The Department of Homeland Security offers a variety of prestigious scholarships, fellowships, internships and training opportunities to expose talented students to the broad national security mission.

Secretary's Honors Program

The Secretary’s Honors Program (SHP), announced by Secretary Napolitano in October 2012, is a new recruitment initiative for exceptional recent graduates.   SHP offers professional development and training opportunities for talented entry-level people focused on DHS careers in cybersecurity, information technology, management, emergency management, policy and law.

Pathways Programs

The Pathways Programs offer clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates, and provide meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their Federal service. As a student or recent graduate, you can begin your career in the Federal government by choosing the path that best describes you and where you are in your academics

• Internship Program: This program is for current students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions from high school to graduate level, with paid opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school.
• Recent Graduates Program: This program is for individuals who have recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs and seek a dynamic, career development program with training and mentorship. To be eligible, applicants must apply within two years of degree or certificate completion (except for veterans precluded from doing so due to their military service obligation, who will have up to six years to apply).
• Presidential Management Fellows Program: For more than three decades, the PMF Program has been the Federal government’s premier leadership development program for advanced degree candidates. This program is now for individuals who have received a qualifying advanced degree within the preceding two years.

Headquarters Office of Public Affairs

• Office of Public Affairs Summer Internship Program: Interns will be working on various projects related to the mission of OPA in the following functional areas: Internal Communications, Incident Communications, Press Office, Speechwriting, Strategic Communications, New Media and Web Communications, and Still Photography.

Health and Science

• Office of Health Affairs Volunteer Scholars Program offers unique unpaid work opportunities to students interested in medical and health matters. Applications are reviewed quarterly.
• DHS Scholars Program provides individual scholarships to support undergraduate students pursuing degrees in homeland security-focused courses of study.
• National HS-STEM Summer Internship Program provides undergraduate juniors and seniors the opportunity to work with homeland security professionals and researchers for up to ten weeks during the summer. Participants are provided a stipend and conduct research in DHS mission-relevant research areas at federal research facilities and DHS Centers of Excellence.
• Summer Research Team conducts research at one of the twelve U.S. Department of Homeland Security Centers of Excellence and their partners for ten weeks during the summer.
• Nuclear Forensics Graduate Fellowship Program (NFGF) provides undergraduate students with comprehensive, experimental, hands-on training in topics essential to nuclear forensics.
• Nuclear Forensics Undergraduate Scholarship Program (NFUSP) introduces undergraduate physics, chemistry, and nuclear engineering students to nuclear forensics programs at Department of Homeland Security sponsored facilities.
• Seaborg Institute Nuclear Science Summer Internship Program seeks graduate and outstanding undergraduate students from research universities across the nation to work in critical skills areas related to nuclear forensics. Students are given an opportunity to join scientists in independent research projects at a national laboratory and are teamed with mentors who can help hone their skills and guide research projects for advanced degrees.
• Nuclear Forensics Undergraduate Summer School provides undergraduate students with comprehensive, experimental, hands-on training in topics essential to nuclear forensics. Through laboratory experiments and complementary lectures, students are introduced to the practice and technical aspects of nuclear forensic science.

Law Enforcement

• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) College Intern Program provides a unique opportunity for college students, majoring in Criminal Justice or a related field, to participate in a federal law enforcement training environment.
• CBP Explorer Program offers opportunities in character building, good citizenship, and fitness for young men and women ages 14 through 21. CBP has Law Enforcement Explorer Posts both at ports of entry and at Border Patrol sectors, which provide Explorers with practical training and hands-on experience in Federal law enforcement-related activities.

Legal

• The Summer Law Intern Program is a competitive program under OPM’s Pathways Program for compensated positions in OGC at DHS headquarters located in Washington D.C.