Cornell University

Graduate Students

Subscribe to our bi-weekly e-newsletter, CU Careers Beyond Academia for career information and job opportunities for graduate students pursuing careers beyond academia. This newsletter is co-sponsored by the Graduate School.

HOW CAN I PURSUE A CAREER OUTSIDE OF ACADEMIA?

For PhD students considering careers beyond the professoriate, Cornell Career Services has developed job search resources and a job-search curriculum that outlines a step-by-step process for exploring careers beyond academia.

PhD Alumni Career Outcomes Survey Dashboard provides a cross-sectional view of the employment status and career-related perception of Cornell's doctoral alumni from degree years 1995-2014. The dashboard is created via Graduate School. To learn more about the survey, please click here.  

PhD Friendly Employers- Check out the list of employers in and outside the U.S. that have hired Cornell PhD Alumni (The source of the data: PhD Alumni Career Outcomes Survey).

Versatile PhD is the oldest, largest online community dedicated to careers beyond academia for PhDs in humanities, social sciences, and STEM. Learn about career paths through Versatile PhD virtual panel discussions, browse the list of career options in the PhD Career Finder, and conduct a power search in the Members section to identify PhDs working in careers beyond academia.  See how you can use Versatile PhD in this Versatile PhD video tutorial.

ImaginePhD is a free, online career exploration and planning tool for PhD students and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences. Once you create an account, you are able to assess your career-related skills, interests, and values, explore career paths appropriate to your disciplines, and map out steps for degree completion alongside career and professional development. 

Cornell's BEST Program provides PhD students and Postdocs with experiential learning opportunities to explore careers four primary areas: policy; industry, entrepreneurship, and management; governance, risk, and compliance; and communication.

Carpe Career at Inside Higher Ed is the column dedicated to providing career and professional development advice to graduate students.

Advice from The Chronicle of Higher Education provides career-related advice to graduate students. For example, it has a new series in its Advice section for doctoral students exploring careers beyond academia: From Doctoral Study to...Institutional Research and From Doctoral Study to...Administration.

For more information, please refer to the chart on the Finding Jobs page. 

WHERE CAN I GET FEEDBACK ON MY CV, RESUME, COVER LETTER, OR JOB SEARCH?

To learn which office serves students in your graduate program, refer to the chart on the Assistance with Your Career page.

For additional assistance, use Drop-In services (up to 15 mins) at Barnes Hall with a Career Services staff member, meet with a graduate writing consultant through the Knight Institute’s Graduate Writing Service or, if you are an international student, you may also consult with a language consultant in the English Language Support Office.

WHAT WORKSHOPS ARE AVAILABLE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS?

Most of the programs and workshops offered by any of the Cornell Career Services offices are appropriate for and open to graduate students as well as undergraduates. Recordings and slides of previous presentations are available in our Media Library, and additional professional development programming is listed on the Graduate School’s Program, Event, and Workshop Calendar. 

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Graduate Student Internships
  • AAAS Science & Engineering Mass Media Fellowship

    This 10-week internship places science and engineering students in internship positions at media outlets.

  • American Anthropological Association

    Search through this list of internship opportunities for anthropology students at a range of organizations.

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science

    Paid and unpaid internship opportunities are available to graduate and undergraduate students in areas such as science journalism, science policy, human rights, and marketing.

  • American Council of Learned Societies Public Fellows Program

    Recent PhD students from humanities and social science fields are placed in two-year staff positions in government and non-profit organizations.

  • American Evaluation Association Diversity Internship

    The Graduate Education Diversity Internship Program provides paid internship and training opportunities during the academic year. The GEDI program works to engage and support students from groups traditionally under-represented in the field of evaluation. Interns may come from a variety of disciplines including public health, education, political science, anthropology, psychology, sociology, social work, and the natural sciences. Interns work about two days weekly at a site near their home institutions. Stipend and deadline early June.

  • American Indian Science and Engineering Society Summer Internships

    10-week science policy internships are available to graduate students who are AISES members.

  • American Institute for Contemporary German Studies

    Unpaid internships are available to graduate and undergraduate students in the areas of business and economics, foreign and domestic policy, and society, culture and politics

  • American Society for Microbiology Communications and Marketing Fellowships

    The American Society for Microbiology’s (ASM) Department of Communications and Marketing Strategy has an opening for an ASM Headquarters Fellow. The department provides a variety of communication services for the Society including press relations, public outreach and centralized marketing functions. The fellow will focus on public outreach and increasing member involvement in public outreach.

  • Atlantic Council of the United States

    Internships are available for individuals interested in international affairs and global challenges.

  • BookJobs.Com

    Internship postings are available in the publishing field for undergraduate and graduate students.

  • Chronicle of Higher Education

    This article contains internship and non-academic job resources for humanities, social science, physical science, engineering, and life science fields.

