RAND Summer Associate Program - POLICY Research

Job Type:

Adjunct Staff (Fixed Term)

RAND is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization focused on improving policy and decision making through high-quality research and objective analysis. At RAND, we empower our people to do their best work by fostering a culture in which different views, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives are valued and respected, and staff have a sense of belonging with their colleagues, fair access to opportunities, and feel comfortable bringing their best selves to work each day. We welcome all applicants from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences to apply for this exciting opportunity.

Position Description

RAND's Summer Associate Program introduces outstanding graduate students across the social, behavioral, policy, and technical sciences to RAND, an institution that conducts research on a wide range of domestic and international social policy issues as well as national security problems. To learn more about research at RAND, visit www.rand.org.

Summer Associates typically work for a 12-week period (60 work days) during the summer, and receive a bi-weekly paycheck during their assignment with RAND. During that time they:

• Conduct research that can be completed during their time at RAND and present the results of this research to the RAND community via a 15-30 minute briefing at the end of their three-month assignment;
• Are closely mentored by one to two established RAND researchers;
• Are highly encouraged to network and interact with other researchers outside of their primary mentorship team and area of expertise;
• Are invited to attend a number of seminars from researchers both within and outside of RAND.

Please note: Our summer 2027 program will be a hybrid model including in person work at one of RAND's four offices with remote flexibility or working fully remote from where you live.

In-person positions are typically available in RAND's major U.S. offices—Santa Monica, CA; Washington, DC; Pittsburgh, PA; and Boston, MA. Office placement decisions depend on the availability of in-person mentorship.

Students must reside in the U.S. throughout their RAND summer assignment. International students who are planning to live in the U.S. during the summer of 2027 are eligible to apply. Any applicant who does not plan to live in the United States during the summer is not eligible for hire in the 2027 cycle.

Qualifications

This position is designed for full-time doctoral students who: (1) have completed at least two years of graduate work; and (2) are within two years of completing their doctorate. Master’s students are eligible to apply in the Engineering, Computer or Information Science, and Operations Research disciplines; all such students must graduate on or after December 2027.

A keen interest in working on applied, policy-oriented research questions is necessary. Applicants are strongly encouraged to explore RAND's website (www.rand.org) for details on RAND's ongoing research portfolio. Unfortunately, we do not know in advance which projects may require summer associates.

For many national security or defense projects, applicants must be eligible to receive, or currently hold, a security clearance from the United States government.

Additional qualifications required:

• Excellent analytic skills;
• Proven ability in quantitative and/or qualitative research methods;
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively in English, both verbally and in writing;
• Ability to work effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary team;
• Strong commitment to RAND's core values of quality and objectivity;
• Proof of legal right to work in the United States is required upon hire;
• U.S. Citizenship is not necessary except when required for certain types of project work (e.g., the project contract requires it or the project work itself requires a security clearance)
• Residency in the U.S. (excluding U.S. territories) is required
  

Who is not eligible?

The program does not hire high school students, undergraduates, or postdoctoral fellows at this time. Graduate students who will graduate prior to the summer of employment are not eligible.

Specializations of Interest

RAND seeks applicants with training in the following disciplines: Political Science/History, Engineering, Computer Science/Data Science, International Relations/ Security Studies, Biology/Life Sciences/Bioengineering, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Operations Research, Economics, Health Policy/Public Health, and Education Policy. Key specializations and research areas are noted below. Positions are not available in all disciplines or research area.

• Military strategy and doctrine; geopolitics and area studies (China, Indo-Pacific); AI and international order
• Aerospace and space systems; defense systems and acquisition; UAS and autonomous systems
• Artificial intelligence and machine learning; AI safety and evaluation; data science
• U.S.-China strategic competition and deterrence; nuclear and arms control policy; force design and wargaming; homeland defense; counternarcotics; military personnel and training; AGI and geopolitics
• Biosecurity and dual-use biology; synthetic biology; AI-enabled biological design
• Modeling, simulation, and wargaming; optimization and decision analysis; forecasting
• Defense and security economics; supply chain economics; AI and technology economics
• Medicare/Medicaid, healthcare market dynamics, healthcare claims databases, health care payments and financing, drug pricing
• K-12 education policy and reform; career and technical education
  

Methodological interests: quantitative and mixed methods; modeling, simulation, and wargaming; machine learning/AI; causal inference and program evaluation; data science and large-scale data analysis; social network analysis; multilevel modeling; Bayesian analysis; and qualitative research (interviews, content analysis, ethnography, case studies).

Software: Python, R, STATA, SAS, Matlab, Mathematica, ATLAS.ti, NVivo, and ML/AI frameworks.

Security Clearance

U.S. Citizenship may be required for positions requiring a U.S. government security clearance.

Salary Range: $32.00/hour

RAND Summer Associate positions receive bi-weekly compensation for hours that are worked. The positions are also overtime eligible.

Special Note

Applicants are required to submit two documents and should be prepared to answer three short answer questions as well as provide contact information for two (2) individuals who may be asked to provide letters of recommendation:

• Resume or curriculum vitae
• Cover Letter
• Short answer questions (which will be filled out on the online application):
  • Briefly describe your substantive interests and past experience in those areas
  • Briefly describe your skills and methodological expertise and how you have used those tools in previous research experiences
  • Briefly describe why you are interested in the RAND Summer Associate Program and what role you see this experience playing in your career development
• Please be prepared to provide the contact information for two (2) professors or individuals (their name, their organization, and their email address) familiar with your research work and who would be willing to provide a letter of recommendation. If you are selected for an interview, these individuals will be asked to provide letters of recommendation. NOTE: You will be notified before we contact your recommenders. We typically request letters in late January/early February, so you may consider asking your recommenders to have their letters ready to submit around this time to allow sufficient time to prepare your letters.

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Please submit only one application. (Submitting more than one application will not increase the chances of being selected as one application will be randomly withdrawn)

Applications will be reviewed throughout the application period. All applications are due by December 1, 2026.

Applicants will be notified of RAND's interest in conducting an interview after the application period has ended. You will be contacted directly only if you are selected for an interview. Interviews will be conducted beginning in late January, continuing as late as February and March. Offers are typically extended in late March.

Equal Opportunity Employer