Each year, the UCDC Summer in Washington Internship Program supports a cohort of motivated UCLA students as they build skills and grow their professional networks through a ten-week internship in Washington, DC. UCLA undergraduates from all majors serve in full-time and part-time internships with a wide range of government, non-profit, and private sector employers based in the Metro DC area. Since its launch in 1966 as a student-led initiative, this UCLA Career Center program has opened the door to a meaningful career experience for over 3,000 Bruins.
APPLY NOW FOR SUMMER 2020!
Applications for the Summer UCLA-UCDC program are now being accepted. UCLA undergraduates from all majors are encouraged to apply at: https://sa.ucla.edu/Forms/p/GccbH. The UCLA@UCDC application serves as your starting point for exploring and pursuing relevant summer opportunities with Career Center support.
IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING SUMMER INTERNSHIP COMPETITION
Your application to the UCDC Summer in Washington program will not be compared or ranked with those of other UCLA candidates. Our Team’s central goal is to open the door to all interested Bruins as they present their qualifications to potential employers. Washington, DC is by far the nation’s most competitive summer internship market, and UCDC interns who succeed in landing summer assignments typically apply with up to 50 employers. Although our Career Center Team is not able to guarantee a specific internship, we make every effort to help you access opportunities.
FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIP OPTIONS
If you currently file a FAFSA form and receive UCLA financial aid, you may qualify for one or more of the UCLA@UCDC program scholarships to support your travel and living expenses. In addition, a summer financial aid supplement to augment your current award may be available. All Bruins who currently receive UCLA financial aid are encouraged to communicate with their Financial Aid counselor to understand their financial options. You can find your assigned counselor’s name and a contact link at: UCLA Financial Aid Counseling and Outreach.. The typical ten-week UCDC budget for all expenses is $7,500 (without summer session course fees); this budget would increase with the addition of summer session coursework. You are welcome to share this budget with your counselor as you assess your best funding option. There are no program fees to join the UCDC summer cohort.
SUMMER HOUSING OPTIONS
- The UC Washington Center (also known as UCDC) hosts 250 summer interns from throughout the UC system. Your application to the UCLA@UCDC Summer in Washington program is a required first step to register with UCDC and apply for summer housing. The required summer lease term runs 10 weeks from June 14 through August 22, 2020. The total cost for 2020 is $3,731.
- A variety of Independent Housing Options are available to students who prefer or need alternate DC accommodations. In addition, Independent Interns often consider staying with family or friends who live or study in DC.
SUMMER SESSION COURSEWORK AT UCDC
- The UC Washington Center hosts a summer session course which allows Bruins to earn units for their internship experience. For more information, please visit: https://www.summer.ucla.edu/ucdc.
- In addition, your UCLA academic department may offer a ‘195’ internship course or another class which can be completed remotely during your summer in DC.
- One good question to ask your academic advisor is which summer coursework option(s) would fulfill your major requirements. Please consult your department course descriptions and academic advisor to learn about your options.
WHERE CAN I FIND DC EMPLOYERS WHO ARE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS NOW?
- The UCLA Handshake career management service currently features over 400 current internship listings by Washington, DC employers. Just log in to your Handshake account at https://ucla.joinhandshake.com, and then; (1) Click ‘Jobs’ > (2) Find and select the Job Types ‘Internships’ and ‘Fellowships > (3) Select the location ‘Washington, D.C.’ and select a distance range of 15 miles. You may also select the Salary Type ‘Paid’ to focus only on paid positions. As of 12/11/19, these search steps will return results for 389 internships and 72 paid fellowships in the nation’s capital.
- The Brad Traverse Group is a UCLA Career Center subscription service which features over 650 internship listings for DC employers who are hiring at this time. For your UCLA login and password, go to the Handshake resources page at: https://ucla.joinhandshake.com/articles/14021. Note
- The outstanding UCLA CAPPP internship search database includes over 900 employers who are recruiting interns now or have recruited interns in previous years. Learn more at: http://cappp.ucla.edu/quarter-in-washington/internships/
- A public Think Tank Directory gives you the links for over 1,200 of these public policy research organizations. You may search each organization’s website for internship descriptions, deadlines, and application instructions.
- Idealist.org lists over 8,000 non-profit organizations located in Washington, DC. Use the Issue Area button to refine your search by interests such as Climate Change, Human Rights, and Microfinance.