“The Philadelphia Center faculty and staff provided me with the steady support I needed to function in a drastically new environment, while simultaneously pushing me to see the world through a wider lens. The confidence I gained through my experiences in Philadelphia allowed me to overcome my fear of the unknown—opening wide the doors of the world.”
Abigail Stonerook, Kalamazoo College
Fall 2004
Women Organized Against Rape, Crisis Intervention Intern
Summer Program for Graduates
The Philadelphia Center’s 8-Week Summer Program for Recent Graduates
May 26 - July 21, 2012
What Is It?
An 8-week internship and seminar experience that gives recent graduates a substantial and meaningful opportunity to learn the dynamics of work and discover something about their personal and professional direction in life as they begin their professional careers. Led by TPC’s Summer Program Director, Dr. Mark Andrew Clark.
Mentored Internships—Students work at least 32 hours per week (4 to 4 ½ days a week) in an internship opportunity they choose and create individualized learning plans of action based on what they wish to achieve and learn while participating in the program. The program director and workplace supervisor help facilitate and evaluate the learning. Students interested in working in the following fields are strongly encouraged to apply early: advertising, investment banking, law, medicine, physical sciences, public relations, publishing, and sports. Summer internships are highly competitive in these fields. Please Note: Internships are NOT paid, since the focus of the work experience is on learning.
Seminar—All post-graduate students are required to take the following seminar, which meets once a week in the morning or afternoon. The seminar integrates the learning in the internship and helps graduates make the most out of their TPC summer program experience.
Transitioning to Professional Life: Approaches to Work and Working: When students graduate college and begin to enter the professional world, the transition can be monumental. A major problem many graduates face from liberal arts institutions is how to approach this process of transition. Often, graduates start their planning from a discipline/field perspective (communications, psychology, economics); an organizational perspective (IBM, 76ers, Merrill Lynch); or a positional perspective (publicist, social worker, analyst). But there are alternative approaches, like a topic perspective (environment, health insurance, child welfare) or a skills/abilities perspective (researching, editing, analyzing, facilitating, designing websites, etc.). To begin this transition to the workplace, graduates need to know, understand, and articulate the training they have received from their college education, as well as the skills and abilities they have acquired from all the contexts of their prior learning. Students’ ways of thinking, writing, reading, planning, organizing, evaluating, etc. are more marketable than they often realize when they begin their search for work. This course will help recent graduates develop approaches, methods, and plans of action to begin their professional careers.
Urban Experience—Students will be able to explore one of the nation’s most historic locations. Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods and offers participants a chance to experience a wide variety of interests from the Atwater Kent Museum to the Zoological Gardens. For more detailed information about living in Philadelphia, please click here.
Who Can Attend?
Recent graduates across all majors and who are ready to learn and experience work.
When Is the Application Deadline?
The application deadline for TPC’s 2012 summer program for recent graduates is March 15, 2012. However, applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and because space is limited and summer internships are competitive, early application is encouraged.
Will I Receive College Credit?
Yes. Hope College in Holland, Michigan is our managing institution. Upon completion of the 8-week program, Hope College will award post-graduates with 3 academic credits.
How Much Is Tuition?
For post-graduates, the cost is $1450, plus a $500 non-refundable application fee. Please Note: Post-graduates must contract to enroll in the seminar as a part of their overall summer program experience.
Why Is the Application Fee Non-Refundable?
As soon as you submit your application and deposit, The Philadelphia Center begins its work. A faculty advisor will consult with you via phone and email about your interests in order to arrange phone interviews at a placement that is of interest to you. Working with you and setting up the interviews require our time and resources.
What Is the Tuition Payment Schedule?
The tuition payment schedule consists of two payments:
There is a non-refundable application fee of $500 due with the application submission and then a tuition payment of $1,450 due by March 31, 2012. The total tuition cost for this program is $1,950.
What about Housing and Food Costs?
The Philadelphia Center offers a housing option at a cost of $2,500. We rent an apartment dormitory on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania where you will live with other students in the program. Or you may choose to make your own living arrangements. However, food, entertainment, and others costs are all at your own expense.
What Is the Payment Schedule for the Optional Housing Plan?
There is a one time payment of $2,500 for housing which is due by April 30, 2012.
If a student lives locally may he/she live at home and participate in the program?
Yes, of course.
Where Can I Download an Application for The Philadelphia Center’s Summer Program: Learning Work for recent graduates?
Please click here to download a PDF of our application.
How Can I Contact The Philadelphia Center?
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