Because social science majors forge their own career paths.
Because you’ve got what New York needs.
Because our democracy needs your voice for a stronger future.
Defining the college experience is the opportunity to attend interesting and rewarding courses, participate in invigorating extracurricular activities, and expand your network, but you don’t have to stop there. Beyond the college campus is a plethora of professional development opportunities that will propel your career into new heights, so seize the moment! Colin Powell School students are eligible for a bank of 300 Paid Internship Hours (@$18/hour = $5,400), which can be completed at any time for up to a year after you graduate. Access your bank by creating a resume with one of our Coaches, and learn by doing while getting paid!
Eligibility
Qualifications
Benefits
LEARN ABOUT THE PROGRAM!
PREPARE APPLICATION MATERIALS & YOURSELF!
RESEARCH INTERNSHIPS & APPLY!
Weekly info sessions available to you via the drop-in LEARN! sessions on the events calendar below. No reservation needed!
Program Guidelines:
Build a resume that lets you shine, write a cover letter or statement of interest that shares your strengths, and complete mock interviews to feel confident. Attend any of the drop-in Step 2 Prepare! sessions listed on the events calendar below - no reservation needed!
For 1:1 help, set up a time to meet with one of our Coaches by clicking on the calendars under their names.
Resume Resources
Review internship options in the public service database, select up to three you are interested in, and complete a brief Internship Interest form.
Career Hub Staff will review your application to make sure it highlights you in the best way possible. If anything needs a little strengthening, you will receive a referral to a Coach to work on your materials. If your materials are ready, you will be connected directly to the site contact by email.
Also, if you have received an offer letter for an unpaid internship, it may qualify for the stipend. Under these circumstances, you will be considered a Got it? Get it! Applicant. Please fill out the Paid Internships Program Stipend Request Form and click the box asking if you have Got it? Get it! Applicant.
Finding internships: you should also speak with your professor and department chair to learn about options available to you in your major, and review the internships in the Career & Professional Development Institute database.
College students have gained so much valuable knowledge and skills, yet don’t have many ways to practice them until they are in the workforce. An internship is a place where you can begin practicing what you are learning in the classroom AND have a learning curve. Internship sites both expect you to have some skills to bring to the table, and to have a lot to learn.
Your site supervisor will know to provide extra guidance and explanation not just about the work, but how the work gets done. All of this will help you overcome imposter syndrome and boost your confidence.
Unlike engineering or medicine, the social science field does not have many obvious career ladders that show students how to enter into or grow in their fields. An internship gives you the opportunity to explore different career options and find out what you like, what you don't, and build the persistence and patience to build your own ladder to your definition of success.
Is your neighborhood, your city, and your country the best version of itself? Learn the landscape of organizations working on our toughest challenges and be part of solution to build a stronger democracy.
An internship can give you the chance to meet people who share similar experiences and interests. It can take time to build professional connections, especially for first-generation college students. Doing well in an internship internship is one of the best first steps to build a network in your field of study: site supervisors and other members of the executive team can be a reference when you apply to to future opportunities.
Having internship experience boosts your resume, grants you more job offers, higher starting salaries, and a shorter search process. Who wouldn’t want that?
Most employers in career-pathway jobs expect you to have some experience in an office setting by the time you graduate, so they don’t have to train you from scratch.
College classes, volunteer and non-career jobs like working in retail or the service industry can get you started on the skills and knowledge for a career job, but internships will immerse you in the world of career-pathway work. You will learn the dos and don’ts of office environments as well as gain an understanding of organizational structure and culture.
In an internship and looking for support? Got an offer for an unpaid internship or one that is paid less than $18/hour? Meet with me!
Exploring your options? Looking for help to update your resume, write a cover letter, or prepare for an internship? Meet with me!
First time building a resume? Preparing for an interview? Meet with me and unlock the mysteries! Languages: Proficient in English and Bengali (Bangla); basic comprehension in Hindi and Urdu
Spring 2023 Intern
I am a rising senior at the Colin Powell School majoring in Psychology and minoring in Management and Administration. As a People Operations intern, I was provided an immersive exposure to the dynamic field of Human Resources, which not only broadened my perspective but also cemented my career aspirations in this domain. I had the opportunity to learn about making informed policy decisions, screening resumes, establishing a question bank for hiring managers to access when processing interviews, conducting a salary market research and many more. Participating in this internship has been a transformative experience for me, and I'm deeply grateful to the individuals and foundations whose support made it possible.
