University of Kentucky Internships: Launching Your Career

An internship at the University of Kentucky (UK) provides a valuable opportunity to apply classroom learning in a real-world setting, bridging the gap between academic theory and professional practice. Internships are professional-level learning experiences that can be paid or unpaid, full-time or part-time, offering invaluable experience. These opportunities are available across various departments and organizations, both on and off campus.

On-Campus Internship Opportunities

The University of Kentucky offers a diverse range of internship programs designed to enhance students' skills and provide practical experience. Here's a detailed look at some of the opportunities available:

Sustainability Internship Program (SIP)

The Sustainability Internship Program at UK offers several specialized roles for students passionate about environmental stewardship and sustainability initiatives. Interns in this program commit 8-10 hours per week from August until the end of the spring semester, totaling approximately 300 hours. Applications for the 2026-2027 SIP cohort are now open, and students can apply for multiple positions, submitting a separate application for each.

Climate Communications Intern

This intern will assist the Kentucky Climate Consortium (KYCC) in providing Kentuckians with reliable, accessible, and relevant information about the climate.

Dining Sustainability Intern

The Dining Sustainability Intern supports the UK Dining Sustainability Director in advancing sustainability initiatives across all dining operations, including residential dining halls, retail locations, catering, and athletic venues like Kroger Field and Memorial Coliseum.

Energy - Efficiency, Conservation, and Renewables Intern

Located in the Peterson Service Bldg within the Utilities and Energy Management (UEM) group, this intern will contribute to initiatives focused on emissions reduction, energy efficiency practices, renewable energy opportunities, and conservation strategies related to utility and energy systems. The UEM group is committed to providing safe, reliable, and resilient utilities and energy services to the campus while prioritizing sustainability and customer service.

Green Labs Intern

Based in the Peterson Service Bldg, this role involves collaboration between UK Sustainability and Occupational Health and Safety to improve energy efficiency in lab environments. The intern will support the UK User-Led Environmental Lab Excellence (UKULELE) Program, working with operational and lab stakeholders to develop new or enhance existing initiatives focused on energy efficiency, waste reduction, and stakeholder engagement.

Sustainability Content Creator Intern

Located in the Office of Sustainability in the Peterson Service Bldg., this intern will play an essential role in developing engaging content and initiatives for UK Sustainability’s social media platforms.

Sustainability Research and Impact Intern

This intern will assist the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment (TFISE) in its mission to stimulate, spotlight, and support transformative environmental and sustainability research at the University of Kentucky.

Sustainable Transportation Intern

Working directly with the University’s Alternative Transportation Manager, this intern will promote multi-modal transportation options such as walking, scooting, cycling, riding the bus, and associated incentive programs. Responsibilities include data collection and analysis, as well as planning and staffing outreach events to raise awareness of transportation resources available on campus. The ideal candidate is passionate about reducing car-dependency on campus and in Lexington.

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UK Recycling Intern

Located in the Peterson Service Bldg, UK Recycling seeks a motivated student to assist with zero-waste initiatives aimed at achieving UK’s goal of becoming a zero-waste campus by 2030. The intern will focus on one of three diversion methods (Reduction & Reuse, Composting, or Recycling) and one functional area (Operations, Administration, or Education & Outreach) for their internship project.

Campus Woods Program Intern

This program repurposes trees removed from campus due to age, construction, or other factors, giving them new life through student-created projects. The intern in this position needs to be comfortable working outdoors, traversing uneven terrain, using power tools, and lifting up to 50 pounds.

Other Campus Opportunities

Peer Health Educators

Peer Health Educators work with the Prevention, Outreach, and Wellness Education Resources (POWER) Team in Student Success to support the health and well-being of University of Kentucky students. They provide health education outreach on topics such as stress management, body image, nutrition, physical activity, tobacco/vape cessation, sexual health, alcohol and other drugs, and other related wellness topics.

Learning Bar Facilitators

Learning Bar Facilitators provide interactive, hands-on alcohol education for students across the UK community. They are trained in alcohol’s impact on the body and community, as well as strategies to mitigate the harms from alcohol.

POWER Student Marketing Specialist

The POWER Student Marketing Specialist assists the POWER team with developing and executing comprehensive marketing strategies that promote unit programs and events. This includes collaborating with Student Wellness Coordinators to enhance program visibility, creating visually appealing promotional materials, and supporting special event planning and execution. POWER typically offers 1-2 undergraduate internships and 1-3 graduate internships per semester.

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Off-Campus Internship Opportunities

For students seeking experiences beyond the university grounds, numerous opportunities exist in Lexington, across Kentucky, and even nationally and internationally.

Local and Regional Opportunities

Political Science Department Internships

The Political Science Department's internship program gives undergraduates the opportunity to integrate their internship experience with a broader academic curriculum, thereby earning credit hours toward a degree. The department conducts the Kentucky Legislative Internship Program (KLIP) every spring semester to align with the Commonwealth's legislative sessions in the Kentucky General Assembly.

