When you hire a Parsons student as an intern, you help that student's professional development. With your training and guidance, a student can learn to apply the skills acquired at Parsons to real situations. Bringing in an internship is also a great way for you to observe a student's skill set, work habits, and personality and determine if that individual might be a good fit for your company in the future.
In an increasingly designed world, art and design reflect and shape all kinds of experiences. Through rigorous practice and critical scholarship, Parsons prepares students to be leaders in their professions and society. At Parsons, a diverse community of students develops critical thinking and problem-solving skills applicable to the entire range of challenges facing human societies today, from local problems like physical accessibility to global humanitarian crises. Through a network of interconnected design laboratories, our students explore global phenomena at multiple sites and scales of engagement, linking academic research initiatives to partnerships around the world.
Internships are integral to many academic programs at Parsons. Therefore, approved intern positions must meet certain criteria. Every Parsons internship must involve useful work related to the student's field of study and performed under the direct supervision of a professional.
An internship is an opportunity for a student to utilize knowledge and skills acquired in the classroom in a professional context. It's a way for a student to discover which skills are transferable to new contexts, learn the practices and protocols of a particular employer and industry, reflect on the quality of the contribution the student makes to the organization, and refine and assess the student's career goals.
Learning Objectives are goals and objectives that students hope to gain through their internships.
Professional Skills: Students learn professional skills by participating in a professional work environment. They observe and gain understanding of office hierarchies and learn to define effective and efficient practices; develop mentor relationships and a professional network; accomplish tasks or participate in projects that showcase their skills and can be used to build resumes and portfolios; observe professional etiquette, including dress codes and proper forms of communication.
Industry Awareness: Students learn how an industry works, how various companies differ from one another, and how consumer markets differ.
Career Goals and Relating Internship to Classroom Experience: Internships should relate to coursework. For example, an intern might learn how to apply information gained in a design course to create a tech pack for a fashion company, gain experience using Adobe InDesign or Photoshop software by creating a design for a publication, or gain experience in a photo studio that prepares the student to establish an independent photography practice.
Communication Skills: Interns acquire real-world written and verbal communication skills, become comfortable talking to clients and co-workers, gain experience and confidence in expressing ideas, and practice listening and internalizing/accepting criticism and utilizing positive feedback.
In order to achieve a balance between coursework and the internship experience, Parsons has established the following guidelines for the number of hours our students must work to earn internship credit.
Semester |
Number of |
Total |
Hours per |
Number of |
Summer |
0 |
No minimum |
No minimum |
No minimum |
Fall/Spring |
0 |
60 |
8 |
7.5 |
Fall/Spring/Summer |
1 |
60 |
8 |
7.5 |
Fall/Spring/Summer |
2 |
120 |
8 |
15 |
These are general guidelines. They are in place primarily to protect students from working beyond the hourly requirements for the academic semester. You and a prospective intern may agree upon a schedule with a different number of hours or weeks as long as it does not exceed the Total Hours hours per credit and does not exceed 8 hours per week. For example, a student could work:
A student is not required to work more hours than those specified on the Internship Work Contract. Should you need more internship hours, Parsons encourages you to consider hiring additional interns. Interns should not be used to fill your full-time, part-time, or freelance staffing needs.
Parsons does not issue letters of eligibility and credit registration. The Internship Work Contract filled out in its entirety and signed by all parties is sufficient proof of both eligibility and credit registration. This contract, on Parsons letterhead, indicates credit or zero-credit registration and is digitally signed (which the university recognizes as a legal signature).
With Parsons' approval, a student may elect a zero (0)-credit internship option in order to document registration for an internship without paying full tuition for credits. Zero-credit internship registration is the same as 1- and 2- credit internship registration. A zero-credit registration based on a properly completed Internship Work Contract is sufficient to guarantee that an internship is officially recognized by the university.
Students who opt to take a zero-credit internship in a fall or spring semester are limited to working 60 hours, the same as a 1-credit internship. The hourly limits on 1 and 2 credit internships have been designed for the school year, so that internships do not interfere with students' other coursework. In the summer term, there is no minimum or maximum amount of hours a student may work in a zero-credit internship. The decision on hours is up to the student and employer but must be specified in the Internship Work Contract, and approved by Parsons.
It is recommended that international students (students attending Parsons on F1 and J1 visas) check with International Student Services in case there are specific rules or restrictions that would prohibit them working beyond a specific number of hours.
Students must pay tuition for a 1- and 2-credit internships. The cost sometimes deters highly qualified students from accepting internships. If you cannot pay an hourly wage for a Parsons intern, you might consider offering some other form of compensation, such as a stipend or travel reimbursement.
IMPORTANT: international students (F1 or J1 visas) must be approved for Curricular Practical Training to be eligible for payment of any kind.
The New School requires that employers of interns not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, religious practices, mental or physical disability, national or ethnic origin, citizenship, veteran, or marital status.
We also expect employers to not expose our students to anything that would be reasonably considered sexually explicit, obscene, libelous, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, or hateful, in other words, any behavior or material that is personally embarrassing or is offensive to another person or group.
By offering a Parsons student an internship opportunity, the employer is agreeing to the terms, conditions and limitations outlined on this page.
In order to intern with an employer through the Parsons Internship Program, all students must complete Internship Work Contract, and await Parsons' approval.
View instructions for completion of the Internship Work Contract.
The internship supervisor is expected to evaluate the intern's performance based on the aims stated in the Internship Work Contract. All internships are graded on a pass/unsatisfactory basis, and Employer Evaluations are intended to provide qualitative feedback on the student's general level of preparedness, contribution to the work environment, skill set, and provide suggestions on how to improve on the aforementioned. The Employer Evaluation is emailed to the employer by Parsons. This document is sent out approximately three weeks prior to the end of the academic term and must be returned within one week in order for the student to receive a grade.View a sample intern evaluation form (Adobe PDF).
Parsons offers a password-protected online job board that is exclusively utilized by Parsons degree-seeking students and degree-holding alumni. Employers may post jobs, internships, and volunteer and freelance opportunities. Employers may also browse resumes and portfolios and contact students and alumni directly.
It is very easy to list an internship on the Parsons online job board.