Spring 2023 Intern
The Colin Powell internship stipend is a truly unique resource that completely changed the course of my life. My internship strengthened my communication and program management skills, and gave me the confidence to apply for the Bloom Energy Fellowship. I was accepted!
Spring 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this internship, as it allowed me to engage in something I am truly passionate about. More importantly, I embarked on this journey because of my genuine desire to be a part of it. As something my grandfather always said 'do something if you 'want" to do it and not because if you "have" to do it . My time at Tadaca has been nothing short of exceptional, both professionally and personally enriching. This internship has been an amazing experience that offers the ideal balance of passion, mentoring, creativity, and a supportive team environment. This experience has been genuinely transformational and satisfying; it will influence my future pursuits.
Public Preparatory Charter School Academies
Public Prep is looking for interns who are interested in learning about non-profit business management and the inner workings of charter school management. The intern would have exposure to project-based learning and responsibilities across various departments of Public Prep’s Home Office, these departments include but are not limited to talent/human resources, student recruitment, operations, finance, academics, and technology. Projects will be assigned on an ongoing basis and, ideally, aligned to intern interests. Learn more about this internship in the public service database!
Community Associate
MOIA’s Community Services unit serves as a central point of coordination and information-sharing between New Yorkers, community-based organizations, and City agencies. The Community Services team responds to constituent inquiries and requests for advocacy and support from immigrant New Yorkers, and ensures that MOIA identifies, addresses, and tracks the needs of immigrant communities. Immigrant New Yorkers may feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the issues they face or the perceived unresponsiveness of local government. The work of the Community Services team can help make City government more accessible and responsive. Learn more about this internship in the public service database!
SEL Intervention Program Support Intern
The SEL Program position has two of four goals: 1) Provide consistent staff training and capacity-building for trauma-informed, restorative, and healing-centered practices. Staff will learn to identify and address trauma-based reactions in students. 2) Ensuring student access to mental health supports. Program staff will partner closely with school social workers and guidance counselors to help them identify students in need of services and assist in making community-based mental health referrals. To learn about the remaining two goals and more about the position, please visit the public service database!
Survey Support Specialist
Each year, the NYCDOE will administer the annual NYC School Survey and a student perception survey. These surveys open up important opportunities for reflection and dialogue among school communities, school leaders, and Central offices. Survey results help inform our understanding of each school and program’s greatest strengths and opportunities for continuous improvement, and are used as key metrics in School Quality Reports. The Survey Initiatives team is seeking a team member who will help us keep students, families, and teachers at the center of our work, and shares in our commitment to the following: 1. Strong school support: Prepare schools for successful survey implementation through communications, trainings, and ongoing support. 2. High quality data: Provide schools and families with high quality data by promoting participation and ensuring broad, representative feedback. 3. Continuous improvement: Continuously improve our processes, with a focus on strengthening our partnerships with schools, increasing survey participation across respondent groups, and connecting the survey results to student achievement. Learn more about this internship in the public service database!
African American Historical Society of Rockland Intern
In keeping with the mission of the African American Historical Society of Rockland County interns are encouraged to identify an area of individual research or work on the current initiatives underway at the AAHS. This is done in close consultation with, the president of the AAHS and a member of the board. The individual research project is not limited to the material (artifacts, books, photos etc.,) already collected or held by the AAHS. Interns will assist in, and have the opportunity to initiate and develop seminars, forums, workshops, meetings as well as contributing to developing a social media strategy for engagement and developing the digital presence of the AAHS. Learn more about this internship in the public service database!
