Find an Intern

If you need hands-on involvement in your organization to meet emerging policy or management needs, hire an Evans School intern.

Internships provide organizations a unique capacity-building resource and low-risk recruitment opportunity. By hiring an Evans School intern, your organization gains:

• The professional skills of a quality MPA student
• Fresh insight and new perspectives on policy and management issues
• Targeted assistance with short-term projects or challenges

How Internships Work

You propose a quality internship that utilizes a student's analytical knowledge or managerial skills to help solve problems related to the development, implementation, and evaluation of your organization's policies and/or programs. Evans School Career Services will help you develop the position and publicize your internship.

Students and employers typically tailor internship positions to fit the needs of the individual and the organization. The length of employment, hours, and pay varies. Students are to complete a minimum of 400 internship hours to fulfill their graduation requirement.

Although the majority of our students seek to find full-time summer internships, there are always some who are open to part-time positions during the academic year.

Developing Effective Graduate Internships

Do you have a project that requires professional expertise? Do you lack the staff and the money to do it? You need a graduate student intern. With a little effort, you can produce great projects while providing a valuable experience for an Evans School master's student.

Our master's students generally have two to five years of work experience in addition to graduate training in areas as varied as policy analysis, planning, public management, budgeting and fiscal policy, program evaluation, and a variety of specific policy topics. Graduate interns are prepared to think strategically, analyze rigorously, and communicate clearly.

Our Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree requires students to do a professional internship in their areas of interest. That means between approximately 100 students each year are looking for a great internship experience. It's up to you to compete for this talent effectively by posting an interesting position. Here's the information you should include in a graduate-level internship description:

• Organization: Tell them about your organization and refer them to your website. Give them a context for the project they will do.
• Project: Describe the specific internship project you need done. Give them enough detail to help them understand why you need this and how it contributes to the work of your organization. If you have a clear timeline for the project and an important deadline to meet, include that information as well.
• Other Duties and Responsibilities: List the other things the intern will be expected to do or learn during the internship. Keep in mind these are graduate students. Although everyone does some tedious tasks, the majority of a graduate internship should be challenging project work.
• Qualifications: Describe the qualifications you want in an intern and be specific. If you need someone fluent in Spanish or skilled at Microsoft Access, include it here. Also specify communications skills, verbal or written, and any other skills or knowledge the student would need to be successful. If they have to have a car, work in the evening, or other special requirements, include that information, too.
• Logistics and Compensation: Starting/ending dates (include if you are flexible on this), hours per week, salary (if this is a paid position), any other conditions of employment. Be clear about what you can pay. If you cannot afford a salary, some students may still be interested if the project is rewarding enough. However, most graduate students are funding their own education and must look for paid internships. The average salary for Evans interns is $15 to $24 an hour. This is an outstanding value for the quality of work they do. If you can't pay your intern, think of other compensation you could offer - commuting stipend, low-cost housing, free lunches, free parking, etc. Students may also be interested in using your data in their professional master's degree project papers.
• Application Requirements: Give clear application instructions so students submit exactly what you want; this might include resume, cover letter, writing sample, reference list or letters of reference. Specify if you accept mailed, e-mailed or faxed applications. Give exact contact information and let them know if they can call with questions.
• Deadline and Application Timeline: Give a specific deadline for applying (we recommend at least two weeks from this posting date during the school year and a month during breaks or over the summer). Also specify your timeline for the hiring process - when you hope to interview and when you will make your final decision. If you are looking to hire a summer intern, students finish classes mid-June and are actively seeking opportunities from January to April.

If we can facilitate this process for you by scheduling on-campus recruitment information sessions or interviews, please let us know. Also, contact us at any time with questions about recruiting a strong pool of candidates.

You may self register and post opportunities directly to the EvansJobs. There is no charge to post positions.

For more information, please contact Evans School Career Services at evansjob@u.washington.edu or 206.616.1609.

Hire an Evans School Student or Graduate

Identifying and retaining quality employees is a costly endeavor. That is why Evans School Career Services offers a variety of free services to help employers maximize their campus presence and connect with our talented students and alumni.

On-Campus Recruiting
Each year, hundreds of employers from the public, nonprofit, and private sectors participate in Evans School recruitment events. You can participate in quarterly brown-bag information and/or recruitment sessions, career panels, campus interviews, and speaker series. To make it easy, Career Services works closely with you to identify a recruitment strategy that fits your needs.

Online Résumé Book
If you cannot come to campus, find your next top candidate through our searchable, online résumé directory. The directory lists profiles of MPA students and alumni actively seeking employment or internships. It is free and simple. Just create an employer profile at EvansJobs and view resumes that fit your criteria.

Post a Job or Internship
Career Services will publicize your job announcements by targeting them to students and alumni with the specific skills you need. You can then set up interviews with candidates at your convenience.

For more information, please view our Employer Handbook (136 KB PDF), or contact Career Services at evansjob@u.washington.edu or 206.616.1609.

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