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Song, H. & Hora, M. T. (2024). Navigating Barriers to Access Internships: Challenges for Thwarted Interns Across Institution Types and Student Demographics. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies.
Executive Summary
This study investigates the barriers for students at 2-year and 4-year institutions to successfully pursue an internship, an experience that research indicates can have positive impacts on academic development and post-graduate career success. Given prior research suggesting that various demographic and academic attributes such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, first-generation status, and field of study may influence student experiences with various obstacles, we use a combination of descriptive analysis, heat map visualization, and logistic regression to provide new insights into the nature of college student encounters with these barriers.
As part of a partnership between Strada Education and the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Research on College Transitions, the National Survey of College Internships (NSCI) was administered in the Spring of 2023 across diverse institutions in the U.S. For this analysis the study sample included 1,067 students from 2-year institutions and 1,016 students from 4-year institutions who had not taken an internship but had been interested in doing so (n=2,083) – a population that we call the “thwarted interns.” These students were asked whether nine possible barriers (e.g., heavy course load, lack of childcare) had prevented them from successfully finding and securing an internship. Descriptive analysis with heat maps and logistic regression analyses were used to illustrate and quantify the extend and distribution of these obstacles.
Song, H & Hora, M.T. (2024). A Literature Review of the Research on College Internships from 2021-2023: Focusing on Equity and Quality During the Pandemic Era. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies.
Abstract: Internships are increasingly recognized as a critical component of higher education, offering students essential opportunities for career development and professional growth. However, persistent questions remain regarding access to internships, the structure and quality of these experiences, and the need for updated literature reviews to address recent issues in the field. This report presents a literature review of studies published between 2021 and 2023, building upon prior reviews by the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT). The findings highlight ongoing challenges in accessibility and racial and gender dynamics, the diverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on internship formats, and the varying outcomes of internships based on factors such as supervisor support, task relevance, and social interaction. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided to enhance the effectiveness and equity of internships.
Keywords: College Internships, Post-pandemic, Accessibility, Racial and Gender Dynamics, Virtual Internships, Labor Market Outcomes, Supervisor Support, Task Complexity
Chin, M.Y., Jeffries, J., & Thompson, M.N. (2024). The Impact of Downward Classism on Social Class Concealment Among College Students Who Are Low-Income. Journal of College Student Development 65(3), 316-320. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2024.a929245. 
Abstract: Given the privileging of white, middle-class norms in higher education, students who are low-income encounter classism in college (e.g., Cattaneo et al., 2019). Specifically, these students experience downward classism as posited by the social class worldview model (SCWM) in the form of discrimination or prejudice for deviating from the economic and sociocultural norms in their institutions (Liu et al., 2004). The model describes people’s beliefs and experiences as shaped by their economic cultures and classism. College can thus be considered a type of economic culture for students. Downward classism has been shown to negatively impact low-income students’ academic and social outcomes, including their social connectedness and perceived stigmatization (Allan et al., 2016; Nguyen & Herron, 2021).
Results from a growing body of correlational and qualitative research have illustrated the ways in which students who are poor or working class manage their social class identities in higher education. Strategies of class code-switching (e.g., altering language) and disassociation (e.g., hiding status) were commonly used by students to manage the stigma associated with their lower social class statuses as well as pressures toward upward mobility in college settings (Elkins & Hanke, 2018; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). Poor and working-class college students were more likely to hide or conceal their social class backgrounds when they interacted with those of higher status (Aries & Seider, 2005; Radmacher & Azmitia, 2013). These findings suggest that for low-income students, social class concealment may function as a response to maintain their social status when faced with downward classism per SCWM (Liu et al., 2004). However, concealment may exacerbate negative emotions and hinder students from gaining social support, which can reinforce their disconnection from others (Aries & Seider, 2005).