Democracy Intern
LPL is looking for an intern to support the Lab’s democracy program, including research support. The overall work streams for the project include: 1. Supporting on city and LPL logistics: Maintaining contact with city officials, planning and scheduling the cohort meetings, taking and consolidating notes, maintaining newsletter and other mailing lists; 2. Conducting research on democratic innovations at the local level: This will involve targeted research, globally and domestically, to determine research backed innovations aimed to improve electoral and democracy outcomes at the city level. This could include research on election-related reforms, such as facilitating easier registration and voting access; support and protection for election officials; improving information reliability; or increased access to equitable civics education; and more! Learn more about this internship in the pubic service database!
School Community Intern
The site for this opportunity will be located in P.S. 149 in Harlem. The intern will work directly with the Program Director with conducting a school-wide needs assessment and based on the findings help support advocacy initiatives. The intern will help with the overall development of the needs assessment and support the development of the family needs plan. Interns will also have the unique opportunity to work directly with students and families while receiving professional guidance from the director who has a MSW.
The last Thursday of July is National Intern Day. National Intern Day is a holiday created by WayUp that’s dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the future leaders of the world: interns! Click the exclamation mark to learn more.
Catch the latest updates for the The Colin Powell Career Fellows Paid Internships Program
Students can choose how they would like to track their hours (e.g. excel sheet, document, handwritten, the optional Timesheet + Journal form created by the Career Service Hub, weekly, monthly, etc.). Moreover, students and supervisors can establish a timekeeping system.
However, regardless of the system students use, only the dates recorded on the midpoint and endpoint surveys are used by staff as reference for the students’ total hours.
In order to ensure full transparency on the stipend timeline process, we have made a number of changes:
Need a bigger perspective of how the program looks like from start to end? Review the The Colin Powell Career Fellows Paid Internships Program Timeline (Student Checklist) to get a sense of your program responsibilities.
Status: Application is Closed
Fall 2023 Deadline (Passed): Monday September 4, 2023
Are you working and taking classes at the same time? Apply for the Working Student’s Fellowship. Benefits include:
Program Contact: Ikenna Ugwu (iugwu@ccny.cuny.edu)
Status: Applications are on a Rolling Basis
This program is a peer mentoring initiative meant to support you as you start your college career at CCNY. New students are paired with an experienced upperclassman who serves as a mentor and role model to help motivate them, focus on academics, and support them in achieving their goals.
Status: Applications are Closed
The Colin Powell Fellowship in Leadership and Public Service is a two-year program for undergraduate students who want to pursue careers in government, nonprofit organizations, and other forms of public service. It is particularly for students who immigrated to the US or whose parents immigrated to the US, as well as those who demonstrate interest in exploring social issues that impact African American and other underserved communities.
Note: Opportunities under the Job Database are separate from the Career Fellows program.
Join the Colin Powell School alumni network. It’s free to sign up and connect with the community. Click the cap to learn more.
An internship is similar to a job in a professional organization, with responsibilities to complete projects toward fulfilling its goals or mission. Organizations that host interns are willing to provide on-the-job training for their projects, and dedicate a supervisor to support your learning. Internship opportunities are shared out just like jobs, and you usually apply to and interview for them the same way you would a job.
The primary differences between a job and an internship is that organizations understand that interns are not bringing full expertise to the project and provide training and guidance in order to complete it, and that interns are paid a “stipend” instead of a salary usually in one or two lump sums.
Internship:
Job
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
As of July 1st, 2023, students who participate in the Career Fellows program must meet the following eligibility requirements:
NOTE for Spring 2023 Research Assistance Internship Program Participants: If you participated in the Research Assistance (RA) Internship Program, and you want to receive funding or a funded internship through the Career Fellows program, your 45 hours served under the RA Internship Program will be deducted from your total 300 eligible hours. Thus, RA Program participants are eligible for up to 255 hours.
Our internships have a large range of availability, so students and sites can set the schedule together! The Paid Internship Program does not have a hour minimum, but does have a maximum of 300 hours.
Alumni may access an internship for up to 12 months after their graduation date.
Students are paid via a stipend. The stipends are typically distributed in two batches; the first stipend arrives near the midpoint of the internship and the second stipend at the end of the internship. The students will receive a physical check that they must pick up unless alternate arrangements are made.
