{"id":12075,"date":"2026-11-05T08:21:43","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T14:21:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/?p=12075"},"modified":"2026-11-05T08:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T14:22:14","slug":"sau-mpa-public-policy-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/sau-mpa-public-policy-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"SAU MPA Public Policy Fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Want to see how state policy actually gets made, and help shape the conversation while it is happening? The Southern Arkansas University Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is looking for one MPA student to serve as our Public Policy Fellow for the Spring 2027 semester.<\/p>\n<p>The spring semester lines up with the Arkansas General Assembly&#8217;s 2027 regular session, so you will be following real legislation in real time and turning it into clear, useful work that lawmakers, community members, and the public will actually read.<\/p>\n<p><strong>At a Glance<\/strong><\/p>\n<table width=\"624\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"160\"><strong>Term<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"464\">Spring 2027 semester<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"160\"><strong>Schedule<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"464\">9 to 10 hours per week; fully virtual and flexible around your classes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"160\"><strong>Pay<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"464\">$2,000 for the semester<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"160\"><strong>Eligibility<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"464\">Admitted to the SAU MPA program<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"160\"><strong>Deadline<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"464\">December 10, 2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"160\"><strong>Partners<\/strong><\/td>\n<td width=\"464\">SAU MPA faculty and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Public Policy Center<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>What You Will Do<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You will work alongside SAU MPA faculty and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Public Policy Center to research pressing issues facing Arkansans and develop practical policy solutions. Projects will depend on our partners&#8217; needs and on what is happening at the Capitol, but you will also have room to pursue the policy questions you care about most. Your responsibilities may include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tracking bills and legislative updates throughout the session and explaining what they mean for Arkansans<\/li>\n<li>Researching policy topics, organizations, and key decision makers for faculty and partners<\/li>\n<li>Writing clear, accessible materials such as issue briefs, fact sheets, and short articles for lawmakers, community members, and the public<\/li>\n<li>Developing case studies of promising practices from Arkansas and other states<\/li>\n<li>Collecting, organizing, and analyzing data, then helping turn the findings into reports and recommendations for our partners<\/li>\n<li>Pitching in on other content and operational needs as they come up<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What You Will Gain<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paid, hands-on experience in applied policy work that strengthens your resume<\/li>\n<li>Professional writing samples you can share with future employers<\/li>\n<li>Working relationships with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Public Policy Center and policy partners across the state<\/li>\n<li>One-on-one mentoring<\/li>\n<li>A remote schedule that fits around your classes, job, and family commitments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Who Should Apply<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t need prior policy experience to be a strong candidate. We are looking for someone who is curious about how government works, writes clearly, manages their time well when working independently, and wants their work to make a difference for real people. Students from every undergraduate background are encouraged to apply.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What you need<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reliable internet access<\/li>\n<li>Access to a laptop\/computer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How to Apply<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Complete the student employment application through SAU Career Services:<\/li>\n<li>Write a short essay (no more than two pages total) responding to both questions below.<\/li>\n<li>Submit your essay ] by <strong>December 10, 2026<\/strong>, through the Career Services website at:\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/master-of-public-administration-public-policy-fellowship-application\/\">https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/master-of-public-administration-public-policy-fellowship-application\/<\/a><\/li>\n<li>We will review applications and interview finalists before the spring semester begins.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Essay Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Please answer in your own words. There are no right answers; we just want to get to know you.<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>What are your career goals, and how do you see policy work or engaging with the public fitting into them?<\/li>\n<li>What state or local policy issue matters most to you, and why does it matter to you personally?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong>Questions?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We are happy to talk with you before you apply. Contact <strong>Dr. Amber Overholser<\/strong>, MPA Program Director, at <a href=\"mailto:aroverholser@saumag.edu\">aroverholser@saumag.edu<\/a> or (870) 235-4270.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want to see how state policy actually gets made, and help shape the conversation while it is happening? The Southern Arkansas University Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is looking for one MPA student to serve as our Public Policy Fellow for the Spring 2027 semester. The spring semester lines up with the Arkansas General&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/sau-mpa-public-policy-fellowship\/\"> Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1730,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[76606,515,76473],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-dempsey-college-of-lpa","category-internships","category-jobs-and-announcements","entry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1730"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12075"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12076,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12075\/revisions\/12076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/career-services\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}