The Maryland Department of Transportation Fellows Intern Program

Student Information & Application Procedures

Challenge Yourself with MDOT:
Transportation goes well beyond planes, trains, and automobiles …
Transportation is neighborhood conservation, planning recreation areas and hiker/biker trails, telework programs, creating wetlands, and ensuring safe travel environments for our citizens.

Working in transportation can be driving buses and engineering highways…
It's also helping people and educating citizens; working with local and State government and business leaders; creating marketing campaigns; international relations; planning and financing; protecting and preserving the environment; civil engineering; computer networking and programming; and working with TV, radio and print media.

The Program
The Maryland Department of Transportation's (MDOT) Fellows Internship Program is designed to recruit Maryland's most promising college students and introduce them to the rewards and challenges of working within Maryland's integrated transportation system through a two-semester internship.

Students may be placed as interns at one of MDOT's agencies:

• Maryland Aviation Administration
• Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration
• Maryland Port Administration
• Maryland Transit Administration
• Maryland State Highway Administration
• Maryland Transportation Authority
• The Secretary's Office (MDOT Headquarters)

The Summer
During eight weeks this summer (June 7 to July 30, 2010), MDOT Fellow Interns will:

• Work on substantive projects (click to see a sample of former intern projects), with senior-level public administrators in MDOT's integrated system of agencies that closely correspond with each intern's field of study or career interests.
• Develop policy papers (click to review former MDOT Fellows Internship Policy Papers) that address significant issues facing the Maryland Department of Transportation today. These papers, researched in teams, are presented via PowerPoint to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and/or Administrators at the end of the program.
• Attend site visits and seminars designed to introduce interns to specific challenges of public administration in transportation.
• Gain valuable exposure (click to obtain former MDOT fellow intern and mentor comments) to the tremendous workforce behind the Maryland Department of Transportation while earning a $3,500 stipend.

Beyond the Eight Weeks of Summer:

After the summer component, MDOT Fellows may be invited to participate in a part-time internship at one of MDOT's agencies. Interns are paid $10 per hour. The internship will provide students with the opportunity to gain further exposure to a particular MDOT agency.

Why participate? Why me? Why bother?

• Test your skills and explore areas of interest
• Get a behind-the-scene look into the operations of a major state agency
• Learn how to work in a positive, professional and dynamic environment with senior management transportation officials
• Gain access to information about careers at MDOT and other government agencies
• Help gain confidence and develop management skills in the workplace
• Create long-lasting friendships and relationships that will help in networking
• Get paid while learning about facets of the field of transportation

Who can participate?

Eligible applicants must:

• Be undergraduates attending a four-year college or university in Maryland
• Have completed 90 credits or be entering their senior year
• Have a GPA of 2.7 or higher

ALL majors are strongly encouraged to apply.

Interested students are asked to submit:

  • Resume (please include current email address)
  • Transcript
  • Essay (one page or 300 words or less) on "What do you see as Maryland 's biggest transportation issue and how would you solve it?"

Materials should be sent to:
Christine B. Routzahn, Coordinator
The Shriver Center, UMBC
Attention: MDOT Fellows Internship Program
1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250
Telephone - 410-455-2493 Fax - 410-455-1074
routzahn@umbc.edu

Application Deadline: Friday, March 12, 2010

For more information contact:
Christine Routzahn, Coordinator
MDOT Fellows Internship Program
The Shriver Center at UMBC
410-455-2493
routzahn@umbc.edu