Intern, Ithaka S+R (Rural Student Success Network)

ITHAKA’s mission is to expand access to knowledge and education around the world. Our services — JSTOR, Portico, and Ithaka S+R — enable people everywhere to learn, to grow, and to overcome barriers to education. In carrying out our mission, as employees we feel a deep responsibility to members of our community and to each other, and we are committed to building and sustaining a culture where everyone can thrive.

The Role

Ithaka S+R is a non-profit research and consulting service that helps the academic and cultural communities serve the public good and navigate economic, technological, and demographic change. Ithaka S+R is currently collaborating with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) to facilitate the Rural Student Success Network (RSSN). The RSSN is a learning cohort that will seek to bolster student success and economic mobility by convening and guiding a network of rural-serving institutions (RSIs) in efforts to improve their programming and practices around community college transfer processes, re-engagement and support for adult learners, and aligning their program offerings with local workforce needs. The S+R team will be supporting institutions by coordinating inter-institutional learning opportunities, providing tailored technical assistance, and producing institution-specific reports with insights about how to optimize improvements for each institution’s local context. The team will simultaneously be conducting research activities designed to highlight best practices and identify lessons learned from the literature on student success for the cohort and the field more broadly.

Working with the RSSN project team and reporting to a Ithaka S+R Researcher, the intern will contribute to a number of project activities, including conducting case studies of student success programs, developing institution specific tools for technical assistance support, and planning and facilitating virtual network convenings. The intern will have the opportunity to learn from our team of researchers and institutional partners while contributing to impactful work meant to support both RSIs and the students they serve.

This internship will last 12 weeks, beginning on June 2, 2026. To be considered for this opportunity, please ensure your application is submitted by the deadline of January 31, 2026.

Responsibilities

Interns will participate in a unique learning experience that includes the following core activities:

• Address critical challenges in higher education

• Develop a broader knowledge of Ithaka S+R’s work through exposure to and active participation in discussions beyond the scope of the intern’s specific project

• Collaborate with researchers and analysts to produce specific deliverables

• Present work accomplished during the internship showcasing deliverables achieved and skills learned

Specific project components, tasks required to complete them, and expected project deliverables will be defined in collaboration with the intern’s supervisor and additional team members. Potential project topics may include research on best practices for supporting rural learners, with an emphasis on the RSSN’s focus areas of 1) community college transfer, 2) re-engaging, re-enrolling, and supporting adult learners, and 3) aligning academic offerings with workforce needs. Components of the work may include:

• Contributing to project development (e.g., project scoping, background research, development of mixed methods research instruments).

• Participating in data collection (e.g., literature reviews, desk research, conducting interviews and focus groups).

• Performing data analysis.

• Contributing to project outputs, including reports, memos, blog posts, fact sheets, and slide decks.

Experience and Skills

Any combination of professional experience, volunteer work, coursework, or other transferable skills may be applied toward these qualifications. Strong candidates will possess several of the following qualifications:

• Pursuing a master’s degree or Ph.D in a field that requires superior writing, communication, research, and critical thinking skills.

• Qualitative analysis experience (preferred but not required).

• Strong interest in Ithaka S+R’s mission to solve challenges facing higher education.

• Comfort working in a fluid, highly collaborative, remote team environment.

• Ambitious self-starter enthusiastic about learning new skills.

• Highly effective communicator, eager to collaboratively set goals and seek feedback.

• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks while ensuring attention to detail and accuracy.

• Demonstrated ability to translate complex concepts and research data into compelling, accessible, and engaging work products, including long- and short-form written outputs as well as presentation materials.

Work Authorization and Sponsorship

ITHAKA is not currently considering candidates who require any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States.

Compensation

At ITHAKA we believe in openness and equity. Part of living those values is our commitment to clarity about salary, so candidates know what to expect. The pay for this position is $25.00/hourly.

Work for ITHAKA

We are committed to our organizational values of belonging, evidence, speed, teamwork, and trust. We take seriously the need for everyone to feel welcome. Belonging is one of our core values, and it shows in our vibrant culture. People from a wide range of backgrounds work at ITHAKA, and we believe that unique perspectives help us realize new insights and build better solutions.

We want to work with people who are passionate about ideas like these and who wish to contribute their perspectives and talents to ITHAKA’s mission. We enthusiastically welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and credentials. We want to hear your story and include your perspective in the transformative work we aim to do.

Learn more about Working at ITHAKA.

Apply Now

Although ITHAKA has physical offices in New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan, our employees are distributed across the continental United States. At this time, we’re not considering candidates who are unable to work and reside in the continental U.S.

Candidates may apply by submitting an application online through our career site, if you have any questions about your application, please contact us at [email protected]. ITHAKA is committed to providing reasonable accommodations, if there’s anything we can do to accommodate any portion of the application or hiring process, please contact us at [email protected].

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to identity or other status protected by law. We invite you to read our Equal Employment Opportunity Statement. ITHAKA cares about your privacy, learn more about our Applicant Privacy Notice.