Summer Institute

Since 1991, the Truman Foundation’s Summer Institute program has been bringing Truman Scholars to Washington for internships at government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Summer Institute is designed to introduce newly graduated Truman Scholars to the realities of working in public service in Washington, as well as to provide opportunities for community building within the Scholar cohort. This program takes place a year after having been awarded the Truman Scholarship. When not working, the Summer Institute Scholars live together in a dormitory on the George Washington University campus and attend:

• seminars focused on national politics and policymaking (May 31st to June 4th & various days during in the summer);
• meetings with established Truman Scholars and other prominent public servants; and, 
• Scholar led-presentations on seven Tuesday nights throughout the summer.

We are thankful for our partners for hosting Truman Scholars as summer interns, giving them hands-on experience working in public service. Following is a list of partner organizations who have hosted Scholars recently. This list is by no means exhaustive:

• American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy 
• Catalogue for Philanthropy
• Civil Rights Corps
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• Council for Opportunity in Education
• Critical Threats Project, American Enterprise Institute
• DC Prep Public Charter School Network
• Friends of the Truman Foundation
• German Marshall Fund
• House Committee on Ways and Means, Minority Staff
• Institute for the Study of War, General David H. Petraeus Center for Emerging Leaders
• National Housing Trust
• Office of U.S. Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03)
• Partnership for Public Service
• RespectAbility
• Silicon Valley Defense Group
• Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future
• Teaching for Change
• The Council of State Governments
• U. S. Government Accountability Office
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine
• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement
• U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (ITA)
• U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Acquisition and Grants Administration
• U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education
• U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
• U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
• U.S. Dept. of Labor, Civil Rights Center

The 2025 Summer Institute will be held from Sunday, June 1 to Saturday, August 2 in Washington, DC.