We are looking for interns with a wide array of
skills and majors (including but not limited to: Criminology,
Communications, Government, International Relations, Public Policy,
History, GIS, Geography, Economics, English, Mathematics,
Psychology, Languages and Statistics). Students from any institution
may apply and we will consider current and recently graduated
undergraduates, graduate students, and PhD candidates. In addition to
the experience gained during their internship, interns
will also receive mentoring, training and the opportunity to
participate in many professional development activities. START is very
willing to work with academic institutions to enable students to
undertake our internships for credit. Our internships are unpaid
and students must be able to undertake their work hours on location at
START Headquarters at the University of Maryland College Park.
The fall internship program will begin with an
orientation on August 25 and 26, 2016 and end on December 12, 2016.
Below is a sampling of available opportunities.
Global Terrorism Database (GTD)
The GTD is an open source, unclassified database
including information on terrorist attacks around the world since 1970.
The database is maintained by START researchers. The GTD includes
systematic data on domestic as well as international
terrorist incidents and now includes over 125,000 cases. The GTD intern
team is organized into the following themes:
·
GTD: Incident Location and Geographic Identification (GEOINT)
·
GTD: Perpetrator Identification
·
GTD: Target Classification
·
GTD: Understanding the Patterns and Use of Weapons and Tactics
·
GTD: The Consequences of Terrorism – Casualties and Outcome
Unconventional Weapons and Technology
The Unconventional Weapons and Technology Division
consists of a number of intensive, shorter-term research projects
concentrated on research topics within the larger study of terrorism and
politically violent non-state actors. Intern positions
are available in the following focus areas:
·
Advanced Research Internship (ARI)
·
Aviation Insider Threat Research
·
Behavioral Indicators of Insider Threats
·
Project Leviathan
·
Project Prometheus
·
Terrorist Ideology Project
Risk Communication and Community Resilience
Government, non-profits, and other organizations
rely on public communication to deliver important messages to various
audiences. Professional communicators today use social scientific
research to improve this process, and START’s research
teams have several current and upcoming communication projects that
address current research questions. Risk communication is important for
delivering messages about impending storms, terrorist attacks, public
health crises, and more. Interns working on this
team will support several ongoing research projects as well as new
projects.
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Interns will contribute to the construction of a
global, multimodal transportation network. Tasks will include analysis
and aggregation of large-scale datasets, database triangulation, manual
vector editing, extensive open-source research
into traditional and illicit transportation methods, digital
cartography/mapmaking, and translation of START’s qualitative research
into geospatial format. Interest/experience in global security and/or
terrorism is beneficial.
Communications
START’s Communications team is seeking interns to
assist with START’s communication activities and products. Intern
responsibilities vary but may include: Writing and editing press
releases and featured stories, planning and attending events,
creating media kits, developing and tracking media lists and monitoring
social media.
Understanding Domestic Radicalization
This internship is part of the Profiles of
Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) project, a
three-year project which seeks to establish an empirical basis to
investigate the underlying mechanisms and processes for individual
radicalization in the United States. Previous intern teams researched
information on radicalized individuals and entered it into a dataset;
wrote case studies on radicalized individuals; performed quality-control
checks on the dataset; performed structured
qualitative analysis; and assisted project staff in conducting analysis
on the quantitative data.
Developing Technology in Explosive Detection Dogs
Interns for this project will assist in developing
deployment strategies with explosive detection dogs while utilizing new
technology in the field. Interns will be working closely with four K9
dogs and their handlers while training and
being deployed for Person Borne Improvised Explosive Device Detection.
Interns must have a flexible schedule and ability to be around dogs.
Interns will be required to pass a brief background check.
START/State Department Terrorist Organizations Project
Students will gather and analyze statistics on
terrorist organizations over time. Projects will include collecting the
number and type of attacks over time, looking at trends, and possibly
even modeling group capacity out into the future.
Interns will also provide assistance in researching open source
information on the leadership of some groups for possible future
designations. Interns will be co-supervised by researchers at the
University of Maryland and by project leads at the State Department.
The State Department leads will set and give feedback on tasks. Interns
will be based at START’s offices on the University of Maryland campus.
Why choose an internship at START?
Experience working with a large team of dynamic and experienced researchers.
Exposure to cutting edge theories and methods.
Deepen your understanding of current issues in terrorism and homeland security.
Work on projects of immediate interest to the practitioner and policy community.
Hone and develop a range of transferable skills attractive to future employers.
Opportunity to work with and meet other students and researchers with similar interests.
Enrichment activities offering wide opportunities for learning and professional development.
Mentorship from START staff and researchers in a successful workplace environment.
Internships can be undertaken for academic credit (depending on approval from your institution and department).
General requirements
Applicants for all internships must:
Have a good academic record.
Demonstrate an interest in the subject matter.
Be able to complete their internship work hours on site at START.
Agree to attend orientation and training.
Submit an application by the deadline, all application packets must include:
o A complete application form
o One page resume
o Cover letter
o Writing sample
o Unofficial transcripts from most recent institution
Each project may have additional requirements,
including minimum credit hours, citizenship, preferred majors, and
compulsory meeting times.
