The Franco Harris Pittsburgh Center at Penn State recently concluded its tenth cohort of the City Semester Pittsburgh experience. Since 2017, the Center team has matched 31 community partners in Pittsburgh with 72 Penn State students for internships, with students spanning 26 different majors, including 1/3 of students pursuing the interdisciplinary sustainability leadership minor. The program gives Penn State students the opportunity to explore real-world issues in climate action, architectural design, clean energy, landscape architecture, urban equality, education, and much more.
City Semester students are placed with a prominent community partner to complete an internship experience that is worth 3–5 credits. This internship is typically 20 hours per week but can be tailored to meet specific academic program requirements. Students are matched with community partners based on placement preferences, career interests, and applicable skills.
The program includes a 3-credit urban sustainability course (EARTH 412) that shares the relevance of sustainability across all disciplines and features readings and videos, prominent guest speakers, and field trips to build on students’ internship experiences. As part of their course work, students produce videos that showcase their City Semester experience relating to one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Nonprofit Partners
- 412 Food Rescue
- Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania
- The Brashear Association
- Breathe Project
- Center for Victims
- Green Building Alliance
- Grounded Strategies
- Just Harvest
- New Sun Rising
- Pennsylvania Environmental Council
- Pennsylvania Resources Council
- PA Solar Center
- Pittsburgh Food Policy Council
- Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
- Riverlife
- Three Rivers Waterkeeper
- Tree Pittsburgh
- Sankofa Village Community Garden
- Sustainable Pittsburgh
- Upstream Pittsburgh
Corporate Partners
- Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
- Covestro
- Ethos Collaborative
- Fourth Economy
- J. Frank Studios
- LaQuatra Bonci Associates
- Pashek+MTR
- PPG Paints Arena
Public Sector Partners
- Allegheny County Conservation District
- Allegheny County Parks Department
- Pittsburgh Department of City Planning
- Urban Redevelopment Authority
Education Sector Partners
- PennTAP