PICS is an alumni-founded program within the John H. Pace, Jr. '39 Center for Civic Engagement that provides Princeton undergraduates paid summer internships in nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies. As PICS interns, students engage in meaningful service opportunities, serve with Community Partner organizations in the U.S. (and a limited number abroad), connect academic lessons to real-world problems, and develop leadership skills. 

A Community Partner is a non-profit organization (501c3) that hosts a Princeton undergraduate for an 8-10 week summer internship. The internship is expected to be a full-time position requiring 35-40 hours of work weekly. PICS also has internships with government agencies and elected government officials.

A summer intern from PICS can make a meaningful contribution to the Community Partner. Princeton students are intelligent, ambitious, and anxious to contribute to the organization for which they work.  Interns will help complete all or part of a project that might not otherwise be accomplished.

In late August or early September, hopeful Community Partners will file an application that will include, among other things, a description of your organization’s mission and a description of the internship project and job responsibilities; the application will be reviewed by the PICS Operations Subcommittee, comprising dedicated Princeton alumni and parents. The application must clearly identify a supervisor that will be committed to working with the intern on their project(s). First-time partners may apply to host one intern for 8 weeks for their first summer. If a Community Partner has hosted an intern in the past, the Subcommittee will review the student reviews from prior internships as well as supervisor reviews of the students who completed prior internships with your organization. Community Partners will be notified in November if your application is approved. 

A clear explanation of the project(s) that the intern will be expected to complete. Often Community Partners do not know in late August or September what their needs will be the following summer - in that case, examples of possible project(s) can be given or examples of work done by previous interns can be enumerated.

Though most internships are in person, the COVID-19 pandemic required flexibility in format, and PICS offers some entirely remote internships and many hybrid internships. PICS require that the Community Partner has experience working with those formats if an internship is remote or hybrid.

Community Partners will receive an email from PICS with an update of their application status in mid-November. Most Community Partners receive approval for one intern, though they may ask for more; this determination is based on the number of Community Partner applications received, as well as capacity level. Additionally, Community Partners may be approved to host an intern for 8 weeks, even if they applied to host for 10 weeks. PICS reserves the right to approve your internship based on the needs of our organization. Community Partners will be asked to officially confirm their participation by early December. Once participation has been confirmed, the internship will be posted for students to review and decide to which positions they would like to apply. Community Partners will not hear much from the PICS office between their application's approval and the student application's close, but this low level of contact should not be worrying! The PICS team will be working to advise students during this time.  

Once the student application closes, the Community Partner will digitally receive the applications of all students who apply to their internship. Community Partners can then interview them and decide which student is the best match for their internship. In the end, the Community Partner will decide whom to accept, and is not obligated to accept any application if they feel the applicant(s) will not be a good match for their organization. The student is notified of the decision by our office, and, if they accept the offer, this portion of the process is complete. If the student does not accept the offer, then the PICS office can offer the internship to second second choice and third-choice candidates, if needed. All offers are made through the PICS office and not directly from the Community Partner.

There are three rounds of internship matching. If a Community Partner does not match with a student in Round 1, either because of a lack of applicants or they received applicant(s) that were not appropriate for the Community Partner, or because the student did not accept the offer, the application is entered into Round 2, and, if necessary, Round 3. For the first two rounds of applications, students are only allowed to apply to two Community Partners, and we have many more students than opportunities. Some students get two offers and obviously can accept only one. Hence, there are many opportunities for both the Community Partners and the students after Round 1. Many successful matches are made in Rounds 2 and 3.

In PICS's experience, the most successful internships have several qualities. The office culture should be such that it is welcoming to the intern. The project(s) should be well defined and able to be completed in the 8-10 week time frame of the internship. The project(s) should be substantial in that it/they will require critical thinking and analysis of the part of the intern. The interns are very energetic and often complete work more quickly than an organization expects in which case additional project(s) can be added. 

