Paid fall & spring academic internships
The Center offers paid, 12-week academic internships each fall and spring. Fall internships run from mid-September to early December and spring internships run from mid-February to early May.
Internship basics
- All internships are paid at the rate of $16.90 per hour.
- Internships require an average of 10 hours per week (built around your school schedule) over 12 weeks (120 hours total).
- Internships offer academic credit.
- Each semester includes 8 professional development sessions.
- Internships offer hands-on work experiences and opportunities to build a professional network.
Requirements
Requirements for our fall/spring internships are:
- Interns must be authorized to work in the U.S. and must be 18 years of age or older.
- Interns must be registered for credit from their college institution.
- Interns must be able to complete a minimum of 120 hours IN PERSON during the 12-week internship.
- Interns must be available to attend professional development sessions from 2pm-3pm on Fridays. This cannot be changed or waived, so please confirm your availability before applying.
Internship positions
Internships may be available in the following departments (available internships vary by semester):
American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School
The American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School at Segerstrom Center for the Arts offers unrivaled opportunities for training and nurturing future generations of dancers and dance audiences. The ABT Gillespie School intern will assist with projects related to the school’s classes and events, and learn the day-to-day tasks related to running a dance school.
Development & Special Events
The innovative and exciting education and community engagement programs the Center offers would not be possible without charitable contributions from the community. The Development Department manages these important relationships with donors. The Development Individual Giving intern will support the team's fundraising efforts to reach a goal of $18M. Responsibilities might include creating impact reports through creative writing and storytelling, assisting in donor campaign creation and mailings, and projects that will surprise and delight our donors at all levels. The Development Operations intern will support operational functions that maintain compliant, measurable, and sustainable fundraising efforts. The intern will gain hands on experience with the Tessitura CRM database and project management tools and principles. Responsibilities include supporting confidential prospect research and event thumbnail projects, data entry, record maintenance, quality assurance, donor mailings, and overall data integrity. The Special Events intern will assist several teams within the Development Department to help reach fundraising goals through special events. Responsibilities will include assisting with the planning and execution of special events such as opening night dinners, Dance Series Cast Parties, Broadway Series Behind the Scenes events, and fundraising galas and dinners.
Education & Engagement
The Center's Education & Engagement Department manages 15 different programs designed to create sustainable creative arts experiences for thousands of children, teachers, and families each year. The Education & Engagement intern will gain hands-on experience in many aspects of arts education by working on such programs as Segerstrom Center’s On Stage and Family Series performances, Disney Musicals in Schools, and Arts Teach.
Marketing & Communications
Areas: Administration, Creative, Data & Analytics*, Design**, and Public Relations
*General Marketing (Analytics) applicants must be experienced in Excel. Strong preference for applicants experienced in dashboarding tools and survey platforms.
**Graphic Design applicants must be experienced in Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator, and must provide a link to their online portfolio.
Marketing & Communications interns gain hands-on experience supporting the strategy, creativity, and analysis behind the Center’s marketing efforts. Working with staff across the department, interns contribute to projects that connect audiences with the arts through storytelling, design, and data-driven insights.
- Administrative interns support the Vice President, Marketing & Communications on department-wide initiatives, gaining broad exposure to the operations of a major performing arts center through research, customer feedback tracking, budget analysis, and process improvement projects.
- Creative Marketing interns contribute to campaign planning, social media content creation, and merchandise design and development, helping to shape the Center’s brand storytelling across platforms and audiences.
- Data & Analytics interns explore audience trends, conduct show and genre research, and assist with pricing and performance analysis to inform strategic marketing decisions and revenue planning.
- Graphic Design interns assist with visual concepting and production across digital and print platforms, collaborating on materials that align with the Center’s creative vision and support season-wide campaigns.
- Public Relations interns support media relations, institutional communications, and community engagement through press outreach, event publicity coordination, and onsite coverage of press nights and public events.
Marketing interns leave with practical experience across the creative, analytical, and strategic dimensions of arts marketing —where every project helps bring performances to life.
Programming
The Programming and Production Department is at the heart of the Segerstrom Center's activities. We curate, produce and partner with our Resident Companies to present over 600 performances and events on multiple stages and public spaces annually. This opportunity offers immersive, hands-on experience in the planning, coordination, budgeting, and execution of a wide range of performances and events. As the Programming intern, you will engage in: Research, budgeting, artist coordination, documentation, archiving, artist support, event scheduling, and logistics. You will participate in production meetings, rehearsals, load-ins, and post-show breakdowns. You will shadow leadership staff at mission-critical meetings with artists, managers, and agents. The ideal candidate is passionate and curious about the performing arts and behind-the-scenes operations, detail-oriented, an excellent communicator, and able to manage multiple tasks under deadlines. This internship requires a flexible schedule, including early mornings, evenings, and weekends during performance times. It is anticipated that this internship will be for a full year, and priority will be given to candidates who are available for the full year.
Studio D: Arts school for all abilities
Studio D, part of the Education and Engagement Department, is a dance, music, and theater program for students of all abilities, including those with cognitive or physical disabilities. Classes are offered at the Center and at various off-site locations (therapy centers, schools, etc.). The Studio D intern will assist with recurring administrative tasks related to our Spring session, learning more about the overall functionality and structure of a recreational arts program. Additionally, they will support in the studio as a teaching assistant in a set number of classes per internship. They will also support new initiatives and research as we deepen our work within the arts and disabilities communities. A background in arts education is preferred, and knowledge in inclusive programming is a plus. Ability to speak more than one language is preferred but not required.
Campus Operations and Facilities
Campus Operations encompasses all aspects of facilities and operations, including production, event operations, engineering, security, theater arts administration, capital project planning, project management, and settlement financials. An internship in theater operations will de-mystify the "behind-the-scenes" aspect of what it takes to operate a performing arts facility. Interns will have the opportunity to engage with the Center’s staff in areas including show preparation, backstage operations, event installation, special events and rental procedures, building security, and facilities maintenance. Due to the variety of shows and events at the Center, interns should be available on nights and weekends.
Professional development sessions
Our fall and spring interns will have the unique opportunity to meet with Segerstrom Center’s executive and senior staff from all major departments throughout their internship. These professional development sessions will educate students on the duties of various departments and positions and how they work together to fulfill the Center’s mission. Through these sessions, interns will gain an understanding of various career pathways in arts administration as well as the overall structure of a non-profit organization.
How to apply: