EXAMPLE JOB POSTING - Research Intern
Center for the Study of Guns & Society at Wesleyan University Research Intern for Connecticut Against Gun Violence Education Fund (CAGV)
The Center for the Study of Guns & Society (CSGS) is a research center dedicated to interdisciplinary humanities study and teaching on the social and cultural history of firearms. CSGS partners with nonprofits to offer research opportunities to Wesleyan undergraduates.
The Connecticut Against Gun Violence Education Fund (CAGV) is a statewide nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing firearm injury and death through public education, community engagement, research, and evidence-informed violence prevention strategies. For more than 30 years, CAGVEF has worked across Connecticut to advance public health approaches to gun violence prevention, support impacted communities, strengthen violence intervention efforts, and educate policymakers and the public on effective prevention solutions.
CSGS is seeking an undergraduate student intern for a Fall 2026 research position to work with CAGV focused on firearm injury prevention, public health, violence prevention systems, and policy analysis in Connecticut.
This internship provides students with hands-on applied research experience supporting statewide violence prevention and public health initiatives.
Research Areas Include:
- Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO)
- Firearm suicide prevention
- Trauma-informed school safety implementation
- Legislative and policy research
- Firearm Industry Responsibility Act implementation analysis
- Hospital Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) research
- Economic impact of firearm injury and death in Connecticut
Students May Assist With:
- policy research
- literature reviews
- data analysis
- public health research
- stakeholder interviews
- demographic analysis
- report writing
- public education materials
Preferred Skill Sets
Strong candidates will bring some combination of the following skills. No single intern is expected to have all of them.
- Research and writing: ability to conduct literature reviews, synthesize academic and policy sources, and produce clear, well-organized reports
- Data analysis: comfort working with quantitative data in Excel or Google Sheets; familiarity with statistical software such as R, SPSS, or Stata is a plus
- Public health research methods: familiarity with epidemiological concepts, survey design, or program evaluation frameworks
- Qualitative research: interviewing, note-taking, and thematic analysis skills for stakeholder interviews and community input
- Communication: strong verbal skills for engaging stakeholders, community partners, and policymakers with professionalism and cultural humility
- Public education and design: ability to translate research findings into accessible fact sheets, infographics, and presentation materials
- Organization and self-direction: ability to manage tasks independently in a hybrid structure, meet deadlines, and maintain attention to detail
- Sensitivity and discretion: capacity to handle trauma-related subject matter and confidential information with care and sound judgment
Interns will participate in weekly CAGV staff call and have a bi-weekly check-in with the CAGV operations director.
Internship Details
- Fall 2026
- Remote
- Connecticut-focused research
- Mentorship from statewide -policy professionals