Our Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree requires students to complete professional experiences in their areas of interest. This mean we have over 100 graduate students each year seeking exceptional internships as a way to gain hands-on skills in applying their classroom knowledge to real-world organizational problems. When you hire an Evans School intern, you will receive the benefit of:

  • Professional skills of rigorously trained MPA student
  • Targeted focus on short-term projects or challenges facing your team
  • Low-risk recruitment and capacity-building resource for your organization

“I would consider hiring any of the interns coming out of the Evans School for an appropriate position in the City. They are well rounded students and have been taught the fundamentals of governance. [Our intern] was asked to update the City’s indirect cost model for preparation of the biennial budget.”

-Deputy Finance Director, City of Redmond

Type of Internships

Many students in the MPA program at the Evans School maintain a part-time internship or job (5-20 hours/week) during the academic year and are open to paid employment opportunities during these months (September – June).

90% of the incoming MPA students at the Evans School intend to pursue a summer graduate internship experience. Students may be available for up to 40 hours per week for 10-12 weeks during the summer break between their first and second year in the MPA program (June – September).

Micro-internships allow an employer to contract a student for a discreet number of hours to complete a specific project that doesn’t require the same level of supervision, training, or support as a traditional internship. This type of contract work is a budget-friendly way to keep critical projects moving forward while allowing a talented student to build their portfolio of professional experience.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Evans School does not have any specific requirements of intern supervisors in terms of paperwork or documentation. Evans School students are responsible for all documentation of their internship experience to the Evans School. Supervisors may receive periodic email communication from the Evans School as students report their experiences, but the only action required is completion of a final evaluation of the intern’s performance. This will be sent as an online link via email to the supervisor during the student’s last reported month of the internship with the organization (or upon completion of the student’s required 400 intern hours, if that is before the ending date).

Career Development has created a resource for supervisors of interns, an Internship Onboarding Guide for Employers, that may help you navigate the process of guiding an intern by considering how you can support the student’s learning and development while on your team.

Students seek internships all year long, so there is never a “bad time” to hire an intern! The Evans School doesn’t have requirements around length or number of hours an internship should be. MPA students are required to complete 400-hours of a graduate-level experience (i.e. internship, research, consulting, part-time or full-time employment), but the hours can come from multiple experiences and over any time during their program.

Since our MPA program is a full-time program, students may prefer part-time opportunities during the school year that are flexible around their class schedules. Few students take classes during the summer (our students finish classes in mid-June and return to classes in late-September), so may be interested in full-time opportunities for those 3 months. We recommend that you include starting and ending dates (and if you are flexible on this), as well as estimated hours per week (and if you are flexible around class schedules) in your internship announcement in order to help students understand the commitment you are seeking.

Paid internship are strongly encouraged and the typical salary range for Evans School interns is $15-$25 an hour. This is outstanding value for the quality of work they do. Other potential compensation may include: a commuting stipend, low-cost housing, free lunches, free parking, free conference registration, free networking opportunities, etc. Students may also be interested in using your data for their class projects or papers.

Students seek opportunities throughout the academic year. Many students prefer to intern during the summer (June through September) between their first and second-year of the program. For those seeking a summer experience, they are actively applying for opportunities from January through April. Students have indicated a desire to receive a summer internship offer 2-3 months in advance of a starting date in order to have sufficient time to plan their summer timeline, including securing housing or making travel arrangements should the experience require relocation for the season.

It is recommended to note a specific deadline for applying in your job announcement (we recommend at least two weeks from your posting date during the school year and one 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. Students seek internships all year long, so there is never a “bad time” to hire an intern!

We are so happy that you want to Hire Evans! If you already have the project and responsibilities scoped out and ready to be advertised, please create a free account in EvansJobs by clicking on the “Sign Up and Post a Job” button. New accounts and positions are approved within 1-3 business days. After your account is approved, you can login to the system at any time to edit or re-list position openings at your convenience. Check out our guide for How to Use EvansJobs. If you have any questions, please let us know by emailing evansjob@uw.edu or calling 206.221.7698.

Evans Internship Partners