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.
Every Colin Powell School undergraduate student who has earned 30+ credits receives 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!
An internship is a short-term, on-the-job experience for students to gain entry-level exposure to the industry and fields of their interest. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) studies show that students with at least one paid internship made 6% more in their starting salary than those with no internship experience.
-No Previous Experience Required.
-No age, transfer student, or status restrictions (DACA and international students are welcome!)
-Earn a reference for future internship, fellowship, and job opportunities
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. Send an email with a copy of the acceptance letter to Career Hub Director, Maya Gutierrez mgutierrez1@ccny.cuny.edu
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.
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.
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?
“This resource allowed me to successfully complete my internship as an alcohol and substance abuse counselor at Argus Community without having to worry about how I would pay for food or transportation. I was able to focus all my time and energy into gaining as much experience and knowledge as possible from my internship and left with an even greater excitement to continue serving the substance abusing population.
Summer 2022 Intern
This paid internship was an immense push towards my dreams and goals. As a person from a low-income immigrant background, this opportunity gave me a much-needed break from my part-time work in the hospitality industry and gave me time and finance to pursue my true dream of working at a non-profit contributing to community development. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity.
Spring 2023 - 2023 Intern
The Colin Powell internship stipend is a truly unique resource that changed the course of my life. My internship completely changed my communication skills and gave me the confidence to apply for the Bloomberg Fellowship, and I was accepted!
Summer 2023 Intern
Given my background as a low-income first-generation college student, I learned over time that my shot at someday working for a think tank was very slim. My participation in the Climate Policy fellowship and your financial support put this opportunity within reach.
Copyright © 2022 Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. All rights reserved.
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
Colin Powell School undergraduate students with 30+ credits are welcome to apply!
There are no restrictions or barriers for DACA, international, age, or any other status.
Must be majoring in a CPS degree
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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 Coordinator at dmatos1@ccny.cuny.edu
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.
Yes! If your internship is unpaid or paid less than $18/hour, this program may cover the difference. Send a copy of the offer letter to Maya Gutierrez, mgutierrez1@ccny.cuny.edu. We welcome new intern partners!
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!
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!
For more information on internships and our professional development workshops, email Career Hub Director, Maya Gutierrez, mgutierrez1@ccny.cuny.edu
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.
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.
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 (which also includes a paid internship), 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!
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!
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.
If you have an unpaid internship or experiential learning volunteer activity, we may be able to cover a stipend of up to 300 hours (micro-internships also welcome!). Rolling admissions.
Contact Maya Gutierrez: Email. Book a meeting.
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.
Melodie Perez
Summer 2022 Intern