What is Children's Television Workshop? Founded in 1969, the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) is a producer of programs, products, and services in multiple media that entertain and educate children and their families. Beginning with Sesame Street, and later The Electric Company, 3-2-1 Contact, Square One TV, Ghostwriter, CRO, Big Bag, The New Ghostwriter Mysteries, and Dragon Tales, CTW designs, researches, and produces programs as well as related materials.
What role does education and research play within CTW shows? Education and Research serve as two of the three important divisions of what is known as the CTW model -- research, production and content. The roles of Education and Research are: to assess comprehension and appeal and to understand how to effectively position, market and measure the performance of our products and programs in a competitive environment, as well as develop, clarify and provide information about a production's particular curriculum area(s), for example, mathematics, history, literacy, or science. Below is an outline of the different internship opportunities available in Education and Research at CTW:
* International Research
International Research carries out the development of curricula and research for all CTW international co-productions. This group seeks candidates studying psychology, education, communications, and/or other social sciences. Interests in research or international education are a plus. Flexibility and initiative are required; candidates should also be comfortable working independently. Please note that this internship does not include any field work. Interns work two full days per week for a full semester.
* Sesame Street Research
Sesame Street Research carries out development of curricula and conducts formative research with children to support concept development, planning and production for Sesame Street shows. This department seeks students majoring in psychology, education, and/or communications with a special interest in research and children. Duties include: library research, stimuli development, interviewing children, collecting, coding and verification of data, and screening show segments. Interns work Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and preferably Thursdays as well. Internships last for the duration of the semester.
* Program Research
Program Research carries out development of curricula and conducts formative research with children to support concept development, planning and production for CTW's domestic television (other than Sesame Street), online, magazine publishing, and outreach efforts. This group seeks candidates studying psychology, education, and/or communications who have prior experience in research and in working with young children. Interns work two full days a week for a full semester. This group also seeks candidates who would like to gain exposure specifically to development and supervision of the educational content of CTW's projects, and for whom fieldwork is not an essential aspect of their internship experience. Interested candidates should be studying education and focusing on a specific curriculum area among the current production roster, such as mathematics, history, literacy, or science. Schedule is flexible.
* Marketing and Media Research
Marketing and Media Research conducts and analyzes research on audiences of television as well as other media to better understand their attitudes and perceptions of CTW and Sesame Street brands, programs and products. This department seeks candidates with a strong interest in research, children's media and/or major in communications, marketing or business. Some understanding of marketing research and basic knowledge of ratings (such as that which is learned in a mass communications class) is helpful. Duties include: helping to coordinate both qualitative (e.g., focus groups) and quantitative (e.g., surveys) research and working with outside research suppliers, accessing and analyzing magazine readership characteristics, tabulating ratings data and simple data analysis as well as some general administrative tasks. Schedule is flexible.
* Internship Application Information
When are internships offered? Internships are offered to undergraduate Juniors or Seniors and graduate students three times during the year: fall, spring, and summer semesters.
How should students apply for an internship? To apply, send a letter and résumé indicating the semester during which you'd like to participate and which group you would prefer: Children's Television Workshop, Attn: David Cohen, Education & Research Internship Program, 1633 Broadway, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10019. The placement of interns is determined by the needs of the groups and the qualifications of the candidates. If the first choice group does not need additional interns, candidates' will be considered for other research groups. An in-person interview is part of the selection process, and will be scheduled after resumes have been reviewed. Résumés should be received by CTW no later than July 15 for the Fall, November 15 for the Spring, and March 15 for the Summer.
Do interns receive a stipend? The internship is UNPAID. However, interns do receive $10.00 per day to cover meals and transportation. In addition, expenses incurred while assisting with field work (e.g., traveling to and from testing sites) will be reimbursed.
What hours are expected of the interns? Interns should expect to work two - three days a week (depending on the needs of the research group), from 9:30 am (or earlier if going to a testing site) to 5:30 pm. Internships generally extend the length of a full school semester (spring, summer, fall).