As most students start wrapping up the Fall semester, they are already making a mental list of what they want to accomplish in the Spring semester. One of the most popular goals for students is to land an internship for the Spring semester. Last year U.S. News had rated the university number one in New York for internships. Recently, however, the university’s reputed internship program received another distinguished title; U.S. News named the university among the top ten schools for producing interns nationally.

The Career Services office on the 14th floor of 41 Park Row is open all year to accommodate student and alumni to help with them everything from an internship to a job. Generally, they see a higher influx of students go into the Career Services office during the Spring semester versus the Fall semester. Diana Martinez, assistant director of the internship program, associates the increase in interest for spring internships with the fact that numerous students look for spring internships to turn into summer internships. Employers generally do look for their spring interns to stay with them over the summer as well.

“At the same time, many finance/accounting firms recruit in the fall for spring/summer internships that may turn into full-time positions, so there is a greater number of upper classmen who apply for these opportunities,” said Martinez; upperclassmen being defined as juniors, seniors and graduate students. On average the Career Services’ E-Recruiting database has an annual pool of between 2,000 and 3,000 internships posted. Companies can put in a post for the entire year depending on their needs. Due to this there is not much of a difference between the Fall semester and the Spring semester in the types of companies who put in requests for interns.

In order to be eligible for an internship, students must be a part of the internship program. The first step to enroll is to complete the online webinar found on Pace.edu/careers. Following the webinar students must attend a mandatory interview workshop, since Spring internships are extremely competitive so it is important to get a head start. The Career Services office advises that students not already enrolled, enroll as soon as possible so that they can start looking through the database over winter break. Students who are already enrolled in the internship program spend a minimum of half an hour a day searching and applying for internships. Some internships do have deadlines to apply by, therefore it is important to find them early so that there is enough time to formulate a well thought out application. There are also companies that post internships on a rolling basis so they may start looking for spring interns as early as Oct. or as late as Feb. or March.

Internships are available for every type of student and are great learning experiences. They are often a deciding factor for students which help them realize whether or not they want to pursue their current major. Martinez says “Some unique and fun examples [of internships] that I can think of are the “Dance Entertainment Internship” with Break the Floor Productions, which is a dance entertainment company that has been ‘blessed’ by Mia Michaels from the hit TV show “So You Think You Can Dance”. Another great example is the “Blue Bloods Writers’ Office Internship,” with CBS where students get to work with the writers of the successful television show “Blue Bloods” and actually contribute to the writing sessions for the show!” Overall, the Career Services office has great pre-professional opportunities for students majoring in all areas, but they also offer fun options for students who want to have a truly unique experience at their internships.