Information for Employers (NJ, NY, PA)

All internship sites must:

• Be a nonprofit with 501c3 status or a direct service government office with no affiliation to Rutgers University.
• Have a mission in service to the public and engage in civic engagement activities.
• Provide an internship experience that meets one of our five public service pathways.
• Provide a primarily in-person (at least 75% in person) immersive, high-impact learning experience.
• Host an intern for a minimum of 150 hours for no less than 10-12 weeks during the Rutgers Summer Session (averaging 15 hours per week).
• Experiences must incorporate opportunities for the intern to engage directly with the community served by the organization or indirectly through employees who can do so.

Employers selected to participate will:

• Participate in the RSSI Interview and Matching Process: In February and/or March, employers and students will participate in virtual interviews during a three-day period coordinated by RSSI Program staff. Following interviews, employers and students will rank their placement preferences and the RSSI Program administrators will use the rankings to assign summer placements.
• Host RSSI Program intern(s): Between June 1-August 18, 2027, employers will host RSSI intern(s) for a minimum of 150 hours and for no less than 10-12 weeks. There are in-person internships where students will intern for 75-100% of their weekly hours in person.
• Accommodate the RSSI Course Schedule: Students will need to attend virtual class sessions on five Fridays during the summer from 11:00am-1:00pm. Students will not be available during the hours they need to attend class.
• Support Students' Career Readiness: Internship supervisors will support student career readiness, competency development, and civic professionalism by collaborating with students to create their internship Learning Objectives at the start of the internship and by submitting two performance evaluations at the middle and end of the RSSI Program.
• Celebrate the Summer: Internship supervisors will be invited to the Rutgers Scarlet Service Celebration in September to celebrate the summer's accomplishments alongside students, their loved ones, faculty, staff, and donors associated with the RSSI Program.

• November: Student applications are due.
• December: Employer applications are due. These applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
• Mid-January: Student and employer applicants will be notified of their participation status in the program. If selected, employers will provide their availability for interviews held in mid-February.
• February and/or March: Selected employers will participate in virtual interviews with selected students. Following interviews, students and employers will rank their placement preferences and the RSSI Program administrators will use these rankings to assign summer placements.
• April: Internship placements are typically finalized 2-3 weeks after the initial interview, and no later than the end of April.

Yes, you can offer more than one internship for consideration. When completing the Employer Application, you will have the opportunity to indicate the total number of unique internship experiences and total number of vacancies you would like to offer.

All internships must have a significant in-person component. A hybrid format is acceptable, but not preferred.

Rutgers University does not guarantee acceptance into the Rutgers Scarlet Service Internship Program or guarantee that all placement sites or experiences will receive a matched student. We have a limited number of employer positions available for this program, therefore, in order to facilitate appropriate matches with students, we offer more internship opportunities than students selected for the program. If you are not accepted into the program or matched with a student, please know we can assist you in gaining awareness of your organization by setting up a Rutgers Handshake profile.

Public service means working in partnership with community members to improve societal well-being, advocating for increased quality of life, and/or enhancing access to quality services and resources that positively impact the community. Internship experiences must belong to one of the five public service pathways, work within one or more public service sectors, and engage in civic engagement activities.

Civic engagement activities focus on developing knowledge about a community, its democratic processes, and political systems while working in partnership with community members to deliberate challenges and co-create possible solutions to address and benefit the community’s needs.

We look to allow for a focused learning role, complete with mentorship, feedback, and the ability to ask questions. The focus should be a professional development experience – not just completing tasks. Review our list of eligibility criteria and items that we typically ‘red-flag’ when reviewing applications. Rutgers departments are ineligible.

Review the Rutgers Scarlet Service Internship Program learning expectations for a walkthrough that outlines learning objectives and how to create them for your internship experience.

Only organizations that are external to Rutgers University are eligible to apply for the Rutgers Scarlet Service Internship Program. The applying organization cannot be affiliated to Rutgers in the following ways:

• Cannot be a Rutgers Department/Satellite/Extension/Farm/Program/Initiative – only external organizations can apply
• The intern’s full-time supervisor cannot be Rutgers faculty or staff
• The external organization cannot be receiving other sources of Rutgers funding
• The permanent business address and/or office cannot be owned/operated by Rutgers University
• The external organization does not have a reporting structure that includes Rutgers University in any capacity (funding, staff hierarchy, etc.)