Paving the Way Through Paid Internships: A Proposal to Expand Educational and Economic Opportunities for Low-Income College Students

Doing an internship while in college has become a near prerequisite for obtaining a good job. Yet internships are often out of reach for low-income students because most of them are unpaid. This report outlines the limitations of the current college internship system, and proposes the creation of subsidies for low-income college students to pursue internships at non-profit organizations or government agencies. The strategies include building on the Federal Work-Study Program, having colleges and universities compete for institutional grants to design their own programs and administering grants to low-income interns in federal agencies and Congress.