Student Trainee (Administration and Office Support)

The DoD College Acquisition Internship Program (DCAIP) is a paid, 10- to 12- week summer internship that provides students with real-world exposure to Department of Defense acquisition workforce career opportunities. The program targets full-time second and third year students currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at an accredited college or university.

As a Student Trainee (Administration and Office Support), duties will depend on your major and the Program Office. The selected candidate(s) may be placed within one of the Program Offices based on the office's function and the student's major, skill sets and interest.

Interns receive hands-on, practical experience in analysis, research, report writing, oral briefings, policy development, program analysis, and computer applications. Student interns gain experience in career fields available within the Acquisition workforce such as: Engineering, Contracting, Logistics, Business - Financial Management, Business - Cost Estimating, Information Technology, Test & Evaluation, Industrial Contract Property Management, Purchasing, Science and Technology, Production, Quality and Manufacturing, Facilities Engineering, and Program Management.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Be suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
• Be able to obtain and hold a security clearance.
• Must be enrolled full time at a qualifying educational institution.
• Must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a scale of 4.0.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see http://www.sss.gov).
• Must maintain student eligibility for the duration of internship.
• May be required to complete a pre-employment drug testing.

Qualifications

Requirements:

• Enrolled or formally accepted for enrollment as a full-time student into an accredited college or university in a qualifying degree-seeking program, or enrolled or formally accepted for enrollment in a qualifying certificate program.
• Be enrolled full-time as a sophomore or junior in an undergraduate program at an accredited university and have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours toward a specific degree program.
• Students must have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent) at time of application and must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA throughout the entire Student Trainee Internship appointment to remain in the Program.
• Please note that if you are graduating from your current academic program prior to May 31, 2026 you will not be eligible for this student appointment unless you are accepted for enrollment at a qualifying educational institution seeking an ADDITIONAL qualifying degree, diploma, certificate, etc. You MUST submit proof of acceptance along with your current transcripts for consideration.

Education

Due to the education requirement of this position, an official or unofficial transcript must be submitted at the time of application. If transcripts are not received, you will be rated as ineligible.

Accreditation: Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management website at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/ and U.S. Department of Education website at http://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. If you fail to provide the required documentation, by the closing date of this announcement, you will not receive consideration. For further information, visit: http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

The agency will close this announcement once 1000 applicants have applied or the closing date occurs.

This internship opportunity will not start until mid to late May/June 2026.

The end date for this appointment will be specified in the Participant Agreement and is generally the intern's projected graduation date.

This position may be non-competitively converted to a permanent employment upon completion of education.

Accepting this position, you may be required to serve a trial period equivalent to the duration of the appointment during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. If you are converted to a career-conditional appointment upon completion of your internship program, you will be required to serve an initial probationary period if one has not already been completed.

Salary: The salaries noted in this announcement are the base salary and locality pay for the Rest of U.S. pay schedule at the GS-04, step 01 and step 10 levels. The General Schedule (GS) basic pay schedule varies by geographic locality. To view pay rates in a specific location visit the Office of Personnel Management pay tables at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/payleave/salaries-wages/.

All applicants are encouraged to apply electronically. If you are unable to apply on-line, you may contact 317-212-4434 for assistance.