Legislative Internship Program

Who we are

The Office of Governmental Relations is the liaison between all levels of government and Florida State University. Special emphasis is placed on monitoring the Florida legislative process, from which the University receives most of its funding. The Governmental Relations staff is committed to informing the University community of key legislative issues of interest and impact. In addition to our advocacy efforts, with the support of President McCullough, in 2022 our office established the FSU Legislative Internship Program to provide our students with the opportunity to engage with the Florida political process.

About the Program

Florida State University is proud to announce that the application for the 2027 FSU Legislative Internship Program is now open! This internship program, which begins during legislative committee weeks (January & February 2027) and continues into the 60-day Legislative Session (March 2 – April 30, 2027), will provide undergraduate students, who have completed at least one full academic year at FSU, and graduate students at Florida State University the opportunity to gain valuable experience in Florida’s legislative process here in Tallahassee, Florida.

Participating students will learn all about how policy, the state’s economy and politics are deeply intertwined in Florida’s legislative process. Duties may include conducting research, writing bill summaries, attending committee hearings; and communicating with legislators, state agency liaisons, lobbyists, constituents, and members of the general public. While we encourage the offices opting into our program to give interns work related to the legislative process on policy and budget, students should expect that administrative duties, as well as constituent services, will be part of their experience as these are vital to the process. Actual job duties will differ from office to office.

Placements may include internships in the State Senate, The House of Representatives, or the Executive Office of the Governor. Students will receive a scholarship of $3,300 for participation in the program, which includes $300 to offset parking and transportation costs. Participants will receive the scholarship via two deposits into their FSU student business services account, 50 percent will be deposited prior to the start of their internship in January, and 50 percent will be deposited in the first week of May with successful completion of the internship and program requirements. To receive this scholarship, students must continue to be enrolled at least part time, which is defined as being enrolled in at least six credit hours, during the spring semester. The requirement for part-time enrollment may be met through academic credit earned through this internship, as approved by your academic advisor. Students interested in applying for this internship should reach out to their academic advisors now to see how this internship might fit into their academic map and to sketch out a tentative spring schedule.

In addition to the internship itself, this program offers a range of supplementary learning opportunities in which participants are mandated to engage in. These structured sessions serve to enhance participants' comprehension of the Florida legislative process while fostering both personal and professional development. As part of this internship program, participating students will be required to attend in-person Friday sessions from 9:30-11:00am to help students better contextualize their day-to-day internship work within the broader framework of state government. In addition to strengthening analytical understanding of legislative procedures, the weekly meeting is intended to foster collaboration among interns through shared discussions, speaker engagement, building a strong cohort experience that enhances both professional networking and peer-to-peer learning throughout legislative session.

Strong candidates are expected to be:

  • Punctual
  • Responsible
  • Self-directed
  • Organized
  • Respectful