Off Campus Study
At CIPA, you will find that we offer a graduate education spanning the globe. In addition to summer internships and a core faculty renowned for research and consulting beyond academia, CIPA offers you a variety of options for off-campus study during the academic year. All of these opportunities are designed to complement your studies at CIPA, and provide opportunities for networking, and exposure to challenging professional environments. Fellows who participate in our off-campus semesters receive academic and professional support from faculty, staff, and our global alumni. In addition, Fellows who plan their schedules strategically may be able to extend a six-month commitment to internship host organizations by combining an off-campus study semester with a summer internship.
You may enroll in one semester of off-campus study as part of your MPA course of study. These opportunities are available to Fellows in good academic standing who are making satisfactory progress toward the degree. If you are interested in pursing this opportunity, you are strongly encouraged to begin planning this with their academic advisors as early as possible in your graduate career at Cornell. Note: all coursework undertaken at institutions other than Cornell must be approved by your academic advisor and confirmed by the CIPA Director of Graduate Studies. Information sessions on off-campus study opportunities are held during the fall semester. As each opportunity has its own application requirements and deadlines, you should carefully research each program before applying.
Opportunities for off-campus study include the following programs:
Cornell Off-Campus Study Programs:
Two study programs maintained by Cornell on a university-wide basis have been approved by the CIPA Core Faculty as meeting professional and academic standards that satisfy MPA degree requirements. These programs in Nepal and Italy include instruction by Cornell faculty, on-site Cornell staff, and residential opportunities. Although there is no additional tuition charge for participating in these programs, which are open to both Cornell undergraduate and graduate students, students may incur additional expenses related to travel and lodging.
For more information, please visit:
CIPA Off-Campus Study Programs:
The CIPA Core Faculty has approved an Externship Semester opportunity to enable Fellows to live and work in Washington, DC for a semester. The CIPA Washington Externship allows you to gain professional experience in various government agencies, private sector firms, or non-government agencies, while living for one semester in the nation’s capital. You maintain your full-time status as a Cornell graduate student while pursuing the externship. In addition, you may take relevant coursework, participate in the Washington-based CIPA Colloquium series, and access the Washington-based CIPA alumni mentoring network. The externships in Washington will be coordinated through the regular campus-based CIPA program in Ithaca.
For more information, please visit:
Specialized Study Opportunities:
Several off-campus study opportunities have been approved by the CIPA Core Faculty through agreements with partner institutions abroad to provide opportunities for public-service-oriented learning in different environments. Although these opportunities are facilitated by partner institutions, your academic and professional obligations remain the same, including a graduate-level externship and elective coursework appropriate for your academic and professional interests.
If you choose to participate in any of these programs, you must take an official Leave of Absence from Cornell as this makes tuition and other issues easier to manage. Fellows who go ‘on leave’ give up their access to campus facilities and personnel. Note: any Fellow interested in these programs who is not an American citizen and holds a non-immigrant visa should speak with a representative in the International Students and Scholars Office before applying to work out visa status issues. Prior to leaving Cornell, international students need to be in contact with the Graduate Student Services Office and the International Students and Scholars Office for information on maintaining visa eligibility for reentry. Information on applying for a leave of absence can be found on the Graduate School’s website.
During their leave, Fellows become non-degree graduate students at the partner institution for the duration of their off-campus semester. Their CIPA Fellowships, suspended while on leave, resumes the semester they return to Cornell. Fellows are responsible for all tuition, travel, and living expenses associated with these specialized study opportunities, and should work with their academic advisors to ensure that coursework undertaken at partner institutions meets CIPA degree requirements. These opportunities, different and more complicated than those in the first two categories, are not appropriate for all Fellows. But for some Fellows who have particular language, area or subject interests they can enrich the professional development of a CIPA experience.
For more information, please visit:
