About MCC Internships

What You Should Know

The internship course is optional and not required as part of your degree.

While all MCC students who are juniors and in good standing can be eligible to intern for credit, students should know that it is not a required component of your degree. We offer credit as an option because some employers require credit, but this doesn't apply to the majority of students. While we caution against interning too early and too often at the detriment to your schoolwork, plenty of students intern without receiving credit. Similarly, you can get paid and simultaneously receive credit for an internship (we want you to be compensated for the work you do!). If you have questions you should speak to an advisor in person.

International Students, however, are required to intern for credit. International students would apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) in order to have work authorization in the US. See below.

Students are responsible for finding their own internships

This is a key skill as part of the job search process we want students to become familiar with. Remember, there are numerous resources on campus to help you! You can also learn more about the internship search best practices.

Registering for internship credit means this is a course with an academic component

This will be a graded course that will impact your GPA, just as any other course. The syllabus will be made available to you via NYU Brightspace, along with the various assignments due throughout the semester. It will also be charged as a regular class, and in the summer, it will be charged per credit.

If you choose to complete an internship for credit, the credit will count as either a Professional/Restricted or Unrestricted Elective.

The maximum number of internship credit that will count toward your degree is 6 credits. Internship credit is offered in 2 & 4 credit increments, totaling 6 credits maximum.


Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Media, Culture, and Communication internship an undergraduate student must:

  1. Be in good academic standing with the university

  2. Have a minimum GPA of 3.0

  3. Have 64 credits completed (junior level standing)

International Students

When international students register for internship credit, they will need to be approved for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) before they can begin the internship. CPT allows F-1 students to accept off-campus employment as part of the curriculum of your degree program. CPT employment MUST be directly related to your major area of study in MCC, and will need to be approved by OGS before your I-20 is updated with work authorization.

Important information you should know:

  • All international students must be approved to work anywhere off campus - whether paid or unpaid. Students may be approved by either CPT or OPT (which does not require academic credit). However, on campus work - whether career-related or not - does not require CPT or OPT. This is a Federal Policy, and not just an NYU guideline.

  • CPT is typically done on a part-time basis (up to 20 hrs/wk) during school year and on a full-time basis during vacation periods.

  • It is critical that you have space in your electives in order to enroll in internship credit. Because CPT approval requires that the internship is tied to your degree requirements, you MUST have either restricted electives or unrestricted elective space in your program of study in order to successfully register for internship credit. For example, if you already took 10 of 12 credits of restricted electives, you can only register for a 2 credit internship. Similarly, if you planned to use your unrestricted electives for a minor, which usually requires the full 16 credits, you will not have space to enroll in internship credit.

  • It takes up to two weeks for the Office of Global Services (OGS) to process your CPT request. This means that you should apply online for CPT well ahead of your anticipated internship start time. If you do not have CPT approved by the time you start your internship, you will NOT have authorization to work in the United States.

  • You must present your CPT authorized I-20 to your internship Human Resources within the first three days of your internship start date.

Please learn more about the CPT process through OGS, including all the information you need to submit an online request.