Professional Work Experience (PWE)

The Professional Work Experience (PWE) is a required and essential component of the UNC- Master of Public Administration (MPA) curriculum.  The PWE offers the opportunity to further refine your knowledge, skills, and abilities developed through your MPA coursework through experimentation and application within a public service work setting.

  1. The PWE provides the student with the opportunity to further refine knowledge, skills, and competencies developed through MPA coursework through experimentation and application within a public service work setting. 
  1. The PWE should be a position that allows students to engage in relevant and significant managerial and/or policy level work in which they can apply their graduate level knowledge and training.   

The PWE Student Guide outlines PWE Eligibility, the Purpose of the PWE, Resources, and the overall PWE Process.

Learning Outcomes:  

Upon completing the Professional Work Experience (PWE), students will be able to: 

  1. Demonstrate Application of Learning to Practice
    Apply core knowledge, skills, and competencies developed through MPA coursework to real-world challenges in a public service environment. 
  2. Engage in Graduate-Level Work
    Participate in substantive managerial and/or policy-level work that reflects the complexity and scope of responsibilities expected of MPA graduates. 
  3. Enhance Professional Skillsets
    Develop and refine professional skills, including communication, problem-solving, leadership, and ethical decision-making, in a practice-based context. 
  4. Integrate Academic and Professional Learning
    Reflect on and recognize the connection between academic preparation and the practical demands of public service roles and identify gaps to be filled with further education and development 
  5. Advance Career Readiness
    Gain practical insights and experience that contribute to the student’s readiness for post-graduate employment in the public or nonprofit sectors. 

 

The Professional Work ExperiencePWE Process

You become eligible to begin the PWE after successful completion of the following six core courses:

Required courses:

  1. PUBA 709: Foundations of Public Administration
  2. PUBA 710: Organizational Theory
  3. PUBA 719: Public Administration Analysis and Evaluation I
  4. PUBA 720: Public Administration Analysis and Evaluation II
  5. PUBA 721: Professional Communications
  6. And one of the following core courses: (PUBA 723: Human Resource Management, PUBA 731: Public Financial Management, PUBA 760: Law for Public Administration)

While completion of core courses serves as a pre-requisite to starting your PWE, it is encouraged that you begin exploring options prior to this point.

The timing and duration of the PWE is as follows: 

  1. An approved PWE requires at least 300 hours to be completed in a maximum of 24 weeks.
  2. All students may begin their PWE after successfully completing six designated core courses.
    • Note: On-campus students typically complete their PWE on a full-time basis over 10–12 weeks during the summer after the completion of their first year. Online students’ PWE timing is less standardized, as they progress toward degree completion with more varied timelines. The Program recommends online students that have limited prior professional experience in their field complete their PWE on a full-time basis.

Following completion of the PWE you will become eligible to enroll in PUBA 747: Applied Research Problem I.  Additional information about the PWE, student expectations, and requirements to satisfy the academic requirement can be found in the Professional Work Experience-Student Guide.

Prior to starting the PWE:

You must complete a Description of Professional Work Experience. This document must be signed by the employer with whom the student will be completing their PWE, and approved by the Director for Career, Alumni and Employer Engagement, Allison Binkley. This document should be submitted via the PWE Canvas Site.

What to expect after completion of your Professional Work Experience:

Following satisfaction of all PWE requirements you will become eligible to enroll in PUBA 747, Applied Research Problem I.

In limited circumstances, you be eligible to receive a waiver from the Professional Work Experience requirement.  Consult the Professional Work Experience (PWE) Waiver section of this site for additional information.

Securing a Professional Work Experience

The MPA program provides active support to assist you in navigating the process for searching for qualifying PWEs and preparing to be a candidate of choice.  It is encouraged that you approach the PWE search no different from an internship or job search. While support is actively provided, final responsibility for being selected by an employer for a PWE remains with the student.  Read through some of the PWE experiences prior MPA students have had while working with public organizations.

Resources to support your PWE search

PWE Exploration – Throughout the year, PWE opportunities are communicated to the entire UNC-MPA student body via the Microsoft Teams Career Services & Professional Development PWE channel (Connect to Microsoft Teams on your computer).  You can also explore past PWE locations here. Allison Binkley, Director of Career, Alumni, and Employer Engagement is available to connect you to contacts at past PWE locations and also share insight on UNC-MPA Alumni and Employers who are interested in working with you!

PWE Application – As you start applying to opportunities of interest, both Allison Binkley, MPA Director of Career, Alumni, and Employer Engagement and Shauna Hines-Farmer, MPA Assistant Director of Career, Alumni and Employer Engagement are available to provide guidance on the search and application processes and feedback on cover letters, resumes, and writing samples.  Allison and our MPA Alumni are also available to help you prepare for interviews. Please see the ‘Careers’ section of this site for all the career resources and services available to students.

Other Resources – As a UNC student you also have access to resources available from UNC Career Services. Handshake, the University’s online platform for job and internship postings and resource hub for information on UNC sponsored career fairs and career development workshop. The MPA program encourages all UNC-MPA students to take advantage of these resources and to actively search for PWE opportunities on external job search sites – learn more here.

Consult the PWE_FAQs to find answers for common student or contact Allison Binkley, Director for Career, Alumni and Employer Engagement, to learn more about the PWE academic requirement of the MPA degree.