Paragon partners university students and recent graduates with state and local governments in the United States to work on digital governance problems at the intersection of technology, policy and public interest. It runs three cohorts a year — Spring from late January to early May, Summer from late May to late August, and Fall from late September to late December — each fully remote and asking 8 to 10 hours a week. Fellows sit in teams of five to seven with one Project Lead and deliver work a partner agency can use: literature reviews, demographic analyses, presentations and policy briefs. Project areas are AI governance, data and cybersecurity, research and development, broadband access, and digital services innovation, with partners including Bismarck in North Dakota, Tempe in Arizona, Fort Collins in Colorado, Lebanon in New Hampshire and the US Virgin Islands. The organisation is led by two executive directors, Annie Beckman and Sofia Rodriguez, with directors for policy education, policy practice, operations, partnerships and advancement, and it reports more than 350 fellows from over 100 universities, 44 completed projects and 28 partnerships across 19 states and US territories. Applications for the Fall 2026 cohort are open and close on 23 August 2026.
Benefits & funding
- No money changes hands in either direction: the site states plainly that the Fall 2026 cohort is an unpaid volunteer fellowship, and applying costs nothing
- A named project with a real state or local government partner, delivered as briefs, reviews, analyses and presentations
- Policy bootcamps and workshops run through the cohort, plus a guest speaker series drawing on government, academia, the nonprofit sector and industry
- Networking events across a cohort of roughly 30 fellows — the Summer 2026 cohort was projected at 32 places including Project Leads
- A separate four-month mentorship programme, run twice a year and open to current and former fellows: one hour a month with a professional in science, technology or policy, plus speaker events and a LinkedIn group carrying job openings
- The Project Lead route for applicants who want to run a team rather than sit on one
Eligibility
- Enrolled in a degree programme — undergraduate, graduate, law, PhD or similar — or graduated from one within the last year
- Primarily resides in the United States and is authorised to work there, through US citizenship, permanent residence, an F-1 OPT visa, an F-1 STEM OPT visa or a J-1 visa. CPT is no longer accepted, and documentation is required on acceptance
- Able to commit 8 to 10 hours a week to project work, team meetings and cohort programming, including meetings scheduled in US business hours around a government partner’s calendar
- Interested in technology policy and civic innovation; no prior experience in the field is required
- School leavers not yet enrolled in a degree programme are not eligible
- Former fellows and alumni of an earlier cohort cannot reapply
- No nationality, age, gender or work-experience requirement is stated
Can you apply?
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Application process
- 1Watch the cohort window. Applications open roughly two months before a cohort starts; the Fall 2026 window runs from 1 August to 23 August 2026, closing at 8:59pm PT / 11:59pm ET.
- 2Join an information session or office hours, which Paragon holds during each application window.
- 3Submit the written application through the Apply button on the students page. Review is not rolling — every application is read after the window closes.
- 4Complete the Group Trial if shortlisted: a mock policy assignment worked over three to four days, about seven to nine hours in total.
- 5Project Lead candidates are assessed separately on leadership and organisational skill, and anyone not selected as a Lead is still considered for a Fellow place.
- 6Provide work authorisation documentation on acceptance, then start with the cohort in late September.
Program timeline
Applications open for the Fall 2026 cohort
Aug 1, 2026
During the application window
information sessions and office hours
Application deadline, 8:59pm PT / 11:59pm ET
Aug 23, 2026
After the window closes
written applications reviewed, then Group Trial interviews over three to four days
Late September 2026
Fall 2026 cohort begins
Late December 2026
Fall 2026 cohort ends
Following cycles
Spring runs late January to early May and Summer runs late May to late August, with applications opening about two months before each start