There is generally strong student interest in internships in government service, public policy, medicine, and health care sectors, but there is also demonstrated interest (and unmet need) in internships focused on advocacy/activism/social impact, the arts, environment/sustainability. Students are also looking for research-focused opportunities (particularly within healthcare and environmental organizations) and organizations focused on data analytics and science. Many internship opportunities cross these (and other) categorical boundaries – to state the obvious, for example, health care needs (and employs) engineers and computer scientists, and there are many lawyers who work on issues related to the environment (and in health care).

As of summer 2024, all interns receive a base stipend of $700 a week, and interns in ‘high cost areas’ receive a stipend of $750 a week.  Interns working remotely receive $700 a week regardless of location.

If a Community Partner can partially or fully support the intern, then PICS encourages their contribution toward the stipend, assuming they can contribute at least $1,000. Princeton prefers that student funding come directly from PICS; after payment to the student, PICS will provide a request for reimbursement from the Community Partner if they are providing any funding for the internship. If the organization requires that they pay the student directly, they should notify the PICS Program Director. These details will be clarified after the intern matching is completed. If Community Partner's application to host is accepted, but they cannot fund any portion of the internship, then PICS will fund the entire stipend.

Students are required to find their own housing. The stipend is intended to defray the cost of living  for the student, which may include costs of accommodations, transportation, and meals. If the Community Partner can help in suggesting affordable housing, that obviously is welcomed.  

PICS has an organized orientation program to advise students about issues such as office culture, office etiquette, and the importance of communication with their supervisors regarding expectations and problems if they arise. 

Students will be officially connected by email to their supervisor(s) a few weeks after they accept the position. Following this introduction, PICS encourages supervisors to contact the intern and provide them with any tips for success based on experience with previous interns, especially advice that might help the intern to prepare more effectively for the position and to succeed in the role. A new intern will be better equipped to jump into their position if they know as much about the position as possible before starting, and previous interns often have some of the best advice. It is helpful that the intern clearly understands what is expected of them. Once an internship is filled, Community Partners will also be asked to complete a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) prior to the beginning of the internship.

Assuming the internship is filled in the first or second round, the Community Partner should provide the intern with any onboarding processes or paperwork at least six weeks before the internship begins. This is especially crucial for internships that require a background check, fingerprinting, medical visits, and/or vaccinations. For medical internships, this process should start as soon as possible if the intern needs computer access to protected health information as that process can take a long time.

A Community Partner orientation is offered each spring before the start of any internships. Once a student begins their internship, it is a good idea for the supervisor and student to discuss the goals and expectations for the summer. This will reinforce for the student what is expected of them and they can share with their supervisor their expectations of the internship. Throughout the duration of the internship, supervisors should meet regularly with their interns. While Princeton students have an entrepreneurial spirit and are certainly able to work on their own, having a chance to ask questions and share ideas is crucial to their learning experience.

One of the hallmarks of PICS is the Alumni Mentor component. Each student is paired with a Princeton alum who serves as a resource for the student throughout the entire summer. Often the mentor is familiar with the Community Partner or has career experience that interests the student. The mentor is available to give the student support and advice. The mentor is not involved in the day-to-day work of the intern but can give him/her advice about how they approach their work. It is PICS' hope that the mentor will give the student access to the larger Princeton community outside of the University.

Work-related issues will hopefully be resolved by good communication between the supervisor and the intern. Supervisors should always feel comfortable reaching out to the PICS team for help in resolving issues, especially if a student is not performing as they should be. 

Yes! You will hear from either the Program Director or Program Coordinator often throughout the summer. Optional Community Partner office hours are held 3-4 times a summer, and anyone connected to the Community Partner is welcome to attend to ask questions, hear from others, or just say hi. Partners are also welcome to reach out with any questions as the summer progresses.

Supervisors are required to complete a short evaluation at the end of the internship. These evaluations allow the PICS team to understand the summer from the Community Partner's perspective, as well as evaluate the success of the internship from their point of view. Organizations that do not complete their supervisor evaluation may not be invited to apply for subsequent summers.