City University of New York (CUNY) Cultural Corps

Program Description:

The City University of New York (CUNY) Cultural Corps matches interested undergraduate and graduate students with employers in New York City’s arts and cultural sector, providing opportunities for paid work experience and creating a pipeline for students to have successful careers, while also diversifying New York City’s cultural institutions. CUNY Cultural Corps screens qualified students, prepares them in advance of their internships and mentors them along the way, supporting their success as they transition to a professional setting. 

Employer partners in the cultural sector include non-profit organizations in the visual, literary and performing arts and public-oriented science and humanities institutions such as zoos and historic and preservation societies. MOMA, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Powerhouse Arts are among the organizations that have partnered with CUNY in the 2025-26 academic year. 

The CUNY Cultural Corps program was established in 2016, in response to a report by the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) that found limited diversity in the staffing of the city’s major cultural institutions. To address this issue, DCLA supported a program that would serve as a pipeline for the diverse CUNY student body to have opportunities they would not normally have to work in paid roles in these institutions. The project was initially funded solely by DCLA in 2016, and placements were limited to members of the Cultural Institution Groups. 

The Rockefeller Foundation subsequently joined in support, allowing placements to be expanded. Rockefeller ended annual grant support for the program in 2019, establishing in its place an endowment that currently supports fellowship and mentorship programming for graduate students. The program also received support from The Mellon Foundation from 2020 to 2024. When the city cut funding for DCLA in Fiscal Year 2025, the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation stepped in to sustain the CUNY Cultural Corps, with additional support coming from the New York City Council, elected officials, and the office of CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez.   

The program remains open to students from across the CUNY system, now limiting participation to one semester to meet high demand under the limitations of current funding and staffing. Participating undergraduates who pass the screening stage are matched with an employer and work in paid roles for about 150 hours in total. 

The Cultural Corps is highly selective; in a recent cohort, 200 to 300 undergraduates were selected for pre-screening from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants. The program’s paid aspect serves to increase accessibility and help graduates enter the job market with an understanding of their value and an ability to negotiate with future employers.  

How It Works:

To maximize students’ exposure to the arts and cultural sectors, the CUNY Cultural Corps prioritizes students who are in their first two years of college, although upperclassmen may also apply. Participants must not have any previous paid internship experience in college and must commit to working 15 hours per week for the full 12-week semester. Undergraduates apply to gain experience in one of five areas: communication & marketing, education & public programs, development & fundraising, curatorial & exhibitions, and production management. While their major often directly overlaps their chosen area of interest, there are cases where a strong undergraduate candidate explores a field that is unrelated to their academic focus.  

Undergraduates participate in an application process and pre-screening training session, which includes activities to prepare them for the internship. This training eases the transition to a structured professional setting, offering guidance in a safe, supportive atmosphere. The training helps students practice their interviewing technique, update their resumes, and take other steps to meet industry employers. This also helps students to communicate effectively around any employment-related challenges that may arise. Students who perform well in the training gain access to a job board listing all the opportunities that are available in each area of interest. At this stage, applicants and employers both rank their top choices, and program staff members work to match employers and applicants, support onboarding, and ensure that each side is satisfied with the outcome. 

Supporting and mentoring the undergraduate interns are the David Rockefeller Cultural Corps Fellows, CUNY graduate students who bring relevant academic or professional experience and a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in the arts and cultural sectors. Graduate fellows are selected and paid as mentors due to their previous experience in the sector and serve as a support system for interns throughout the academic year. Graduate fellows participate for a full year, providing a dedicated support system for the interns. Employers also commit to providing mentorship, supporting and guiding the interns through an extensively detailed work plan.  

Impact:

The program reflects the great diversity of the CUNY student body, in turn diversifying the city’s cultural institutions so they reflect the full diversity of New York City including race, age, background and socioeconomic status as well as immigrant and first-generation college students. Program data suggest that about 70 percent of the interns come from diverse backgrounds in these terms, for which the program aims to actively support and expand access. The program’s objective is to show CUNY students that the city’s extensive cultural institutions are accessible to them, through the networks, experience, and confidence they build during their participation. Additionally, organizational partners gain the opportunity to mentor the next generation of New York’s arts and cultural workforce and to shape a more inclusive and equitable sector.

To measure outcomes and impacts, the program considers the overall process and quality of the intern experience. Are the students finding employers who are creating the right opportunities for learners? And are the employers engaging thoughtfully with the interns through the project work they provide? This is measured against the program’s goal that interns will have the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in the area(s) they are studying through the internship. Employer partners gain access to the potential pipeline of CUNY talent, and program interns gain a meaningful introduction to the arts sector. The program selects employers carefully, then follows up on interns’ experiences.  

At the midpoint of the program, interns submit a self-assessment of their career readiness competencies. Employers are also encouraged to meet with the interns to discuss any areas for improvement. At the end of the program, participants are asked to reflect on their experience and describe what skills they have gained. The program boasts a 95 percent program completion rate for interns reaching the maximum number of hours in the semester.