Jesse Marvin Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program

Jesse Marvin Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program places recent college graduates and graduate students in full-time, paid public-service assignments with the California State Assembly. The program is administered by the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento, and its work centers on preparing future leaders for careers in state government, public policy, and public affairs. Each year the fellowship selects 18 fellows for an 11-month term in Sacramento. Fellows serve as professional legislative staff in Assembly offices and committees, where they gain direct experience with bill analysis, constituent matters, policy research, and the daily operations of the Legislature. The program combines that practical placement with an academic component: fellows enroll in graduate-level seminars and complete a policy research project while in residence. Compensation includes a monthly stipend of $3,253, health, vision, and dental benefits, and a tuition waiver for units taken at California State University, Sacramento during the fellowship year. The fellowship is named for Jesse M. Unruh, the former Speaker of the California State Assembly whose career is closely associated with modern legislative leadership in the state. Its audience is explicitly early-career participants who have completed a bachelor’s degree by the start of the fellowship, and the program welcomes applicants from any academic discipline. By linking university-based study with service inside the Assembly, the Jesse Marvin Unruh Assembly Fellowship Program functions as a structured entry point into California’s legislative process and a training ground for public servants working at the state level.