Education Policy Studies

Teachers College, Columbia University

During the 2006-2007 academic year, TC's Office of Policy and Research launched an exciting new internship program--TC Policy Connections--that links current TC policy and international students with internship opportunities in leading policy-related organizations.

Designed to benefit both TC students and the public, private, and non-profit organizations by providing students them with "real world" understanding of educational policy, the goals of TC Policy Connections are:

1. To provide TC policy students with authentic and professional policy experiences while they engage in their studies.
2. To create stronger connections between TC and policy organizations and professionals, thereby bridging the gap between research and practice in educational policy.
3. To provide advocacy, activist, and policy organizations with valuable assistance in formulating, enacting, implementing, and researching/evaluating public policies in the field of education.

These three goals are met through a simple, web-based broadcast system. TC Policy Connections has developed a data bank of highly qualified students interested in participating in field-based policy internships, along with a data bank of governmental, non-profit, and for-profit organizations interested in hiring TC student interns. Once these organizations have specific positions available, they send job descriptions and other relevant information to TC Policy Connections. Connections staff then email the offerings to students, who follow-up directly with the organization and undergo regular interviewing and hiring procedures. TC Policy Connections acts as a conduit between students and educational organizations, serving both by streamlining the internship search and recruiting processes.

Students who wish to be added to the data bank and receive information on policy-related internship opportunities should to fill out the online Student Internship Request form. By completing this on-line form and submitting it, you will be placed on our TC Policy Connections email list. This will enable you to receive information from governmental, non-profit, for-profit, and international organizations who express interest in having a TC student intern. The completion of this form does not obligate you to take any internships; it merely will acquaint you with the internship opportunities available. It will be your responsibility to follow-up directly with the organization if you are interested in pursuing a particular internship. In order to participate in the TC Policy Connections internship program you must have completed onegraduate levelpolicy course. For international and comparative education students, the requirement is one ITSF course.

Organizations interested in hiring TC student interns may contact the TC Policy Connections Student Internship Coordinator, Allison Roda, at (212) 678-8351.

For any additional questions regarding the internships, contact the Director of TC Policy Connections, ProfessorLuis Huerta, at (212) 678-4199 or the Student Internship Coordinator,Allison Roda, at (212) 678-8351. Please send any correspondence to the Office of Policy and Research, 525 West 120th Street, Box 226, New York, NY 10027-6696 or by fax to (212) 678-3160.

If you are a current TC student and would like to be added to the Policy Student Network to receive information about internships or other policy news at TC, please emailAli Hill.

For assistance on writing a cover letter, building a strong resume, job search tips, and interview strategies please contact Career Services to set up an individual appointment at Career Services Email , 212-678-3140, or stop by their office in 44 Horace Mann. For a comprehensive list of all of their upcoming events, please visit their website at http://www.tc.columbia.edu/careerservices/detail.asp

For a list of all TC Policy Connections student intern profiles, please click here to read about their internship experience.