PCA&D internship

All students in degree majors are required to complete a professional-level internship or mentorship before graduating

Every summer, our students work on internships at sports magazines and design firms, with independent photographers, and at art centers in the region.

Interested in hiring an intern?

Potential employers may request to be an internship site by filling out this form.

internship process

Students are expected to seek out and propose internship opportunities but guidance and direct referral are also provided by department chairs, internship coordinators, and faculty in the major departments.

All internships must ultimately be approved by the department chair or internship coordinator and are expected to occur in the summer between the third and fourth years in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. In some cases, the internship process can continue into the fourth year as long as there is no time conflict with the required coursework.

All internships at PCA&D involve commitment and assessment from both the internship site supervisor and the intern. Required assessment paperwork includes:

Written description from the site (on letterhead stationery) that outlines the student’s responsibilities during the internship period and states who will supervise the intern. According to department standards for the level of professionalism to be achieved during the internship experience, the department chair or internship coordinator may approve or deny an internship at this stage.
Written evaluation of a student by the internship site supervisor at the conclusion of an internship experience.
Written evaluation of the internship site by the student at the conclusion of the internship experience.

upon completion

Students must fill out the appropriate evaluation form when the internship is done

Employers/mentors must fill out the appropriate form when the internship is done

contact

For more information, email Todd Snovel, Vice President of Student Affairs & Community Engagement.

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My mentor is Paige Lauren Carter and with her, I’ve been working on bringing a 2D concept into a 3D space. The first few weeks we're doing concept work based on prompts she gave me and then settling on one to further work on and finalize in 3D. The sword was blocked out in Maya and then brought into ZBrush. It’s currently still in progress, but overall I’ve learned and practiced a lot with Paige. She’s definitely helped me tackle the assignment with a different point of view as well as instructing me on how to dive into a program I had never touched before.

I landed an internship with digital marketing agency, Lupeer. Lupeer is an agency that empowers brands and increases a brand's online presence. There I created work for various companies across the United States. At Lupeer I created multiple web banner ads to help reach potential clients by redirecting them to the advertised website. I also created different elements for companies' websites and created print material for in-house projects. Working with Lupeer provided me with the experience of working in the professional world, and gave me a glimpse of yet another possibility with graphic design.

My internship at My Own Color Lab, a commercial photography lab in New York City, has enhanced my skills as a photographer. I have met a number of prominent artists, and have seen many of their works produced. I also gained hands-on experience working with professional equipment. Watching Gerard Franciosa, the owner of My Own Color Lab, work with his clients, and assisting him in a number of ways, was both fun and inspiring. My internship has reinforced many of the skills that I've gained at PCA&D, and I have learned many new ones as well!

Interning at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology was very enriching. It involved two major responsibilities. The first was to teach illustration to high school students. The second was to illustrate a board game that was designed by one of the talented students at HU. While teaching I got to learn about game design and I was able to learn how to use the game engine Unity. I was also able to make some great connections. Interning at H.U. taught me a lot and it helped me open my mind as an illustrator. The second part of my internship involved many illustrations to work out while under the guidance of an Art Director. However, it was just what I needed to really push myself and build the discipline and drive required to work as a freelancing illustrator.

My mentor has been Jack Corpening and the character I have been modeling is named Romy the Witch by Courtney Brenek. Being in this mentorship has been refreshing and a change from how the school has been run. One-on-one with a professional is both terrifying and reassuring of how much I want to work in the world of 3D modeling and it has been a wonderful experience so far. Jack Corpening has been patient and direct with his teaching and that alone makes this worthwhile in my opinion. The character I get to model is super fun as well.

It was a pleasure to work with Tim [Tim Behler '10, Graphic Design] -- his comfortable nature and excitement about the work made it easy to integrate him into our design team. Tim offered appropriate and useful suggestions in all meetings and helped to craft new directions at Armstrong. His knowledge of cutting-edge technology allowed him to demonstrate Adobe Kuler to the design team who incorporated its use immediately. Thank you for sending Tim our way.