well-Being and Children’s Development
• K-12 Education
• Postsecondary Education
• Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities
• Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and Employment
• Center for Applied Behavioral Science
• Center for Data Insights
• Data Collection Unit

The paid internship provides the opportunity to work with MDRC teams on a range of activities, including:

• Collaborating with MDRC’s team of field liaisons and technical assistance staff who have expertise in program design, program assessment, evaluation start-up, and technical assistance on program implementation to learn about how we work with practitioners and support programs to develop a learning agenda and strengthen services
• Partnering with program sites and MDRC researchers to ensure that the organizations participating in our evaluations have strong programs
• Delivering a presentation to MDRC staff based on the intern’s summer internship experience
• Collaborating with colleagues and MDRC staff to learn about the process for implementing large-scale impact evaluations and what role evidence-to-practice staff play in supporting these efforts.
• Observing and learning about the strategies and methods used to translate research evidence into practice and policy.
• Learning various approaches for building partnerships with program staff and supporting program improvement. 

Qualifications

• Must be enrolled in a master’s program with an expected completion date of December 2025 or June 2026.
• Must be pursuing a degree in public policy, public administration, psychology, sociology, child development, child welfare, family relations, criminal justice, education, or related fields.
• Must be interested in learning about how MDRC designs and conducts social science research.
• In addition to academic experience, MDRC evidence-to-practice staff often have backgrounds in direct service delivery and management within government agencies or nonprofit organizations. Applicants with such experience are preferred.

Applications should be submitted by Tuesday, December 31, 2024. All applications and supporting materials will be reviewed after the application deadline.

Instructions: When submitting your application, please include the following:

• A résumé, including relevant work and academic experience.
• A personal statement (up to two single-spaced pages) that discusses (1) your interest in public policy issues and research, (2) your immediate career interests and goals after graduating from your program, (3) how this internship, coupled with your academic pursuits and/or prior experiences, will contribute to your professional growth, and (4) how your background, identity, academic studies, and life experience have impacted your professional pursuits and help achieve the goal of the Gueron Scholars Program to bring greater diversity to the field. In addition, applicants who intend to receive academic credit for the internship must state this in their personal statement
• A copy of your unofficial graduate school transcript(s)
• Two academic or professional references. 
• Please note: Applications that do not include all the required materials will be deemed incomplete and removed from consideration. This includes personal statements that do not explicitly address in detail the four points stated above

Important Things to Know 

• Interns will be expected to begin their internships in June of 2025
• Interns are paid $23.00 per hour
• Interns are expected to work 35 hours per week
• Interns will be required to work in the New York office five days a week to participate in program activities
• MDRC is pleased to provide housing for all interns. Applicants invited to interview virtually will receive more information about this benefit
• This position may require minimal travel for site visits and a multi-day trip to Washington, DC, for professional networking. These expenses will be covered by the program

MDRC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. No qualified applicant, employee, intern, volunteer, or apprenticeship trainee will be discriminated against on the basis of his, her, or their race (including traits historically associated with race, including but not limited to hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, national origin (including physical, cultural or linguistic characteristics), marriage to or association with persons of a national origin group, tribal affiliation, membership in or association with an organization identified with or seeking to promote the interests of a national origin group, name that is associated with a national origin group, accent, language use, immigration status, citizenship, possession of a driver’s license issued to persons unable to prove their lawful presence in the United States, and other definitions under California or other states’ laws, ancestry, creed, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), age, citizenship, veteran and/or military status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity (including transgender status), gender expression, gender transitioning or perceived gender transitioning, marital status or civil partnership/union status, physical or mental disability (actual or perceived), medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, protected medical leaves (requesting or being approved for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act) or similar state family medical leave laws, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state or local law. Legal work authorization is required. To request a reasonable accommodation during any stage of MDRC’s employment process due to a disability, please contact [email protected]

MDRC’s dedication to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion exceed compliance requirements. We believe that recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce of all backgrounds and perspectives improves the quality and relevance of our research, as well as the daily experiences of our staff. By fostering an equitable culture of inclusivity and belonging, we seek an environment in which staff feel welcomed, valued, and engaged in their work.