Anytime! Our offices, and most of our internships, are available at any time of the year and are not tied to the school schedule.
While some of our internships have set start and end dates, most of our internships are flexible with how long they are, and when students can start and end. We do not set mandatory minimums or length times; it all depends on the intern and the internship site.
You can access your bank of hours for up to 12 months after you graduate.
With your bank of 300 hours, you can decide to do one, two, or more internships!
If you are exploring your field, it will make sense to do a couple of internships. If you already know what you want to do and just need to gain experience, go for the full 300 hours in one internship!
Yes! Professor Garri Rivkin teaches Public Affairs Seminar SSC 31117 every semester on Mondays from 6 PM - 8:30 PM or asynchronously to accommodate students' schedules. Check out the class' flyer here. If you have any other questions, feel free to email him at grivkin@thecitytutors.org.
Transportation costs, like Metrocard purchases, are not offered as the cost of public transportation was built into the hourly stipend amount.
Nope! All internships have their own time requirements, but most understand that students are in school and have other life commitments and won’t require more than 20 hours a week. We have a range of micro to macro internships with many different levels of commitment!
You and the site will set the hours and the schedule at the beginning of the internship. You are expected to honor the commitment, or talk with your site supervisor if things change and you need to adjust the schedule.
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
Visit our Internships Database to view all open positions.
Additionally, you can also visit the CPDI website to view other available opportunities.
If you don’t feel ready for an internship but want to get started, volunteering is actually a great first step.
Learn more here: Ways to Volunteer to Gain Professional Experience
For more information on internships and our professional development workshops, email Internships Program Associate, Ivy Allotey iallotey@ccny.cuny.edu.
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
Students receiving a stipend are optionally invited to attend our Internship Insiders workshop series offered every first and third Tuesday to discuss goals and progress.
We require students to complete a brief midpoint and endpoint survey.
That's it!
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
Internships must have a dedicated supervisor who sets and tracks learning goals with the student. Please see our Site Partner Overview.
We welcome site partners from all sectors, and there are no MOUs, contracts, or tax implications.
We are especially happy to partner with alumni!
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
Yes! If your internship is unpaid or paid less than $18/hour, this program may cover the difference. We welcome new intern partners! Under these circumstances, you will be considered a Got it? Get it! Applicant. Please fill out the Paid Internships Program Stipend Request Form and click the box asking if you have Got it? Get it! Applicant. Starting July 1st, 2023, all Got it? Get it! Applicants whose internships start after Friday August 25th will have to attend a brief orientation before attending their orientation.
There are two differences between volunteering and interning with an organization:
Here is an example: Volunteer Vince is helping out at a food pantry. He unboxes cans of food and puts them on a shelf. Intern Iris is at the same food pantry. Their major is communications, and they are working with the Marketing Director to draw up a social media communication schedule and conducting research on best practices for graphics. Both students are helping this organization reach its goal to feed hungry people, but one is a career development opportunity, and one is not.
See the difference?
If you don’t feel ready for an internship but want to get started, volunteering is actually a great first step. Sometimes, students begin volunteering and then convert it into an internship.
Learn more by reaching out to our Internships Program Associate, Ivy Allotey: iallotey@ccny.cuny.edu.
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
Yes! Is important to maintain a cordial and grateful attitude when exploring internship opportunities. Even if you didn't get the position, you may have learned something new about your career or professional interests! Not sure how to write a thank you note? Check out the Student Checklist for an outline. Please send a thank you note to all your interviewers 24 - 48 hours after the interview.
Congratulations! As soon as you have negotiated the hours, schedule, and learning goals for the internship, complete the stipend application form. Submitting this will send an internship confirmation form to the site supervisor you name on the application. When both forms have been processed, you and the site supervisor will receive a stipend confirmation email.
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
Internship hours are not tracked like jobs on an exact hour-for-hour basis, it is more like a contract, in which you and the site determine at the beginning the total number of hours you will complete and intended schedule within which you will complete them. The end date can be extended if it takes longer than expected.
It is important that you track your hours closely, so that at any given time both you and the site know how many hours have been completed and how many hours are still remaining.
