ApplicationInstructions

Beforeyouapply,pleasekeepthefollowinginmind:

TheUCDCProgramisanacademicprogramthatcombinesasubstantialresearchprojectwithaprofessionalinternshipinWashington,DC.While in DC, all students will enroll in a total of 14.5 units. Thecoreoftheprogramisa4-unitletter-graded researchseminarinwhichyouwilldevelopandwritearesearchpaperofabout25pages.Youwill also take a 4-unit elective. The internship is 6.5 units of pass/no pass credit.Our role is to work with you to find an internship that will give you access to information, people, and resources related to your research and career interests.

OneofthegoalsoftheUCDCProgramistoassistyouinthetransitionfromundergraduateworktoeithergraduateschoolorprofessionalemployment.TobesuccessfulintheProgram,youwillneedtobefairlyfocused.Ifyouarenotsurewhatyouwanttoresearch,orhowasemesterinDCfitsintoyourlargeracademicandprofessionalgoals,wesuggestyouthinkhardaboutthose.IfyousimplywanttoexperienceandexploreDC,wesuggestyouinvestigateCalintheCapital,anon-academic,student-run,summerinternshipprogram.PeoplewhohaveparticipatedinCal-in-the-CapitalarewelcometoapplytotheUCDCProgramaswell.

IfyouarenotacceptedtotheUCBWashingtonprogramthefirsttimeyouapply,youarewelcometoreapplyforafuturesemester.Thereisnopenaltyorprejudiceagainstpeoplewhore-apply--anumberofstudentshavebeenacceptedontheirsecondtry.

PleaseapplyfortheProgramthesemesterbeforeyouwishtoattend.

TheapplicationdeadlinetoapplyforSpring2016willbeWednesday, September30,2015.TheapplicationdeadlinetoapplyforFall2016willbeMonday, February29,2016.

Important:ifyouwanttointerninafederalgovernmentagencythatrequiresasecurityclearance(DepartmentofDefense,DepartmentofState,FBI,etc.),youshouldstarttheprocessofapplyingforclearancerightaway--evenbeforeyouapplyforUCDC.Pleasecheckthewebsitesoftheorganizationsthatinterestyou,tofindoutabouttheirproceduresanddeadlinesforrequestingsecurityclearances.(Ifyoudon'twanttoworkinsuchanagency,youdon'tneedtoworryaboutthis.Ifyouhavequestionsaboutthis,seetheProgramCoordinator.)

Somefriendlyadvice:Followtheseinstructionscarefully.Makeagoodfirstimpressionbybeingwellorganizedandprepared.

PreparingYourApplication:ElectronicallyandonPaper

Theapplicationconsistsofseveralparts:

theapplicationform(completedonline);

apersonalstatementofnomorethantwotyped,double-spacedpages(500words);

aresume(ONEpageonly!);

awritingsample(nomorethanfivetyped,double-spacedpages);

officialtranscriptsfromeverycollegeoruniversityyouhaveattended;and

twolettersofrecommendation-onefromaUCBprofessororGSI,andonefromanyoneelseyoulike:anemployer,anon-UCBinstructor,avolunteersupervisor,etc.(RecommendationFormsfortheselettersareonline.)Theyshouldbeaddressed"ToWhomItMayConcern:"

Youwillsubmittheapplication,personalstatement,resumeandwritingsampleinbothelectronicandpaperforms.Herearethestepstotake:

1.Requestofficialtranscriptsfromeverycollegeyouhaveattended.

PleasearrangetohavepapercopiesofofficialtranscriptsmailedtoYOU,insealedenvelopes,soyoucanbesuretheyhavearrived.DoNOTopentheenvelopes:deliverthemsealedtotheProgramOfficealongwithyourotherapplicationmaterials.Iftheenvelopesealisbroken,thetranscriptisnotofficial.DoNOThavetranscriptsmaileddirectlytotheProgramOffice.Ifyourtranscriptsdonotarrivebytheapplicationdeadline,youmaysubmitunofficialtranscriptsandBearFactsprintoutsasaninterimmeasureuntiltheofficialtranscriptsarrive.OfficialUCBtranscriptscanbeobtainedin24hoursfromSproulHallifnecessary;simplyrequesta"Rush"andpayafee,thenpickupthetranscriptinpersonthefollowingday.

2.FillouttheApplicationFormonline.

