DLS/MGA Legislative Fellowship Program

2025 Legislative Fellow Class

Experience            Excellence           Public Service

The Legislative Fellows Program offers top graduate students in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia region an immersive experience in the legislative process working alongside nonpartisan staff within the Department of Legislative Services (DLS), the professional staff agency for the Maryland General Assembly (MGA). Fellows will work during the General Assembly’s annual 90-day legislative session (January – April) and assist legal, fiscal, and committee staff with their regular session duties. The priority deadline for 2026 Fellows is October 17, 2025

Note that applications are accepted on a rolling basis beyond the October priority deadline to ensure that all of our hiring units have an opportunity to interview candidates as needs arise later in the year.

The fellowship period runs from November to April. Fellows begin their tenure with an orientation to prepare for their duties during the legislative session. Fellows must be available to work in Annapolis for a minimum of 20 hrs. per week.

A stipend is awarded to each legislative fellow. The total stipend varies, depending on the number of weeks a fellow serves. Hiring periods begin in November, December and January and depend on the hiring unit’s preference. Please note, all stipends are taxable income and paid in installments throughout the term. The stipend amounts are listed below:

Start Date Number of Weeks Total Stipend Amount
November 6, 2024 23 weeks $8,400
December 2, 2024 19 weeks $6,940
January 6, 2025 14 weeks $5,113

  • The Fellows Program is specifically designed for graduate students at Maryland and regional institutions offering master’s degrees in public policy as well as law students.

  • Graduate students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in legislative / public policy work should consider the legislative fellowship. Applicants must have strong writing and analytical skills and a G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher. A graduate in good standing from the schools specified above may apply during the application period.

  • In addition, graduate students may apply if in a related course of study or pursuing a major relevant to public policy including but not limited to economics, environmental studies, education, public health and various other quantitative, policy or legal studies.

  • Fellows will be assigned to work alongside staff within a General Assembly committee, caucus, delegation or leadership offices as well as the Office of Policy Analysis (OPA). While work duties may vary depending on the specific job assignment, fellows will generally be involved in legal, fiscal and policy research and analysis as well as responding to legislative requests and producing publication content. All work assignments require strong writing and analytical skills. 

    For a detailed description of each OPA function, see the “Office of Policy Analysis” section on the department organization page of the DLS website.

  • Leadership Fellows
    The leadership fellow supports the presiding officers’ staff in the General Assembly. Responsibilities include coordinating standing committee activities, monitoring committee hearings, and serving as a liaison between General Assembly leadership, State officials and the public. Duties may include monitoring floor activity in the Senate/House, short-term legislative planning, tracking legislation, scheduling meetings, and writing legislative memoranda.

  • OPA Fellows
    The Office of Policy Analysis (OPA) fellow supports specific legislative staff functions such as budget analysis, fiscal and policy notes, and racial equity impact notes. A fellow may also be assigned to assist OPA staff working with individual committees. Duties may include writing budget analyses or fiscal and policy notes, assisting with research related to legislation or amendments to legislation, conducting general policy research, and making presentations to committees.

  • Library Fellow New!
    Legislative Library Fellows in the Department of Legislative Services Library help maintain the institutional history of the legislature. Library Fellows assist in providing accurate and timely research, reference, and referral services to legislators, legislative staff, department staff, state agencies, and the general public. As specialists on Maryland’s legislative process, Library Fellows utilize the General Assembly website’s research and legislative tracking tools and monitor the legislative schedule. Fellows also assist in collaborating with library staff on identification and intake of agency reports, including cataloging, indexing, assessing, organizing, and inventorying legislative materials for the library’s collection.

  • Racial Equity Data Analysis Fellow
    As part of the OPA fellows program, the racial equity impact note function seeks a fellow with specialized database management experience. The data analysis fellow must have experience with Microsoft Power BI and general database management skills. Duties include updating, verifying, and normalizing datasets received from state agencies, performing queries on the data, and preparing custom reports, charts and graphs from the data. Candidates should have a demonstrated interest in public policy.

    Note: All stipends are taxable income.

  • Interested graduate students should submit a resume (cover letter preferred), transcript (unofficial copy) and a writing sample. Click here to apply

  • In your cover letter, please briefly discuss your interest and/or background in public policy work. Although the initial application deadline has passed, we will continue to accept applications until December 15 to ensure that all of our hiring units have an opportunity to interview candidates as needs arise later in the year.