More than 100 undergraduate students at The Ohio State University have worked as “externs” with area arts organizations since 2023, when the university received $2 million from the Mellon Foundation to support student experiential learning and community engagement through the arts.

The Community Engagement Internship is one of three projects backed by the grant; a parallel opportunity for graduate students and a Spark Grant competition are the other two.

The internship comprises two parts: a semester-long internship for undergraduate students at Urban Arts Space, where students focus on foundational training, professional development and critical frameworks for ethical community engagement; and a semester-long placement, or externship, with local arts and cultural organizations, where students can put their new skills to use.

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