Internship Placement

The internship is required of students who have little to no experience working in the public or non-profit sector which is very few of our students.

The required internship includes a 3-unit class with written work requirements and 300 hours of internship experience in a public or nonprofit organization; as fits the mission of our program, most students intern in local government. Several decades of this internship class have resulted in a list of potential internship opportunities that exceeds 80 organizations.

Students can also earn their internship credit by spending a summer in a public or nonprofit agency internship in Washington D.C. These students often intern with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture or Interior, or a nonprofit organization.

The internship coordinator has a long list of placement leads for students who need help securing an internship. This list has been cultivated for decades as have program relationships with agencies/alumni who frequently contact the program to invite intern applications.

Our MPA students secure paid internships in about one-third of cases. To offset the opportunity costs of unpaid internships, Bruce Lawson (CSUF MPA 1972), has provided financial support through the Lawson Internship in Public Service Award for the past 12 semesters. This award provides a $2,000 scholarship to one student each semester based on a competitive application that is evaluated by program faculty.

In 2017/18, nine students enrolled in the POSC 497 Public Administration Internship. Four students worked  in paid internships; two other students   secured paid employment before the end of their internship experience.

During 2017/18 students interned in Human Resource Departments in the cities of San Marino and Anaheim, and the County of Orange; The Department of Fleet Management in Santa Ana; Community Services in the cities of Brea and Orange; the U.S. Probation Office in Inglewood; and two students worked in nonprofit settings doing parent outreach, and voter education.