UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs students are the next generation of public service professionals and leaders. Graduate and undergraduate students from the Public Affairs, Public Policy, Social Welfare, and Urban Planning programs receive training in contemporary social science theories, data analysis, and written and oral communication combined with professional experience at public service organizations. The Luskin School of Public Affairs prepares undergraduate and graduate students for high-level internships and careers in public service.
Recruit UCLA Luskin Students
Post Jobs and Internships on the Luskin Internship & Job Board
Please register here to post jobs, fellowships, and internship opportunities for Luskin graduate students or Luskin graduate student alumni. If you have questions regarding registering or using the job board (CareerHub) please email us.
Recruit Student at Luskin’s Annual Fall and/or Spring Internship & Career Fairs!
We annually host internship & career fairs for employers to recruit Luskin graduate students twice a year. We have a virtual fair in Fall (October or November) and in-person fair in Spring (April or May). Public service focused employers who are actively recruiting for (post) graduate-level opportunities in the nonprofit, governmental, and private sectors are welcome to attend. Unlike many other university’s fairs, both of our career and internship fairs are free of charge.
Our next in-person fair is scheduled for April 13, 2024 at UCLA. Our next virtual fair will be in October 2024 (exact date TBA).
Please log in to CareerHub to register once the event is announced.
Host an Employer Information Session or Employer Site Visit
Host an on-campus or virtual information session to promote your organization’s internship and career opportunities and to meet qualified graduate and undergraduate students! Alternatively, we welcome you to consider hosting a small group of students at your site so they can get a first-hand exposure to your organization.
If you would like to promote your organization, job opportunities, and meet qualified graduate and/or undergraduate students, please contact the Office’s Director, Kevin Medina, at kmedina@luskin.ucla.edu to discuss potential collaborations.
Forward us One-Time Postings
Please forward undergraduate and graduate internship and job postings here: careerservices@luskin.ucla.edu. These will be featured in our weekly newsletter.
Become a Client for Luskin Student Capstone Projects
Each year, students in departments of Urban Planning, Social Welfare, Public Policy, and Public Affairs collaborate with organizations on capstone projects. These projects allow students to test and apply their learnings to real-world settings and expand organizational capacity. Click here to read a Luskin blog post on the class of 2023’s capstone projects. Please find the departments’ capstone website and point of contacts here to discuss a potential collaboration further:
Kevin Franco, Director of Student Affairs
kfranco@luskin.ucla.edu
Tanya Youssephzadeph, Director of Student Services
tyousseph@luskin.ucla.edu
Danielle Maris Lacob, Graduate Advisor
danielle@luskin.ucla.edu
Undergraduate Program in Public Affairs
Frank Lin, Capstone Advisor, and Coordinator
flin@luskin.ucla.edu
Recruit UCLA Luskin Alumni
Post Jobs and Internships on the Luskin Job Board
Our career management system is called CareerHub. Please register here to post jobs, fellowships, and internship opportunities for current graduate students and for recent alumni. If you have questions regarding CareerHub or posting, please email us.
Forward us One-Time Opportunities
Email Kevin Medina at kmedina@luskin.ucla.edu to get your opportunity posted on our alumni page to reach Luskin graduate and undergraduate alumni seeking new opportunities.
Pay Transparency & Disclosure
To mitigate pay inequities and ensure compliance with the below state and city laws, UCLA Luskin will only share postings for jobs and internships based in those states that include the pay scale in the job posting. If your organization is based in one of the below regions and the job posting you request we share does not include the pay scale, please revise your posting with the pay scale so that we may share it.
States
California
Effective January 1, 2023, California’s Labor Code 432.3 requires employers of 15 or more to include the pay scale for a position in any job posting.
Colorado
Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act went into effect at the start of 2021, making it the first in the country to require that employers provide salary information. It requires employers with at least one employee in the state to list compensation in job postings, notify employees of promotional opportunities, and maintain job description and wage rate records for the duration of an employee’s tenure and two years afterward.
Connecticut
As of October 2021, Connecticut began requiring employers to specify a wage range either upon the applicant’s request or by the time an offer is made, whichever comes first. Employees must be provided a range upon: hiring, a change in their position, or their first request for a range.
Maryland
Cities
Hire International Students for Internships & Jobs
All current graduate international graduate students are eligible to work in the United States at jobs or internships related to their program. When classes are in session, students are eligible to work up to 20 hours a week. Between quarters and during the summer, they can work full-time.
All graduates are eligible to work in the United States for 12 months post-graduation under their F-1 student visa status. You do not need to provide sponsorship.
F-1 Visa Employment
F-1 STUDENT VISAS
Most students have an F-1 student visa.
INTERNSHIPS:
Employment period: Part-time (up to 20 hours/week) during the academic year. Full-time (20+hours/week) between quarters and during the summer.
Employer’s Role: Provide students with an offer letter on company letterhead (include title of position, start and end dates, number of hours per week, pay, brief description of job duties). Sample Letter
Cost and Processing Time: There is no cost to the employer. The processing and approval time for CPT is within 5 working days.
POST-GRADUATE WORK:
Employment Period
Up to 12 months after degree completion
Employer’s Role
Cost and Processing Time: There is no cost to the employer. Students must apply for OPT (Optional Practical Training) to be eligible to work after graduation. USCIS (US Citizen and Immigration Services) processing time for OPT takes an average of 90 days. Therefore, it is recommended that students submit their OPT application at least 3 months before their requested start date.
