Columbia Arts Experience (CAE)

"I specifically came to Columbia yearning to take advantage of the arts mecca that embodies New York City, and after this internship experience, I finally feel not only connected to the arts network, but also ready to take on more."
-Adina Levin, CAE intern

Program Overview

The Columbia Arts Experience (CAE) internship program is sponsored by Columbia’s Center for Career Education (CCE) in partnership with the Arts Initiative at Columbia University. Launched in the 2007-2008 academic year, CAE provides selected students with a New York-based internship in the arts. CAE interns participate in special events and educational programming designed to help students explore career possibilities in the arts industry.

CAE interns can find opportunities in the following fields listed below. Internships for the 2010 year will be posted by mid-September on LionSHARE.

Dance
Architecture
Film
Music
Arts Administration
New Media
Television
Theatre
Writing/Media/Publishing

Program Features

The CAE program is a combination of internship experience at an arts organization, peer connections with other CAE interns and professional career development and support with a career counselor. Program features include the following:

Pre-program training that includes program overview, professional skills workshops, panel discussion from arts professionals, and Q & A session with previous CAE interns.
Ten-week internship for 10-20 hours per week during the Spring semester.
Mid-semester breakfast with other interns to discuss and debrief on internship experiences.
One-on-one career counseling appointments throughout the ten weeks to support and enhance the internship experience.
End of Program Reception where students and employers meet to acknowledge achievements made through the program.

Program Benefits

Upon completion of the CAE program, students will have gained a richer understanding of the arts industry in New York City and will have gained substantive professional experience working at some of the premier arts institutions of the world. Students will have learned about a wide variety of career possibilities, had opportunities to network with arts professionals and other CAE interns, as well as have a more in-depth understanding and appreciation for the many facets of an arts organization. With the support of a career counseling professional, students will also be able to articulate their experience and reflect upon their internship experience appropriately to highlight key transferable skills.

Opportunities

The following opportunities are available for Spring 2010 to undergraduate and graduate students. Job descriptions for each position are listed in the On-Campus Recruiting section of LionSHARE (search "CAE" for Employer Name).

For undergraduate or graduate students

Apollo Theater - Programming, Business Development
Free Arts NYC - Various departments
Guggenheim - Various departments
Lower East Side Print Shop - Studio Assistant
Magnolia Pictures - General Operations
Signature Theatre Company - Various departments

For undergraduates only

Alliance for the Arts - Development
ARChive of Contemporary Music - Music Cataloguing
Ballet Hispanico - Development
Brooklyn Arts Council - Art education
Carnegie Hall - Marketing
Funny Garbage -Graphic Design
Harlem Stage - Marketing
IMG Artists - General Operations
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts - Executive Strategy and Business
National Comedy Theatre - Marketing
NYC Ballet - Education
Regal Literary - General Operations
Play Company - Development
Situation Interactive - Marketing
TeatroStageFest - Communications

For graduate students only

ACA Galleries - Gallery Assistantad
Aki Ishida Architect - Architecture
ARChive of Contemporary Music - Music and New Media
Harlem Stage - Construction Management
TeatroStageFest - Curatorial

Student Experiences

CAE Intern Adina Levin merged her life long passion for the arts and her interest in business during her internship this past spring. Read Adina's profile to learn how she accomplished it.

Mark Browning took advice from graduating seniors about looking into getting professional experience while in school. Read Mark's story to find out about his experience with the CAE program.