Despite the well-documented links between social class and other social identities (e.g., first-generation student status, race/ethnicity) that have critical implications for college students’ experiences (Hinz, 2016; Radmacher & Azitia, 2013), limited research has examined how students’ other identities are connected to experiences with classism. Further, existing results have yielded mixed findings. In one study at a public university, students’ financial stress, but not their social class, significantly predicted their exposure to classism. This relationship did not differ between students of color and white [End Page 316] students (Cattaneo et al., 2019). In a different study, Allan et al. (2016) found that both students’ social class and first-generation college student (FCGS) status significantly predicted more experiences with classism.
This study built upon previous research to examine the daily phenomenon of social class concealment among low-income college students attending a large public land grant university in the US and to explore how students’ identities contribute to concealment. Using data from a mixed-methods daily diary study (Chin, 2020), we tested whether students concealed their social class more frequently among interaction partners (i.e., person or people with whom students interact) with higher status (H1) and whether more effort was used to conceal their status among partners with higher status (H2). Next, we explored differences in the overall concealment frequency reported among subgroups of low-income students based on their FGCS status, race/ethnicity, transfer student status, and their own perceived social status.
Keywords: Higher Education · Low-Income Students · Classism · Financial Stress · First-Generation College Students · Academic Outcomes · Upward Mobility · Stigmatization
Fetter, A. K., & Thompson, M. N. (2023). The impact of historical loss on Native American college students’ mental health: The protective role of ethnic identity. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(5), 486–497. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000686 
Abstract: Culturally relevant stressors and protective factors are vital to understanding and effectively supporting Native American/Alaska Native (NA/AN) college students’ mental health and well-being. This study examined the theorized pathways among historical loss, well-being, psychological distress, and the proposed cultural buffer of ethnic identity in the indigenist stress-coping model (ISCM). Cross-sectional data were collected via online survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Participants were a national sample of 242 NA/AN college students. Participants were predominantly women (n = 185; 76%) and median age was 21 years. Partial support was found for the ISCM. Participants reported frequent thoughts of historical loss, which were associated with lower well-being and higher levels of psychological distress. Ethnic identity moderated the relationship between historical loss and well-being such that those with stronger ethnic identities reported a weaker relationship between historical loss and lower well-being. Results underscore the importance of culturally specific risk and protective factors in NA/AN college students’ resiliency and inform needed interventions and systemic change in higher education. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Impact Statement: Native American (NA) and Alaska Native (AN) college students experience some of the most significant educational inequities in the United States but little research focuses on specific and unique pathways for resilience within this population. Evidence suggests that historical loss is a relevant stressor for NA/AN college students and having a strong ethnic identity protects students’ well-being. Creating greater educational equity requires higher education institutions to address this stressor and explicitly support students’ ethnic identities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Keywords: Native American · Alaska Native · Mental Health · Higher Education · Well-being · Historical Loss · Ethnic Identity
Jang-Tucci, K., Hora, M.T. & Zhang, J. Gatekeeping at work: a multi-dimensional analysis of student, institutional, and employer characteristics associated with unpaid internships. High Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01254-6
Abstract:
Internships are recognized globally as a high-impact practice that substantially enhances students’ future prospects. However, concerns persist about their legality and potentially exclusionary nature. While prior research indicates participation varies based on key variables, such as gender and major, empirical work remains limited and tends to focus on univariate or single-actor explanations. We employ multi-actor models from management studies to analyze survey data (n=1153) from 13 U.S. institutions, nine of which are minority-serving institutions (MSI). The data reveal that only 30.3% of the students participated in internships, of which 43.4% were unpaid. Linear probability analysis results indicate that contrary to expectations, individual demographic characteristics, such as gender, were not signifcant predictors of internship compensation on their own. Instead, academic,
institutional, and employer characteristics emerged as signifcant predictors. Interaction analysis results highlight the combined efects of race, gender, major, MSI status, and employer characteristics in predicting participation in unpaid internships. Further, the data suggest that gender efects are largely infuenced by academic major afliation, emphasizing that unpaid internships do not uniformly afect all students but are predominant in specifc sub-groups. We conclude by proposing a strategy to eliminate unpaid internships in the interest of transformative social justice work.
