The APTA Harker Internship is an annual paid internship in Government Affairs for third year DPT students. The internship duration is approximately 6-8 weeks, usually during the late spring/early summer time frame, and provides experience in federal legislative advocacy, policy, and grassroots. One student is selected each calendar year.

The internship is named in memory of R. Charles “Charlie” Harker, who served as APTA's Director of Government Affairs from 1982 until 1994. Harker was known as a fierce advocate and helped build the APTA government affairs department and PTPAC. The Harker Internship was created by the APTA Board of Directors in 1995 in his honor and is aimed at fostering the next generation of PT advocates.

REQUIREMENTS: In order to be considered for this internship, applicants must submit an essay explaining what PT advocacy means to them, why they are interested in advocacy, and what they hope to learn.  Also, applicants must have their applications reviewed by their PT program faculty director before submitting to APTA. Please submit no later than March 22, 2024.

Additional information on the internship and how interested students can apply can be found online here.