Global Public Affairs at UCLA Luskin has provided financial support and helped secure placements for eight graduate students to work in low- and middle-income countries during summer internships over the years During a recent summer, student placements spanned the globe, from as close as Mexico City to as far as Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Olivia Miller, a second-year MSW candidate, spent the summer in Bogota, Colombia, conducting fieldwork related to transgender rights, including help in organizing the grassroots Trans Pride March.
“I decidedly spent [my] first weeks dedicating myself to a contributive role, recognizing the chaos of the march preparation, and putting at the center the development of my relationships with the social justice activists on the frontlines of this movement,” she wrote on the blog of UCLA Luskin’s Global Public Affairs certificate program. Beginning in fall 2028, UCLA Luskin will offer a two-year graduate program, the Master’s in Global Public Affairs.
Urban Planning students who participated in the previous program’s summer internship gained experience in transportation and infrastructure.
MURP candidate Liliana Morales interned with the planning department at the Ministry of Mobility in Mexico City.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have worked with professionals that are passionate and dedicated to mobility justice,” she wrote. “Mexico City is working toward improving quality of life, reducing social inequalities, diminishing gas emissions and increasing productivity through a comprehensive system that guarantees decent and safe trips for all residents.”
— John Danly
