Undergraduate Participation in Paid and Unpaid Internships by Income Level

Abstract

This research brief uses publicly available data from the 2016/2017 Baccalaureate and Beyond survey to examine individual and institutional predictors of participation in paid and unpaid internships, especially family income. When controlling for other factors, results showed that low-income students were more likely to have unpaid internships than high-income students. Attending a highly selective institution was the strongest predictor of participating in a paid internship. Results inspire questions about the accessibility of paid internships, especially for students in non-STEM majors and other students from marginalized groups.