Our Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree requires students to complete professional experiences in their areas of interest. This means we have over 100 graduate students each year seeking experiential learning opportunities 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 Evans student
  • Targeted focus on short-term projects or challenges facing your team
  • Low-risk recruitment and capacity-building resource for your organization

Experiential Learning Requirement

Our MPA students are required to complete 400 hours of experiential learning (internship, part-time job, full-time job, fellowship, volunteer work, etc.) related to their MPA studies so they can apply what they’re learning in the classroom to real life settings.

To create a position for MPA students that would support their requirement, the Career Development team looks for positions with the following skills: Leadership, Analytical/Managerial Problem Solving, Program Development, Policy Implementation/Evaluation, Research, Quantitative/Qualitative Analysis, Civic Engagement, Budgeting/Financial Management, Assessment/Program Evaluation, and Stakeholder Collaboration/Outreach.

Type of Internships

Academic Year

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).

How to Recruit at the Evans School

Summer

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).

How to Scope a Summer Internship

Micro-Internships

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.

Internship Experiences

“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

“Finishing this internship has affirmed my goal of being a public servant and serving vulnerable communities on a local level…I was offered and accepted a full-time position with SHA as an acting sustainability analyst.”

-Jalyn Boado, MPA ’24 -Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability Intern with Seattle Housing Authority

Frequently Asked Questions

What is required of site supervisor?

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 related to their internship experience. Supervisors may receive periodic email communication from the Evans School as students report their experiences, but the only actions required is to confirm the position and to complete 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). You do not need a Handshake account to complete the evaluation.

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.

Do internships need to be a certain length, number of hours, or time of the year?

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 three 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.

Do internships need to be paid? What is the average rate of pay?

Paid internship are strongly encouraged and the typical salary range for Evans School interns is $17-$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.

When are students looking for internships?

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!

I want to hire an Evans School intern—how should I move forward to begin the process?

We’re excited that you want to Hire Evans! If you already have the project and responsibilities scoped out and ready to be advertised, you or your organization can post your job through the Handshake profile. If you do not already have a Handshake account, it’s free to create one. If you have any questions specific to Evans, please email us at evansjob@uw.edu. If you have questions regarding the Handshake system, please email Handshake@uw.edu.