Spring Internships in Los Angeles for College Students: A Guide to Opportunities

Los Angeles, a vibrant hub for various industries, offers numerous spring internship opportunities for college students. These internships provide invaluable real-world experience, allowing students to apply their academic knowledge, develop professional skills, and network with industry professionals. This article explores several spring internship opportunities available in Los Angeles, focusing on the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) and other potential avenues.

ACLU SoCal Internships

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California (ACLU SoCal) is a prominent organization dedicated to defending civil liberties, civil rights, and equal justice in California. Founded in 1923, ACLU SoCal tackles a vast array of issues, including criminal justice, First Amendment, gender equity, reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, police practices, education equity, jails conditions, and economic justice. ACLU SoCal is committed to developing a culture of diversity, equity, respect, and inclusion and to strive to maintain a workforce that reflects the communities that we serve. The ACLU SoCal is an equal opportunity employer that does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable law. We encourage all qualified individuals to apply and value people of all races, genders (including gender identity or expression), sexual orientations, disabilities, citizenships, ages, religions, and national origins and who have different marital statuses, family caregiving responsibilities, lived experiences with the criminal justice systems, and genetic information. The ACLU SoCal is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. NOTE: Our staff and interns are primarily working hybrid or remotely.

Internship Details

ACLU SoCal welcomes interns/externs in the fall, winter, and spring semesters. The number hired varies depending upon the needs of staff. The ACLU SoCal also frequently accepts non-student volunteers who are both attorneys and non-attorneys. Volunteers should be able to commit to working at least 15 hours a week over eight weeks, in or out of the office, or the hourly equivalent over a shorter period of weeks. In addition to the information listed in the following section, please state in your application your intended hourly commitment and duration of volunteer service. Please understand that the nature of the work we do may not allow us to engage all who may be interested in contributing time. Please follow all application procedures described below. In your subject line, please include the following information in brackets: your preferred subject area(s), your geographic preference(s), and the term for which you are applying. We are more likely to hire candidates with geographic flexibility.

Who Can Apply: ACLU SoCal is currently accepting applications for interns, externs, and volunteers to work in our Los Angeles, Orange County (Santa Ana), Inland Empire (San Bernardino), and Kern County (Bakersfield) offices. We are accepting internship applications from students at all academic levels, including undergraduates, law students, social work students, and other graduate students. We are also accepting applications for volunteers who are not currently enrolled in an academic program. People of color, women, people with disabilities, people over 55, and people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex are encouraged to apply. The ACLU of Southern California comprises two organizations: The ACLU of Southern California and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California (collectively "ACLU SoCal").

Commitment: We ask that students commit to no fewer than eight weeks and prefer ten-week commitments or longer (although exceptions may be made in certain circumstances). The office is open five days a week and successful applicants will work eight-hour days (with some occasional longer days depending on the project deadlines).

Compensation: The ACLU SoCal is currently unable to pay stipends for interns or volunteers. Applicants are encouraged to apply for Public Interest Law Foundation grants or other grants and to investigate work-study options as alternative sources of compensation. We strongly encourage interns to seek funding from their schools and apply for other grants or scholarships. Unfortunately, the ACLU of Southern California does not have funding available for summer interns who request it.

Learning Opportunities: The ACLU SoCal endeavors to make our summer internships as rewarding as possible. Each year, the ACLU SoCal hosts “Brown Bag” presentations that are open to interns from all local non-profits. Staff attorneys and advocates also host internal trainings for all interns on topics such as applying for clerkships, applying for fellowships, and interviewing clients to draft declarations.

Subject Areas: Interns will be assigned to a specific project/subject area. ACLU SoCal tackles a vast array of issues, including criminal justice, First Amendment, gender equity, reproductive justice, LGBTQ rights, immigrants' rights, police practices, education equity, jails conditions, and economic justice. ACLU SoCal is currently accepting applications for interns who are interested in working on economic justice issues. Our economic justice work falls in three main areas: challenging the criminalization of poverty; expanding access to basic human needs like housing and healthcare, with a particular focus on protecting the rights of unhoused Californians; and advancing affirmative legal rights to basic human needs.

