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.

cipa, Internships graphs

Internships and Externships

Representative Internships

A.T. Kearney Management Consulting Co. Ltd., China
Accenture, China
Angora Partnerships, Nicaragua
Amazon.com, Inc.
American Civil Liberties Union of VA
ATMA SEVA, Thailand
Boston Redevelopment Authority
Brookings Institute
Calvert Investments
Cato Institute
Center for Regional Economic Advancement, Cornell University
Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress
Change for Kids
City of Chicago Mayor’s Office Fellowship Program
China Development Bank, China
China Labor Watch
Citibank Co. Ltd., China
City of Ithaca, Mayor’s Office
City of NY, Office of Management and Budget
Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
Cornell/UNICEF Nutrition Security Partnership Project in E. Africa, Uganda, and Ethiopia
Council on Foreign Relations
Deloitte Tax, LLP
Democratic National Committee
DeVos Institute of Arts Management
DHL, Germany
District of Columbia, Public Schools
Environmental Defense Fund
Euromonitor International, China
Global Citizen
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Greenpeace
Habitat for Humanity International
Health Development Initiative, Rwanda
Inter-American Development Bank, Panama
Inter-American Dialogue
International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development, Switzerland
International Economic Development Council
International Food Policy Research Institute
International Labor Rights Forum
International Labour Organization, Zimbabwe
Joint Inspection Unit of the UN System
KPMG China, China
McKinsey & Company
Moody's Investor Service
Ministry of Science and Technology, Costa Rica
National Governors Association
National Partnership for Women and Families
National Peace Academy
NY City Council
NY City Department of Education
NY City Department of Finance
NY City Department of Transportation
NY City Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency
NY State Assembly
NY State Council on Children and Families
NY State Department of Labor
NY State Governor’s Executive Chamber
Office of NY City Comptroller
Panama Canal Authority
Philanthropy in Motion, Hong Kong
Port Authority of NY and NJ
RTI International
San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation
Thailand Board of Invenstment, NY
The Global Poverty Project
The NYS Center for Rural Schools
The Wilderness Society
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Embassy, Manama, Bahrain
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Government Accountability Office
UNICEF
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Thailand
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Secretariat, Germany
UNDP Micro Enterprise Development Programme, Nepal
UNFAO, Italy
USAID, Uganda
World Bank, Bangladesh & Washington, DC

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.

Washington, DC

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

Albany, NY

Capital Semester, New York State Assembly and Senate

New York City, NY

Schroders
UNDESA
UNICEF
UNFPA

Cornell in Rome, Italy

Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Biodiversity International
International Fund for Agriculture Development

Mysore, India

Grassroots Research and Advocacy Movement (GRAMM)