Tulane vs. American University: Which offers better undergraduate internship opportunities?

For a student focused on public policy and communications, American University is likely to provide the more direct and extensive internship pipeline. Its Washington, D.C., location makes part-time internships during the academic year realistic at federal agencies, congressional offices, advocacy organizations, think tanks, trade associations, media outlets, and communications firms. American’s School of Public Affairs and School of Communication also place students in a setting where professional networking is built into everyday campus life.

American is especially well suited to someone who wants to test several policy or communications paths while enrolled, such as government relations, political communications, public affairs, journalism, or nonprofit advocacy. Many opportunities are accessible by public transit, which makes semester-long internships more manageable than relying only on summer positions.

Tulane offers valuable hands-on experience, but its strengths are more locally rooted. New Orleans gives students meaningful access to community organizations, city and state government, public health and resilience work, arts and culture institutions, local media, and social-impact communications. Tulane’s emphasis on public service can be a real advantage for a student who wants internship work connected to community engagement and tangible local issues.

Choose Tulane if you are drawn to New Orleans, want close involvement with civic and nonprofit work, and see public policy through issues such as housing, health equity, disaster recovery, education, or environmental justice. For the broadest concentration of national policy and communications internships available during the school year, American has the clearer edge.