Students can choose how they would like to track their hours (e.g. excel sheet, document, handwritten, the optional Timesheet + Journal form created by the Career Service Hub, weekly, monthly, etc.). Moreover, students and supervisors can establish a timekeeping system.
However, regardless of the system students use, only the dates recorded on the midpoint and endpoint surveys are used by staff as reference for the students' total hours.
Take note of the midpoint and endpoint dates that are listed in the internship confirmation email. You will receive an email from Career Coach Ikenna to pick up a midpoint and endpoint check at about the same time (and you must complete a midpoint and endpoint survey to claim it). Do not make an appointment to pick up the check; you will receive an email with a link to set up an appointment. Please review the Student Checklist for details as to how to calculate your checks' estimated arrival dates.
You must sign your W9, not print your name. To avoid delaying when your stipend is turned in, then please follow these instructions to make sure your signature is approved:
An example of printing versus signing your name has been shown below.
Signatures must be digital.
Checks go through processing for more than a month.
After students have submitted the Paid Internships Program Stipend Request Form, supervisors have completed the Colin Powell School Fellows Paid Internships Program Site Form, and all the documentation has been cleared (some students may be asked to re-submit their W9 so we urge you to fill it correctly the first time), the Internships Program Associate submits this information to the finance team for processing. Students and supervisors will receive confirmation of this in an automated email with the subject: "Internship Stipend Confirmed!"
Checks take up to 7 weeks from two separate dates:
1. The day students and supervisors receive the "Internship Stipend Confirmed!" email (NOT the midpoint)
2. The endpoint date
Staff in the Public Service Career Hub are not privy to the internal finance processing timeline once they hand in student information.
At the end of the processing timeline, students' checks unfortunately, do not arrive on the midpoint or endpoint dates. Rather, you can expect checks around 2 - 4 weeks after the following dates:
First Check
1. Date student and supervisor receive "Internship Stipend Confirmed!" Email
Second Check
2. Endpoint Date
If your second or first check does not arrive up to 4 weeks (please be mindful of business days) after these dates, your check is officially considered delayed and you can reach out to the IPA to push for status updates on your check. Check out the Student Checklist to get a sense of the program’s process.
Additionally, to keep this in mind, the finance team has been experiencing some delays with check processing over the summer months. We understand that students are frustrated and dealing with difficult realities (e.g. having to pay rent, food, caring for loved ones). We ask that you bear with us.
We are sorry for this uncertainty and for the lengthiness of this process.
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
Yes, the stipend is taxable. If you have a social security number (SSN), you will receive a tax form from the college by January 31st, 2024 to include in your taxes if you file. Taxes are only deducted up front if the tax form you use is a W8 BEN, which is for people who don’t have a social security card. The same amount of taxes are applied to people with or without a SSN, the only difference is timing.
Now that you have a resume and some professional experience, you are ready for the next step! Consider applying to a Colin Powell School Fellowship, and visit the Career and Professional Development Institute, which has all the resources you need to bridge your college experience to a purposeful career.
If you have done well in your internship, your site supervisor can be a reference for another internship, a fellowship, a job, or any other professional opportunity you apply for!
As of July 1st, 2023, we no longer extend internship hours. The intention behind the policy is to give access to the paid internship hours to as many students as possible with the limited budget that we have. We’re here for you to make the most of the hours that you have, and look into other opportunities once you have completed this one.
No. W-2s are typically associated with payroll for salary payments with tax deductions. Stipends, on the other hand, are not considered part of regular payroll. For stipend recipients, a 1099 tax form will be provided by a third-party agent, and these forms should be mailed out to all eligible students by the end of January.
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
No! The Public Service Career Hub offers a variety of services and programing, such as our Internship Insider workshop series, resume and cover letter coaching, career development and job searching assistance, and more!
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
The Colin Powell Career Fellows paid internships program was selected for the 2023 Exemplary Models Award by the American Association of University Administrators, a non-profit professional organization for higher education leaders and administrative personnel. This award recognizes outstanding examples of leadership that demonstrate creative solutions to common problems in higher education.
New to managing interns? Let's meet and build a mutually beneficial partnership!