Montgomery County Council Summer Fellow Program

Council Summer Fellows Program

Program Background

The Montgomery County Council’s paid ten-week Summer Fellows Program is a unique opportunity that enables graduate students to gain real world local government experience across multiple fields. Summer 2025 will be our ninth consecutive year hosting the program. We welcome students in policy-related graduate programs (policy, public administration, planning, public health, law, etc.) who will have completed their first year of study by summer 2025 to apply. Individuals who will have graduated by summer 2025 are not eligible for this program, but please check out our Postgraduate Fellows Program for recent graduates.

The program is centrally coordinated by the County Council and the Council will always host Fellows. However, placement availability throughout the rest of County government changes yearly based on need and interest. Past Fellows have worked within these four independent organizations:

Montgomery County Council
Montgomery County Executive Branch
- Previous Executive Branch placements include: Office of the County Executive; Dept. of Transportation; Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs; Dept. of Health and Human Services; Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions; Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice; Office of Innovation; Community Use of Public Facilities; Regional Services Centers; Department of Permitting Services; Department of Police, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services; Office of Food Systems Resilience
Council's Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO)
Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation

This fellowship provides multiple access points to innovative leaders who are shaping the future of Montgomery County in new and exciting ways. It also enables participants to build an experience specifically tailored to their field of study and interests. Applicants selected for the interview stage will be asked to rank the available placements. Participants will work directly with decision makers (elected officials, senior management staff, and more) on ongoing projects, policy analyses and research projects.

A key component of the program is the self-selected independent research (see the reports below). Near the conclusion of the program, Fellows present their policy recommendations to the full Council during a live Council session.

Fellows will also be able to explore the County through weekly field trips.

Dates of Fellowship: June 2, 2025 - August 8, 2025

Summer Fellows Brochure & Info Sessions

Please review the brochure for additional information on the placements, work scope, eligibility criteria, and the application/selection process.

The Council will hold virtual information sessions for the Summer Fellows program on the following dates (all times Eastern):
Monday, December 2nd at 10AM (Zoom link)
Wednesday, December 11th at 5:30PM (Zoom link)
Friday, December 13th at 2PM (Zoom link)

Summer Fellows Application

The Summer Fellows program consists of a two stage written application followed by an interview for selected candidates.

The Stage 1 application is open until January 3rd, 2025 at this link: https://mcgmd.wufoo.com/forms/summer-fellows-program-2025/.

The Stage 2 application will be emailed directly to selected applicants who successfully complete and meet certain requirements in the Stage 1 application. Learn more about both stages and the selection process in the brochure.