MPA Internship and Career Resources

Our students and graduates work in a variety of careers in local, state and federal governments, as well as in non-profit organizations. They are primarily managers, analysts and policy specialists:

• Managers implement policies, allocating resources to achieve the objectives of the program and organization.
• Program managers administer programs: establishing objectives, stimulating productivity, motivating workers, reporting and evaluating work progress, structuring work, allocating resources, coping with internal and external political pressures, and ensuring that the public interest is reflected in the work of the agency.
• Staff managers support the work of program managers, performing such activities as budgeting and financial management, personnel and labor relations, management information systems, organizational analysis, and procurement of supplies and materials.
• Staff analysts develop ways to ensure that program objectives are met. They also look at new ways to meet the public’s requests for service. A staff analyst must be familiar with research on social, economic, and environmental problems to propose potential courses of action to decision makers. They are the elements of the program usually involved in briefing papers. Staff analysts work in planning and evaluation units or budget divisions in government.
• Policy specialists, the counterparts of staff analysts, work in consulting firms, research institutes or non-profit organizations.

To graduate, MPA students must complete an internship in a public or non-profit organization. To qualify, the internship experience must be professional and/or administrative in nature as opposed to a clerical-level position. The internship requirement may be waived for students with relevant professional experience.

Students and graduates seeking internship and career opportunities can utilize on-campus resources or search online job boards for opportunities.