You have to pay to play: housing costs and barriers to participation for student interns

Purpose - Many low-income students are unable to participate in internship programs because they lack financial resources to pay for the cost of housing and relocating to the internship site. This paper examines the types of benefits or supports related to housing and relocation that employers are providing to paid interns. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses content analysis to examine the types of supports included in job advertisements posted on Handshake, the largest early career networking platform in the US. Findings - During the period studied, less than 11% of internships advertised indicated that the employer was willing to provide housing or relocation support, only 107 employers across the US. Only 53 employers were willing to provide free company-sponsored housing. Internships offering support are clustered in the fields of business, engineering and research, providing almost no internships for students in other fields. Practical implications - Given the high cost of housing, if a student does not have access to considerable financial resources, they are unlikely to participate in an internship or will be limited to a position in their commutable area. To level the playing field among all students, employers need to offer free or subsidized company-sponsored housing to student interns. While some employers do offer support, the number of students needing support far exceeds the number of internships available. Originality/value - While there is information on what students identify as barriers, there is no accurate picture of employer supports available to mitigate these barriers. This exploratory analysis is the first to examine the benefits and supports employers are providing to paid interns.