Career Fellows
Paid Internship Program

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:

• Sites do not expect students to know how to do everything; they commit offering training and experience.
• Internships are not paid biweekly; they are paid in two lump sums (at the midpoint and endpoint of the schedule for this program)
• Once a schedule is set, students are expected to complete all the hours

Job

• A person is hired to bring skills and experience to fulfill a role with only limited training
• Wages are paid hourly or by a salary
• A person can usually quit their job (or be fired) with little advance notice

Yes! Professor Garri Rivkin teaches the Public Affairs Seminar SSC 31117 every semester on Mondays from 6 PM – 8:30 PM or asynchronously to accommodate students’ schedules. If you have any other questions, feel free to email him at grivkin@thecitytutors.org.

• GETTING PAID: half of the total amount of your internship hours is paid to you via paper check about eight weeks after you begin the internship, and the second half is paid out at the endpoint. You will receive a message when the check has arrived to our office and you can schedule pickup. Note: taxes for students with a social security number are not taken out of the total amount. Taxes for students with a W8 BEN will have the taxes taken out (about 30%).
• REQUIREMENTS: You must meet with a Career Coach in person around the midpoint and endpoint of your internship to check in on your progress and pick up your check
• NEWCOMERS WELCOME! Do not be timid about reaching out to any of the Internship Program staff about any questions at all – this program is specifically for students taking their first professional steps, and just like entering any new culture there are many unspoken rules and expectations. Bring questions about dress, email etiquette, networking dos and don’ts, and absolutely anything else!

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.

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.

For more information on internships and our professional development workshops, email Internships Program Associate, Ivy Allotey iallotey@ccny.cuny.edu.

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.

There are two differences between volunteering and interning with an organization:

1. Interns have a supervisor assigned to them who provides training and sets learning objectives to make the experience a growth opportunity
2. Interns do more than physical labor, they apply skills they have learned in college or other professional experiences.

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 conduct 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.

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.

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.

Take note of the midpoint and endpoint dates that are listed in the internship confirmation email. You will receive an email from a Career Coach 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:

1. Create a Digital Signature (tutorial hyperlinked) or use an online signature generator

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.

Your schedule can change of a number of reasons; here are the next steps you should consider for each step:

• Ill or Injured
  • If you fall ill during your internship, you can discuss with your supervisor if you will be able to work from home or will take the day off. If you are taking the day off, you and your supervisor should have a conversation on how you will make up the hours. This could be adding an hour to your workday, if your schedule allows, or making up an entire day on another day later in your internship timeline.If your schedule changes because you need to change from in-person to remote, in-person to hybrid, or vice-versa.

• We hope that every student who interns at their site remains healthy and safe throughout the duration of their experience; however, we understand that there may be accidents. If you get injured on campus or at a site while fulfilling student requirements, you must file a report with Public Safety. Any accident, incident or “near miss,” no matter how slight the injury or damage, should be reported to Public Safety via the Compliment, Complaint and Suggestion Form. Please discuss with your supervisor how many days you will need to recover or if you will need to pause your internship and, if you are able to continue, how many days you will need to make up and when.

• Temporary Change of Schedule
  • If you need to go from in-person to remote or hybrid, or vice-versa, to take care of academic and/or personal matters, please discuss this change with your supervisor as soon as possible. The Career Fellows Paid Internships Program is open to remote, hybrid, and in-person opportunities, so if a student needs to change their schedule to accommodate external factors, this schedule change must be determined by you and your supervisor.

Each week of your internship, you will receive a form to track your hours completed. Additionally, you and your site supervisor will be asked to share the total hours completed at the midpoint and endpoint of your internships. It is very important to track your hours carefully.

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!

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. 

We welcome site partners from all sectors, and there are no MOUs, contracts, or tax implications. 

Please see our Site Partner Overview

Internships must have a dedicated supervisor who sets and tracks learning goals with the student. 

We are especially happy to partner with alumni!