Undergraduate Opportunities
Rutgers Democracy Lab offers a wide array of student programming to build civic skills, talk across differences, and work together to solve real-world problems — no matter the discipline.
Rutgers Scarlet Service provides undergraduate students with financial support and meaningful summer internships at government offices and public service-oriented nonprofit organizations in Washington, D.C. With our cohort-model, RSS-DC offers students a variety of professional development opportunities within a structured community, while fostering an appreciation for public service.
The Student Democracy in Action Fund provides funding for student-led clubs and organizations to design innovative programs, events, and projects that foster civic learning, strengthen leadership, and inspire active participation in campus and community life.
The Digital Content Creator Internship is a paid, credit-eligible program where students create original, viral-ready social media content that inspires young people to become active, informed democratic citizens. Interns collaborate to produce engaging videos, interview community members, and strategize ways to reach disengaged online audiences.
Talking Across Difference is a university-wide initiative meant to equip educators, staff, and students to have productive conversations about difficult and sometimes divisive issues. Applications are now closed for the 2026-2027 cohort.
The Think and Do Tank offers a highly immersive civic learning experience that builds students' capacity for democratic citizenship and problem-solving. Students from across the university and across disciplines come together to work collaboratively to address democratic issues, and they do this important work in partnership with faculty and expert practitioners.
The Technology and Democracy Research Hub Internship gives Rutgers–New Brunswick undergraduates the opportunity to work alongside academic and policy researchers and contribute to research on technology, social media, and democracy. Applications are now closed for the Fall semester.
The RU Ready Internship is a paid, credit-eligible experiential learning program that equips students with the skills to foster civic engagement through four facets in high schools and middle schools across the state of New Jersey.
RU Voting is a nonpartisan effort to register, mobilize and engage Rutgers University students to participate in politics and vote in local, state and national elections.
Rutgers Democracy Lab Program Participation Policy
To ensure as many Rutgers students as possible have access to the highly immersive civics opportunities the Rutgers Democracy Lab at the Eagleton Institute of Politics has to offer, students may not participate in the following programs at the same time.
Additionally, students selected for and committed to any opportunities listed above, except the RU Ready Internship, may not simultaneously participate in the Eagleton Undergraduate Associates Program. This policy helps ensure that a greater number of students can benefit from RDL-funded opportunities.
Students who successfully complete one program are welcome and strongly encouraged to apply for and participate in another eligible RDL program in a future semester or program cycle.
Please note that these restrictions do not apply to Scarlet Service (RSSI or RSS-DC), another RDL-affiliated program, which primarily takes place during the summer.