Internship and Scholarship Opportunities

Former LMU Political Science Professor and Chair, Dr. William Fitzgerald has been named Distinguished Teaching Fellow of the Institute for Leadership Studies (ILS). Fitzgerald, who taught at LMU from 1953-1955, 1958-1962, and 1967-1991, is being honored for his many years of dedicated service to the University and the Department of Political Science. The Institute for Leadership Studies also administers a scholarship program in Fitzgerald’s name for students requiring financial assistance in the White House Internship, LMU-Oxford Scholars Summer Program, and other internships.

Several scholarships of $500 to $3000 are available to students for the spring and summer of 2025 to study abroad, study at the Washington Center, or other programs. The scholarship awardees must be either women, minorities, or students with severe financial need.

Application: Fitzgerald Scholarship

Each semester, the Institute for Leadership Studies, in conjunction with the Honorable Graham Allen, member of the British Parliament, awards a fellowship to the British Parliamentary Internship program (formerly the Hansard Scholars program). Scholars attend the prestigious London School of Economics and Politics while working as interns for Mr. Allen in the House of Commons. At the London School of Economics and Politics, students take courses in British Politics & Government and Public Policy. This program began in 1994. As part of the program LMU students are exposed to the volatile world of British politics firsthand while receiving a full semester’s academic credit through their studies at the London School of Economics. See past recipients.

Application: The ILS/UK Parliamentary Fellowship

As LMU is relatively close to both the Reagan and Nixon Presidential Libraries, the Institute allows students to engage in original source research at both libraries.

A summer stipend will be granted to a student or students who, along with the sponsorship of a political science professor, have a research project that can be accomplished at the Reagan or Nixon libraries, both in Southern California. 

Application: Reagan Nixon Library Fellowship Summer 2025

Students wishing to intern with the Institute for Leadership Studies for Fall 2025 can apply here.

Application:  ILS Intern App

Dr. Michael Genovese initiated the LMU/Oxford University Scholars Program in 1994. The program takes place at The Queen’s College at Oxford University. Held over the summer, the program includes upper division courses with lectures by Oxford dons and the Hon. Graham Allen, Member of the British Parliament. In 2006, Professor Genovese was named a Fellow of The Queen’s College, Oxford University. The honor is the first of its kind awarded to an LMU faculty member.

Visit the LMU Study Abroad website for more information: https://academics.lmu.edu/studyabroad/

In 2005, the Institute for Leadership Studies co-sponsored a new LMU study abroad semester program in London.

Visit the LMU Study Abroad website for more information: https://academics.lmu.edu/studyabroad/

The Institute for Leadership Studies (ILS), in coordination with the Washington Center, co-sponsors a series of semester long internships in government agencies and public interest offices in Washington D.C.

Visit the LMU Study Abroad website for more information: https://academics.lmu.edu/studyabroad/

In coordination with the Center for the Study of Los Angeles, LMU is currently collecting the public papers of distinguished LMU graduates, as well as local public figures, reform agencies, prominent Catholic families and Southern California Developers. “We hope to make LMU one of the main sources of public papers for the Los Angeles/Southern California region,” said Dr. Michael Genovese, Director of the Institute. LMU will eventually house the public papers of former House majority whip and Loyola alumnus Tony Coelho, former State Senator and Loyola alumnus David Roberti, and Mike Roos, the head of LEARN, and others.

The Honorable Graham Allen, member of the British House of Commons, is an ongoing International Fellow of the Institute. Allen, who guest lectured for the LMU/Oxford Scholars Program during the summer of 1995, 1997, 2000, and 2001, has been integral in helping the Institute for Leadership Studies make opportunities available to students. Allen has also team-taught summer courses on British politics at LMU with Dr. Michael Genovese for the past several summers.

The LMU Institute for Leadership Studies is one of three universities selected to develop a new curriculum for liberal arts universities on "Teaching Responsible Leadership." This major grant involves developing new courses, research fellowships for students, and the creation of new programs for teaching leadership and ethics