The Community Bridge Internship Program, a collaborative effort led by The School of Business in conjunction with Community Engaged Learning, serves as a dynamic, reciprocal partnership, strategically connecting The College of New Jersey School of Business students with the local non-profit and public sectors. The program achieves a dual mission: to cultivate exceptional, experience-based professional development for our students, while simultaneously enhancing the capacity, reach, and measurable community impact of our valued partners.
Benefits
By participating in the Community Bridge Internship Program, students gain much more than just professional experience. This service-learning model provides high-impact, hands-on experience in dynamic non-profit and public sector environments, allowing students to apply classroom theory to complex, real-world community challenges. Interns will develop crucial skills in areas like non-profit management, social impact strategy, cross-sector collaboration, and problem-solving, dramatically enhancing their professional readiness. Concurrently, students contribute directly to the enhanced capacity and measurable impact of our community partners, fostering a deep sense of civic responsibility and ethical leadership that is vital for future business professionals.
Community-based service-learning is essential because it cultivates student professional growth, real-world skills, and equitable educational access while providing local non-profit and public sectors with measurable, impactful capacity enhancements to address urgent community needs.
School Mission
| We educate learners to become successful professionals and socially responsible citizens poised for positions of leadership. We contribute to the expansion of business and economics knowledge through theoretical, applied and pedagogical research, consistent with the TCNJ teacher-scholar model. |
Program Mission
| Cultivating the next generation of successful professionals and socially responsible leaders by leveraging our academic foundation to deliver meaningful community service. |
Alignment
| Program Mission Element | School Mission Element | Achievement |
| Cultivating Successful Professionals & Leaders | “We educate learners to become successful professionals and…positions of leadership.” | The service learning environment fosters professional skills like project management and teamwork that directly prepare students for leadership roles. |
| Cultivating Socially Responsible Leaders | “We educate learners to become socially responsible citizens…” | This is the core of a service-learning program. It provides direct, hands-on experience addressing community needs, instilling a strong sense of civic duty and ethical decision-making. |
Opportunities for Students
Community Partners
- Arm In Arm is a place where our community comes together to make sure we all have the most basic needs of food and shelter and, as possible, the livelihood to maintain them.
- Children’s Futures promotes healthy child and family development in Mercer County.
- Maker’s Place is a diaper bank and family resource center in Trenton, NJ.
- Trenton Circus Squad is a non-profit organization offering free workshops and after-school programs for youth ages 6 – 18.
- Indoor AG Labs provides a high-tech, accessible space for innovative research in hydroponics and indoor agriculture.
- Homefront’s mission is to end homelessness in Central New Jersey by harnessing the caring, resources and expertise of the community.
- The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of New Jersey provides educational and business resources to counsel & train small business owners to finance, market, and manage their companies.
| Note: Students participating in the Community Bridge Internship program may be asked to share a quote about their experience to promote the program for future business students. |
The Unpaid Internship Support Stipend (UISS)
Recognizing the value of service-learning and community engagement, The College of New Jersey School of Business is committed to ensuring that financial limitations do not prevent student participation in the Community Bridge Internship Program. To that end, the School created the Unpaid Internship Support Stipend (UISS). Students can apply for a stipend through the UISS for participating in a community-based. service-learning internship in The Community Bridge Internship Program.
The funding for the UISS is made possible through the generous support of dedicated partners and endowments, specifically the Santander Bank Experiential Learning Grant, The Movsovich Family School of Business Experience Fund established by Michael Movsovich ‘86 & family to support experiential learning opportunities, the Fekete Internship Endowment Fund for Business and Science established to support students in the School of Business and School of Science who participate in internship opportunities who participate in internships in STEM related industries, and the School of Business Student Professional Development Fund created in 2018 for anyone wishing to contribute to our student’s professional development.
This collective support ensures that students can fully immerse themselves in their placements, gain invaluable professional experience, and contribute meaningfully to the community without financial burden.
The application is a selective process, and applicants are not guaranteed a stipend on the basis of applying. Applications are reviewed by a committee consisting of School of Business faculty, staff, and members of Community Engaged Learning. More information is available on the UISS website.
| Note: Per IRS regulations all stipends are considered taxable income and will be reported on a Form 1098-T. This will be reported as Other Income on the student’s tax return. |
Internships
Qualifications
Must be in good academic standing.
