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At the annual GPSI recognition breakfast held April 4, 2009 -- Hal Waggoner, Acting Chief Information Officer for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, was the recipient of the Sagarika Madala Memorial Award for Exemplary Leadership in recognition of his exemplary leadership as a GPSI supervisor and mentor. Hal is pictured with Prajna Karkal (right), his GPSI intern, and Kim Hayden (left), GPSI director. To be eligible for consideration, a supervisor must be nominated by his/her current GPSI intern. Congratulations Hal Thanks for making a difference!

Graduate Public Service Internship Program

For over 35 years the University of Illinois Springfield has partnered with state and local government agencies through the GPSI program to provide agencies with highly qualified, highly motivated graduate level interns who wish to simultaneously begin a career in state government while earning a UIS graduate degree.  GPSI has a strong track record of placing exceptional students in governmental agencies. Since 1974, GPSI has placed over 2000 graduate students in over 45 state agencies and organizations.

GPSI is a cost-effective resource for agencies to utilize as a means to help staff agency initiatives. For FY10, the cost to bring a top-flight intern on board is $20,038, which covers the tuition waiver, monthly stipend, professional development allotment, and administrative costs.   For participation in the program, the expectation is that the agency supervisor will serve as both mentor / supervisor to the intern.                

The goal of the GPSI program is to provide a 21 month internship placement with a maximum of forty (40) credit hours of tuition waiver. The GPSI office prepares a university/agency contract and bills the agency two times during the fiscal year. New interns begin placements on August 16, 2009.

Participating agencies conduct their own interviews arranged by the GPSI office and make the final hiring decision. There is no obligation to accept a placement, even after agencies conduct applicant interviews.   

Participating agencies set professional goals and objectives, and play a key role in the development of these emerging professionals.  GPSI interns are not clerical support.  They are highly-motivated graduate-level students with experience in professional proficiencies.  Core competencies include environmental studies, public health, business and accounting, management information systems, computer science, and public administration.