Keywords: Work-based learning · Access · Unpaid internships · Minority-serving institutions · Inequality · Student success · Multi-actor frameworks · Linear probability model
Hora, M.T., John Fischer, J., Jang-Tucci, K., & Song, H. (2024). An integrative review of the employability literature (2005-2020): How a simplistic and individualistic view of job acquisition inhibits theory, research, and practice in higher education. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies. 
Abstract: The term “employability” (and its close cousin career readiness) is an idea that is playing an outsized role in shaping the future of global higher education in the early 21st century. In this paper the authors report findings from a critical, integrative review of the conceptual and empirical research on employability, where the primary aim was to evaluate whether recent scholarship has addressed long-standing critiques of the concept. These critiques include its tendency to be used as an ill-defined buzzword, an over-reliance on human capital theory, simplistic views on how people get jobs that over-emphasize skills and overlook structural forces, and ambiguous and/or evidence-free recommendations for campus practitioners. Thus, it is possible that a contested and poorly conceptualized and operationalized concept is driving a considerable amount of educational practice and policymaking in higher education – a hugely
problematic proposition.
The paper calls for scholars to reject the term “employability” in favor of “employment prospects,” as it underscores how job acquisition involves a complex array of both “supply” (e.g., individual student KSAs) and “demand” (e.g., labor market conditions, global pandemics) factors, and how an individuals’ prospects are not solely based on merit but are also shaped and constrained by the structural inequality. It also offers seven methodological questions that future scholars should consider when designing studies of graduates’ employment prospects: varying perspectives on causality, alternatives to human capital theory, methods for capturing multi-dimensional phenomena, the need to foreground student and worker voices and interests, how to engage in translational research, and considerations for framing research that does not solely position the purpose of higher education as a financial return on investment but also as an endeavor to benefit the common good.
Keywords: employability, higher education, career readiness, internships, skills, college-workforce transitions, labor market, workforce development, critical studies, multi-dimensional research.
Her, P.(2024). Radical Hope: Career Interventions for Underrepresented Students in Higher Education. Early Career Scholars Program. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies. 
Abstract: The nature of work is in a constant state of flux, and this trend is expected to persist in the future (Allen et al., 2021). These changes affect workers by providing less job security, which significantly impacts their overall wellness (Allen et al., 2021). Therefore, higher education institutions should pay attention to their efforts as they prepare students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, for the workforce. This brief discusses the experiences of underrepresented students in higher education and proposes the use of radical hope as a career intervention to support students in their career exploration process. It includes examples of career interventions that employ a radical hope framework.
Keywords: Radical hope, career intervention, underrepresented students
Delgado, V. (2024). Supporting Immigrant-origin College Students’ Transition to the Workforce: Policy Recommendations for Postsecondary Institutions. Early Career Scholars Program. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies.
Overview: This research brief provides an overview of findings from research conducted with immigrant-origin Latino/a college graduates. The study sought to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and immigration related factors shaped this group’s transition from college to the workforce. Longitudinal in-depth interviews were used to explore academic setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, experiences with employment after college, and newfound family responsibilities once in the world of work.
Four findings emerged from the qualitative data. First, the pandemic ruptured postgraduation plans as young adults postponed their graduation dates and/or felt ill-equipped to enter the world of work. Second, young adults experienced prolonged periods of unemployment and often worked in positions unrelated to their field of study. Third, once an entry-level position was acquired, financial obligations to their households substantially increased. Lastly, undocumented young adults expressed fear and uncertainty about their futures as they worried about the termination of DACA. These findings provide insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic, economy, socioeconomic origins, and immigration policies complicate the integration of college educated immigrant-origin Latino/a young adults.
Keywords: Latino/a young adults, COVID-19, immigrants, children of immigrants, college, workforce