Completed a minimum of 3 course units at TCNJ.
Be sophomore standing or higher.
Complete the Pre-Internship Self-Assessment.
Complete the Unpaid Internship Stipend Support (UISS) application.
Academic Credit – Students may apply for academic credit.
Next Steps
- Once the qualifications are met, you will be labeled CBIPFA26 (for fall 2026) or CBIPSP27 (for spring 2027) in Handshake. This qualifies you to apply for the Community Bridge Program internships.
- Review the list of available internships.
- Follow the directions to apply through Handshake.
If You Accept An Internship
Complete the School of Business Internship Application.
Complete the Post-Internship Self-Assessment at the completion of the internship.
Submit the Student Experiential Leaning Satisfaction survey upon completion of the internship.
Please note that the acceptance of a placement within the Community Bridge Internship Program constitutes a firm professional commitment to our community partner. Students who accept an internship offer do so with the understanding that their participation and fulfillment of internship duties are independent of the Unpaid Internship Support Stipend (UISS) award status. While we strive to support as many students as possible, the primary focus remains the service-learning experience and the impact on our community.
Available Internships & Supervising Faculty
Fall 2026
Available internships for fall 2026 are TBA. Please check back. Once posted, application instructions and faculty supervisors for each will be included.
Community Partner Spotlight
Spring 2026
This semester, through our new Community Bridge Internship Program, Valerie Barnieh is completing an internship at the Indoor Ag Labs by TCNJ & GeoGreens. Valerie recently shared with us that, “GeoGreens is engaged in interdisciplinary work that connects engineering, business, and community partnerships, and we believe many business students would be interested in learning more about opportunities for involvement, collaboration, and real-world impact.”
The Ag Lab opened in April of 2025 inside Armstrong Hall. The lab is the product of a partnership between TCNJ’s Schools of Science and Engineering and GeoGreens, a local hydroponic business that has been fighting food insecurity for the past decade by growing produce for communities that live in food deserts. Founder Desmond Hayes says he sees endless opportunity for hands-on education and meaningful research in the lab, given that the nascent indoor agriculture industry is still being shaped.
The Ag Labs offer students across TCNJ’s campus unique opportunities to get involved in research, testing new technologies, workshops, educational programs, and more. On March 27th, they will be hosting the Innovations in Agriculture & Food Security Convening. You can learn more about the Ag Labs, how to get involved or book a tour through their website.
What Our Community Partners Are Saying
The Community Bridge Internship Program is built on the belief that business expertise can—and should—drive social impact. Hear what our community partners are saying about their experiences working with the next generation of TCNJ business leaders.
“The student interns contributed to essential tasks… allowing our team to focus more on direct advising and strategic initiatives. It created a meaningful bridge between academic learning and real-world business support.” – Community Partner Feedback
“Love the experience working with the students, very respectful and eager to learn more. We are looking forward to welcome additional interns in the next semester. Thank you for the opportunity.” – Community Partner Feedback
“The project supported our organization’s mission and goals tremendously. We were able to accomplish several tasks and reach targeted goals.” – Community Partner Feedback
What Our Students Are Saying
From non-profit management to social impact strategy, our students are gaining high-level experience that goes beyond the traditional classroom. Discover how these future business leaders leveraged their internships to develop critical professional skills while making a tangible difference in our local community.
“The most valuable aspect I gained from this internship was seeing the work that goes into a nonprofit organization. I realized that the level of motivation and effort is so strong because you can see firsthand the positive impact you’re having on people’s lives. That’s something I will definitely look for in any future roles.” – Student Intern Feedback
“The Maker’s Place makes me feel good about the work I’ve done from a moral standpoint. Seeing the work that The Maker’s Place does for families in need of some support, out of good nature and faith is nothing short of inspiring. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a cog in the wheel over the past few months. I will be so proud to tell people that this was my first internship experience– one I will never forget.” – Student Intern Feedback
“The only thing I request… is to keep offering this program.” – Student Intern Feedback