The Immediate and Long-Term Impact of Practicum Experiences on Students

Abstract

Many academic programs in public policy and public administration offer students practicum or capstone experiences that provide real-world training in their disciplines. Although past researchers have assessed the immediate benefits of these experiences for students, we examine their impact on students’ professional lives after graduation. Our results are based on surveys sent to all students who participated in the Public Policy Undergraduate Practicum Program at Stanford University over a five-year period. We find that taking the practicum course helped students improve both policy analysis skills (e.g., research design, policy writing) and general professional skills (e.g., project management, oral presentation). Students report making career decisions based on their practicum experiences, and finding their practicum skills useful across jobs in many industries. Overall, these results provide additional evidence for the benefits of offering students applied practicum experiences.

Keywords:

• practicum
• capstone
• public policy
• impact

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary Sprague

Mary Sprague is a senior lecturer at Stanford University. She teaches in the Public Policy Program and directs its Undergraduate Capstone Program. Previously, she worked for the U. S. Senate Finance Committee and the Public Policy Institute of California. She received her MPP and PhD in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

R. Cameron Percy

R. Cameron Percy is the cofounder and CFO of Avenace Incorporated, a technology company dedicated to audience measurement solutions for real property. He graduated from Stanford University’s MPP Program in 2012. While attending the MPP Program, he conducted a graduate practicum project for Governor Schwarzenegger’s office concerning public employee pension funds in California.