Host Site Information

Maryland Public Service Scholars is a state-wide initiative housed within the Shriver Center  at UMBC. Both the MPSS Program Director and Program Coordinator are employees of UMBC, but serve the whole state.

MPSS staff handle: all recruitment, selection, and administration of interns. We oversee timesheets, payment, and documentation, as well as meet with the students weekly to reflect on their experience, problem-solve, and offer workshops.

We ask that host sites: appoint two people within your organization to support the Fellow: a supervisor and a mentor. Those individuals should be willing to commit their time and expertise to support your Fellow during this 10 week period.

The Supervisor is the Fellow’s day-to-day guide, primary point of contact for the work itself, and liaison with MPSS staff. They are responsible for assigning meaningful tasks and ensuring the Fellow has the necessary resources to succeed.

Key Responsibilities include:

• Task Management: Assign a variety of tasks and projects that are both relevant to the organization’s work and contribute to the Fellow’s learning goals. Ensure a clear scope and timeline for each assignment.
• Regular Feedback: Provide clear, constructive feedback on the Fellow’s work. This should go beyond simple corrections and include explanations of why certain approaches are more effective than others.
• Project Completion: In addition to routine tasks and responsibilities, supervisors should assign and work with the Fellow to complete at least one significant project by the end of the internship. This project can serve as a portfolio piece for the Fellow’s future career pursuits.
• Integration into the Team: Actively involve the Fellow in team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and other relevant activities. This helps the Fellow feel like a valued member of the team and provides insight into the organization’s culture.
• Coordination with MPSS: Attend program Orientation, the midpoint check-in meeting, and final ceremony; complete a weekly timesheet for the Fellow; maintain open communication with program staff if challenges or needs arise.

The Mentor is a senior-level official focused on the Fellow’s long-term professional growth and career development, rather than day-to-day tasks. The mentor is required to meet with the Fellow at least three times throughout the summer.

Key responsibilities include:

• Structured Meetings: Conduct three structured meetings with the Fellow over their ten-week internship. Each meeting should have a clear agenda, such as discussing career goals, navigating workplace challenges, or exploring different career paths.
• Networking Facilitation: Proactively identify and introduce the Fellow to key contacts within the organization or in their professional network. The goal is to provide the Fellow with access to a broader range of professional insights.

The supervisor and mentor can be the same person if a senior-level official within your office has the capacity to meet the expectations of both roles.

MPSS is a state-funded program, and we provide a stipend directly to all interns. Host sites are not responsible for paying the intern.

Unfortunately, we typically match less than half of host site applicants with an intern. This competitive ratio is due to high interest in the program and limited funding for intern stipends.

When selecting host sites, program staff conduct a rigorous review. We examine the strengths of each individual application, but also consider numerous factors outside of a host site’s control, such as geographic location and alignment with the skills and passions of any given summer’s applicant pool.

MPSS vets our host sites for the quality of potential projects and alignment with the program’s core values; from there, selected fellows rank and choose their host site.

If our program has never worked with your organization before or if we have questions about your application, we may contact you for an interview.

Please note that host site needs and selection criteria may change from year to year. The high volume of host site applicants also means many strong partners will not receive a match. We encourage unmatched sites to apply in the future.

MPSS is a highly competitive program with an intensive selection process. Each year, we receive hundreds of applications for a small number of program slots, so you will be matched with a student of high academic caliber with a strong commitment to public service.

All fellows are either rising juniors or seniors in college. Fellows either attend a college or university in Maryland or are from the state of Maryland.

If we have a potential fellow match for your organization, we will share that student’s resume and video interview with you. You are welcome to arrange a brief interview or meeting with them, and you are never required to accept a candidate.

Fellows will intern with their designated agency 8 hours/day from Monday-Thursday during the summer. Specific hours can be determined by the supervisor. If your intern is ever expected to attend an event in the evening or on a weekend, we ask that they “flex” their time so as not to exceed 32 hours in one week.

We prioritize internships that are hybrid (mixture of remote work and in-office days). In addition to offering students the opportunity to explore multiple work settings and determine their preferences, hybrid opportunities offer additional accessibility for our students, who are required to supply their own transportation.

An internship is a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work, concrete skill training, and career exposure.

Due to the short 10-week time period, we recommend internships that combine observation of daily office operations with a final project-based deliverable. See the next question for examples of successful past internship projects.

A quality internship:

• Offers a full-time schedule of meaningful, substantive work.
• Helps the student develop and achieve their expressed learning goals.
• Offers a degree of flexibility or a variety of opportunities depending on a given student’s interests or needs.
• Creates a robust orientation to the team, office/department, and relevant issue areas as a whole.
  • Allows students to develop meaningful relationships with team members and mentors.
  • Extends exposure to higher-level decision-making individuals or events.
• Provides clear project explanations, parameters, expectations, and deadlines.
  • Outlines “bigger picture” impacts of individual workstreams.
  • Provides consistent, constructive feedback on deliverables. Celebrates successes!
  • Models professionalism and clearly communicates areas for growth to support students’ future success.

• Researching and composing an in-depth policy analysis affecting future program decisions
• Leading coordination, scheduling, and preparations for a major meeting or event (hosting an international delegation, presenting to the Board of Public Works, preparing a major fundraiser)
• Contributing to major projects across two teams – supporting ongoing grant reporting, research, and maintenance in one team, presenting findings for a major summer project in another
• Compiling an impact report on a statewide grant over years of operations
• Compiling a resource document through discussions across several teams to streamline operations
• Developing structural elements and supporting documents for a new employee leadership training program
• Rewriting and revamping website copy based on organization-wide updates (after interviewing teams throughout the organization)
• Creating, launching, and hosting organization’s first-ever webinar series

Benefits of having an MPSS intern:

• Optimize your team’s capacity for internship duration:
  • Ease workload on regular employees
  • Empower full-time employees to focus on higher-level tasks
  • Complete projects or tasks previously tabled due to capacity limitations
• Access enthusiastic new talent with specialized skills and original perspectives
• Extend a valuable opportunity to the next generation
  • “Pay forward” past opportunities that supported your current team or mission
  • Experience the fulfilment of sharing your team’s hard-earned expertise with eager students of your field
• Develop a pipeline of future employees with established mission understanding and alignment

In addition to the many benefits of having an intern, host sites benefit from an expanded network as well. MPSS events offer opportunities to meet senior-level officials across nonprofits and Maryland state government.

Before applying for a fellow, consider the following:

• Do we have a specific project or tasks we need completed this summer? Successful projects often have a clear deliverable, such as a research report, a communications plan, or an analysis of program data.
• Who will serve as the fellow’s supervisor and mentor? Are both people interested and invested in this process?
  • The supervisor is the intern’s day-to-day point of contact. They should be able to check in with the intern daily and hold a weekly meeting.
  • The mentor is a senior-level official who can meet with the intern three times over the summer to discuss professional goals.
• Is our office equipped to support a full-time intern? Questions to consider-
  • Do we have a desk where they can sit?
  • Will there be others in the office this summer? Interns do best when working alongside other employees.

If you know you’ll be away for part of the summer, we ask that you identify someone at your organization who can serve as a temporary point of contact for the intern. This person should be aware of the intern’s projects and available to answer any questions that arise.

Vacation time is not granted to Fellows. They are expected to be present for the full 10 weeks.