Internship Placements

Students without practical nonprofit management experience are strongly advised to complete an internship as part of their advanced curriculum. MNM students have the advantage of developing internship placements through our experiential learning coordinator. Internship placement varies by student interest and semester. Past internship placements include UCF Center for Public and Nonprofit Management, IRONMAN Foundation, Heart of Central Florida United Way, Habitat for Humanity, Boys & Girls Clubs, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and more.

2023-24 Placements

CPNM (Center for Public and Nonprofit Management) - Orlando, FL
IRONMAN Foundation - Tampa, FL

Internships
MECM students are required to complete an internship as part of their advanced curriculum, unless they have two or more years of emergency management or related experience. MECM students have the advantage of developing internship placements through our experiential learning coordinator. Internship placement varies by student interest and semester. From Fall 2018 to Spring 2025, 56 MECM students completed an internship.
Internship Host and Major Projects
Lake County Public Schools Government Affairs Department
  • In response to the growing need for community engagement and corporate social responsibility, the Lake County School District Employee Impact Network project was initiated with the primary goal of creating a dedicated software system. This innovative platform, developed in collaboration with the Marketing and Communications team and the Emergency Management team, aimed to facilitate and encourage employee volunteering in the community.
UCF Emergency Operations Center
  • Update UCF binders for each Emergency Support Function that would report to the UCF Emergency Operations Center in the event of an activation.
Orange County Public Schools Office of Emergency Management
  • Review OCPS Reunification plan and compare the best practices to the Standards Reunification Methods.
American Red Cross
  • Disaster response planning project to enhance the organization's emergency preparedness and crisis management capabilities. The project included analyzing existing emergency protocols, identifying areas for improvement and proposing innovative solutions.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office
  • Identify establishments that may need a Critical Infrastructure Threat Assessment and coordinate to conduct the assessments.
CH Consulting
  • Development of functional and hazard annexes and several different exercise plans for trainings.
Ocoee Fire Department
  • Assisting Ocoee Fire department with drafting and implementation of the Continuity of Operations Plan.
Orlando Health
  • Develop a standardized guide on how to run and develop exercises within the Orlando Health network. Conduct a tabletop discussion, as well as a full-scale exercise.
Pasco County Emergency Management
  • Successfully completed many online FEMA IS courses and in-person G-300, G-288, G-2300, G-191, and G-400. Specific projects included the Special Needs Registry, Comprehensive Plan Review, Public Education Events, HERricane, Continuity of Operations, and PA Assistance.
Orange County Sheriff Office
  • Updating the Continuity of Operations Plan within the agency's Uniform Patrol Division, which comprises approximately 800 personnel. Develop a survey, and scheduling interviews with respective sector captains and their administrative assistants.
Graduation Rates
MECM students have considerable flexibility in completing the online degree. Our program is designed so that a full-time student can easily complete the MECM during two full academic years (five semesters including summer). Many of our MECM students pursue the degree on a part-time basis, balancing their educational goals with work and family priorities. Graduation rates are reported on an “Academic Year-5” basis (AR-5). For the 2020-2021 cohort of the 57 entering students, 5 graduated within two academic years, 17 graduated within three academic years, and 26 graduated within four academic years.
Job Placements
MECM graduates work in various fields of public, nonprofit and private sectors. Our 2023-24 graduates work for:
Job Type
Number of Placed Graduates
U.S. Federal government
0
State, provincial or regional government
1
City, county or other local government
8
International (all levels)
0
Nonprofit domestic-oriented
7
Nonprofit/NGO internationally-oriented
0
Private sector (research/consulting)
6
Private sector (other)
0
Military service
3
Obtaining further education
0
Unemployed seeking employment
0
Status unknown
4
Total number of graduates
29