Internships are ten (10) week, full-time (40 hours per week) placements that run from early-June through early-September. Interns in all our regions except Southern California typically start the first or second week of June. Southern California interns usually start the second or third week of June. One of the best parts of being in HCC is that interns are part of a cohort of other students doing an internship at the same time in the same region. This enables interns to attend workshops, activities and social events and connect electronically with “new friends” who have similar and diverse passions, backgrounds and goals. It forms a great peer support network during and after the internship.
The actual start date of each intern usually varies due to college academic year schedules, intern circumstances, and host organization preferences. For example, some universities conclude their academic semester or quarter during the first or second week of June. In these cases, the intern would start the second or third week in June.
However, all students must attend initial orientation and complete the full ten weeks continuously. You may start a week or so before orientation if that allows you to complete 10 continuous weeks. Otherwise, you can start the week of, or right after, orientation. Orientation is usually within the first 10 days of June for all regions except Southern California, which has its orientation between June 10 and June 20. Orientation is where you meet your intern peers and HCC staff and begin having a great experience.
Your start dates will be mutually determined when you are accepted into the program. Orientation dates will be communicated at that time as well.
Important Note: For those of you applying to a region other than where you attend school, we will work with your academic year schedule as much as possible. For example, West Coast schools tend to end later than East Coast schools. If you go to college on the West Coast and want to intern in the East Coast, you may still be in school when the New England or New York/New Jersey program starts. We come across this situation sometimes and will work with you. Do not let this stop you from applying.