Ifyoudon'thaveallthenecessaryinformationhandy,youcandownloadaPDFversionoftheapplicationbyclickingthelinkabove,andprintablankcopyforreferencewhileyougatheryourinformation.Youcanalsocancelyourapplicationonlineatanytimeandtryagainlater.Pleasesubmittheonlineapplicationformonlyonetimethissemester.Whenyouhavecompletedtheonlineapplication,youwillseeaconfirmationscreen.Youcanedittheformifnecessary.Whenyouarereadytosubmitit,youwillbeaskedtoprintTWOcopiesofthecompletedapplication.Keeponeforyourrecords.SubmitthesecondcopytotheProgramOfficeontheBerkeleycampus,withyourotherapplicationmaterials.

3.FillouttheRecommenderFormsonline.

Pleasenote:Youmaywanttoaskpeopletowriteyoulettersofrecommendationwellbeforeyouarereadytocompletetheonlineapplication.Ifso,youcandownloadaPDFversionoftheRecommenderform,andprintoutcopiestogivetoyourrecommendersrightaway.Afteryoucompleteandsubmityourapplicationonline,youshouldalsocompleteandsubmittheRecommenderformsonline.(TheapplicationissetupsothatyoumustsubmititbeforeyoucancompletetheRecommenderformsonline.)Youwillbeaskedtoprovidethenames,professionaltitles,addresses(snailmailande-mail),andphonenumbersofthepeoplewhowillbewritinglettersforyou.Wekeepthisinformationinadatabasesowecancontactyouoryourrecommendersifwehaveanyquestions.Youwillcompleteaseparateonlineformforeachrecommender.(Tworecommendationsarerequired;youcansubmitathirdifyouwish).Again,whenyouhavecompletedtheseformsonline,youwillreceiveconfirmations.Youcanediteachformifnecessary.Printatleastonecopyofeachcompletedform.Keeponesetforyourrecords.Distributeasecondsettoyourrecommenders,ifyouhaven'talreadygiventhemthePDFversion.Theyshouldsubmittheformstoouroffice,ascoversheetswiththeirletters.

4.AskyourRecommenderstoscanandsubmittherecommendationformsandtheirletterselectronicallyto both: and.Makesuretheyareawareoftheapplicationdeadline.

5.AssembleyourPersonalStatement,ResumeandWritingSample.

Thepersonalstatementshouldbenomorethantwotypedpages,double-spaced(500words).Itshouldexplain:whatissuesyoucareaboutandwhy;whatyouwanttoresearch;howyouhavepreparedtodothatresearch;andwhatresourcesareavailableinDCthatyoucannotgetontheBerkeleycampus.Whenreviewingapplications,welookforclarityofpurpose,academicreadiness,andpersonalmaturity.PleasethinkcarefullyabouthowasemesterinDCfitsintoyourfutureacademicand/orprofessionalplans.Thepersonalstatementwillbesharedonlywiththepeoplewhoreviewyourapplication.Theresumeandwritingsamplewillbesharedwithprospectiveinternshipsupervisors,ifyouareselectedfortheProgram.Theresumeshouldbeformattedsothatitiseasytoscanyourskillsandexperience.Besuretomentionyourcomputerskills.Youcanincludevolunteerworkinadditiontopaidemployment.Yourwritingsampleshoulddemonstrateyourabilitytowriteclearlyandcoherently,researchatopic,andanalyzethedatayouhavegathered.Itishelpful,butnotessential,thatthewritingsampleberelatedtothe

topicyouwishtoresearchinDC.Ideally,itwillbeapaperfromanupper-divisionclassatUCBerkeley.Itcanbeanexcerptfromalongerpaper:justselectfivepages,andprovideanintroductoryparagraphor,sothereaderunderstandsthecontextofthesampleyousubmit.

6.Submitelectroniccopiesofyourpersonalstatement,resume,andwritingsampletotheProgramOffice.ThedocumentsshouldbeinMSWord,RichText,orText-onlyformat.Attachallthreedocumentstoasinglee-mailmessageifpossible.Addressthemessageto both: esubjectline,type"ApplicationMaterialsfor<yourname>."Inthebodyofthee-mail,besuretoincludeyourfullname,localphonenumber,andthesemesteryouwanttogotoDC.

7.Bytheapplicationdeadline,submittotheProgramOffice:

onepapercopy(unstapled)eachof:

  • theapplicationform
  • yourpersonalstatement
  • yourresume(ONEpageonly!),
  • yourwritingsample,and
  • officialtranscriptsfromeverycollegeyouhaveattended.

Thanksagainforyourinterest,andgoodluck!