Program Creates Career Opportunities Through Enriching, Competitive and Rigorous Internships Across MTA’s Operating Agencies
MTA Has Hired 52 Interns into Full-Time Roles Across all Agencies Since 2022
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the City University of New York (CUNY) today announced the beginning of the application period for its 2025 joint internship partnership program, which offers CUNY students from across all 25 campuses with full-time, paid summer internship opportunities at the MTA at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The program bridges the nation’s largest transportation network with the nation’s largest urban public university to build on each other’s initiatives while supporting equity, diversity and social mobility. The popular program received more than 34,000 applications for the Fall 2024 internships for 110 slots, double the number of applicants from the previous year.
Since the beginning of the program in 2022, the MTA has hired 52 interns into full-time roles across all agencies, in addition to other interns who continued their experience through other MTA-sponsored internships such as the Authority’s College Aide and Technology and Engineering programs.
“Through this internship, CUNY students gain invaluable knowledge learning how the nation’s largest transit system operates,” said MTA Chief Administrative Officer Lisette Camilo. “The MTA is thrilled to be able to grow these young professionals as they navigate the first steps in their careers.”
“The MTA focuses on nurturing talent,” said MTA Chief People Officer Mersida Ibric. “Our partnership with CUNY allows us to find the next generation of transit leaders from a diverse pool of applicants who bring unique perspectives, while giving college students real-world career experience.”
“CUNY’s internship program with the MTA, bringing together the nation’s largest urban public university and the nation’s largest transportation network, provides students invaluable work experience while supporting a system so central to all our lives,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “CUNY and the MTA play a vital role in New York’s economy and are proud to continue this partnership that benefits our students, our transit, and our entire city.”
In some cases, students who participate in the full-time positions during the summer are able to transition to a part-time status once the school year begins. Students working full time are eligible to receive benefits, including medical, through Research Foundation CUNY. There are currently 118 interns wrapping up their internship with the MTA, marking the program’s third full year.
Internships are available across all MTA agencies: NYC Transit Subways, Buses, Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North, Construction & Development, and Bridges and Tunnel with openings in fields such as legal, finance, architecture, technology, project management, environmental science, engineering, real estate, station operations, safety, transportation and communications.
CUNY’s extensive reach with colleges in all boroughs and a vast portfolio of programs provides the MTA with a diverse pool of talent to select from while providing New York City students the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience with North America’s largest transportation network, that serves a population of over 15.3 million. The initiative is funded by the MTA and the students are employed through Research Foundation CUNY.
Interested students have until February 28 to apply on the CUNY x MTA Internship Program webpage.
Previous interns in the program include:
- Sualeha Tahir, a Baruch College student who helped plan the sale of retired materials including station signs, vintage train tokens, subway seating and even destination signs from retired subway cars.
- Alex Rian Fiano, a Queens College student working on archival MTA materials
- Dylan Mckinley Straker, a Kingsborough Community College student working with boots on the ground.
- Maria Antonov, a Baruch College student working in MTA Construction & Development where she provides tech support for contractors, designers, and engineers throughout the system.
The internship program is part of a growing partnership between the two institutions. Last fall, the MTA collaborated with CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College in the college’s first datathon in which teams of students analyzed the MTA’s public datasets to offer solutions to key challenges. The winning team used fare evasion data to determine how to target promotion for the city’s Fair Fares transportation discount program.
About CUNY
The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social mobility that is a critical component of the lifeblood of New York City. Founded in 1847 as the nation’s first free public institution of higher education, CUNY today has seven community colleges, 11 senior colleges and seven graduate or professional institutions spread across New York City’s five boroughs, serving more than 240,000 undergraduate and graduate students and awarding 50,000 degrees each year. CUNY’s mix of quality and affordability propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined. More than 80 percent of the University’s graduates stay in New York, contributing to all aspects of the city’s economic, civic and cultural life and diversifying the city’s workforce in every sector. CUNY’s graduates and faculty have received many prestigious honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes and 26 MacArthur “genius” grants. The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a first-rate public education to all students, regardless of means or background. To learn more about CUNY, visit cuny.edu.