PPIA Junior Summer Institute

Open to students who are entering their senior year of undergraduate study, the Humphrey School of Public Affairs' Junior Summer Institute (JSI) is a rigorous seven-week academic and experiential learning program that prepares undergraduate students to thrive in graduate programs and launch careers in public service.

Program Overview

Our nation is in need of passionate people dedicated to making a difference. We need people entering public service who represent all backgrounds and experiences, and who understand that the only way to enact real change is through a mix of activism, policy, and empathy.

So, the question is: Are you ready to step up and advance the common good both nationally and around the globe?

As a fellow in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs’ Junior Summer Institute (JSI), you will start this journey, working with your  peers to examine such vital issues as global decision making, human rights, diversity and equity, educational and environmental justice, social welfare innovation, climate change, accessible transit and housing, public safety, and racial justice (we define these as “Grand Challenges,” see below for the full definition). Throughout the program, we connect JSI fellows with our world-renowned faculty and innovative community leaders to present lectures and experiential learning opportunities based on our participant’s interests.

As a Humphrey School JSI fellow, you will join us on the University of Minnesota campus in the heart of Minneapolis for a rigorous, seven-week academic and experiential learning program that prepares up to 22 undergraduate students to thrive in graduate programs and launch careers in public service. By choosing the Humphrey School JSI program, you will join a community that is driven to advance social equity and ignite policy improvement across the globe. We are a world calling for change, and our JSI fellows will gain the skills necessary to respond to that call and move from important conversations toward essential action.

The program is open to students who are entering their senior year of undergraduate study. JSI is part of the Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellowship Program, which is committed to promoting the inclusion of underrepresented groups in master’s degree programs and careers in public service.

Humphrey School Junior Summer Institute participants will be introduced to the knowledge and skills necessary to:

• Lead and manage in programs that span across sectors, institutions, diverse populations, and cultures
• Participate in problem-solving, policy-making, and institutional and societal change in dynamic, uncertain environments;
• Analyze, synthesize, think critically, and make decisions informed by quantitative, qualitative, economic, and other analytic methods;
• Understand conceptions of the common good, acknowledge normative and ethical viewpoints, and promote social justice and equity;
• Communicate and interact productively with individuals in diverse and changing cultures and communities;
• Understand global interdependence and its implications for governance, policymaking, and policy implementation.

What Are Grand Challenges?

Grand challenges are multifaceted problems that have significant consequences for the wellbeing of those involved. They are novel, emergent, highly complex, and beyond the resources or knowledge of a single discipline, organization, or sector to address. Grand challenges often “morph” or evolve over time so they do not lend themselves to simple or one-time fixes. Single-sector actions to address these grand challenges often lead to unanticipated and unintended consequences, which is why they must be approached in an interdisciplinary and cross-sector manner. Grand challenges include such things as global climate change and environmental justice; race equity and public safety; global security and human rights; diversity and educational access.