October 28, 2026
The Patman Center is excited to announce two new $10,000 internship fellowship opportunities thanks to The Webber Family Foundation Grant! Students who take faculty fellow Jonathan Lass’s Spring course, Diplomatic Negotiations, will be eligible to receive one of two $10,000 internship fellowship awards for internships in negotiations in legislative affairs in Summer 2027.
Professor Lass will talk with students in their class about their interest in summer internships and will select two students in the class to receive the awards. The Patman Center will help to connect the selected students with internship placements over the summer in legislative negotiations.
The Diplomatic Negotiations course will be taught from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM on Wednesdays and is only open to graduate students at this time. The class provides intensive training in negotiation theory and practice for students aspiring to be public affairs professionals. Each class session combines foundational readings with hands-on negotiation exercises that simulate real-world public policy challenges. Students will develop practical skills in multi-party negotiations, coalition building, interest-based bargaining, and conflict resolution while learning the theoretical frameworks that explain negotiation dynamics.
The simulation aspect of this course is particularly engaging for students, as it touches on real-world issues students care about like labor unions, affordable housing, municipal governance and more. Each simulation gives students the opportunity to develop their skills in interest based bargaining techniques, crisis management in negotiation, and core negotiation concepts like BATNA, ZOPA, anchoring and more. Additionally, the course pushes students to meaningfully consider the ethics of negotiation, the nuances of negotiating cross-culturally, and the need to fully understand the context of your negotiation before identifying your strategy.
We encourage students to consider registering for this course in November as they plan for the Spring 2027 semester. Not only is it a great opportunity to learn from someone with a legal negotiation background and apply those lessons to a career in public affairs, the course also offers a chance for students to receive support with personalized internship placement and funding for the duration of the internship.
We are so grateful to the Webber Family Foundation for providing this opportunity for graduate students here at UT!
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Iliana Flores-DuMond
Iliana is a proud UT Alumna who earned a bachelor's in Government at the university. After graduating she pursued a career in civic education, working with K-12 students from across the state to educate about the structure of government and the role youth play in engaging as citizens in their communities. As the Program Coordinator for YMCA Texas Youth and Government she helped to recruit and train volunteers, plan events for over 1,300 young Texans, and provide supports to educators across the state working to build the next generation of civic leaders. Along similar lines, she is now putting her experience in the civic education arena into practice as The Patman Center program coordinator.