Internships are an excellent way to explore different career opportunities in the field of Media Arts and Culture.
First stops on your search should be our weekly newsletter (sent out to MAC students during the academic semester) and Handshake. By registering for a Handshake account, you will gain access to internship postings catered to students from a wide array of professional fields. Next, check out the Hameetman Career Center’s internships page to get the specifics on the internship registration process, and see what programs and organizations Occidental already has working relationships with. Also consider the paid summer internship experiences offered through the InternLA program, which include a number of arts and media site partnerships.
Two-unit internships (and 0-unit summer internships, a way for you to assert student status to a provider without having to pay for units in summer) are administered through the Hameetman Career Center. You and your MAC faculty supervisor will fill out an Internship Credit Form together (accessible here) making sure you have clear goals and strategies. This serves as a contract of expectations and opportunities with your internship company. It is recommended that rather than taking any internship that students talk one-on-one with their Media Arts and Culture advisor about seeking an internship experience that will be truly valuable and linked in to concrete professional aims or questions.
It is strongly recommended that students wait until junior and senior year to take advantage of targeted internship experiences benefiting from a solid grounding in coursework and more rarified senses of possible career routes. Also think outside the box in terms of what a career in Media Arts and Culture might be. Beyond the standard studio and production company internships, have you thought about film festival curation, film restoration, media production for non-profits or community-based organizations, museum film programs, editing, sound design, online distribution platforms and social software sites, etc? Think outside the box and seek out an internship specific to you, rather than simply entering the labor mill of some large company.
The links listed below suggest a range of possible places to begin seeking out internship opportunities. Some are national resources, others are more geographically particular. These should get you started, though - the list is by no means comprehensive.
Resume, Cover Letter, and Interview Advice:
The Hameetman Career Center has a range of resume and cover letter resources. They also provide a range of workshops and opportunites to sign up for one-on-one counseling sessions and mock interviews.
Allison Green's AskAManager.org provides useful cover letter tips.
The Anonymous Production Assistant blog provides a range of application advice as well as the UTA (United Talent Agency) Job List (which includes internship and job listings on a weekly basis).
Chegg Internships - provides access to more than 75K internship opportunities and includes tips on cover letters, resumes, and interviews
In Los Angeles:
The UTA (United Talent Agency) Job List (weekly list-serve of jobs and internships)
LA County Arts Commission Internships (paid summer internships)
Getty Marrow Multicultural Internships (paid summer internships)
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Internship Program (paid summer internships)
International Documentary Association
Outfest OutSet Young Filmmakers Program
NBC/Universal (Various Cities)
Time Warner (HBO, Turner, Warner Brothers)
Unversal Studios Campus 2 Career
Viacom/CBS (MTV. Nckelodeon, etc. various locations)
National:
The T. Howard Foundation is a competitive but excellent summer internship and mentoring program with the particular aim of increasing diversity in the entertainment industry. Applications are due in September.
Mandy.com (all production and industry jobs searchable by location)
ProductionHUB (all production and industry jobs searchable by location)
Temp Agencies: Some like Apple One and Friedman Personnel in Los Angeles place people specifically in industry settings.
Look to the Websites of professional unions or organizations: (even if they don’t list internships, show at a monthly meeting or call to get on a list of potential PA’s)
In various cities:
Independent Feature Project (IFP) has listing and chapter in New York, Phoenix, Chicago, Seattle, Minnesota
NPR (DC)
In New York:
Mayor's Office of Media and Enterntainment Opportunities
In Northern California: