Apply Online | Paper Application for Fall 2008 | Paper Application for Winter 2009

An application to the CAPPP program must include five items, detailed below. Once your application has been received, you will hear back from CAPPP via email in about a week with an interview decision. If you are chosen for an interview, the email will contain instructions for signing up for an interview time. The interview with CAPPP Associate Director Professor James Desveaux will take place in the CAPPP offices. Professor Desveaux typically interviews students throughout a single week.

Acceptance decisions are sent out via email at the end of the interview week. A list of the UCLA student ID numbers of accepted students and alternates is also posted on CAPPP’s office door. If you are accepted or chosen as an alternate, you must attend a mandatory group orientation session that lasts about an hour to 90 minutes. At the orientation, you will receive important information about the program and about the next step in the process: preparing your internship applications.

Required Application Materials

1. Cover Form
This is a simple, one-page form that summarizes information in the rest of your application. You can fill it out online, or download a paper copy and hand it in with the rest of your application.

2. Resumé
Submit a one-page resumé, listing relevant educational and work experiences, any special skills, any other related experiences (political, artistic, research, volunteer, etc.), and any academic honors you’ve received. Include your GPA, major, any minors, and expected date of graduation. Do not include a statement of your career objectives. Do not include any activities or work experience from high school.

3. Transcripts
Attach an up-to-date unofficial UCLA transcript, (NOT a DPR) available from Academic Records Services, 1134 Murphy Hall, as well as unofficial transcripts from any other colleges you have attended.

4. Letter(s) of Recommendation
Submit at least one letter of recommendation, preferably from a UCLA professor who is familiar with your academic work. A letter from a professor in your area of interest is best. A letter from a TA is acceptable, though not preferable. You can submit additional letters if you wish. If you are chosen to participate in the program, you will be required to have a second letter of recommendation that will be included, along with the first, with your internship applications. We advise that you secure this second letter as early as possible.

All letters must be written on letterhead and addressed To Whom It May Concern. PLEASE NOTE: All letters of recommendation MUST either be sent to CAPPP directly or submitted in a SEALED ENVELOPE, SIGNED ACROSS THE SEAL BY THE RECOMMENDER. Open letters submitted by the applicant will not be accepted. Letters must be received by the application deadline.

5. Short Essay
Attach a well-written, one page, single-spaced essay on one question or problem you wish to explore in your Washington research. Your essay might focus on a current domestic policy question, an international issue, an economic or sociological phenomenon, a historical question, or a politically relevant debate in the arts--any area that has national or international policy or political implications, and takes advantage of Washington’s resources. Discuss what kinds of internships might be helpful in exploring this subject area. Please do not include specific organizations or agencies unless you are using them as examples of possible internships, because if you are accepted, this essay becomes a writing sample that will be included in your internship applications. Please give this essay a title and include your name, but exclude your student ID#.