Working Together for a Better Tomorrow
Partner with the Maxwell School
Community Placements for Citizenship and Civic Engagement Students
During students' sophomore year, citizenship and civic engagement students work with faculty and staff to choose a community organization in the Syracuse area that aligns with their specific educational and career goals. Throughout the semester, students spend eight to ten hours per week working in and learning about this community organization.
Community partners are often local nonprofit organizations, government and elected officials’ offices, private companies, coalitions and foundations.
Global Internships
As a required part of our international relations and our public diplomacy and global communications master's programs, students work with partners across the globe to find internships at public, private and nonprofit organizations that support their professional experience needs. Internships have included:
- Council of Europe, France
- International Organization for Migration, Ghana
- Quiller Consultants, United Kingdom
- Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
- Save the Children, Belgium
- SocialCauses, South Africa
- U.N. Development Programme, Turkey
- U.S. Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka
- UNICEF, Switzerland
Syracuse Local Political Internship
An undergraduate political science course taught by Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, this is an internship-based course that provides students with real-world political experience.
Students are placed in a variety of legislative, judicial, activist and campaign-oriented offices where they work eight to nine hours per week. Midway through the semester, students interview the elected official to learn about their political careers and to ask questions that pertain to the student's particular focus for the class.
Washington, DC Internship
Maxwell undergraduate and graduate professional students are an excellent source of talent and are eager to put their growing skills and knowledge to work at organizations, institutions, companies and agencies that help to advance the global public good.
In a typical year, our students conduct more than 130 internships at over 80 Washington-area institutions, organizations and agencies. Through courses, lectures, site visits and on-on-one conversations, our faculty connected students to more than 150 public policy and international affairs experts representing government, NGOs, think tanks, the private sector, media, multilateral organizations and foreign embassies.
Community Link Program
Policy studies students complete a focused quantitative study and develop a consulting style report, complete with recommendations, in a formal class. Methods of Policy Analysis and Presentation, taught by Professor Austin Zwick. Past projects include:
- American Cancer Society- Patient Satisfaction Survey
- Boys and Girls Club- Digitize Donations Reports
- Onondaga County Department of Mental Health- Community Planning Survey
- Onondaga County Division of Management and Budget- Planning and Cost Control Analysis
- Syracuse Housing Authority- Maintenance Response Survey
Maxwell X Lab and the City of Syracuse
The Maxwell X Lab has partnered with the City of Syracuse on multiple initiatives, including to test whether courtesy notices for overdue property tax bills would impact payments, and with the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development to test whether redesigned foreclosure prevention notifications would affect follow-through.
MPA Workshop
In the M.P.A. Workshop, students work with actual clients to collect and analyze data and formulate a plan for future action, while learning to address the very real and complex challenges that organizations face. The range of clients across sectors have included NASA, Save the Children, the City of Philadelphia and RAND Corporation, to name a few.
Syracuse Community Geography
Syracuse Community Geography works in partnership with community-based organizations and university affiliates to map and spatially analyze topics of concern to Central New York communities, helping communities identify and address challenges in new ways using geographic information systems mapping and other forms of spatial analysis. Projects are data driven and results oriented. Our community partners use their maps and analysis to:
- Raise awareness about community resources and problems,
- Advocate community concerns,
- Inform programming and planning processes and;
- Support community organizing.
Conflict Management Center
The Conflict Management Center (CMC) offers training and workshops, in conjunction with university and Syracuse community organizations, to provide skill building in conflict transformation or interpersonal communication.
The CMC assists with professional development in conflict management or facilitated discussions. Consultation is done to determine the appropriate match for desired outcomes and programs.
Examples of community outreach partnerships include Onondaga Lake Partnership, Tomorrow’s Neighborhoods Today, NorthsideUP’s Green Train, and Onondaga Earth Corps.
Government Agencies in India
For over half a century, thousands of Indian government officials have sought to further their education and skill set through the Maxwell School's Executive Education programs.
Government and Academic Institutions in China
Since 1993, Executive Education has worked with the Chinese government and leading academic institutions to promote government reform, professionalize the civil service, develop a legal framework for the rule of law, and create public administration education programs in China.
Lerner Center Community Partnerships
One of the primary goals of the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health is to serve as a neutral convener and facilitator on pressing community health issues and emerging opportunities. The work of the Center is done in collaboration with various stakeholders, with an emphasis on aligned goals and sustainability.
Our work is done with communities, and its residents, to ensure we are addressing the needs and ideas of the people we are striving to serve, and doing so in a way that empowers residents to take action.
South Asia Center Outreach for Educators
In the K-12 Classroom
The South Asia Center provides outreach support for K-12 educators through workshops and classroom visits and by providing resources online that can assist teachers in designing programs that enrich student’s knowledge of South Asia.
For Higher Education Faculty
In collaboration with Cornell University's Einaudi Center, the South Asia Center supports professional development program opportunities for faculty at community colleges and four-year schools of education.
Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship
Maxwell has hosted Humphrey Fellows since 2009. They come to the Maxwell School to pursue studies and professional development. The program is sponsored and funded by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education.
Mandela Washington Fellowship
The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, established in 2014, is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative that empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training and networking. Maxwell has hosted Mandela Washington Fellows since its inception.
