Career Development

Finding your career path takes reflection, strategy, and mentorship from seasoned professionals. UConn’s School of Public Policy offers you a number of resources to plan for your career and succeed professionally. Career development is a never-ending cycle of self reflection, so students should be prepared to leverage what they learn and apply that in their internship and post-graduation work contexts for years to come.

 

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School Resources

Paid Internships

An internship is an integral component of our graduate degree programs. Internships not only provide students with the opportunity to apply the theory and knowledge learned in the classroom to real-world work experiences; they also allow students to try occupations they may be interested in pursuing.

The School places all of its full-time graduate students in the Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy programs in paid internships. For some students, their internships lead to full-time positions after graduation.

Learn more on our Internship page.

Alumni Mentoring and Résumés Reviews

Our School’s more than 1,000 alumni are leaders in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors across Connecticut, the nation, and the globe. You will work with our deeply devoted alumni to mold your career path, from one-on-one mentoring to regular student/alumni networking and career development seminars.

SPP Alumni Mentoring Network
Mentoring provides students with professional guidance during graduate school and helps them prepare for their future careers. All entering master’s degree students are paired with an SPP alumni mentor.
Learn more about our Alumni Mentoring Network.

Resume Reviews
The Alumni Council is happy to provide an on-going résumés review for UConn SPP students. For more information, please email UConn Human Resources Specialist Rebecca C. Myshrall '00 MPA. Students should expect a return time of about two weeks for all submitted resumes.

University-Wide Alumni Mentoring
Current SPP students, along with program alumni, are able to join the UConn Center for Career Development's "HuskyLink" mentor network program, housed in a platform called PeopleGrove. This platform is designed to support meaningful conversations whether it’s a quick 15-minute discussion or long-term mentorship, members are there to support each other. Current UConn students, and UConn alumni, can both learn more about how to opt in and participate in this program at the following web link: UConn HuskyLink Program Details.

Professional Development Series

Classroom experiences provide you with the skills you need to succeed. But we also prepare you to land in the right job that launches your career. Produced in a continuous joint effort with our alumni, faculty, and staff, our Professional Development Series is specifically designed for students who are moving into the public, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. The Program is designed to offer you knowledge and strategies for successful interviewing, resume preparation, and job searches.

Further details for 2023-2024 Professional Development Series events for current School of Public Policy students will be provided in advance of September 2023.

Student Organizations

The School of Public Policy offers several clubs and organizations that provide students with professional development, networking, and community-building opportunities. Learn more about our student organizations.

Job Opportunities

The School of Public Policy (SPP) receives constant appeals for our students and graduates to apply for jobs both locally and nationally. Students can receive notifications for these job postings through the following options:

SPP Careers Listserv

A listserv has been created for sharing job opportunities with anyone who is interested in joining: SPP_CAREERS-L@listserv.uconn.edu. To join, please follow the steps below:

    • Create a new e-mail to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UCONN.EDU
    • Leave the subject blank
    • Enter in the body of the e-mail this command, filled in with the respective information:

To subscribe: SUB SPP_CAREERS-L Firstname Lastname
To unsubscribe from a list: UNSUB SPP_CAREERS-L
To turn on the Digest feature: SET SPP_CAREERS-L DIGEST
To turn off the Digest feature: SET SPP_CAREERS-L MAIL

SPP on LinkedIn

For students and alumni, we will post job opportunities in the University of Connecticut School of Public Policy LinkedIn group. Please request to join our private group.

Meet with SPP Staff & SPP Student Resources

Current School of Public Policy students have access to university-wide Center for Career Development resources, but they are also welcome to schedule meetings with SPP Director of Engagement, Ryan Baldassario. Current students may either email Ryan at ryan.baldassario@uconn.edu to set up a meeting, or can request a meeting directly via Calendly at this link:  Schedule an SPP Career Meeting.

Students are also welcome to review a running list of internships, post-graduation fellowships, and other career development resources/opportunities that are sent to UConn SPP. Students can access those resources at the following link: UConn School of Public Policy - Student Career Resources. (Please note: the format of this tracking document may evolve, but current students will be provided guidance should such changes occur)

 

Center for Career Development

UConn's Center for Career Development partners with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to prepare students for success in today’s workforce. The Center offers:

  • One-on-one coaching sessions for help with résumés, interviewing, jobs and internships, graduate school applications, and more
  • Online tools for connecting with alumni mentors as well as companies looking to recruit UConn students
  • In-person and virtual events that help students explore their career options and prepare for professional success

 
View CLAS Career Resources