Example Projects:

Jails Project: Through the affiliate's Jails Project (please see Jails Project's posting for more information), achieved a historic settlement in Rosas v. Baca, a federal class action lawsuit that alleged former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and his command staff condoned a long-standing and widespread pattern of violence by deputies against people incarcerated in the jails. Under the settlement, the Sheriff's Department adopted a plan that includes implementation of robust policies to prevent abuse of people who are incarcerated, enhancement in training in use of force for all veteran deputies and new hires, as well as radically enhanced methods for tracking and review of use of force incidents and the complaints and grievances of incarcerated people.
Education Equity: Most recently, in Mark S. v. State of California, we filed a lawsuit against the State of California and Pittsburg Unified School District for maintaining a separate, unequal, and illegal educational system where Black Students, students with disabilities, and English learners are segregated in substandard learning environments, excluded from classrooms through the use of unwarranted suspensions and expulsions, and, as a result, denied their constitutional right to a public education free from discrimination. Beyond our litigation, we are also actively involved in community advocacy and legislative efforts to shape education policy.
First Amendment Rights: We do First Amendment work on issues relating to freedom of speech and protest, and free exercise of religion. As part of our voting work, we provide legal, organizing, and mapping support to our partners that are engaged in decennial redistricting and/or California Voting Rights Act work, advocate in support of legislation that expands the franchise and makes voting easier and more accessible to Californians, and conduct local advocacy to ensure that voters are not being disenfranchised. In Rosebrock v. In Davies v. In ACLU/Preven v. Los Angeles, we litigated under the California Public Records Act whether the County can withhold billing records showing how much it is paying private lawyers hired to defend the County and the Sheriff's Department in numerous suits challenging excessive force and other illegal acts by the Department. We are currently litigating People's Homeless Taskforce v. We are currently litigating Doe v. In Moreno v. City of Anaheim, we successfully challenged the City Council’s at-large election system that diluted the voting power of Latinx voters. In addition to litigation, we attempt to protect the First Amendment and further government transparency through developing "Know Your Rights" material and attempting to resolve what we perceive to be First Amendment and other violations through advocacy short of litigation. In the voting rights space, we provide trainings to our partners and the public.
Immigrants' Rights: ACLU SoCal's Immigrants' Rights Project accepts applications for internships on a rolling basis. Our office has been at the forefront of litigation and advocacy on a number of immigrants' rights issues. Our access to counsel work focuses on ensuring that no one can be deported without legal assistance and a fair hearing. J.E.F.M. v. Holder challenges the government's failure to provide appointed counsel to pro se children facing deportation. In the landmark victory in our Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder case, the Court established basic protections for immigrants with mental disabilities, including the right to appointed counsel and the right to robust competency determination procedures. Our immigration detention work ensures that detained immigrants are guaranteed their basic due process rights. Jennings v. Supreme Court. In Hernandez v. Lynch, we seek to require the government to consider immigrants' ability to pay a bond and non-monetary alternatives in setting conditions of release. We currently are a leader in efforts to stop the entanglement of immigration and local law enforcement. We strive to ensure that law enforcement agencies do not unlawfully engage in immigration enforcement and that all individuals have equal access to immigration benefits and are not treated in a discriminatory manner. Through a recent victory in Gonzalez v. ICE, a federal judge issued a permanent injunction blocking ICE from issuing arrest requests based solely on error-ridden electronic databases. We are also challenging the government's discriminatory practices in unlawfully delaying and denying the immigration benefit applications of many Muslim individuals, under a covert program known as CARRP.
