Each year, UCR School of Public Policy houses over 50 MPP students and 300+ undergraduate students. All students are required to complete an internship with a minimum of 120 hours. Hosting a student intern provides a mutually beneficial opportunity:

- Support the Next Generation of Policy Professionals: Provide hands-on experience for future leaders in public policy.

- Flexibility: Interns can assist in a variety of policy areas, from research to program development, and more.

By hosting a student, you’re investing in the professional growth of an aspiring policy professional while gaining valuable assistance for your organization.

Each year, second-year Master of Public Policy (MPP) students participate in the Client-Based Capstone (CBC) Project as part of their degree requirements. This 6-month project (January–June) pairs student teams with organizations from the public, nonprofit, and private sectors to address real-world policy challenges.

How It Works:

- Policy Research & Consulting: Students provide policy analysis, research, and consulting services.

- Collaboration: Student teams, supervised by a faculty member, work with organizations to develop policy recommendations.

- Deliverables: At the end of the project, students present their findings through both oral and written reports.

This is a fantastic opportunity for your organization to receive in-depth policy analysis and recommendations at no cost!

The Randall Lewis Policy Fellows Program, managed by the Center for Community Solutions, connects UCR MPP students with organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. This program offers 380 hours of hands-on work in a policy analyst role.

Program Highlights:

- Affordable Access to Emerging Talent: The Center covers $7,000 of the student's stipend, and your organization contributes only $1,000.

- Build Your Workforce: Engage with top policy talent before they graduate, giving your organization a competitive edge in attracting future employees.

- Hands-On Policy Work: Fellows contribute directly to policy analysis, providing valuable insight into local issues.

This is an excellent opportunity for organizations looking to access skilled, emerging policy professionals at an affordable cost.

Click here to learn more.

Randall Lewis Policy Researchers, housed within UCR’s Center for Community Solutions (CCS), strengthens regional research capacity by providing organizations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties with short-term, independent research support by a MPP student.

Program Highlights:

- Expertise on Demand, Quick Turnaround: Graduate student researchers provide timely support for small-scale, clearly defined projects that have a turnaround period of ~8 weeks or less, such as policy briefs, literature scans, descriptive statistics for publicly available data, and data availability assessments, among other needs.

- No-Cost Support: Organizations receive research assistance at no cost for the graduate student researcher’s time.

- Oversight: All research is conducted under the guidance of UCR’s Center for Community Solutions, ensuring high-quality, policy-relevant analysis that is responsive to the real-world needs of community partners.

This is an excellent opportunity for organizations seeking no-cost, immediate support for targeted research questions on pressing policy questions. Requests for the support of a CCS Randall Lewis Policy Researcher are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Visit the webpage to learn more.