Career Development FAQ

It’s never too early to start the career planning process. Career Development workshops begin during math camp and you are encouraged to visit us as early as possible during the fall quarter.

Our hours are 8:30 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

The Career Development Office is here to help students develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to support lifelong career development. The staff offers personalized career guidance to help students define and articulate their abilities, interests, and motivations, as well as help them identify specific job opportunities and organizational settings of interest. Students have access to a wide range of resources including workshops, career counseling, career development guides, and career-focused events including, Employer Information Sessions and networking opportunities. Students also have access to HarrisLink, the Career Development Office employer information, internships, and jobs database in addition to other UChicago career related listservs.

To see what recent Harris graduates are doing with their policy degrees, explore our Career Outcomes Report.

Since a public policy degree provides a set of research, analytical, communication, and management skills that are transferable across sectors and issue areas, graduates have flexibility in choosing their career paths. Public policy graduates often move back and forth between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, or between international and US-based work.

Harris graduates are highly sought-after specifically for their strategic skills, and many have gone on to be social entrepreneurs. Employers look for graduates to help understand and communicate complex data and information in a way that clearly and concisely supports effective decision-making.

Employers consistently tell us how much they value our students. The core courses provide a robust set of quantitative analytical skills, and the substantive policy expertise that students bring to and develop within the program make Harris students very marketable.

Our students and graduates work in all sectors in a variety of fields. Learn more about the impact our alumni are making every day. 

There are numerous networking opportunities throughout the academic year that range from informal organization information sessions to formal dinners with alumni and Harris School constituents. Student organizations and Harrris CDO and Alumni Affairs collaborate on events, and students have access to an alumni web-based networking site that allows them to connect directly with alumni working in students' fields of interest. For networking, students are encouraged to purchase Harris School business cards during their first quarter at the Harris School. 

While most of our students complete an internship at some point while in school, internships are not mandatory. Students come to the Harris School with a variety of experiences and are interested in different fields and careers. That set of variables leads our students to seek a variety of experiences. More often than not, this means a traditional summer internship. However, some students pursue advanced language training or overseas travel, or they undertake an internship during a different time in their Harris career. Overall, Career Development recommends students consider a variety of opportunities, including internships, which position students to develop and achieve their career goals.