Los Angeles County Jails Advocacy: The ACLU SoCal is soliciting applications from individuals interested in working on Los Angeles County Jails advocacy within the Criminal Justice team. For 2024-2025, the LA County Jails team is only hiring law students and only for the Summer 2025 term. In Los Angeles County, ACLU SoCal monitors Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) compliance with court orders in four cases: Rutherford v. Luna (limited general conditions, including mattresses, recreation, and processing times), Rosas v. Luna (use of force), Johnson v. Luna (ADA-compliant accommodations for people with mobility-related disabilities), and Robertson v. Luna (LGBTQI+ housing, classification, and conditions). Through advocacy, public education, and litigation, we work to ensure that a basic standard of care is provided to incarcerated people. This is a great learning opportunity for any student thinking about a career in law or public service that centers advocating for the justice-involved community and those who want experience providing individual assistance to incarcerated people and a window into the issues they face. All, regardless of background, are welcome to apply. Assisting in research and fact-gathering related to our four conditions cases. Interns must commit to volunteer a minimum of six hours per week. Those who speak, read and write Spanish fluently would be especially helpful, but any second language can be useful.
Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Justice Project: Our project focuses on LGBTQ rights, reproductive justice and gender equity. We accomplish this work through strategic and impactful legal advocacy, litigation, policy advocacy, public education, and community organizing to enforce existing legal protections and create new ones. We accomplish our goals through impact litigation, policy advocacy, activist engagement, and community organizing to enforce existing legal protections and create new ones. Law students who work in the Gender, Sexuality, and Reproductive Justice Project will have an opportunity to conduct legal research and policy analysis, interview potential clients, participate in coalition meetings, and support lobbying efforts.
Policing Practices: This office has long been a leader in changing local and national policing practices through our policy work and litigation. Over the past five years, ACLU SoCal has worked with grassroots, labor and civil rights organizations to push major legislation making California's law governing police use of deadly force among the strongest in the nation, to safeguard the public's right to know about investigations into police use of force and findings of serious misconduct, and to strengthen California's prohibition on racial profiling and require collection of detailed data on every police stop made in the state. Gang Injunctions. In Vasquez v. Rackauckas, we filed a class action challenging police and prosecutors' practices in enforcing gang injunctions, winning an opinion from the Ninth Circuit holding that police and prosecutors violated class member's due process to a gang injunction based on police and prosecutors' one-sided determination they were gang members, and failed to provide them meaningful notice of the reasons for the accusation they were gang members and an opportunity to be heard on their side of the story. In Youth Justice Coalition v. Wrongful Arrest Practices In Mitchell v. Right to Record In Nee v. Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, we represented three photographers detained for taki…

