U.S. Department
of Justice
Work With Us
The Community Relations Service (CRS) is a component of the Department of Justice.
For over 60 years, CRS’s focus has been to promote peace by assisting communities experiencing conflict and violence. Guided by federal laws establishing jurisdictions, CRS focuses on restoring peaceful relations among communities by helping them to overcome differences and build the skills needed to prevent future disputes. CRS often responds to communities shaken by mass violence, civil disorder, and other critical incidents and offers neutral and impartial conciliation through mediation, facilitated dialogues, training, and consultation.
Our approach, though adaptive to the changing times, remains rooted in our core mission: to build trust, increase capacity and foster lasting relationships. By doing so, we aim to create a nation resilient in the face of hate and violence.
Intern With Us
The Community Relations Service (CRS), a component of the Department of Justice, works to resolve civil rights conflicts. CRS does so by engaging communities in difficult conversations through peaceful dialogue.
We are currently looking for students from various academic backgrounds and experience who are interested in working with CRS to support communities across the country.
Through our internship program, students gain first-hand experience working for a federal component with nationwide impact. As America’s Peacemaker, CRS provides facilitation, mediation, training and consultation services to communities in conflict — enhancing their ability to independently prevent and resolve future conflicts.
Introduction to CRS
Discover CRS – Introduction to the Agency
Qualifications for All Interns
- United States citizen.
- 18 years of age or older.
- Currently enrolled as a student working toward a degree at an accredited institution of higher learning.
- Excellent communication skills, professionalism and dependability.
- Passion for CRS’s mission and work.
Additional Qualifications
| Law Students |
|
| All interns |
|
To apply, please send the following documents as ONE combined PDF attachment to CRSInternCoordinator@usdoj.gov. In the subject line of your email, please include your full name and the term for which you are applying.
- Brief cover letter including 1) your interest in CRS, 2) dates of availability, 3) desired office location, and 4) where you learned about the CRS internship opportunity.
- Resume.
- Current official or unofficial academic transcript.
- References page with two academic or professional references (name, title, organization and email contact).
Applications should be submitted by the following deadlines:
| Fall Internship | Spring Internship | Summer Internship |
|---|---|---|
| June 1 | October 1 | March 1 |
Headquarters interns gain a unique and exciting view of CRS’s work and mission. Interns help senior leaders with research and writing, program evaluation, regional casework review, operations, and analyzing strategies for community conflict resolution.
Students in specialized programs such as finance and communications have opportunities related to their fields in the headquarters office. Law students work with the CRS general counsel on drafting legal memoranda, reviewing memoranda of understanding related to casework and Freedom of Information Act responses, and conducting legal research.
All interns will have the ability to attend events at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to expand their knowledge of the government and the field of conflict resolution. In the past, interns have had the opportunity to meet the Attorney General, tour other government facilities, and connect with leaders from across different DOJ components.
CRS headquarters interns leave their internship with a greater understanding of how CRS works within DOJ and how the agency provides its services to communities.
The CRS field offices across the country work with communities to prevent and resolve conflicts. Regional teams’ work falls into four categories — facilitated dialogue, mediation, training and consultation — which help communities’ abilities to alleviate tensions, resolve disputes, and prevent future conflicts more effectively. Interns in field offices work alongside regional staff to plan and deliver CRS services in local communities to help ease tension stemming from bias-based incidents or hate crimes.
Field office interns leave their internship with a greater understanding of how CRS conciliation specialists and regional directors provide dispute resolution services and how CRS successfully prevents and responds to tension and conflicts in communities.
You must go through a background investigation to work at DOJ in any capacity. Until you receive favorable adjudication, you will not be able to begin your internship, and CRS will be unable to provide you with any assignments.
The timeframe to process background checks varies based on the individual, so CRS recommends applying for your internship as early as possible. If you are selected for a CRS internship, we request you submit your background investigation documents in a timely manner.
Every day is different for interns. The CRS staff is dedicated to ensuring that interns enjoy their experience and work on substantive projects throughout their internship. Interns can expect to be assigned multiple projects on any given day that cover various subject areas, and interns are often asked to attend meetings and DOJ events with CRS staff.
Past interns have worked on a variety of projects, including helping to plan special events, conducting research during the development of community awareness trainings for law enforcement, supporting field casework, and assisting in the creation of the CRS website.
No, CRS is committed to making sure interns leave their internships having worked on multiple substantive projects.
A CRS internship is not simply about filing papers or answering phones, but instead is a real chance to contribute to a federal agency dedicated to improving community relations in the United States. In this program, an intern will have the opportunity to witness the day-to-day operations of a federal agency and to see firsthand how CRS headquarters and regional offices serve the country. As with all staff, interns may be asked to perform occasional administrative tasks.
CRS asks students to commit a minimum of 15 hours per week to the internship. In the past, CRS staff have found that this helps students to get the most out of the internship experience.
Yes.