What is an Emerging Professional?
An Emerging Professional position is a paid, mentored experience for a student enrolled in Media Arts & Technology. Students who qualify for Cultural Technology Emerging Professionals, need faculty advisement, use of media arts equipment, and are required to register for the Cultural Technology Mentorship class. In some cases, recent graduates of media arts (within two years) qualify for internships depending on their skill level and their needs.
The criteria to determine whether graduates of media arts qualify for an Emerging Professional position are:
1) Does this student need advisement? and/or 2) Do they need university equipment? And/or 3) Do they need ongoing management throughout the class? An Emerging Professional position differs from contract work.
The level of support required to ensure a successful mentored experience for the student ensures a quality product/project, but it is not cheap labor. It is designed to be a learning experience. The person/group sponsoring the Emerging Professional must provide the students with an educational, learning experience.
Emerging Professional Components
Our positions are designed with maximum flexibility in mind for students and mentors. The options for internships are: 300 hours; 850 hours, or 1700 hours.
300 hour positions can be either 35 hours per week for 8 weeks in the summer, or they can be managed in the fall or spring semesters depending on how much time a student can work outside of school. The maximum allowable internship hours for a full-time student is 20 hours per week.
850 hour positions are designed for students taking just one or two classes, usually at the end of their course of study and can be structured for 20 hours per week over the course of the year, or 40 hours per week for 6 months.
1700 hour positions are full-time for 11 months. They’re designed for recent graduates of the program to get a hands-on mentored experience in a cultural organization for an extended period of time.
We pay our students a living wage ranging from $19.00 – $21.00 per hour. The cost for an Emerging Professional will vary depending upon the skill level of the intern and the amount of hours your project requires.
If you’re interested in hosting an Emerging Professional, fill out this form.
***Note, the Cultural Technology Emerging Professionals Program has some matching funds available upon request. If you wish to apply for some of our matching funds, please submit a request along with your proposal form.