IRC internships give interns the opportunity to work directly with humanitarian immigrants to support them in accomplishing tasks needed to live successfully in the U.S. We offer 13 unique internships that provide a wide variety of opportunities to gain direct exposure to the humanitarian sector.

The IRC was founded at the behest of Albert Einstein in 1933 to assist people fleeing from persecution. Since then, the IRC has grown and works all over the world providing humanitarian support. In Silver Spring, the IRC works with newcomers to help them get situated and become self-sufficient members of their new community.  

I’ve listed the titles and a description of each internship that is recruiting below. You can find the full description by going to the IRC Careers page and filtering by City (Silver Spring) and Employee Category (Intern). Prospective interns will use the same link to apply.

·       Anti-Trafficking: The Anti-Trafficking Intern will work in close coordination with the case management teams to serve survivors of human trafficking who are struggling to navigate various systems to access resources and services.

·       Walk-In Casework: This team provides 8 months of case management to humanitarian immigrants. The services include providing monthly cash assistance, ensuring that clients apply for public benefits such as Medicaid, ensuring that clients apply for social security and enroll in health insurance and ESL classes. 

·       Economic Development:  The Economic Empowerment program assists refugees to become economically self-sufficient by providing career development training and financial coaching. This program assists clients in obtaining education, apprenticeships, jobs, financial coaching and microloans to promote self-sufficiency. The intern will work closely with the Economic Empowerment team to help promote client economic growth and encourage clients to work towards their long-term goals.  

·       Community Engagement: The aim of community engagement is to establish strong, mutually beneficial connections between the community and the IRC in Silver Spring order to garner monetary, in-kind and volunteer resources for refugee clients. The community engagement intern supports the administration of the family mentor program.

·       Development: The development team focuses on securing funding for IRC offices; assisting with donor prospecting, research, data collection and grant management activities.

·       Refugee Barrier Reduction: IRC programming assists refugees to become economically self-sufficient and supports acclimatization within the United States by providing access to casework services. This role will support the IRC’s economic empowerment program in effectively reducing the barriers of humanitarian migrants to achieve self-sufficiency in the United States.

·       Refugee Economic Empowerment: The Economic Empowerment program assists refugees to become economically self-sufficient by placing recently arrived refugees in their first job in the United States.

·       Refugee Employment and Skill-Building: The Refugee Employment and Skill-Building Program aims to reduce barriers to self-sufficiency and employment and assist refugees to secure full-time employment. 

·       Operations: IRC’s Operations Team supports operations functions and provides related administrative support, resulting in a well-functioning, compliant environment for staff, clients, and partners. This is a challenging position that requires strong organization, creative problem-solving, personal initiative, and the ability to work well in a multicultural and fast -paced environment.

·       Refugee Walk-in Services: The Intake program is the first point of contact to all “walk-in” clients that visit the IRC in Silver Spring. We provide fast track enrollment in public benefits and referrals to internal and/or external resources and programs as needed. 

·       Extended Case Management: The Extended Case Management (ECM) team provides case management services to up to 400 new clients each year. The team works directly with humanitarian immigrants resettling in the DC Metro area, including Latin American, African, and Middle Eastern individuals; utilizing a holistic 2Gen household approach for the families served, the team addresses both short-term and long-term barriers to support overall well-being in the US.

·       Refugee Health and Social Integration: The refugee health and social integration intern will work in close coordination with the case management teams to serve refugees and other immigrants who are struggling to navigate various systems to access resources and services.

·       Youth Intern Program: The IRC’s Refugee School Impact Programs and Refugee Youth Mentoring Programs work to support the integration and holistic wellbeing of school aged students who hold a humanitarian immigration status. The overall goals of the mentoring and impact programs are to reinforce a sense of belonging and security within schools and surrounding communities, build students’ confidence in their English and academic abilities, and help student develop graduation and career plans tailored to their unique interests and skills.

All selected interns must undergo and clear a background and reference check in order to intern with the Silver Spring office. We ask that candidates make a $30 donation to help us cover the associated costs. Currently, 87% of our funding goes directly to programming to support our clients, and your help to cover this cost will ensure that no funding is directed away from serving our clients. Instructions will be provided after you have been selected to intern or volunteer. The IRC is not able to sponsor visas.  

The ability to work in-person at least one day per week is required. Internships require a minimum commitment of 15 hours per week. Spring interns are expected to begin their internship by attending an in-person intern orientation on January 26th, 2026, from 9:15AM-3:30PM. The Fall internship terms ends on May 15th, 2026. Please note, the deadline to apply for Spring 2026 internships is January 5, 2026.

Internships with the IRC in Silver Spring are unpaid. Spring 2026 interns may be eligible for per diem reimbursement at the rate of $15/day to offset the costs of food and travel. For information on scholarship opportunities, contact your university or the IRC Silver Spring Community Engagement Coordinator at Michalina.Kulesza@rescue.org.

We currently offer internships during the following semesters: 
Spring: January – May 
Summer: June– August 
Fall: September – December 
Internships are typically posted 2-3 months prior to the anticipated start date. 

Thank you for your attention and please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.

Sincerely,

Michalina Kulesza, M.P.A (she/her) | Community Engagement Coordinator

International Rescue Committee

8737 Colesville Road Suite 1200, Silver Spring, MD 20910

T + 1 518 965 3400 

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