Howard University Graduate Intern

The ACLU seeks a Howard University Graduate intern in the Technology and Analytics Department of the ACLU’s National office in Washington D.C. or New York City. This internship can be remote or hybrid. This internship can be remote or hybrid.

Qualifying applicants must:

• Be a Howard University Graduate student
• Currently be enrolled in a Howard University's Masters Program
• Be based in the U.S. for the entire duration of the internship

The Team:

ACLU Analytics partners with teams across the organization to enable the ACLU to make smart, evidence-based decisions and bring quantitative insights on our issues to the courtroom and the public. Our team's work ranges from social science research for litigation & advocacy, to analysis & reporting for fundraising and engagement, to building and maintaining our data infrastructure. We strive to ensure the ACLU leads by example in the ethical use of data and technology. This includes maintaining our privacy and security standards, pushing for transparent data practices from government and corporate actors, and helping to steward high standards for algorithmic fairness, accountability, and transparency.

What You’ll Do:

This intern will support the team’s goal of optimizing engagement and increasing fundraising metrics for the nationwide organization. This includes conducting feature engineering for existing/new machine learning models, developing and running queries against our data warehouse to identify patterns and trends to support our partners in Development, Communications and Marketing and other departments. The intern will also have opportunities to work with experienced data scientists and analysts and develop skills across the entire data science lifecycle such as data collection, exploratory data analysis, feature engineering, modeling and evaluation.

Your Day to Day

• Support ongoing machine learning and analytics projects by helping prepare, explore, and analyze data
• Work with team members to test new ideas, features, and model improvements
• Learn how data moves through our systems and contribute to improving how we use it
• Analyze results and help translate findings into clear takeaways for the team
• Collaborate closely with teammates, incorporate feedback, and iterate on your work
• Build technical skills (e.g., SQL, Python, or R) while working on real-world data problems

What You’ll Bring:

• Familiarity with Python, R, SQL, or a similar analytics and programming language
• Excellent problem-solving skills
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Experience with data collection and cleaning using packages in Python (e.g. Pandas, Polars, etc.) or R (e.g. dplyr, data.table, etc.) is a plus
• Experience with data visualization (e.g. matplotlib, seaborn, ggplot, etc.) is a plus
• Experience with machine learning, causal inference and/or hypothesis testing is a plus. 

Future ACLU-ers Will:

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflict

Internship Logistics:

• Location: Our internship program offers a limited number of remote or hybrid intern positions. This internship is full-time, remote or hybrid from our New York City or Washington D.C. office and can be remote or hybrid.
• Time Commitment: Full-time (35 hours/week)
• Internship Duration: Full-time internships span 10 consecutive weeks. This internship has a start date of: May 26th or June 8th
• Stipend: A stipend is available for students who are lawfully authorized to work. Arrangements can be made with educational institutions for work/study or course credit.
  • Below is the stipend rate:
    
    • $24/hr for graduate and law students or equivalent experience

Why the ACLU:

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

Our Commitment to Accessibility, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion  

Accessibility, equity, diversity, and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change. We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us. 

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. 

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email [email protected]. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request accommodations for the interview process.

In order to be considered for this position, all candidates must formally submit an application. The ACLU does not accept unsolicited calls or emails from candidates regarding their application status.