The Hunter Scholars Program, formerly the Inter-College Year (ICY) Program, offers a unique opportunity for high school seniors to experience the working world in preparation for the challenges of college and ultimately a career.
Students who work in an approved internship for five hours a week receive credit for one academic course. Occasionally, an internship may be approved for ten hours a week and credit for two courses. An internship may be for one or two semesters. Internships are student - generated: students themselves choose their internships and, with the support of an on-site supervisor, structure the conditions of their work. The coordinator of the Hunter Scholars Program provides information on availability of internships and exercises final approval of each individual project before the end of the student’s junior year.
During the internship, students report to the coordinator in assigned logs, time sheets, and self-evaluations. The coordinator conducts on-site visits to internships during the school year.
Students currently work around the city at publications, entertainment studios, law offices, hospitals, schools, financial institutions, government offices, and design facilities. The work they do is challenging, meaningful, and often impressive. For example, at a nearby hospital, a student in a laboratory is working on experiments with DNA; in the hospital’s Child-Life Program, a student organizes board games and reads to children recovering from illnesses and operations. At an investment bank, an intern may learn to analyze a portfolio and later prepare client packets for an upcoming stockholders’ meeting. A student interested in film observes auditions and even contributes her opinion at casting calls. A young man has a weekly radio show. Another works on special effects at “Third Watch.” An intern at a clothing design studio contributes the teenage view in current fashion. Another is organizing a demonstration to draw attention to the problem of sweatshops. At the office of the District Attorney, a student is compiling an index to testimony in a high-profile murder case. A student interested in journalism has a Press card and covers news at the United Nations.
An internship offers the student a combination of freedom and responsibility in a work setting and a learning experience different from that in the classroom.
As part of their senior program, eligible students may opt to take one or more off-campus courses at either Hunter College or Columbia University. The Coordinator of External Programs, Room 236, conducts registration for Hunter College courses. Registration for courses at Columbia University is arranged through the chair of the Math Department, room 413. For our students, these courses are tuition-free. Under specific conditions, a junior may be eligible for an OCC.
