The Embedded Scholars program provides fellowships for graduate and undergraduate students from UT-Austin to work in democratic and constitutional development abroad. Current opportunities allow students to work with CID Gallup and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) in Latin America and for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in Eurasia and the Balkans. Students support a variety of ongoing democracy programs and engage in original research.
Scope of Work
Fellows work in one or more areas of our international partners’ mandates. This includes work on specific democracy projects, primarily through research, data collection and analysis, writing, and reports.
International IDEA’s current mandate includes: electoral processes; constitution building and the rule of law; democracy assessment; political participation and representation; climate change and democracy; digitalization and democracy; gender and inclusion; and money in politics.
NDI’s current mandate includes: citizen participation; debates; democracy and technology; democratic governance; elections; environmental governance and resilience; gender, women, and democracy; monitoring, evaluation, and learning; peace, climate, and democratic resilience; political inclusion of marginalized groups; political parties; and youth.
CID Gallup’s current work with national and multilateral government institutions includes a range of methodologies including: ethnographies, evaluation of public policies, face-to-face interviews, focus group sessions, in-depth interviews, online surveys, and telephone interviews.
Location
Fellows are based at IDEA and CID Gallup offices in Latin America and in NDI offices in Eurasia and Central and Eastern Europe. The specific locations are determined based on the international partners’ projects and fellows’ experience. The large number of partner offices in each region provides flexibility to ensure students are posted in places that are not on UT’s restricted regions list.
Dates
The 2025 fellowship dates in country will be six weeks in Summer 2025. Fellows may be able to stay longer in country or continue their work remotely after their time in country, depending on their availability and specific projects with the international partner.
Eligibility
This fellowship is open to all undergraduate and graduate students of any major at UT-Austin. Students must have a GPA of at least 3.5 and a demonstrated interest in democracy and/or the region for which they are applying. Students must be able to take a 3-hour course in Spring 2025 to prepare for their fieldwork.
Students applying for internships in Latin America must be proficient in Spanish, as the working language of IDEA and CID Gallup in Latin America is Spanish. Students applying for internships in Eurasia and the Balkans must be proficient in English, as the working language of NDI is English.
Spring Course
Students are required to take, and complete in good standing, a 3-hour Spring 2025 course on Democratic Constitutional Development to prepare for their work and research in the field. The course covers current democratic and constitutional trends, goals and tools of democracy assistance, and applicable research methods.
Summer Credit
Students remain enrolled at UT during the summer by enrolling either in Independent Study and Research or in another class. This program is credit-eligible and can be connected to an internship course for credit at UT. For questions about receiving credit, reach out to the Texas Global program coordinator Cat McGovern.
Funding
Students with demonstrated/documented need will be eligible for a scholarship of up to $4,000 to defray the travel and living expenses associated with the internship. Students can obtain additional funding by applying to other institutional or national scholarships. For key funding opportunities at UT, see Funding for Internships Abroad, Funding Resources, Clements Center Professional Development Fund, CREEES Scholarships and Funding, LBJ Student Fellowships, and LLILAS Funding Opportunities.
Housing and Flight
Students are responsible for securing their own housing and flight but will receive guidance from program staff.
Supervision
Fellows will be supervised by the UT Austin program directors and by international partner staff. Fellows and their supervisors will complete a learning agreement that will state the expectations and objectives of the internship. This agreement will be submitted to the Embedded Scholars program directors and the Texas Global program coordinator. They will provide guidance and support for students throughout the process.
More Information
For more information, download the Eurasia and Balkans 2025 Info Sheet and Latin America 2025 Info Sheet.