Intern Responsibilities: Our legal interns will have an opportunity to conduct legal research, drafting, and analysis for our ongoing litigation and policy projects. Our undergraduate interns will participate in community engagement, policy advocacy, workshop development and presentations, campaign development, and coalition building. The internship will mainly focus on campaign support, issue-based projects, reports, and intakes. Interns may also support our Youth Liberty Squad cohort during our monthly programming on Saturdays, as well as create presentations on key topics identified by staff and/or students.

How to Apply: Please follow all application procedures described below. In your subject line, please include the following information in brackets: your preferred subject area(s), your geographic preference(s), and the term for which you are applying. We are more likely to hire candidates with geographic flexibility.

Read also: UCLA Spring Break: What to Expect

Other Internship Opportunities in Los Angeles

Beyond ACLU SoCal, numerous other organizations in Los Angeles offer spring internships for college students. These opportunities span various industries, including media, technology, and non-profit.

Media and Entertainment

Los Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world, offering various internships in media and entertainment.

Warner Bros. Discovery: Warner Bros. offers internship opportunities in various departments, providing students with hands-on experience in the entertainment industry. The application window closes on Monday, March 2, 2026.
The Los Angeles Times: The Times typically selects 14 interns each summer. The spring class typically has five interns. Most of our interns work out of the El Segundo, Calif., headquarters. On occasion, we also welcome an intern in Sacramento and Washington D.C. Remote internships are not offered. Summer interns will have the opportunity to perform the work of full-time journalists. A basic understanding of the work is required as interns are expected to hit the ground running. With training from our staff, we will help develop, polish and elevate your work and add to your journalistic toolbox. Previous internship experience is recommended.Reporting interns will work with their editors to come up with story ideas, map out a plan to execute them and receive regular feedback. Interns with our Data and Graphics department will work on projects with that team and other newsroom staffers. Photo and video interns will have assignments in the field on their own and alongside our visual journalists. The multiplatform editing interns work on either our news or features copy desks. Our design interns also are assigned to either news or features. Our digital/engagement interns work with our audience engagement and platforms team.

Technology

Los Angeles's burgeoning tech scene offers internships in various fields, including software engineering, data science, and marketing.

Snap Academies: Interested in developing industry-relevant creative and technical skills, growing through hands-on professional development, and receiving direct mentorship and career guidance from Snap team members? If you’re a community college student and are passionate about learning, apply to the Snap Academies! This is an in-person weekly recruitment event at Los Angeles City College's Career Center. This is an in-person weekly recruitment event at Los Angeles City College's Career Center.

Non-Profit and Community Organizations

Los Angeles is home to a diverse range of non-profit and community organizations, offering internships in various areas, including social justice, education, and environmental conservation.

UNITE-LA: In partnership with the Cisco Networking Academy, UNITE-LA presents Step into Tech, a PAID OPPORTUNITY providing pathways for justice involved/impacted individuals 18-28 in LA County into careers in tech.

General Internship Information

Eligibility

Who is eligible to apply for summer internships?Applicants must be actively working toward an undergraduate or graduate degree and must be eligible to work in the United States. Graduates may qualify if you’ve finished school within six months of the start of the internship. Internships are for students who have not worked professionally as staff journalists.

Read also: UCLA Calendar

Application Timeline

Every year, the internship applications open in September and the deadline to apply for priority L.A. Times internships is Nov. PST. This is a hard cut-off. Those who applied for spring internships will be notified by March. 1. Those who applied for summer internships will be notified by May 1. Spring interns begin between January and March. We have rolling start dates to accommodate students’ schedules. Summer interns start Tuesday, May 26, 2026 or Monday, June 22, 2026. We currently do not offer a fall internship program.

Internship Duration

The summer internship is 10 weeks. The spring internship is more flexible to accommodate students’ schedules. The entire internship is a total of 400 hours, which is equal to a 10-week internship at 40 hours a week or a 20-week internship at 20 hours a week.

Compensation and Expenses

Yes. In 2025, the rate is at least $20 an hour or $800 a week for the full-time summer internship. Spring internships are at the same hourly rate but the weekly hours may vary. No, students are paid at least $20 an hour or $800 a week to help defray costs.

Application Tips

Cover Letter and Personal Statement: The cover letter is traditionally the place for applicants to make their case about why they are the best person for this internship. This is also an opportunity to show your knowledge of and enthusiasm for the Los Angeles Times. The personal essay is an exercise that shows off the applicant’s writing chops. The best personal essays tend to circle back to the journalism, but not always. Some include challenges, personal moments that showed why the applicant is committed to journalism or even a deep dive into the applicant’s background. Others have taken a creative approach and even wrote poetry. There is no prompt.
Making Your Application Stand Out: There is no one thing that makes an application stand out. In general, The Times looks at experience, skill set and the work samples themselves when selecting interns. The more successful reporting applicants had clips that show their range in breaking news, feature writing, enterprise, game stories, explanatory reporting, narrative, etc. Experience is valued. If you have a particular interest or niche such as sports, please make that clear in your cover letter. For visual journalism and design interns, The Times is also looking for variety in your portfolio. We don’t expect our Data and Graphics interns to walk in the door with knowledge of every programming language, but strong applicants will demonstrate having used computers to be creative and get things done on deadline. And our digital/engagement interns should have an understanding of metrics, various social media and other platforms, online publishing and an eagerness to learn more.

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