Internships

Internships in Congressional offices can be very rewarding experiences. I am pleased that you are interested in learning about them.

I currently have three Congressional offices – one on Capitol Hill, one in Rockville and a satellite office in Mt. Airy. The Capitol Hill office handles all of the legislative work and the Rockville and Mt. Airy offices handle constituent casework and community outreach. All of our offices interact with constituents, but in different ways.

Interns on Capitol Hill have the opportunity to see how legislation is created while interns in the Rockville office see how that legislation directly affects people. Responsibilities in every office include answering the phones, filing, and helping with the mail. Capitol Hill interns will often be asked to attend hearings, draft correspondence, and give tours of the Capitol. District office interns will be asked to draft correspondence, meet with constituents, and attend events in the community. There are currently no internships available at the Mt. Airy office.

During your internship, you will be assigned to one office but you will be able to visit the other offices and see how each part of a congressional office functions and interrelates. This is a rather unique opportunity, provided by virtue of our district office being located close to Capitol Hill. Both the Rockville and Capitol Hill offices are accessible by public transportation.

Summer Internships:

The deadline for applying for this year's summer internship program has passed.

For an internship during the academic year:

To be eligible for an internship during the academic year, you must be able to work a minimum of 10 hours/week (for the Rockville office) or full-time (for the Capitol Hill office). Please note that while having our district close to Capitol Hill offers many advantages, it also greatly increases the demand for internship positions. While we will endeavor to offer as many positions as we can, please understand that we will not be able to offer a position to every applicant.

To apply for an internship, please complete the attached application and return it to the address below with a cover letter, resume and short writing sample. Applications during the school year are considered on a rolling basis. Please send your applications by mail or fax to:

Internship Coordinator
Office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen
51 Monroe Street, Suite 507
Rockville, MD 20850 Fax: (301) 424-5992