Internships for Economic Majors

The internship program is designed for students to gain a greater understanding through real world experiences. An economics major is eligible to participate in an internship upon completion of 12 credit hours of economics with a minimum quality grade point average of 3.0 (B) in the major and an overall quality grade point average of 2.5.  Further information about the internship program is available from the department chair.

Economics Student Internships

My internship with the Rhode Island General Assembly gave me experience with real-world macroeconomics issues. I analyzed fiscal policy and the state budget, and even got to propose my own bill of legislation to the state General Assembly. I am so grateful for such an educational opportunity.

Victoria Parkhill ’22

Kaitlin Rueda (2019)

This summer I had the privilege of working in the Investment Operations department at Capital Group in Los Angeles. Capital Group is an asset management company that runs the American Funds. I was on the Portfolio Guideline Analysis team where I was able to work with a team of 18 associates and learn their everyday tasks and projects. Simply put, the team codes compliance laws into their own company data base to make sure they abide by client guidelines, company guidelines, and laws. I learned so much about the role and was able to code some of their client’s guidelines. Another team I was able to work closely with was the Information and Insights project team where I proposed a project to improve their workflow using an online workflow tool. The company also allowed us to see all parts of the company and really learn what it is like to work there. I was able to meet and learn from so many different associates and see how much the company has to offer. I was fortunate to get a full-time offer for next September.

Daniel Noonan (2019)

This past summer I was a Commercial Banking Intern on Santander’s Sales Performance team. The internship allowed me to utilize many of the skills I have learned in the classroom at Providence College and utilize them on real projects. I was responsible for many forms of analysis of the deposit and loan pipelines within the bank. In addition, I also worked in Salesforce with real-time data to track the direction of a multitude of deals and projects. Being on sales performance gave me touch points with all lines of business. Through this I was able to learn each line of business and their role within the bank. Knowing each line of business in great detail allowed me to work on numerous joint projects which ranged from more specified analytics to massive data uploads of new prospects. Through these projects I was able to form solid relationships with upper level management. These relationships were key to my growth in professionalism as they shared many notes of wisdom with me. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had this summer at Santander.

Brendan Cooney (2019)

Over this past summer I had the opportunity to intern for the Rhode Island State General Treasurer Seth Magaziner. I was able to learn a lot about municipal bonds and the process of issuing debt for the state. As part of my internship, I researched risk factors that could affect bonds already issued by the state. I read credit reports and gained a keen understanding of the methodologies used by ratings agencies to rate bonds. This experience allowed me to understand the key factors which effect an issuer’s credit rating.

I also observed the process of underwriting by attending meetings with bankers who pitched the treasurer on how to best issue debt. By analyzing this process, I was able to understand the factors which effect the price of the bond. These factors are usually related to risk because a better rated bond typically has a lower interest rate. Interest and price are inversely rated which means when interest rates fall. the price rises. Price is very important while underwriting bonds because it is an over-the-counter market. This fact means it is important to set a competitive price given market conditions so the underwriters can sell the bonds. Learning about municipal bonds was really interesting because I learned municipal bonds directly affect our lives. The road you took to work today was financed through municipal bonds and almost all public schools are built through municipal debt. Learning about municipal bonds and researching the factors that affect their ratings was one of the most enjoyable learning experiences I have had.