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Unpaid Internships Are on the Rise, and College Requirements Are to Blame

Delight Hailman thought she had her summer plans figured out: the UW Madison student would work two part-time jobs and an internship. But two weeks before starting, she was told her internship was unpaid, and thus unaffordable. She couldn’t look elsewhere for work, because her university required an internship for her to graduate. Like tens of thousands of college students each year, Delight had no choice but to work unpaid.