Workforce shortages exist at all levels of government and in social sector organizations. La Follette recognizes the need to train a new generation of students ready for work in the public service. We know that agencies and organizations that invest in students and in workforce development often see increases in the number of applications and the diversity of their applicant pools.
To complete requirements for the certificate in public policy and the certificate in health policy, students must complete an applied professional experience, also known as a “high-impact learning practice.” One way to complete this requirement is to find, apply for, and secure a policy-related internship and enroll in a 3-credit companion course, Public Affairs 327. More than 50 certificate students each year complete Political Science 315: Legislative Internship, in which they complete internships in legislative offices or with organizations working directly with the legislative process. A handful also participate in Wisconsin in Washington, where they complete internships based in the Washington, D.C. Metro area. Other students choose to complete a workshop, working in teams on client projects.
Over the past two years, nearly 150 La Follette undergraduate certificate students have completed internships each year in public policy and health policy. Students most frequently report working in:
- Health policy
- Economic and community development
- Social policy
- Government relations/lobbying
- Education policy
- Nonprofit management
- Research
- Environmental policy
- Human rights
- Law
- Technology/communication
These experiences depend on active engagement and effort from internship host organizations. On behalf of the La Follette School and most importantly on behalf of our students, we express our gratitude to the following organizations that have contributed to high-impact learning experiences by developing internships and hosting our undergraduate students during both the academic year and the summer term. Some of our students have gone on to work in full-time roles with these organizations.
- 350Wisconsin
- ACCESS Reproductive Justice and Collective Power for Reproductive Justice
- Ahlstrom
- Alder Juliana Bennett
- American Society of Hematology
- Anne Arundel County Department of Health
- Area Health Education Centers
- Assembly Democratic Caucus Wisconsin
- Atlantic Health Systems
- Ballotpedia
- Brinks Law Firm
- Campus Vote Project
- Centene Management Company, LLC
- Citizens Research Council of Michigan
- City of Madison
- Climate Solutions for Health
- D.C. Witness
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Democratic Assistant Leader Representative Kalan Haywood Office
- Early Childhood Health Consultation
- Embolden WI
- Eva-Dina Delgado Chicago Office
- Flywheel Government Solutions
- Forest County Public Health Department
- Governor Tony Evers
- Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition
- Guidehouse
- Health Connections, Inc.
- Hiawatha Associates
- Humphries Pharmaceutical Consulting
- International Rett Syndrome Foundation
- James A. Graaskamp Center for Real Estate
- KidSave
- Law Firm of Conway, Olejniczak, and Jerry
- Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
- Marquette County
- Maverick Health Policy
- Midwest Environmental Advocates
- Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office
- MN350
- Molina Healthcare
- Monmouth University
- Nation Consulting
- National Academy of Public Administration
- National Grid Renewables
- Northwestern Community Action Agency
- Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings
- Office of Congressman Mark Pocan
- Office of Governor Tony Evers
- Office of Senator Mark Spreitzer
- Office of Senator Tammy Baldwin
- Office of the State Public Defender
- Orange County Health Care Agency
- Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin
- Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
- Results for America
- Ridgeview Medical Center
- Rock River Coalition
- Sarah for Wisconsin
- Schreiber GR Group
- Senator Tammy Baldwin’s Office
- Senator Chris Larson’s Office
- State of Minnesota
- Strides for Africa
- Subject Matter
- The Advance Group
- The American Foreign Policy Council
- The Borgen Project
- The Cleveland Clinic
- The United States Attorney Office
- The Wilderness Society
- Touchmark
- TurnUp
- United States House of Representatives
- UnitedHealth Care
- UW–Madison Andreae Lab
- UW–Madison Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment
- UW–Madison Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention
- UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
- UW–Madison Department of Political Science
- UW–Madison Division of Extension
- UW–Madison Hillel
- UW–Madison Institute for Research on Poverty
- UW–Madison Lab for Family Wellbeing and Justice
- UW–Madison Letters and Science Honors Program
- UW–Madison UniverCity Alliance
- Versiti
- Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies
- Vote Smart
- Walgreens
- White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics
- WisCaregivers
- Wisconsin AHEC Community Health Internship Program
- Wisconsin Assembly
- Wisconsin Department of Justice
- Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
- Wisconsin Medical Society
- Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association
- Wisconsin Rare Disease Alliance
- Wisconsin Secretary of State Office, Sarah Godlewski
- Wisconsin State Assembly Democratic Caucus
- Wisconsin State Legislature
- Wisconsin State Public Defender
- Wisconsin State Senate
- Wisconsin Union
- Wood County Health Department
- World Beyond War