Internship Report

Each student must prepare an internship report while will describe how their internship experience has enhanced their understanding of the knowledge and skills required in public sector management.  The internship report should be regarded as a major paper of an applied nature with quality and length appropriate for graduate-level academic credit.

The internship report is designed so that the student intern can synthesize their practical experience with theoretical learning.  The outline of a typical report should take the following form:

Agency Setting:

  • A description of the organization’s goals and objectives.
  • Major programs and activities of the organization.
  • An organizational chart of the agency showing the intern’s place in the organization.
  • List of names, titles, and addresses of administrative officials who are significantly related to the student intern’s work.

The Internship Projects, Duties, and Responsibilities:

  • List all projects assigned and completed by the student intern.
  • Description of duties and responsibilities.
  • A description of skills, knowledge, and methods used in the resolution of problems assigned.
  • Interns are encouraged to observe and assess the management behaviors (positive and negative) in summary fashion of all supervision.  The actual names or precise identification of individuals should not be included in the report in order to protect the privacy of all parties.

Annotated Bibliography:

A list of books, government documents, articles, and other literature the student has read relating to their internship projects, duties, and responsibilities with a brief summary of each.

Evaluation Summary:

An internship evaluation will need to be completed by your internship supervisor and submitted with your Internship Report.

  • Assessment of the degree of personal growth experienced by the student as well as difficulties encountered.
  • Discussion of the intern’s personal views, career goals, and perceptions of the public sector management.
  • Suggestions on any aspect of the internship.

Appendix:

Any additional information that will help the evaluation process such as a sample of work produced during the internship.

Guidelines for Master of Public Administration Internship Paper

Purpose: The purpose of a public administration internship is to provide the student with experience in a practical setting of a public or non-profit agency.  The student is to experience the real-life, day-to-day dynamics of the organization for which they are assigned.

Objectives of Internship: When you were given permission to take an internship with a specific agency, the permission form lists the projects and work assignments that the agency has agreed to provide.  Your paper should reflect and emphasize these projects and assignments.  Once you are actively involved in the internship, should these assignments or projects change, you should discuss this change with the Graduate Internship Coordinator promptly!

Writing the Paper: As with any professional paper presented to the faculty, the paper should be typed and bound in some manner.  The initial section of the paper should describe the setting and structure of the agency to which you have been assigned.  The objectives you were assigned and how you went about accomplishing them should be described.  Finally, the paper should include an assessment of what you learned.  What management styles did you observe (positive or negative) and what did you learn from this observation?  Were there political influences that you observed?  Also, assess from your perspective the efficiency or effectiveness of your element of the agency and what you learned.  Interject your value system and what you have been taught by the faculty in this assessment.  Detail how this internship experience will help advance your career.  Do not copy policies and procedures not developed by you for inclusion within the paper unless they have some direct relevance to a theme you are using in your paper!  An additional copy of the final internship paper must be submitted to the Internship Coordinator in an electronic format that will allow for long-term storage.