LONG TERM FULL-TIME POSITIONS: H-1B VISA
Employers can continue employing international graduates beyond the 12-month OPT period by filing a Petition for a Nonimmigrant (temporary) Worker on behalf of the employee, the most common category being the H-1B visa. Other visa options can be found at USCIS website.
Employment period
H-1B petitions may be initially approved for three years but can be renewed for a total of six years.
Employer’s Role
The employer is responsible for filing the H-1B petition on behalf of the international employee. Many companies find that retaining an immigration attorney is helpful to facilitate the process. UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars can refer interested employers to law firms that have worked success-fully with our staff and faculty in the past.
Cost and Processing Time
Inclusive of the attorney fee and USCIS application fees, the total cost to apply for an H-1B visa is between $5,000-$7,000. The earliest date for filing a cap-subject H-1B petition is April 1. As there is high demand for H-1B visas, it is strongly recommended that applications arrive at USCIS on April 1. Approved H-1B visas become effective October 1. The process for cap-exempt H-1B visas is slightly different.
Cap-Exempt H-1B: Only 65,000 H-1B visas are given out for candidates who have completed undergraduate degrees, and an additional 20,000 are available for those who have completed graduate degrees in the U.S. An exemption to the cap is available to U.S. employers that fall into one of the three exemption categories including:
- Higher education institution
- Non-profit organization associated with a higher education institution
- Non-profit research or government research organization
Additional information regarding cap-exempt H-1B process can be found here.
J-1 Visa Employment
J-1 STUDENTS
J-1 students are eligible to obtain employment authorization using “academic training” (AT) which is employment in their field of study.
Employment period: Academic training is available both before graduation (Pre-Completion AT) and after graduation (Post-Completion AT). Before graduation, AT is allowed part-time during the academic year and full-time during breaks, or if the student has advanced to candidacy. After graduation, AT is allowed either full-time or part time, but must be for a minimum of 20 hours per week. The total amount of time allowed depends on the duration of the exchange program up to 18 months. Students with Ph.D. degrees may be extended for a total of 36 months. Some J-1 students have a two-year home residency requirement that must be either waived or fulfilled before they can pursue other employment options such as H1-B or Permanent Residency.
Employer’s Role: Provide students with a job offer letter. It is the student’s responsibility to apply for Academic Training prior to starting employment.
Student’s Role: Submit Academic Training requests before beginning employment and before the academic program completion date if applying for Post-Completion AT. Students approved for academic training will receive an updated DS-2019 showing Academic Training Approval and an employment authorization letter. Both the letter and DS-2019 will show the duration of your academic training approval based on your application and job offer letter.
Cost and Processing Time: There is no cost to the employer. Dashew processes the student’s Academic Training documentation within 10-14 working days.
FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Doesn’t an employer have to prove that international students are not taking jobs from a qualified American?
A: Not if a person is working with F-1, J-1, or H-1B status. Employers must document that they did not turn down a qualified American applicant for the position only when they wish to hire a foreign citizen on a permanent basis and sponsor them for a “green card” (permanent resident status).
Q: Can I hire international students as volunteer interns?
A: Normally, if the internship involves no form of compensation and is truly voluntary, the students may volunteer without obtaining employment authorization. If, however, the internship provides a stipend or any compensation, students must obtain employment authorization prior to starting the internship.
Contacts
EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION QUESTIONS?
UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars (DCISS)
310-825-1681
JOB POSTING QUESTIONS?
UCLA Luskin Career Services
Hire Disabled Students for Internships & Jobs
Below are resources on how to make the workplace more equitable for disabled interns and employees. If you need support on how best practices to hire, train, and supervise disabled interns and employees, please click the questions & consultation tab.
Resources
AskJAN Job accommodation resource for people with disabilities.
Disability:IN National nonprofit that helps businesses drive performances by leveraging disability inclusion in the workplace.
The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) is a free resource that helps employers tap the benefits of disability diversity.
HiresDS Resource/service for inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities.
NCDA Career development support for those with psychiatric disabilities.
Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) is a recruitment and referral program that connects federal sector employers nationwide with college students and recent graduates with disabilities seeking summer or permanent jobs.
Questions & Consultation
Spencer Scruggs, M.S.
Director, UCLA’s Center for Accessible Education
(310) 206-6386
sscruggs@saonet.ucla.edu
Kevin Medina
Director, Luskin Office of Student Affairs and Alumni Relations
(424) 325-8163
Kmedina@luskin.ucla.edu
Hire LGBTQ Students for Internships & Jobs
Below are resources on how to make the workplace more equitable for LGBTQ interns and employees. If you need support on how best practices to hire, train, and supervise LGBTQ interns and employees, please click the questions & consultation tab.
Resources
Catalyst Supporting women in the workplace.
Out & Equal LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace.
2023 HRC’s CEI Criteria Evolution: Toolkit and FAQ LGBTQ Allies / Support.
Questions & Consultation
Kevin Medina
Director, Luskin Office of Student Affairs and Alumni Relations
(424) 325-8163
Kmedina@luskin.ucla.edu
