New York State Senate & Assembly Internship

To apply for the New York State Senate Session Assistant Program through UAlbany, you must: 

• Be a matriculated UAlbany undergraduate student
• Have junior standing at the start of the internship (junior standing is defined as having earned at least 56 academic credits)
• Have a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher 

Applications for Spring 2026 internships are due by 11:59 p.m. October 15, 2025.

Start your Senate Session Assistant Application here.

To receive notices about the application and NYS Legislative Internship-related events, sign up for the email list.

You must complete a three-part application:

Part 1: Request Letters of Reference and Judicial Clearance Form. This part of the application starts the process of collecting your letters of reference, as well as requests your permission to begin the Judicial Clearance process. Begin Part 1 as early as possible. After submitting Part 1, you will receive an email link to Part 3.

Part 2: Degree Progress and Advisor's Contact Information Form. Once you submit Part 1, you will be automatically redirected to the form for Part 2, where you will provide your Advisor's contact information and share your current course enrollments. (If you are applying to both legislative internship programs, you only need to complete this form once.)

Part 3: Application Materials Form. Once you’ve submitted Part 1, you will receive an email with a link to Part 3: Application Materials. This part of the application collects your required application materials, which are listed below. 

You must submit all three parts of the application by the final deadline. Letters of reference must also be submitted for your application to be complete.

In Part 1, you will request the Letters of Reference:

• Three letters of reference: These letters should be written by individuals who have directly observed you in school or at work and who can evaluate you in one or more of the following areas: character, research skills, familiarity with public policy issues, understanding of the governmental process and ability to learn in a work setting. Two letters must be academic faculty.

In Part 3, you will submit the following required application materials: 

• Senate Program Application, completed and signed. Download the Senate Program Application PDF here. Follow the instructions to complete and sign the fillable PDF by using an application like Adobe's free tool to fill and sign the PDF.
• Statement of purpose: Describe your rationale for applying to the New York State Senate Session Assistant Program and why you are an ideal candidate.
• Resume: We encourage you to make an appointment with the Office of Career and Professional Development to get help with your resume.
• Transcripts: You must submit a current Official Transcript showing all college and/or university courses you have completed and are in the process of completing. If you have attended another university full time, you must submit that transcript as well.
• Academic writing sample: This must be a concise academic writing sample (6-8 pages) that provides a clear indication of your research and communication abilities. The sample must have a complete Works Cited page.
• Two memoranda: You must submit a one-page Policy Proposal and a one-page Policy Rebuttal. Pick an issue affecting New York State — such as a current law, a proposed law or a law you would like to see proposed — and write a policy proposal for it, as well as a policy rebuttal against it. 

The applications for UAlbany students must be submitted through the above forms. Applications submitted through other platforms or sent directly to the Senate will not be considered.

Applications are reviewed by a UAlbany review committee. The committee's written feedback is sent to the New York State Senate Session Assistant Program Director. 

If the committee needs more information about an applicant, they will contact the student to arrange an interview. Notes from that conversation will be included in the committee notes sent to the Program Director.