Table of Contents

Each year, undergraduates from across the country join FIRE in our Philadelphia office for an eight-week-long internship. FIRE’s Summer Internship Program runs from June 9 through August 1 this year, and interns receive a stipend. Why should college students seek a summer internship with FIRE? Here are five great opportunities a FIRE internship provides:

1. Interns work with FIRE staff.

FIRE interns work closely with FIRE staff for the duration of the internship and form great friendships and lasting professional relationships. Although the internship ends after eight weeks, interns often stay in touch with FIRE long after the summer ends.

2. Interns write for FIRE’s blog, The Torch.

FIRE provides interns with a great opportunity to improve their writing skills. Every intern writes for FIRE’s blog, The Torch, and receives feedback from staff members. This experience makes students better writers, more capable of forming cohesive arguments, and better suited to defend students’ rights in the future.

3. Interns meet free speech advocates.

Each week, FIRE interns are treated to an educational session with a free speech advocate. FIRE interns have met speakers like Nadine Strossen, former President of the American Civil Liberties Union; Michael Meyers, Executive Director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition; and Muriel Morisey, Associate Professor of Law at the Beasley School of Law at Temple University—as well as many other prominent civil liberties experts—to discuss a variety of issues related to free speech and other individual rights.

4. Interns spend a summer in Philadelphia.

The FIRE office is a great place to learn about free speech, but you can learn about FIRE’s core principles outside the office, too. FIRE is located in Philadelphia, just across the street from Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and United States Constitution were debated, and the office is surrounded by an area rich in history and museums. If you want to learn about constitutional rights, there is no better place to do it than Philadelphia!

5. Interns learn how to advocate for free speech on campus!

Most importantly, interns leave FIRE with the skills and knowledge to advocate for free speech when they return to campus. Not only do interns research and write about free speech issues, they also help to run FIRE’s annual summer conference, where they can demonstrate what they’ve learned in a special intern-run session.

So what are you waiting for? Send your cover letter, resume, and writing sample to internships@thefire.org.


Do you want to help FIRE defend civil liberties on college campuses and in courtrooms across the country? Check out free speech internship opportunities and more on our careers page.

Recent Articles

FIRE’s award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.

Share