Paid Internship and Fellowship Opportunities for Students Enrolled in North Carolina and South Carolina Colleges and Universities

Published on December 15, 2025

In summer 2026, MDRC, one of the nation’s premier social policy research firms, will offer students a paid eight-week internship or fellowship through its Gueron Scholars Program. Based on funding received, this opportunity is open to one rising senior, one master’s student, and one doctoral student enrolled in colleges or universities in North Carolina and South Carolina. The successful applicants will receive housing, limited travel reimbursement, and a commuter stipend to support their participation. Read below for specific details about these opportunities. Applications are due Friday, January 23, 2026.

Undergraduate Internship

Are you a rising senior in college with a strong interest in learning about social programs, policies, and research? Areyou curious how program evaluations can inform social policy? Are you considering graduate education or a career in social policy?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be an ideal candidate for the Gueron Scholars Program’s paid summer internship at MDRC.

MDRC will offer one rising senior enrolled in a North Carolina or South Carolina college or university a paid eight-week internship in New York City. The student selected for this opportunity will be exposed to multidisciplinary teams that develop and evaluate programs focused on current social policy issues. The intern will have theopportunity to engage in assigned hands-on tasks within one or more of MDRC’s five policy areas, two centers, or one of its research policy support units:

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

Qualifications

Must be in good standing academically at a college or university in North Carolina or South Carolina and on track to be a college senior in the Fall of 2026 or Spring of 2027.
Must be interested in social policy issues as evidenced by coursework in criminal justice, economics, education policy, political science, psychology, public administration, social policy, sociology, or relatedfields. Internship or extracurricular experience working on social policy topics is a plus.
Must be interested in learning about how MDRC designs and conducts social policy research.
Must possess basic understanding of qualitative or quantitative research methods or data science.
Must be able to self-motivate and manage multiple workplace tasks with excellent attention to detail.
Must be comfortable working in a team-oriented, fast-paced professional workplace.
Must be comfortable with and interested in learning to use new business software and technology.
Must be comfortable collaborating in a professional manner in a hybrid workplace.
Must be committed to learning and continuous improvement.
Must possess strong oral and written communication skills.

Apply on Handshake at https://duke.joinhandshake.com/jobs/10547851/share_preview

Master’s 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 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 abouthow 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 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.

MDRC will offer a paid eight-week internship for one master’s student who is interested in working with organizations at different stages of building evidence. This includes learning how to support organizations to: (1) use data to learn the best ways to support their clients; (2) identify and solve challenges that get in the way of strong services; (3) answer questions about how their program or services make a difference; or (4) launch a new program, service, or strategy to improve the well-being of those in communities with low incomes. The intern 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:

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

Qualifications

Must be in good standing academically at a college or university in North Carolina or South Carolina andenrolled 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.

Apply on Handshake at https://duke.joinhandshake.com/jobs/10565064/share_preview

Doctoral Fellowship

As part of its Gueron Scholars Program, MDRC, teaming up with The Policy Academies, will offer one paid fellowship to a doctoral student who is pursuing independent, self-directed research on economic, educational, or social problems affecting Americans with low incomes. The goal of the fellowship is to provide an opportunity for a doctoral student to gain exposure to social policy research and professional networks, understand employment options beyond the academic and public sectors, and access the advice and support of MDRC’s staff in completing their dissertations. Applications are open to all interested doctoral students enrolled in a university in North Carolina or South Carolina,

MDRC has created this special financial assistance program for one student enrolled in a doctoral program in child welfare, criminal justice, economics, education policy, family relations, psychology, social policy sociology, or related fields that align with our project work that is conducted in the following five policy areas:

Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities Policy Area
Family Well-Being and Children’s Development Policy Area
K-12 Education Policy Area
Postsecondary Education Policy Area
Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and Employment Policy Area

Qualifications

Must be enrolled at a university in North Carolina or South Carolina and in good academic standing in adoctoral program in criminal justice, economics, education policy, political science, psychology, social policy, sociology, or related fields. Students specializing in data science for social good are also encouraged to apply.
Must use qualitative or quantitative research methods in their dissertation.
Must have a dissertation proposal or prospectus that addresses a policy-relevant question that has been approved by the applicant’s academic department and, if applicable, by their university’s Institutional Review Board.

Apply on Handshake at https://duke.joinhandshake.com/jobs/10548120/share_preview