Higher Ed Research Intern

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION AND THE OPPORTUNITY

Ed Trust seeks a Higher Ed Research Intern to join a staff committed to fulfilling our mission of closing opportunity gaps that disproportionately affect students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. 

The Intern will support the data management and analysis for the team’s data tools, including creating a streamlined process for downloading, cleaning, merging, and appending postsecondary data to create the metrics contained in Ed Trust products such as College Results, Segregation Forever, The Affordability Gap, and the Public Tableau.  The work will primarily focus on using publicly available data to create compelling narratives about the current state of access, accountability, affordability, and success for low-income students and students of color in postsecondary education.

Ed Trust is committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the U.S. education system. Through our research and advocacy, Ed Trust improves equity in education from preschool through college, engages diverse communities dedicated to equity and justice, and increases political and public will to build an education system where all students will thrive.   

This role, available September 2025, is ideally based in our Washington, D.C office but other locations could be considered.  This role is part-time for less than 6 months (exact schedule and dates are negotiable). The Intern reports to the Director of Higher Education Research and will serve as a member of the Ed Trust National Higher Ed Research Team.  

ABOUT THE ROLE

The major responsibilities for this role include, but are not limited to, the following: 

• Mine data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the College Scorecard, U.S. Census, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and other sources to produce datasets that help identify institutions and states that are successfully enrolling and graduating underserved populations, or making significant progress in those areas
• Analyze national datasets to identify barriers to access and success for students of color and low-income students in higher education
• Assist with the redesign, improvement, and updating of metrics hosted on College Results, an interactive webtool 
• Help with the development and analysis of equity metrics that assess how successful institutions and states are at increasing access, accountability, affordability, and success for students of color and low-income students
• Collect literature and draft research to inform team projects and policy recommendations
• Assist with the development of tools and processes to aid postsecondary improvement efforts
• Package research and data for lay audiences and funders in Education Trust presentations, briefs/reports, webtools, blogs, grant applications, the website and social media platforms

IDEAL SKILLS AND CHARACTERISTICS

• Shared belief in Ed Trust’s mission and a commitment to improving educational equity with a focus on racial equity
• Dedication in contributing to and maintaining an equitable working environment
• Strong critical thinking skills
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to do analytical work with data autonomously
• Strong verbal and written communication skills 
• Teamwork skills and an eagerness for collaboration
• Problem-solving ability
• Willingness to receive and act upon, as well as provide, constructive feedback
• Continuous learner

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and experience:

• Enrolled in a degree-program with a focus on education, public policy, statistics, research methodologies, or a related field
• Experience in a research role, including quantitative data analysis
• Experience with statistical software (R, SQL, Python, STATA, SPSS) and/or data visualization (Power BI, Tableau, R, gplot, etc.)
• Familiarity with higher education issues, preferred
• Familiarity with cloud database systems (AWS) preferred

COMPENSATION

The pay for this position ranges from $19 - $30/hr commensurate with education and experience, and sick leave is accrued in this role.

VACCINATION FOR COVID

At The Education Trust, the health and safety of our employees is of the utmost importance. As such, all Education Trust employees are required to be fully vaccinated and remain up to date on their vaccinations for COVID-19. New hires should be fully vaccinated and up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations prior to their first day of work. Requests for accommodations due to medical or religious reasons will be reviewed by Human Resources.  

TO APPLY:

The Education Trust is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates from diverse backgrounds.  

Qualified candidates please apply via ADP, including submitting an updated resume and completing the short answer questions.

The Education Trust is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes candidates from diverse backgrounds.