Preparing at Westminster for an FBI Honors Internship
Photo courtesy of the FBI website.
Interested in a career in the intelligence community? Dreaming of serving in the FBI? Read on for information about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Honors Internship Program, a highly competitive, 10-week, paid summer experience. Information compiled from Westminster student experience.
About the Internship Application
Those interested in the FBI Honors Internship must complete an extensive application and background investigation process. For a recent intern in the Midwest division, the application process included an interview and an essay submission that supplemented the USA jobs application and federal resume. The background investigation process included a polygraph, a drug test, and a security interview.
What’s the FBI internship like?
IDaily activities might include data entry, observing court proceedings and trial preparation, case specific research, contributing to intelligence reports, attending management meetings, and touring other federal and local law enforcement entities. Plus, interns can benefit from firearms training, participate as a victim in a SWAT exercise, and observe and complete the applicant physical fitness test.
Previous interns say they worked alongside special agents, intelligence personnel, and forensic accountants, and actively contributed to investigations.
“I learned a great deal about the FBI’s role within the intelligence community, the organizational culture of the FBI, the duties of special agents and intelligence analysts, and the importance of good working relationships between federal, state, and local law enforcement.” — FBI Honors Intern
“The best part of the internship was being surrounded by a wealth of knowledge and learning from people from a variety of backgrounds,” says a student who completed the internship. “On any given day I could walk around the office, from the cyber squad to the violent crimes squad, and speak with agents, analysts, and support personnel about past and present cases.”
How does Westminster prepare you for the experience?
Practice interviews. The immersive, active Westminster experience often presents opportunities to interview for various organizations on campus.
Small class sizes that create highly active course participation for Westminster students.
Professors that encourage students to visit during office hours, developing eagerness in students, ready to ask questions and learn from FBI employees within the field office.
The security studies program. Westminster’s program exposes students to topics such as the intelligence community and its oversight, interagency cooperation, elements of homeland security, and terrorism.
For more information on the FBI Honors Internship Program, click here.
Westminster’s Center for Career Development offers many internship opportunities to students of all majors. For more information contact the internship coordinator at 573-592-5382 or internship@westminster-mo.edu.
