Summer Research Intern - Analysis of Fossil Fuel Community Support Programs

Program Description Summer 2026 Research Internships – Application Period is Now Closed *We are no longer accepting applications for summer research internships for 2026. If you applied, thank you for your interest! We are reviewing all applications and plan to make hiring decisions by end of April.* Do you want to begin a career in economics or policy research?

Are you interested in contributing to impactful, balanced research that is aimed at improving environmental, energy and natural resource decisions? A summer research internship with Resources for the Future (RFF) might be right for you. The RFF summer internship program provides an opportunity for students to prepare for careers that engage in rigorous, policy-relevant research.

Interns are essential members of RFF’s Research and Policy Engagement team; they are responsible for providing technical support that, under the direction of RFF Fellows, allows for the production of compelling and impactful research that aligns with RFF’s mission of improving environmental, energy and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. At RFF, interns will have the opportunity to connect with researchers and other staff members through seminars, coffee chats, and RFF staff events. Further, the internship co-coordinators will organize an external intern event near the beginning of the summer to foster DC-wide connections with interns from other environmental organizations.

The internship program will culminate with presentations from interns about their summer projects and an end-of-summer celebration. The internship program will run June 15–August 21, 2026. Start or end dates for individual interns can be adjusted as needed.

All internships will be conducted in RFF’s offices in Washington, DC. RFF is also able to host a limited number of summer interns who are funded by their universities and study relevant topics like environmental economics or environmental policy research. Please feel free to contact [email protected] with any questions.

The Summer 2026 internship projects are listed below: Analysis of Fossil Fuel Community Support Programs. Working with Daniel Raimi (Fellow), the intern will contribute to an ongoing project that seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of government programs in the U.S. designed to support the economies of fossil fuel communities, a key part of facilitating an equitable transition towards a net-zero emissions economy. The intern will review, categorize, and analyze existing state and local government programs.

Depending on the circumstances, the intern may be able to collaborate with the team beyond the paid internship on a public report. *Open to both undergraduate and graduate students.* FAQs

Education level: By and large, RFF summer research internships are geared toward graduate students (either Masters or PhD), although some openings are available to advanced undergraduates. In the past, some graduate-level interns have also chosen to continue collaborating with RFF on academic journal articles beyond their paid internships. Please see individual job descriptions (linked above) for specific education requirements of the various roles.

Compensation: All RFF internships are paid. We offer a sliding pay scale for interns based on the level of completion in their degree programs, ranging from $17.95 per hour to $26 per hour. Multiple applications: If you are interested in more than one internship project, please feel free to apply to more than one project.

Please note that each project may have different requirements, so please review the PDF linked for each project for all details.