Field work is required of all first year students.
Small groups of students, working under faculty supervision, conduct research on policy problems suggested by officials in government and nonprofit organizations. Clients have included the Berkeley Mayor and City Council, the City of Oakland's Office of Planning and Building, Alameda County, Contra Costa County, the Berkeley Community Fund, the Berkeley Unified School District, and many others. Summer internships are required of all students between their first and second years of study. Students work as interns for policy analysts or program directors in government, nonprofit organizations and private consulting firms. Advanced policy analysis projects, which are equivalent to master's theses, are conducted by students in their second year.