Internship + Apprenticeship Programs for BIPOC Students

Many companies have paid programs specifically designed to mentor the next generation of BIPOC professional leaders. Here are some sample ones to look into. See something that should be added to the list? Email harvith2@grinnell.edu!

General

Arts

  • Americans for the Arts (multiple locations) offers a Diversity in Arts Leadership internship program for students from backgrounds traditionally untapped for arts leadership. Accepted students are placed at an arts nonprofit in one of six national locations. 
  • Arts2Work has an apprenticeship program for culturally diverse artists, mediamakers with disabilities, and low-income college grads.
  • The Getty Foundation (Los Angeles, CA) funds internships at cultural organizations across Los Angeles for outstanding students from Los Angeles county who are members of groups underrepresented in careers related to museums and the visual arts. After graduation, it provides a variety of apprenticeships, including:
  • The Jadin Wong Fellowship recognizes an emerging Asian American dance artist in New York City.
  • LACMA (Los Angeles, CA) offers fellowships that support the development and training of future museum leaders, with an eye towards diversifying the industry.
  • The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has a junior fellows summer internship program that spans all areas of library science, archival work, and research. Additionally, they offer an Archives, History and Heritage Advanced Internship Program for the next generation of diverse archivists and knowledge workers.
  • The National Park Service offers a Cultural Resources Diversity Internship Program for students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the National Parks. Positions include archaeology, museum/archives, research, public outreach, GIS, and more.
  • The Smithsonian offers internships across all their museums, research centers, and other units. Specific granted internships are also available, including:
  • The Studio Museum in Harlem (New York, NY) provides year-long fellowships that support the professional training of curators, scholars, archivists, and educators historically underrespresented in the museum field. 
  • The Van Lier Fellowship program aims to advance the careers and creative practice of Asian American artists in the fields of theater, music, and visual art living in New York City. 

Athletics

  • NASCAR offers a Diversity Internship Program.

Business + Finance

  • Inroads hosts an internship program placing students in industries including business, government, and healthcare.
  • The LAGRANT Foundation works with advertising, marketing, and public relations agencies, as well as corporations, to place ethnically diverse talent in jobs and internships.
  • PwC’s Start Internship program is designed for college sophomores/rising juniors who self-identify as members of traditionally underrepresented minority groups in the professional services industry (Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or two or more races), protected veterans, and/or individuals with disabilities.
  • SEO Career offers internship opportunities across corporate America and Wall Street for students who identify as Black, Latine, or Native American.

Film + TV

  • The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has a talent development, diversity and inclusion program–Gold Rising–that offers internships with production companies such as AMC Networks, Annapurna Pictures, Bron Studios, and Monkeypaw Productions.
  • Arts2Work has an apprenticeship program for culturally diverse artists, mediamakers with disabilities, and low-income college grads.
  • Diverso runs The Minority Report–a virtual, 6-month fellowship program for diverse screenwriters enrolled in undergraduate or graduate educational institutions–and Black Writers in Focus–a 10-week, paid summer fellowship program for Black student screenwriters.
  • IRTS (New York, NY) has a broadcast sales associate program intended to increase diversity in the media and entertainment industry.
  • National Association of Black Journalists (multiple locations) offers internships in their office, as well as with different broadcasting associations.
  • Nickelodeon (Burbank, CA) has an Artist Program, Writing Program, and an Intern Program. 
  • OTV​ ​(Chicago, IL) has a fellowship program for emerging writers and directors identifying with multiple communities that have been historically marginalized in the film + TV business.
  • The T. Howard Foundation has an internship program dedicated to improving the participation of diverse + underrepresented groups in the media + entertainment industry.
  • WarnerMedia Access is a talent development program that provides mentorship, placement opportunities, and industry exposure for underrepresented talent.

Government + Public Policy

  • ABPA hosts an internship program placing students in industries including business, finance, government, policy, nonprofits, and more.
  • The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation hosts internships, fellowships, scholarships, and leadership development programs to increase the pool of Black leaders in public service and public policy careers.
  • ABPA hosts an internship program placing students in industries including business, finance, government, policy, nonprofits, and more.
  • The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute hosts paid congressional internships and public policy fellowships for Latine undergraduates, recent graduates, and emerging leaders.
  • The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities hosts an internship program that places students of all backgrounds in federal agencies.
  • Inroads hosts an internship program placing students in industries including business, government, and healthcare.

Healthcare

Library Science

Marketing + Communications

  • The LAGRANT Foundation works with advertising, marketing, and public relations agencies, as well as corporations, to place ethnically diverse talent in jobs and internships.
  • SEO Career offers internship opportunities in tech, finance, marketing, and corporate services for students who identify as Black, Latine, or Native American.
  • The T. Howard Foundation has an internship program dedicated to improving the participation of diverse + underrepresented groups in the media, entertainment, advertising, and public relations.

Journalism + Publishing

Social Justice

  • Council on International Educational Exchange offers a Frederick Douglass Global Fellowship, a fully funded summer program that takes students to Washington, D.C.; Cape Town; Dublin; Derry; and Belfast to study social justice leadership.

STEM

Theatre

  • Alliance Theatre (Atlanta, GA)’s Kenny Leon Internship is a season-long program for early-career BIPOC arts professionals.