NORC's 2010 Summer Internship Program is a 9-week, 40 hour per week paid position for upper level undergraduates and graduate students with an interest in social science research. The dates for the 2010 program are Monday, June 14 to Friday, August 13. Interns typically are assigned to an ongoing NORC research study, attend a seminar series on principles of survey research, and conduct a small scale study as an intern group project. The intent is to provide all interns with exposure to all facets of the survey process.

Opportunities for you in NORC's Summer Intern Program

• Experience a summer of hands-on survey design and operations
• Work in an office environment where you'll gain teamwork and project management skills that are important in any career
• Combine social science and statistical theory with the practical challenges of day-to-day project implementation
• Apply and develop your technical skills (e.g., questionnaire design)
• Learn the principles of survey research from its leading practitioners - weekly seminars with NORC professionals.

Successful Applicant Qualities

• Strong interest in pursuing a career in social science research
• Conscientiousness and a willingness to work in a team environment
• Creativity, problem-solving and strong writing and verbal communication skills
• Curiosity about how to build a study design from the bricks and mortar of survey procedures

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I apply?

A: Applications will be accepted through Friday, January 29, 2010 for the Summer 2010 Internship Program. Please submit a cover letter and a resume and include in your cover letter how you heard about NORC's Summer Intern program and why you are interested in participating. 

Q: Who should apply?
A: The Summer Internship is intended for upper level undergraduates and graduate students with an interest in social science research.

Q: What type of writing sample should I submit?
A: The writing sample demonstrates to us your critical thinking skills and facility with language. Any example of your writing is suitable if it presents and supports an argument with clear organizational structure and appropriate style. Short research papers and essays written for classes are typically the best choice; documents with more graphics than prose, or fictional entries may be less suitable.

Q: How and when will I hear if I am accepted for NORC's Intern Program?
A: Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until Friday, Janaury 29, 2010. Applicants chosen on the strength of their application will be asked to participate in a telephone interview as the final step in the selection process.  Please note that we will not contact applicants until the application deadline approaches. Telephone interviews will be held during the first week of March, and all candidates will receive final status notification by Friday, March 12, 2010. Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we are unable to respond personally to telephone inquiries. 

Q: Are non-U.S. Citizens eligible to apply?
A: U.S. citizenship is not a requirement of NORC's Intern program. However, all interns must have a visa for legal entry into the States and a visa that authorizes employment in the United States. Please note that F-1 (student) visas in and of themselves do not allow employment-an authorization for practical training or some other authorization of employment also is required. It is the applicant’s responsibility to acquire the necessary authorization for paid employment in the United States before applying to the internship program. NORC does not sponsor interns for H-1B or permanent residency.

Q: What are the day-to-day activities of an intern?
A: The NORC internship is an office job, with interns working as part of the central office team on a study that is being conducted nationwide in the field or in one of our Chicago telephone facilities. Activities vary a great deal from assignment to assignment, but could include: helping to write training materials for an upcoming interviewer training session, testing questionnaire and other computing systems that will be used in completing a study, reviewing hard copy and electronic data for inconsistencies and errors in preparation for data delivery, etc. Interns will not typically perform statistical work, but a good grasp of statistics is helpful. Interns will spend most of their days working independently, with once or twice a day contacts with project supervisors. Other interactions could include attending project staff meetings, working with different project staff members to coordinate an activity, and meeting with other NORC staff for information-gathering purposes. Twenty percent of intern hours are spent on the intern project, for which activities will be more varied, and will include actual data collection and analysis in addition to the materials development and project management tasks described above.

Q: How long is the NORC Summer Internship?
A: The summer internship program is a 9-week (40 hours per week) program. The dates for the Summer 2010 program are Monday, June 14 to Friday, August 13. 

Q: Where will Summer Interns work?
A: Interns work in one of the two main Chicago offices of NORC-either downtown Chicago or in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the University of Chicago campus. Most interns work in the downtown Chicago office.

Q: Is it a paid internship?
A: Yes, interns earn between $16 and $18 per hour, pending budgetary approval.

Q: Can you give an example of the specific types of projects to which an intern may be assigned?
A: Because interns are assigned to ongoing NORC projects, overall project needs and schedules govern assignments during the internship months. This means that we cannot identify specific projects or topical areas to which interns might be assigned. The general subjects of our projects are described on the "Projects" pages of this site.

Q: What will the intern group project be?
A: Each year, the interns conduct a new project. In 2008, interns contacted non-responders of the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) to determine the reason for non-response and programmed a case management system on a hand-held data collection unit. More recently, in 2009, interns researched which brochure format would elicit a higher level of respondent cooperation in the SCF. 

Q: I'd like to sharpen my data analysis and statistical skills. Will the NORC internship help me?
A: Participating in the NORC internship will give you a better understanding of how study design, non-response, and data collection protocols may affect your data analyses. The internship is, however, focused on survey design and operations-the activities leading up to the public release of data-and not on sampling or the subsequent statistical analysis of those data. Interns are not likely to gain significant data analysis, sampling, or modeling expertise during the internship, nor does the internship bring privileged access to NORC datasets.

Q: Is housing provided for interns coming from out of state?
A: Interns are responsible for securing their own housing. However, NORC will provide assistance with housing "leads." Interns in previous years have had little difficulty finding housing for the summer.

Q: Can my work as a NORC Summer Intern earn course credit?
A: Although the internship does not automatically confer course credit, interns frequently arrange to receive credit from their own institutions by setting up an independent study opportunity, typically with the addition of a writing assignment to be submitted at the conclusion of the summer. NORC's internship coordinators will provide guidance and administrative assistance for this process.

Q: Can I work as a statistics intern at NORC?
A: The NORC summer internship does not typically offer internships within the statistics department and emphasizes giving interns an exposure to the full gamut of activities in survey design and operations. Although an individual intern may occasionally conduct statistics work as part of an assignment, we cannot guarantee such an assignment. We also expect that every intern will participate in the entire seminar series and in all aspects of the intern survey.

Other questions?
Click here to send an E-mail. 

In addition to meeting specific job requirements, all employees hired for this position must present evidence of their identity and authorization to work in the United States (I9 documentation) and undergo a background check.

Intern applicants are encouraged to learn more about NORC and the work we do by visiting the "About NORC" and "Projects" pages on this site.

NORC is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer valuing diversity in our work force, and we actively encourage all qualified candidates to apply.