KLIP provides UK undergraduates with a comprehensive experiential education related to the legislative process with a focus on Kentucky state politics. Interns gain hands-on experience in the Kentucky General Assembly, assisting individual legislators, and engage in intensive academic exploration of relevant scholarly literature.

To apply for KLIP, students must be a political science major/minor or a pre-law student in good standing, and have completed nine hours of political science (or other relevant) course work before the spring semester in which they wish to intern.

Kentucky State Government

The state government regularly has internship opportunities available for college undergraduates.

Legal Aid of the Bluegrass

Interns at Legal Aid of the Bluegrass gain in-depth training on government benefits, engage in policy research, directly engage clients to provide advocacy and support, and have a front-row seat to the practice of law.

The (Kentucky) Secretary of State's Office

The Secretary of State's Office welcomes high school juniors and seniors, college students, and graduate school students to gain experience through internships, working with the office of elections and the land office, as well as the State Board of Elections.

Council of State Governments (CSG)

The CSG, headquartered in Lexington Kentucky, regularly hosts interns from the University of Kentucky.

The Borgen Project

The Borgen Project is a nonprofit organization committed to fighting poverty, offering internships in Lexington in areas including public relations, writing, editing, and political science.

Kentucky Office of Homeland Security (KOHS)

KOHS is always accepting internship applications for internships, which are very competitive.

Kentucky Political Parties

Both the Kentucky Democratic Party and the Kentucky Republican Party regularly host interns.

Senator Mitch McConnell Internships

The McConnell Internship Program provides college students with the opportunity to enhance their education while working in a fast-paced office, with part-time internships offered in the senator's state offices in Louisville, Lexington, Fort Wright, Paducah, Bowling Green, and London.

Devin Law

Devin Law in Lexington, Kentucky, hosts interns in the summer, spring, and fall, where they help prepare documents for court, aid with filing, and do errands for firm business.

National and International Opportunities

WilDCats at the Capitol

WilDCats at the Capitol is the University of Kentucky's public policy internship program that offers any UK student the opportunity to intern, earn course credit, and gain experience in public policy careers all while living in Washington, D.C. Students from various majors are invited to participate in public policy internships and discover the role policy plays in every industry.

Washington, D.C. Internships

Many internships are available in Washington, D.C., including those with government agencies, which often require students to apply independently and far in advance.

Diversity Opportunities

Several programs focus on providing internship opportunities for diverse students in Washington, D.C.:

Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS): Offers internship and fellowship opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans to encourage participation in the political process.
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF): Offers an internship program, including a specialized communications program, as well as several fellowship programs.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI): Offers an internship program for undergraduates to work in congressional offices, and fellowship programs for graduate students or recent college graduates.
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU): Recruits undergraduate and graduate students for paid summer and semester internships at federal agencies and private companies.
Minority Access National Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program: A paid internship program for undergraduate and graduate students selected by federal agencies and other participating organizations.
Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation: Offers American Indian and Alaska Native students the opportunity to work in congressional offices, federal agencies, or the White House during the summer.
Women’s Congressional Policy Institute: Provides graduate and postgraduate students the opportunity to work for eight months in congressional offices as legislative assistants on policy issues that affect women.

Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS)

The VSFS allows U.S. citizen students to move the work of their government forward on multiple fronts from wherever they happen to be. This year, there are more government agencies than ever participating, working on issues from culture to corrections and from energy to education.

Human Rights Measurement Initiative Internship

The Human Rights Measurement Initiative offers remote internships to students at all levels, from all parts of the world, particularly welcoming interns from the Global South and those who have difficulty accessing internships.

Remote Opportunities

The Borgen Project, EMILY's List, and other organizations offer remote internship programs.

Internships in International Relations & Foreign Policy

Dr. Meredith Loken from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst has compiled a hyper-linked list of organizations that have paid and unpaid internship programs.

Additional Resources

Handshake: An online job resource for employers specifically seeking university level students and graduates.
Glassdoor: An online job board linking you to thousands of jobs.
Interstride: A database that contains country-specific career and employment resources for more than 80 locations.
GoinGlobal: A database that contains country-specific career and employment resources for more than 80 locations.
USA Jobs: Often posts internship opportunities within the federal government.

Integrating Internships with Academic Studies

The Political Science Department offers PS 399, an internship course that provides students with an opportunity to embed early work experiences within the liberal-arts education they are pursuing. To earn credit, students must serve in a job with some connection to Political Science, read social-science scholarship related to the internship, and communicate regularly with the Internship Director or another Faculty Sponsor.

INT 399 (Internship in International Studies) may be taken by students only with approval of the International Studies Program Director, who will determine whether or how the INT 399 course will be counted toward the student’s chosen theme and area. Internships may also be taken under the EXP 396 course offered through Experiential Education and Career Services. Some education abroad programs also offer internships.

Preparing for Your Internship Search

The UK Career Center provides assistance in finding, applying for, and participating in internships. The Stuckert Center staff are available for consultation on how to research prospective employers. UK Students and alumni are urged to perform due diligence in researching employers when applying for or accepting off-campus employment, asking questions about safety, wages, and working conditions. The Engineering Career Development Group meets the unique needs of UK engineering students and employers.

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