Occidental College student intern standing in front of the Los Angeles Zoo sign with a clipboard and hat

InternLA Program

Hundreds of students have impacted the Los Angeles community and gained meaningful work experience through Oxy’s InternLA Summer Internship program.

Program Overview

InternLA is a donor-funded internship program designed to encourage talented Oxy students to gain real-world work experience over the summer with Los Angeles-based nonprofit organizations. Students selected for an InternLA internship receive an educational stipend and need-based on-campus housing for the duration of the program. InternLA internships last for 10 weeks, beginning in late May and ending in early August. Internships may take place in person or in a hybrid format (there are no fully remote InternLA opportunities).

Sophomores, juniors, and December-graduating seniors who meet the Hameetman Career Center eligibility requirements are eligible to apply for InternLA opportunities.

InternLA 2026 Timeline

  • Student Information Sessions: October 01, 2025 & October 30, 2025
  • Eligibility Period (attend all five workshops on/before January 16, 2026)
  • Application Period: January 26 - February 6, 2026
  • Program Begins: May 27, 2026
  • Program Ends: July 31, 2026

Program Requirements & Sample Sites

HCC Program Eligibility Requirements by Class Year

In order to apply for 2026 InternLA internships, students must complete the following career education seminars:

  • HCC 101: Introduction to Career Services
  • HCC 102: Introduction to Career Exploration
  • HCC 200: Job & Internship Search Bootcamp
  • Resume Writing Workshop
  • Interview Preparation Workshop

Eligible students will be notified via email in January. If you do not receive an email or have additional questions, email careers@oxy.edu

Summer 2026 InternLA applicants are invited to apply to up to three participating organizations on Handshake. Below is a sample list of InternLA internship host sites:

Business & Entrepreneurship

  • Annenberg Tech/Pledge LA
  • CFA Society LA
  • Executive Service Corps of Southern CA
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • LA Cleantech Incubator
  • KDI (Kounkuey Design Initiative)

Law & Policy

  • Bet Tzedek (Cornuelle Fellows Program)
  • British Consulate - Political, Press & Public Affairs Department
  • Children’s Law Center (Cornuelle Fellows Program)
  • Los Angeles City Attorney
  • Office of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
  • San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments

Media & Entertainment

  • ARRAY
  • Film Independent | Project Involve
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • New Filmmakers Los Angeles
  • Pasadena Media (TV)
  • Red Hen Press
  • Southern CA Public Radio/LAist (KPCC)
  • Television Academy Foundation
  • Vidiots
  • Visual Communications

STEM/Research

  • Huntington Medical Research Institutes
  • Los Angeles Zoo
  • Lundquist Institute
  • Natural History Museum
  • Oak Crest Institutes of Science
  • Pasadena Bio Collaborative Incubator

Social Services & Advocacy

  • Baby2Baby
  • Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking
  • Compton Cowboys/ Compton Jr. Equestrians
  • Clockshop
  • Downtown Women’s Center
  • Families Forward Learning Center
  • First5LA
  • Gasol Foundation
  • Jazz Hands for Autism
  • Jewish Family Services LA
  • Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
  • Northeast Trees
  • One Institute
  • Ronald McDonald House
  • WORK

Visual & Performing Arts

  • Arts Bridging the Gap
  • ArtworxLA
  • Barnsdall Arts Center & Barnsdall Junior Arts Center
  • Bob Baker Marionette Theater
  • Independent Shakespeare Company
  • LA Municipal Art Gallery
  • Music for Your Mental Health
  • PLUS ME Project
  • Young Storytellers

* Host sites subject to change

Career Labs: Professional Development Training

To enhance the career and professional development of Oxy students, students who obtain a summer internship through the InternLA program are required to participate in Career Labs. These weekly meetings serve as an on-campus career and professional development training program for InternLA participants. Through Career Labs, students learn about the career development process; participate in networking events; tour employer sites; and make a TED Talk-style presentation to their internship supervisors, faculty, and administrators at the end of the summer internship program.

about the InternLA program, eligibility requirements, and program schedule on Handshake!

InternLA is a wonderful program that allows undergraduates to get real world experience in various disciplines while also learning various career skills through the Career Labs. Through InternLA, I was exposed to the biotech industry and molecular biology research, which have since emerged as career paths that genuinely align with my own interests.

Matthew McMahon ’27
Major: cognitive science; minors: biology, neuroscience
Matthew McMahon headshot

  • From left, alumna Maya Angulo '21, Head of Political, Press & Public Affairs; Emily Cloke, British Consul General in Los Angeles; and Political, Press & Public Affairs intern Emily Wills at the British Consulate Los Angeles.

    1/12
  • 2/12

  • Josephine Silva, an events intern at nonprofit organization Baby2Baby.

    3/12

  • Paulina Kerrigan, an Observation Research Intern at the Los Angeles Zoo.

    4/12

  • Prithvi Dinesh Chandra, an intern at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles.

    5/12

  • Liisa Halloran, an intern at KCET in Los Angeles.

    6/12

  • Intern Clarasophia Gust collects water samples and data in Eaton Canyon for the Council for Watershed Health.

    7/12

  • Eva Jahanshir, an intern at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif.

    8/12

  • Madeline Hill, an intern at the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Public Engagement (MOPE).

    9/12

  • Phillip Wong, an intern at the Data Science Federation, which is part of the Information Technology Agency for the city of Los Angeles.

    10/12

  • Intern Sophia Brown at The Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles.

    11/12

  • Intern Robert Machuca at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif.

    12/12

Photos by Marc Campos.

Contact Career Services
Hameetman Career Center

AGC 109, F-34
1600 Campus Road / Los Angeles, CA 90041

Office Hours: 9 - 5 pm, Mon - Fri

Phone: (323) 259-2623
careers@oxy.edu