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Internships & Directed Study
During the second summer of the program students have the option of participating in a 3-month internship or conducting directed study with PEPM and/or SIPA faculty. The PEPM faculty believes that completing an internship is the most beneficial option for the majority of students.
Internships are secured by the students, with the support of PEPM staff, and are normally conducted with an economic policy organization, often at the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and also at other regional development banks, governmental and inter-governmental organizations and in private industry. Students are required to write a paper on their internship experience for review by a Columbia faculty adviser. JJ/WBGSP scholars will not be eligible for employment with the World Bank or IMF for a period of three years after completion of the program.
Students who opt for conducting directed study in lieu of the internship are required to have a research topic and outline approved early in the spring semester, and to identify a PEPM faculty member to supervise the project.
Both the internship experience and the directed study confer 6 credits toward the student's MPA degree, once successfully completed.