Student Staff
Each year, IIEP employs 20-25 Federal Work Study students in paid roles that support the Institute’s research, events, communications, and daily operations. Student employees are an essential part of the Institute’s work: they assist faculty and staff, support public programming, contribute to research and communications projects, and help create a welcoming and professional environment for speakers, guests, and students.
Working at IIEP gives eligible students practical experience inside a university-based research institute. Students build skills in research support, event planning, communications, digital media, project coordination, and professional correspondence while engaging with scholars, policymakers, alumni, and practitioners working on international economic policy.
Eligibility Note: IIEP student employment opportunities are generally limited to GW students who have received and accepted a Federal Work Study award. Students should confirm their Federal Work Study eligibility with the Office of Student Financial Assistance before applying. Due to the high volume of inquiries, we are unable to respond individually to questions about non-Federal Work-Study opportunities. Any available positions will be posted on this page.
Roles & Descriptions
Events and Operations staff will work directly with IIEP faculty and staff to provide administrative and logistical assistance. In particular, Events and Operations Assistants will work with IIEP leadership and staff to provide administrative support for IIEP office work, conferences, and events series. Staff will help plan and host 40-80 events per year.
Tasks include hosting virtual and in-person events; corresponding with faculty and speakers; arranging catering, transportation, and lodging; email correspondence; and tracking of institute activities using Google Drive. Staff will also manage the support for the IIEP office suite, including technical, organizational, and logistical assistance. Early morning and late evening support may be required for one-off events.
Minimum requirements: Strong academic track record, attention to detail, problem solving, strong interpersonal skills, communication, comfort learning new technology.
Preferred requirements: Leadership skills, hospitality experience, concrete experience with Excel.
Hours per week: 4-8, increasing to 12-18 during peak event weeks (2x year).
Communications and Marketing staff update and maintain IIEP social media platforms, and implement IIEP’s Social Media Strategy in coordination with other staff and IIEP leadership. Students will be working with social media platforms; the creation and updating of Institute and faculty blogs; work with Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Vimeo, and other audiovisual programs to create graphic images for social media platforms; and will also advise faculty and staff members on their use of technology.
Candidates will be working with the main Institute website, as well as assisting with individual faculty websites; the creation and updating of Institute and faculty blogs, and will also advise faculty and staff members on their use of technology. Staff will collaborate with relevant university, school, and departmental offices. Prior background in WordPress/Drupal or a similar website tool preferred.
Minimum Requirements: Strong writing skills, strong academic performance, attention to detail, comfort with learning new technology platforms.
Preferred Requirements: Social media analytics, videography/photography.
Research Assistants support Institute faculty on their individual research agendas. Work can include qualitative through highly technical quantitative work, with use of statistical and coding packages on a daily basis to code, clean, analyze using regression techniques, and evaluate data. At more advanced levels the use of various theoretical qualitative and quantitative research methods is also expected.
Specific areas of research include trade, finance, development, public health, energy policy and the environment, internet governance, cybersecurity, U.S.-China economic relations, India, sub-Saharan Africa, poverty, urbanization, women’s economic empowerment, global economic governance institutions, well-being, nutrition, adaptation to climate change, financial crises, and financial regulation.
Minimum Requirements: Time management, strong academic performance, proactive communication, problem solving skills.
Preferred Requirements: Upper level or graduate coursework in economics, geography, public health, math, business, international affairs, political science, and/or statistics. Concrete experience with Excel, GIS, SAS, STATA, EViews, R, Python, or other statistical or coding programs.
Hours per week: 4-8
- What is the federal work study program?
The Federal Work Study (FWS) Program is a federally-funded work program that allows GW students who have received a Federal Work Study award from the Office of Student Financial Assistance to earn money through a part-time job during the academic year. If you have been offered and accepted FWS funding as part of your financial aid package, you are eligible to hold a FWS position.
- Where can I find the application link?
Please check the GW Student Employment page for latest updates. Applications are typically posted early August each year. A limited number of applications are posted each January.
- Are there non-Federal Work Study Employment opportunities?
At this time, we are not able to offer employment opportunities to students who do not have Federal Work-Study eligibility. We are also unable to offer unpaid student work opportunities due to university restrictions.
Students interested in gaining research experience are encouraged to connect directly with faculty members whose work aligns with their interests to ask whether there may be opportunities to assist with research.
Students are also strongly encouraged to engage with our institute by attending our public events, as well as student-focused networking lunches and receptions when available. These programs are designed to help students learn more about current research, connect with faculty and practitioners, and become more involved in our community.