Internships and Career Opportunities

Turn Your Passion Into a Career

Political leaders and ordinary citizens need reliable policy research, training in methodologies and technologies, and opportunities for public discussion on issues of concern to America’s cities. As an internationally known research university, Washington University in St. Louis recognizes its responsibility to make substantial contributions to these efforts. The Center on Urban Research & Public Policy promises to fulfill this responsibility by becoming a national resource for education, research and public discussion on issues confronting America’s cities. While we are dedicated to the conduct of social science research in metropolitan America, we understand the social, economic and political nexus between ourselves and other cities of the world. The opportunity for joint regional, national and international collaboration with colleges and universities, as well as other intellectual partnerships, investigating these and other urban related issues, will clearly advance research and knowledge on pressing urban issues in powerful ways.

  • contribute to the national dialogue about the challenges and successes of our nation’s urban policies and programs
  • advance research and curriculum on pressing urban issues, regionally, nationally and internationally
  • prepare, educate and train students to play a greater role in improving our cities
  • promote the education and participation of urban residents in policy determination at local, state and national levels
  • provide public officials and community leaders with new tools for management and policy analysis on issues that confront America’s cities

The Career Center

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WashU partners with Handshake career management platform to help you discover new career paths and find amazing jobs and internships. With Handshake, you can: interview for jobs and internships on campus, find career tips and Q&A’s, stay connected with peers and job-related news, navigate upcoming employer events on campus, and register for career fairs and events.

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Browse Resources and Tools

The Career Center has an abundant amount of resources and guides to help you along your journey.

Career Center Resources and Tools

Make an Appointment

Don't be shy - whether you're just starting to think of options or have a specific path in mind, it's easy to meet with a career advisor! The Career Center's online tool lets you schedule an appointment at any time and help find the right advisor to get started.

Meet a Career Advisor

Top Destinations for WashU Urban Studies Majors

    Graduate/Medical/Law School

    The interdisciplinary nature of Urban Studies affords students the intellectual latitude to pursue graduate degrees in a wide range of fields including but not limited to medicine, law, urban planning, public policy, public health, sociology, art and urban design and government studies, among others.

    • Brown University, School of Medicine
    • Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College of Information Systems & Public Policy
    • Columbia University, Department of Sociology
    • Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
    • Cornell University, College of Architecture, Art & Planning
    • Duke University, Law School
    • Duke University, Sanford School of Public Policy
    • Georgetown University Law School
    • Georgetown University, McCourt School of Public Policy
    • Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
    • Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government
    • Harvard University, Law School
    • Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Urban Studies and Planning
    • Northwestern University, Department of Sociology
    • Northwestern University, Law School
    • Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs
    • Stanford University, Law School
    • University of Chicago, Department of Sociology
    • University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy Studies
    • University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine
    • University of Chicago, School of Social Service Administration
    • University of Pennsylvania, City and Regional Planning
    • University of Pennsylvania, Department of Sociology
    • Washington University in St. Louis, School of Law
    • Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine
    • Yale University School of Law
    • Yale University School of Public Health

     

    Internships

    • 22nd Judicial Circuit of Missouri Family Court- Juvenile Division
    • Betty Jean Kerr People's Health Centers
    • Beyond Housing
    • CBRE Research, Seoul, South Korea
    • Chicago Ideas
    • Children's Defense Fund
    • Clayton City Hall, Office of Strategic Planning
    • College Bound, St. Louis
    • Common Cause
    • Creative Reaction Lab
    • Earth and Her Flowers Project
    • Education Reform Now
    • Greater Saint Louis, Inc.
    • Harvester's Community Food Network
    • Health Literacy Media
    • Ideaction Corps
    • Illinois State Senator Jim Oberweis (25th district)
    • Immigration Institute of St. Louis
    • Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies
    • Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston
    • Jane Doe Advocacy Center
    • KSDK, News Channel 5
    • Launch Code Foundation
    • Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc.
    • Living Cities
    • McCormick, Barron, Salazar
    • Michigan Suburbs Alliance
    • Mission: St. Louis After School Program
    • Missouri Coalition for the Environment
    • Municipal Offices, University City, MO
    • New Covenant Legal Services
    • Office of City Manager, University City, MO
    • Office of the Mayor, St. Louis, MO
    • Old North St. Louis Restoration Group
    • Our Family Coalition
    • Planned Parenthood
    • St. Louis Area Foodbank
    • St. Louis Community Foundation
    • St. Louis County Department of Planning
    • St. Louis Family Court, Juvenile Division
    • Salvation Army
    • Studio Castellano
    • The Angel Band Project
    • The Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma
    • The Forum for Youth Investment
    • The Swiss Institute of Contemporary Art
    • Total Access, Urgent Care
    • U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay Jr. (MO 1st District)
    • University City, City Hall, Department of Community Development
    • Urban Harvest, STL
    • Urban Strategies
    • Washington University in St. Louis

    Explore more outcomes, destinations, placements, starting salaries and other details about WashU Urban Studiesgraduates on the Career Center website.

    Alumni Careers

    Among our post-grad employers are:

    • AmeriCorps
    • Bain & Company, Inc.
    • Centro Educativo Providencia
    • CEP America
    • City Year, Inc.
    • CORO
    • Detroit Future City: The Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research
    • Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA Group)
    • Georgetown University
    • Human Rights Campaign
    • Immigration Impact Lab, Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition (CAIR)
    • Life in Pieces
    • New York City Economic Development Corporation
    • Partnerships for Parks
    • SafeSpeed, LLC
    • Smooth Talkers
    • Teach for America
    • Teaching Assistant Program in France - Embassy of France
    • Texas A&M Transportation Institute
    • University of Illinois- Chicago
    • Venture for America
    • Washington University in St. Louis
    • Time Equities, Inc.

     

     

    Among the practicing physicians, lawyers, and university professors, former students are:

    • Senior analysts at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
    • Senior Health Policy Advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
    • Senior Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy
    • Senior Fellow and Adviser to the Louisiana State  Representative (House Speaker Pro Tempore)
    • Project Manager in Urban Redevelopment, Chicago, IL
    • Research Coordinator for the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
    • Museum Scholar, for the Museum of the City of New York
    • Financial Consultant for Bain and Company
    • Planning Intern for the City of San Francisco, CA
    • Deputy Executive Director, New Hampshire Democratic Party
    • Fund Development Office, City of Detroit, MI
    • Public Health Associate at the Centers for Disease Control
    • Legislative Director, Illinois Department of Public Health
    • Development and Communications Associate, Research Foundation of the City University of New York
    • Trust Specialist at Morgan Stanley Trust
    • Bureau Chief, Bureau of Economic Development, Cook County, IL
    • Director of Public Outreach and Education, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development
    • President and CEO of Beyond Housing, St. Louis, MO
    • Transportation Economist, Washington DC Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
    • Project Director at Eden Housing, Inc., San Francisco Bay Area
    • Director of the Pauli Murray Project, Duke Human Rights Center, Duke University
    a row of 3-story brick buildings in front of modern high rise office buildings

    Urban Studies’ emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach has helped me conceptualize complex issues from a multitude of perspectives while opening my eyes to the interconnected systems that make urban spaces function. The program has given me passion and knowledge to pursue a career in affordable housing development after I graduate.

    ―E. LaceyClass of 2020