The Agricultural and Natural Resources Policy (ANRP) Internship Program is one of the premier leadership opportunities in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. Through this program, students complete exciting, policy-focused internships in Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas, and Rome, Italy for a semester while earning academic credit. These internships are offered every summer, fall and spring semester. The program falls under the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
Policy Internship Programs Office manages both the Agricultural and Natural Resources Policy (ANRP) Internship Program and the Public Policy Internship Program (PPIP), a sister policy program out of the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies.
Texas A&M University recognizes internships as an integral part of its curriculum, enabling students to participate in structured, supervised learning experiences off-campus. Internships are essential experiences that employers look for from college graduates. The ANRP Internship Program is one such opportunity specifically designed for students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, offering benefits that are unparalleled by other university programs across the nation. By incorporating practical work experience in a professional environment, students are able to build on knowledge from previous coursework and prepare for life after graduation.
ANRP Internship Program participants emerge from their internship semester with knowledge and skills that will distinguish them from their peers. Former interns highlight increased research abilities, a better understanding of complex organizations/systems, and the development of interpersonal communication skills. Most importantly, students learn to understand the policy process through hands-on experience. Program participants see firsthand how a single idea can develop into legislation that impacts their area of interest, whether it is production agriculture, wildlife biology, environmental conservation, nutrition, agricultural economics, or another area.
Our Statement on Diversity
The ANRP Internship Program joins the university community in making Texas A&M a welcoming environment for all individuals. We are committed to helping our students understand the experiences that make each of us unique and appreciate the shared values that bring us together.
Vision
To develop leaders of character dedicated to serving the greater good through policy.
Mission
The ANRP Internship Program is an academic service designated to help students obtain a policy-related internship in Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas, or Rome, Italy for course credit. During their internship, students will learn new skills, gain valuable inside knowledge about their professional future, and meet the people who will someday be their co-workers and professional supervisors.
Program Objectives
- To provide opportunities for students to understand the policy-making process and how it can be applied, and relates, to agriculture and natural resources.
- To enable students to develop personal and professional skills, explore career interests, and form networks.
- To provide opportunities for students to evaluate and apply knowledge gained from academic coursework in a professional work environment.
- To provide hosting offices with student interns who are interested in learning about agriculture and life sciences through practical work experience.
Learning Outcomes
All of the program’s learning outcomes connect directly to Texas A&M University Undergraduate Learning Outcomes. Specifically, as a result of participating in this professional policy internship, interns will be able to:
- Apply academic knowledge in a professional setting – The primary goal of an internship is to provide the student with the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to solve real problems in personal and professional settings.
- Develop professionally relevant competencies and relationships in a professional setting – The student works together with the site supervisor to specify how the student plans to sharpen and develop new knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to serve effectively in a professional policy related setting. Students will use appropriate strategies and tools to represent, analyze, and integrate information while in the internship to develop reasonable positions. Additionally, relationships with the site supervisor and other professionals add to the student’s professional network.
- Gain understanding of and exposure to the public policy process – The student is able to learn through formal training and on-the-job experiences the public policy process. The student is able to experience various aspects of the policy process through interactions with the site supervisor and other employees, as well as through interactions and meetings with customers, clients, and/or constituents.
- Observe a diverse professional organizational culture and an understanding of professional etiquette – The student begins to understand the dynamics of an organization’s culture through observing and reflecting on how decisions are made, how work is structured, how power is shared, how colleagues interact, how an organization’s mission/vision are implemented, and to what degree accountability and feedback are present in the organization. This is accomplished in diverse (economic, political, cultural, religious, etc.) contexts. The student also practices proper business etiquette while fulfilling their internship responsibilities.
- Clarify career goals and personal aspirations – The internship experience allows the student to put their knowledge and talents to practical use in preparation for a life of leadership and service to the greater good. The student is able to reflect on the internship experience and make connections between what the student understands about his or her giftedness, and the needs of the profession the student is exploring through the internship experience.
Program History
The ANRP Internship Program was established in the spring of 1990 by Dr. Ron Knutson, an agricultural economics professor and then director of the Agriculture and Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University. Dr. Knutson was contacted by Congressman Greg Laughlin, who requested an intern with agricultural and natural resource knowledge who could help his office with these issues. From that single request, the ANRP Internship Program was established.
In its early years the program quickly gained popularity on Capitol Hill because of the quality and aptitude of students selected. This resulted in more offices requesting ANRP interns and more students having the opportunity to benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The well-known reputation that resulted from the Washington, D.C. interns allowed the program to eventually expand to Austin, Texas and most recently, Rome, Italy. Students now serve in legislative offices and state agencies every other year during the Texas legislative session, as well as abroad with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations every semester.
Now in our 25th anniversary, the ANRP Internship Program is proud of its approximately 800 alumni from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Since its inception, the program has enabled students to enhance their knowledge and leadership skills outside the classroom. It has proven invaluable in terms of practical work experience and personal growth, as well as its ability to provide career opportunities for hundreds of intern alumni.