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G-124 Cordell Hull Bldg.
Nashville, TN 37243 Phone (615) 741-3299 |
Director |
Administrator |
The Tennessee Legislative Intern Program was established in 1972 to provide Tennessee College and University students with an opportunity to work and learn in a hands on legislative environment. Each year 70 to 80 students from around the state participate in this program to learn about leadership responsibilities as well as develop legislative process skills. The interns assist legislative offices with their legislative activities and work functions.
Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate Students in law, political science, history, administration, social work, economics, sociology, journalism, and related fields are eligible for this program. Students must be at least 20 years of age prior to the start date of the program.
Selection is based upon academic qualifications (including a 3.0 and above GPA), each applicant's expected potential for professional research and a variety of other job assignments in connection with the work of the General Assembly, and for successful personal interrelationships in the environment of a legislative session.
Interns will be appointed for the 2026 session to serve from January 12 until May 1, 2026. The appointment period will not be the same as the quarter or semester calendar. Any student applying for the program must be willing to commit for the entire time of the internship.
NOTE - The Tennessee General Assembly does not currently have a summer internship program. Our program is for the Legislative Session only.
A stipend of $500 per week will be paid to each full-time intern and $13.33 per hour for each part-time intern, plus reimbursement for travel at the rate of $0.67 per mile of authorized travel between the full-time intern's institution and Nashville, limited to one round trip per month. A one-time advance payment of $500 will also be granted for each full-time intern for relocation or adjustment purposes. If there is any change in the amount of the stipend paid to each intern, as a result of the meeting of the Sponsoring Committee, the students will be notified prior to their arrival.
The number of hours of academic credit granted to each student differs. To find out how many hours of credit you may obtain by participating in this program, please contact your faculty representative (see list below).
Interns will be assigned to legislative leadership offices and committees and will be expected to devote full time to their legislative duties during the term of their appointments, adapting to the legislative schedule. Duties will vary from office to office, but will include bill analysis, constituent work, research and general office work.
Interns will be expected to attend weekly meetings usually held on Fridays.
The intern class participates in various community service projects and tours. Some past tours are, a maximum-security prison, the State Capitol, the Tennessee Supreme Court, Ellington Agricultural Center, Tennessee State Museum, Tennessee State Library and Archives, and the Bicentennial Mall. Some past projects included volunteering with the Nashville Rescue Mission, Trevecca Rehabilitation and Healing Center, collecting supplies for school age children, and collecting food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Some of the guest speakers have included Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and TBI Director David Rausch.
Each year the intern class plays the Legislators in a game of basketball.
Interested students should contact the official faculty representative on their campus (see list of faculty reps.) to get application materials. October 16, 2025 is the deadline for receipt of completed applications. Final decisions are made before Thanksgiving.
| School | Faculty | Contact | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Peay State University | Dr. Michael Bednarczuk | (931) 221-7581 | bednarczukm@apsu.edu |
| East Tennessee State University | Dr. John David Briley | (423) 492-3784 | Briley@mail.etsu.edu |
| University of Memphis | Ebony Dawkins | (901) 678-2342 | LegislativeInternship@memphis.edu |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Kayla McCrary | (615) 898-2329 | pga.internships@mtsu.edu |
| Tennessee State University | Dr. Brian Russell | (615) 963-4930 | brussell7@tnstate.edu |
| Tennessee Technological University | Dr. Lauren Harding | (931) 372-3817 | LHarding@tntech.edu |
| University of Tennessee, Chattanooga | Dr. Marcus Mauldin | (423) 425-5702 | marcus-mauldin@utc.edu |
| University of Tennessee, Knoxville | Dr. Jon Ring | (865) 974-0802 | jring7@utk.edu |
| University of Tennessee, Martin | Dr. Christopher Baxter | (731) 881-7367 | cbaxter@utm.edu |
| University of Tennessee, Southern | Dr. Stephen McBride | (931) 424-4085, ext. 3835 | stemmcbr@utsouthern.edu |
| School | Faculty | Contact | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont University | Dr. Vaughn May | (615) 460-6151 | vaughn.may@belmont.edu |
| Bethel University | Emily Myers | (731) 352-6406 | myerse@bethelu.edu |
| Bryan College | Dr. Christie Clifton | (423) 775-2041 | cclifton3075@bryan.edu |
| Carson-Newman College | Dr. Kara E. Stooksbury | (865) 471-3556 | kstooksbury@cn.edu |
| Christian Brothers College | Neal Palmer | (901) 321-3249 | npalmer@cbu.edu |
| Cumberland University | Dixie Rury | (615) 547-1308 |
drury@cumberland.edu careerservices@cumberland.edu |
| Fisk University | Latreace Wells | (615) 329-8896 | lwells@fisk.edu |
| Freed-Hardeman University | Dr. Stephen H. Morris | (731) 989-6080 | shmorris@fhu.edu |
| King University | Amanda Pollard | (423) 652-4865 | apollard@king.edu |
| Lane College | Dr. Linda J. Theus | (731) 868-2221 | ltheus@lanecollege.edu |
| Lee University | Dr. Mark Scully | (423) 614-8354 | mscully@leeuniversity.edu |
| LeMoyne-Owen College | Dr. Alexis Griggs | (901) 435-1428 | alexis_griggs@loc.edu |
| Lincoln Memorial University | Dr. Benjamin Mabry | (423) 869-7424 | benjamin.mabry@lmunet.edu |
| Lipscomb University | Dr. Marc Schwerdt | (615) 966-1000 | marc.schwerdt@lipscomb.edu |
| Maryville College | Leah Hadder | (865) 981-8405 | leah.hadder@maryvillecollege.edu |
| Meharry Medical College | Robert Taylor | (615) 327-5897 | rftaylor@mmc.edu |
| Milligan College | Dr. Amy Edmonds | (423) 461-8378 | aedmonds@milligan.edu |
| Peabody College/Vanderbilt University | Dr. Vera Chatman | (615) 343-1924 | vera.a.chatman@vanderbilt.edu |
| Rhodes College | Anna Smith | (901) 843-3818 | smitha@rhodes.edu |
| Southern Adventist University | Dr. Lisa Clark Diller | (423) 236-2417 | ldiller@southern.edu |
| Tennessee Wesleyan College | Dr. Chris Schutz | (423) 746-5321 | cschutz@twcnet.edu |
| Trevecca Nazarene University | Dr. Erica Hayden | (615) 248-1724 | erhayden@trevecca.edu |
| Tusculum University | Kathy Hipps | (423) 636-7320 | khipps@tusculum.edu |
| Union University | Dr. Sean Evans | (731) 661-5237 | sevans@uu.edu |
| Sewanee: The University of the South | Andrea C. Hatcher | (931) 598-1652 | ahatcher@sewanee.edu |
| Vanderbilt University | Karen Chan | (615) 322-2750 | karen.h.chan@vanderbilt.edu |
| Welch College | Frank Thornsbury | (615) 675-5311 | frank.thornsbury@welch.edu |