SCA

High School Internship Program 

The New York City School Construction Authority (SCA) offers exciting internship programs for high school and college students.

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Internship Program

The SCA Summer Internship Program (“SIP”) recruits talented NYC public high school students for a six-week paid internship with various SCA departments and business partner companies throughout New York City. SIP is designed to expose students to careers in various industries, including but not limited to architecture, engineering, construction management, information technology, business, and public administration. The program provides interns with diverse internship experiences along with career mentoring. Students spend four days a week with their intern host and the remaining day attending educational programming. Assignments will vary depending on company or department and the student’s skill set. 

The internship is an in-office position and the standard hours for the program are 9:00 am-4:00 pm Monday through Friday. A 10-hour OSHA construction safety course will be provided for students based on the assigned host site prior to the program start date. Students will be required to submit a signed parent consent form prior to participating in construction site visits.  

“Our assigned student interns have come from every borough and a diversity of backgrounds. While working in our office, the interns have become very skilled in such computer programs as AutoCAD drawing, excel charts and Microsoft word. They have developed invaluable interpersonal and business skills working both independently and as a team. Several of our summer interns have come back to work for us in subsequent years as part-time or full-time employees”.      

-Ivan Brice, AIA, Ivan Brice Architecture  

Program Highlights

  • Students receive career exposure and guidance.  
  • Students participate in various career and college related workshops, panel discussions, and design challenges. Training may include a tour of an SCA construction site.
  • Free 10-Hour OSHA construction safety training provided based on the internship assignment.  
  • Students have the opportunity to network with industry professionals, fellow interns, and staff.  
  • Students are paid $16.50 an hour for 30 hours a week during the six-week internship.
  • Students are assigned to a college supervisor who monitors their internship to ensure that it is proceeding properly.
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“Getting to see what a day in the life of a construction manager was insightful and fun. I got to go on multiple site visits to a series of schools and see what kind of changes were implemented on these school sites.”  

-High School Intern

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Who is Eligible?

  • Must be enrolled in a New York City public high school.
  • Must be in good academic standing, and their GPA will be considered.
  • Strong verbal and written language skills are important.  
  • Must be able to work from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Monday-Friday during the program’s six-week duration.
  • Applicants who are selected for the program must be able to provide original unexpired documentation to show their identity and employment authorization to work in the United States as well as age-appropriate working papers (if you were born after July 7, 2007). See the list of acceptable I-9 documents below. 

“I have been involved with the summer intern program for many years, first working at the SCA and now working with a consultant firm. This program is a great opportunity for High School students to get hands-on experience and learn real job skills. It was very satisfying to see our interns learning through our training process and then using those skills on actual projects. They got to work on CADD drawings and project specifications for actual SCA projects.”  

2025 will mark our firm’s 30th year of collaboration with the School Construction Authority’s SIP (Summer Internship Program). We take pride in having mentored 75 high school and college students across three decades, many of whom successfully pursued a professional degree in architecture, entered the profession and became fully licensed architects.”  

 -Elan Aberi, P.E., Gannett Fleming TranSystems  

Intern Host Sites

SCA Departments:

  • Administrative Services
  • Environmental & Regulatory Compliance
  • Architecture & Engineering
  • Labor Law Compliance
  • Capital Planning Management
  • Legal
  • Construction Management
  • Lifecycle Cost Management
  • Desktop Support

SCA Business Partner Companies:

  • Bradford Construction Corp.
  • LANGAN
  • CTA Architects
  • The McCloud Group
  • DLR Group
  • Prutech Solutions, Inc
  • Gannett Fleming Engineers TransSystems
  • Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • Ivan Brice Architecture & Urbanism
  • TECHNICO
  • JMV Architect PLLC
  • TRC Engineers, Inc.
  • JRT Realty
  • Velocity Architectural & Engineering Group
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“I liked learning new skills whether it be AutoCAD from my job site or professional etiquette from training sessions. I really appreciate the opportunities that this internship program has given me.”  

-High School Intern

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How to Apply

Application Process: Applications and required documents must be received by March 7, 2025.

  • Click on the Applicant Login or copy and paste the link below into your browser’s address bar and complete the online application.  
  • Click on the Application Guide link for instructions on how to complete and submit the online application.
    • Upload an up-to-date resume to the online application.
    • Upload a complete official high school transcript, as a pdf document, to the online application or either send or           
    • Click on the SIP Recommendation Form below. Ask a teacher or guidance counselor to complete and submit the recommendation form directly to SIP electronically to:
SCAInternships@nycsca.org

“We love giving our SCA interns a glimpse into the world of professional architecture at SOM. We always try to have our SCA Interns engage in a diverse range of experiences, from early-phase concept design to visiting active construction sites. We take pride in providing these SCA interns with a broad spectrum of project teams and experiences, allowing them to explore different facets of architectural practice and discover their areas of interest. 

This immersive program not only gives students insight into the day-to-day operations of a large architectural firm but also helps nurture the next generation of architects. We are committed to fostering talent and are always excited to hear from our past SCA Interns and about their career journeys after High School".    

-Leonard Lopate, AIA, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill  

Key Dates

Selection for the Interview Process: 

  • Students will be notified by email of the selection decisions for the interview process on a rolling basis, by March 10th.   
  • Interviews will be held during the NYC DOE Mid-Winter Break from February 18th –21st and run through March 21st. Students selected for an interview will receive an email that includes an interview date and time.  
  • Students who complete the interview process will be notified of the selection decisions for the program by April 7th.  

Selection for SIP:  

  • Students selected for SIP will receive a fillable PDF version of the SCA employment packet by email. They will need to submit a copy of their completed employment packet, proof of identity and work authorization, and age-appropriate working papers if applicable to SIP by April 18th.  
  • Students will be required to present original I-9 document(s) and working papers to the SCA’s Human Resources department on a designated date sometime in May or earlier. The students’ working papers will be kept on file and returned to the students on the last day of the program.
  • Please add the SCA email address to your contact list for your email service provider.
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 “We are proud to be part of this program. As a company that serves many NYC agencies and as many of our employees are NYC residents, we feel this program gives us the opportunity to be part of something meaningful and allows us to give back to the NYC community.”  

 -Jamal Abdo, PruTech  

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SIP Resources

Students selected for SIP must present one item from Column A OR One item from Column B AND One item from Column C outlined on the attached document.

A physical/medical exam that is less than a year old is needed to obtain working papers

The New York City School Construction Authority is an equal opportunity employer.  

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