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 develop their professional skills.

We ask host sites to appoint two people within their organization to support the fellow: a supervisor and a mentor.

The Supervisor is the intern’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.

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 will only meet with the fellow ~4 times throughout the summer.

The supervisor and mentor can be the same person if a senior-level official within your office has the capacity to offer daily supervision.

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

Any financial contributions host sites are able to make allows MPSS to strengthen the internship experience for our fellows. All contributions are voluntary and do not impact a site’s ability to receive an intern. If you are in a position to contribute, you will have the opportunity to do so after you are selected.

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, the population served, and the specific skills requested of interns.

We strategically select sites that allow MPSS to offer a diverse range of internship opportunities across various disciplines and locations each summer.

Please note that host site needs and selection criteria may change from year to year.

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. Graduate students are also eligible for the nonprofit program. Fellows either attend a college or university in Maryland or are from the state of Maryland.

If you are selected as a host site, you’ll have the opportunity to review a small number of applicants our program has determined are the strongest match for your organization. You can choose to interview the candidates at that time and rank your top choices. We’ll do our best to honor your preferences, 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 decisionmaking 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 at least four 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 other employees in the office this summer? Interns do best when working alongside and learning from others.
  • Is there sufficient work to give a full-time intern? This is particularly important to consider if your office plans to host other interns this summer.

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.