MPA Program at CCNY
This summer, two MPA students completed paid internships as part of the MPA+HPD Fellowship, a new partnership between the MPA Program at CCNY and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
The inaugural fellows, Juliet Bravo and Larry Wu, interned in HPD’s Office of Policy and Strategy on an interdisciplinary team that provides policy analysis and research for diverse projects across the agency and at the request of the NYC Mayor’s Office.
The fellows applied skills learned in their MPA coursework, including program evaluation, data analysis and visualization, and communication skills, to assess the impact of existing housing programs, review proposals and best practices from other municipalities, and to design new policies and programs.
The experience exposed the fellows to the inner workings of a large and complex government agency and challenged them to manage multiple projects on short-term, medium-term, and long-term timelines.
The fellows said they would highly recommend the fellowship to future students seeking an opportunity to develop their policy analysis skills while contributing to projects that protect tenants, foster new affordable housing development, and protect the sustainability and diversity of New York City neighborhoods.
During the spring semester prior to the summer internship, policy analysts from the HPD team gave workshops to the fellows and other MPA students. The workshops introduced students to HPD’s work and organizational structure, the process of framing a policy question and collecting evidence, and strategies for clearly and effectively communicating policy ideas.
The MPA+HPD Fellowship is available each year to MPA students who complete their first semester in good academic standing. MPA students apply for the fellowship and go through a competitive selection process that includes an interview with the HPD team.
Find out more about the MPA Program’s career development support programming.