  • Congressional Hispanic Caucus Public Policy and Graduate Fellowship

    This 9-month fellowship offers up to 20 talented Latinos from across the country the opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the national level in the public policy area of their choice with the General Public Policy or the Graduate Fellowship.

  • Education Pioneers Graduate School Fellowship

    Graduate students in business, law, policy, and education fields can participate in this 10-week summer internship to consult on a mission-critical project at a school district, charter school network, nonprofit or other leading education organization.

  • Flagship VentureLabs Fellows Program

    These are graduate student internship opportunities. The Flagship VentureLabs® Fellows program provides an opportunity for graduating students to gain hands-on experience in Flagship VentureLabs' approach to company conception, innovation and entrepreneuring. Fellowships are in summer and fall with rolling deadlines. Stipend.

  • Health Resources and Services Administration Graduate Student Epidemiology Program

    Participate in a paid, 12-week project in a state or local health department in areas of data analysis and monitoring, needs assessment, and program evaluation.

  • Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Internship Program

    HACU internships, based in the Washington DC area, are available in a range of fields; they are open to all students who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program, have a minimum 3.0 GPA, and are eligible to work in the United States.

  • Insight Data Science Fellows Program

    Participate in this intensive, six-week postdoc training fellowship to bridge the gap between academia and data science.

  • InterAction

    Unpaid internships are posted here for positions at major non-profit alliances.

  • Internships.com

    National Internship Database, searchable by city.

  • Kress Foundation Interpretive Fellowship at Art Museums

    9-12 month fellowship opportunities for individuals with a background in art history, art education, studio art, or museum studies.

  • LinkedIn

    Search LinkedIn for internship postings in any field and at any organization.

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art Graduate Internships

    Apply for a paid internship in areas such as art, design, education, digital media, library science, and scientific research.

  • National Endowment for the Arts

    Unpaid internship opportunities in the Arts Endowment Office are available year-round.

  • National Radio Astronomy Observatory Graduate Internship Program

    Internship research opportunities are available to graduate students in engineering, astronomy, physics, mathematics, and computer science fields who are in the early years of their graduate program.

  • New Scientist Jobs

    Internship listings are available primarily in the health and life science industries.

  • NIH Summer Internship Program

    This competitive summer biomedical research internship program is open to domestic and international students.

  • Pathways Program

    The Pathways Programs offers federal internships to students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates.

  • Pathways to Science

    Search this resource for internship opportunities in science, engineering, technology, and math fields.

  • Population Reference Bureau Policy Communications Fellows Program

    This program is open to students from developing countries that are pursuing a doctoral degree. The goal of the program is to forge a connection between research findings and the policy development process.

  • Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

    Internships for graduate students are available at this non-profit science and technology policy think tank.

  • Presidential Management Fellows Program

    This competitive two-year fellowship for graduate-degree holders provides rotational opportunities in the federal government.

  • RAND Graduate Student Summer Associate Program

    National security and social policy internship opportunities are available to domestic and international graduate students who have completed at least two years of graduate work.

  • Science Careers

    Internship listings are available in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

  • Smithsonian

    Competitive internship and fellowship programs as well as externally peer reviewed grant programs bring students and scholars from universities, museums and research Institutes from the U.S. and abroad to the Smithsonian Institution to maximize the use and research potential of its vast collections and facilities.

  • STATtr@k

    Internship postings are available for graduate and undergraduate students with a statistical background.

  • The Brookings Institution

    Internship opportunities at this research organization are available in areas such as energy, economics, business, policy, and international affairs.

  • The Heritage Foundation Internship Program

    Internships are available to develop young conservative leaders in areas of foreign and domestic policy issues.

  • The National Wildlife Federation Ecology Fellowship Program

    The National Wildlife Federation's Campus Ecology Fellowship Program offers a nationally recognized opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to pursue their vision of an ecologically sustainable future. Through tangible projects to green their campuses and communities, Fellows gain practical experience in the conservation field and first-hand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities inherent in successful conservation efforts.

  • The White House Internship

    The White House Internship Program provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. This hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate today’s young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive Office and prepare them for future public service opportunities. Spring, Summer, and Fall internships available.

  • U.S. Department of State

    U.S. Department of State Internships. Some student work in Washington, DC and others have the opportunity to work at an embassy overseas.

  • U.S. Public Service Health System

    The Junior Commissioned Officer Student Training and Externship Program is available for graduate students who have completed at least one year of study in a medically related field (including engineering).

  • United Nations Headquarters Internship Program

    Unpaid internships at the United Nations are available for 2-6 months.

  • Vault

    Vault provides internship listings in a wide range of career fields.

  • WREI Congressional Fellows on Women and Public Policy

    For graduate students with a proven commitment to equity for women, WREI Fellows gain practical policy making experience and graduate credit as they work from January to August as Congressional legislative aides in Washington, D.C. Fellows receive stipends for tuition and living expenses.