WELCOME EMPLOYERS!
...And a special welcome to our alums who are now in a capacity to help hire fellow La Follette students - we are so glad you are here!
The La Follette School of Public Affairs strives to work closely with employers seeking interns, project assistants, and job candidates. We are happy to share your internship and job opportunities via our internal student job/internship boards, Facebook Group, and our listservs. Please email job/internship descriptions - including contact and deadline information (with a weblink if possible) - as shown below.
Contact Information
- Project Assistantships: If you are a government, private, and nonprofit agency looking to establish a student project assistantship (PAship), please contact our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. A La Follette School PAship is a cost-effective means for agencies, organizations, and businesses to accomplish special projects and increase productivity.
- Jobs/Interships: If you are a government, private, and nonprofit organization looking to share internships and jobs at all levels from entry to experienced with our current students and alums, please email our This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Handshake: You may also post job/internship opportunities to our campus-wide job board known as Handshake. Handshake provides access to over 30,000 UW students from every major on campus and every degree level from Bachelors to Post-Doc.
Employer Visits/Chats
Every semester, the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. arranges on-site visits to local organizations (or invites employers to campus). We can also host remote chats to connect you with La Follette Undergraduate and Graduate students.
These visits and/or chats give you the opportunity to meet with our students and give students the opportunity to learn more about your organization. Whenever possible we request that La Follette alums working at your organization be involved in this outreach as we find the connections to be invaluable to current students.
Post a Job/Internship
If you have an internship or job posting you would like to share with our students you can do one or both of the following:
- Email the Career Services Coordinator so that the oppportunity can be shared on our internal job boards just for La Follette students; and/or
- Post the opportunity to Handshake where it can be seen by all UW Madison students - inlcuding La Follette
- If you choose to post to Handshake, please let the Career Services Coordinator know by sharing the link to your posting so that we can be sure to highlight your opportunity to our students
Interviews
We can also arrange interviews either on site at the La Follette School or remotely with our students. Please email the Career Services Coordinator to discuss your interests and to learn more.
How to Recruit La Follette School Interns to Your Organization
Typical Internship Length and Time Committment:
- Internships can be either semester-long, or shorter "project internships" meant to last only a few weeks to a month
- The hours a student can work per week will vary based on your needs and students’ availability. Most students are available to work full-time (30-40 hours/wk) in the summer and part-time (10-20 hours/wk) during the academic year
Credit for Internships
- Undergraduate Students: Students pursuing our Certificates in Public Policy or Health Policy are required to complete one formal internship with a coresponding 3 credit academic course. These courses are not free to the student and should not be used in lieu of pay if pay is possible for your organization
- Graduate Students: Our MPA and MIPA students are not required to complete a credit-bearing internship, but, with school approval, may earn up to three graduate credits for their internship, using these minimum work hour guidelines
- 3 credits: minimum of 320 hours over at least 8 weeks
- 2 credits: minimum of 240 hours over at least 6 weeks
- 1 credit: minimum of 160 hours over at least 4 weeks
What Can I Expect From a La Follette School Intern?
- La Follette students can hit the ground running. Through a rigorous curriculum spanning several disciplines and a professional development program that hones job readiness skills, students:
- Acquire academic knowledge and practical skills in statistical analysis, microeconomic policy analysis, public management, policy analysis, and performance management
- Gain contextual knowledge in the American policy process or international governance
- Build the writing and presentation skills that are critical to their careers; and
- Choose from La Follette School courses that include budgeting, advanced statistical methods, benefit-cost analysis, program evaluation, macroeconomic policy, and personnel
- La Follette students have interned throughout Wisconsin, the United States, and overseas at all levels of government, in non‐profit agencies, and in the private sector.
- Internships provide an opportunity for you - the employer - to benefit from the skills of a highly trained La Follette School student, while the student gets the opportunity to apply skills and insights gained in academic coursework
How Do I Set up a La Follette School Internship?
- Draft a position/project description and send it to La Follette School Career Services Coordinator
- The description should contain:
- A description of the duties and skills required with a link to the full description on your website (if possible)
- Is the position suitable for an undergrad, grad student or both?
- Whether or not the position is paid and at what rate of payment
- Information about the desired weekly work schedule; and
- A description of your hiring process:
- Which materials should be sent as part of the application? (resume and cover letter, unofficial transcripts, etc.)
- To whom should materials be sent? (name and email address or link to an online form)?
- When are they due for best consideration?
- The position will be circulated among students who apply based on their skills, interest, and availability
- If a student wishes to (or must) receive credit for the internship, they are responsible for acquiring school approval and completing the necessary paperwork (there is one brief form describing the position that must be signed by a supervisor)
- You - the employer select your candidates!
What are Some Examples of Successful Internships?
To view profiles of recent La Follette School interns and where they worked, click here
How Do I Get Involved?
If you are interested in offering an internship or in getting more information, please contact Career Services Coordinator, Marie Koko at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 608-262-3908.
How – and Why – to Hire La Follette School Project Assistants
What Is a La Follette School Project Assistantship?
- Employing a La Follette School Project Assistant (PA) is a cost‐effective means to accomplish special projects and increase productivity
- The La Follette School partners with agencies and organizations in all sectors, linking them with highly qualified students eager to supplement knowledge learned in the classroom with practical experience
- A Project Assistantship (PAship) is a paid position that provides a stipend, benefits, and tuition remission to a La Follette School student for a contracted period of work. Rates of pay and other budget matters are set by university policy
- Employers run the hiring process, but the La Follette School handles administration of a contract between the School and employer, and it pays the student through the University
- Selection of candidates is a highly competitive process. PAships are typically viewed as among the most valuable opportunities offered through the La Follette School
What Can I Expect From La Follette School Project Assistants?
La Follette students are graduate students who can hit the ground running. Through a rigorous curriculum spanning several disciplines and a professional development program that hones job readiness skills, students:
- Acquire academic knowledge and practical skills in statistical analysis, microeconomic policy analysis, public management, policy analysis, and performance management
- Gain contextual knowledge in the U.S. policy process or international governance
- Build the writing and presentation skills that are critical to their careers; and
- Choose from La Follette School courses that include budgeting, advanced statistical methods, benefit‐cost analysis, program evaluation, macroeconomic policy, and personnel administration.
How Do I Set Up A La Follette School Project Assistantship?
The La Follette School Career Services Coordinator will assist you in setting up a PAship
- The PAship requires a contract between the employer and UW‐Madison; the contract will be drafted by the La Follette School Financial Specialist
- PAships must be for at least 33.4% time (approximately 13 hours per week), but can be up to 75% time, depending on a student’s situation
- PAships can be arranged for one semester, for one academic year, or on an annual basis
- Hiring process: the employer drafts a job/project description, which is circulated to students, who apply based on their skills, interests, and availability. You run the interview process and hire the candidate of your choice
- Contracts (including hiring) should be completed by August 1 for work beginning in the fall semester (late August) or December 1 for work beginning in the spring semester (mid‐January)
What Are Some Examples Of Successful PAships?
Agencies, nonprofit organizations, and businesses including the WPS Health Solutions, Wisconsin Legislative Council, and Education Analytics have employed La Follette School PAs to assist in statistical analysis, research, and cost‐benefit studies.
What Are The Next Steps?
For more information, contact Associate Director Steve Kulig at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 608-262-8631.