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Professional Summer Engagements

Between their first and second year at SIPA, MPA-DP students must complete a 12-week, full-time consultancy with an organization. An essential component of the MPA-DP curriculum, the professional summer engagement (formerly known as "summer placement") is designed to provide students with real-world experience in sustainable development practice.

MPA-DP Summer Placements Map

Interactive Map

Explore what MPA-DP students have done for their professional summer engagement »

Core learning outcomes include:

  • Gaining a first-hand understanding of key interconnected sectors such as education, agriculture, environment, health, nutrition, energy, infrastructure, water, gender, and community development;
  • Engaging diverse stakeholders through inclusive, participatory and partnership-based processes;
  • Demonstrating effective use of project cycle management through problem identification, analysis, design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation;
  • Identifying effective evidence-based strategies for policy interventions to advance sustainable development at the local, national and/or global level;
  • Demonstrating self-reflection and inter-personal skills to analyze attitudes, perceptions, and biases;
  • Communicating important achievements and challenges in sustainable development through videos, multi-media presentations, and project reports.

Host Organizations

Students secure their summer engagements during the spring semester of their first year. They can apply to opportunities curated by the MPA-DP with established partner organizations or develop their own engagements by leveraging the Columbia University network. The scope of work must be graduate-level and related to sustainable development, but otherwise, students have great flexibility in selecting a summer engagement that best suits their professional goals.

Students generally assist in the design and development of new sustainable development initiatives or support and evaluate ongoing projects, applying skills they have developed through past professional experience as well as from MPA-DP coursework. To learn more about specific projects that students have supported, check out the MPA-DP media page for videos featuring summer engagement experiences.

Since 2010, more than 754 students have worked in 90 countries for partners spanning multilateral institutions, non-profit organizations, development consulting firms, social enterprises, businesses, and governments. In 2025, MPA-DP students completed their professional summer engagements with the following organizations:

  • Acumen (USA)
  • ARCx Center (USA)
  • Asian Development Bank (Philippines)
  • AI Academy Asia (Mongolia)
  • Article 6 (Singapore)
  • Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (China)
  • Baidu (China)
  • CARE (USA)
  • Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (USA)
  • Columbia Center for Sustainable Development (India)
  • Columbia Global Center Nairobi (Kenya)
  • Center for Civil Society and Democracy (USA)
  • Center for Democracy and Technology (USA)
  • Central Bank of Armenia (Armenia)
  • Clinton Health Access Initiative (Rwanda & USA)
  • Climate Knowledge Initiative (USA)
  • Community Refugee & Immigration Services (USA)
  • Ek Kadam Aur Foundation (India)
  • Endeavor (USA)
  • Equilibrium Earth (India)
  • Fundacion Paraguaya (Paraguay)
  • Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (India)
  • International Food Policy Research Institute (Indonesia)
  • Inter-American Development Bank (USA)
  • Kidogo Early Years (Kenya)
  • LONGI Green Energy Technology (China)
  • Mahindra USA (USA)
  • Ministry of Environment & Sustainable Development, Govt. of Paraguay (Paraguay)
  • MenoGlobal (USA)
  • New Development Bank (China)
  • Noora Health (India)
  • New York City Economic Development Corporation (USA)
  • OBAT Helpers (Bangladesh)
  • Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (France)
  • Open Start Up (Tunisia)
  • OpenWiseLearning (USA)
  • PATH India (India)
  • Permanent Mission of Belize to the UN (USA)
  • Permanent Mission of Nepal to the UN (USA)
  • Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies (USA)
  • Samhita Collective Good Foundation (India)
  • Sened Organization (Turkey)
  • SG Companies (USA)
  • Sol de Janiero (USA)
  • UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, Sudan (Sudan)
  • UNDP Cyprus (Cyprus)
  • UNDP Mongolia (Mongolia)
  • UNESCAP Thailand (Thailand)
  • UNICEF Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka)
  • Voces y Manos (Guatemala)