Real-world work experience is a critical component of our MPA program. It challenges you to take the academic concepts you have learned in the classroom and put them into practice.
To fulfill the Practical Experience component of the degree, most students choose to complete an internship in the summer between the first and second year of study or to do an externship while enrolled in one of CIPA’s off-campus semester programs. The CIPA Office of Career Management will assist you through each phase of your internship search.
Given that many of the most challenging and rewarding positions in the field of public affairs are unpaid, CIPA has developed a competitive grant program to help defray the costs of unpaid internships. Applications for funding are sent out to students each spring.
Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Cornell University
Brookings Institute
Calvert Investments
CARE International
Council on Foreign Relations
Deloitte Tax, LLP
Environmental Defense Fund
International Rescue Committee
International Labour Organization
Moody’s Investors Service
New York City Office of Management and Budget
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, India
UN Development Program
UN Women
UNFPA
USDA Rural Development Innovation Center
World Bank
Externships through CIPA Off-Campus Study Programs
Students who choose to spend a semester in one of CIPA’s off-campus study programs earn academic credit while completing an externship. Representative externship organizations are listed below by location.
UNDP
DC Central Kitchen
World Bank
National Public Radio
White House Domestic Policy Council
District of Columbia Public Schools
U.S. Department of State
World Food Programme
International Monetary Fund
