Cornell in Rome offers course work and full-time internships in international agencies to graduate students in the Department of City and Regional Planning and to others interested in urban planning, policy development, and international development during spring terms. Students from the Master’s Program in City and Regional Planning and Cornell Institute of Public Affairs (CIPA) are encouraged to apply.
Cornell in Rome internship placements have catered to such varied interests as refugee management, transit related urban redevelopment, food systems and food security, EU agricultural policy, international law, and U.N. policy-making. In addition to the obvious networking that occurs and professional experience gained, students frequently also use their internship as a springboard for their thesis/exit project.
As a key European capital city, Rome also offers exciting opportunities for students with an interest in city and regional planning to gain exposure to international urban management policy. Internships with the City of Rome are sometimes available to students with a working knowledge of Italian.
U.N. Agencies Based in Rome
Rome is home to a number of U.N. agencies, which have routinely taken on Cornell graduate students as interns. Principal U.N. agencies in Rome participating in student placements include:
Recent Internships and Possible Placements
We've compiled a list of past internships and student comments of participants in the Cornell in Rome program and possible placements next semester.
The Internship Experience
While graduate students spend the majority of their time at their work site (approximately 30 hours per week), their home base in Rome is Cornell’s Palazzo Lazzaroni, a 17th century building located in the historic center of the city. As work schedules permit, graduate students may opt to join undergraduates on group field trip study excursions to various regions of the country, exploring themes in current Italian society and politics and visiting some of Italy’s most notable cities and towns, architecture, historical and contemporary art collections, and public spaces. To add to the Italian experience, comfortably furnished, Cornell apartments are only 5 to 20 minutes from the palazzo and are available to all participants, though graduate students frequently secure independent housing.
Application Information
Applications for Spring 2010 participants are due by September 30, 2009. Students must also submit an Internship Placement Form (link below), an undergraduate and/or graduate transcript, and an updated resume. Non-AAP students must also submit two recent faculty recommendations. Students should expect placements may require two to three months to be confirmed.
Further information may be obtained from the program office at 149 E. Sibley, by calling (607) 255-6807 or email romeprogram@cornell.edu.
