2025 Met Scholar Intern - Transportation Planning, GIS, and Mapping Intern

SALARY

$23.42 /Hour 

DESCRIPTION:

The Met Scholars Program (formally known as Urban Scholars) at the Metropolitan Council is a leadership and professional development program that introduces students from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds to the public sector and provides a distinctive professional experience focused on gaining essential skills and creating a resume-building career pathway.

The Met Scholars Program runs each Friday during June, July, and August of 2025, and will provide:

• An understanding of the Metropolitan Council’s work in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
• Education and experience applying an equity lens to public sector work.
• Learning the foundations of leadership and professional development opportunities.
• High quality, resume building work experience.
• Guidance and opportunities to grow a meaningful professional network.

Previous Met Scholar projects included:

• Conducting research and creating recommendations to address health equity issues within transit operations.
• Creating an inventory of Transit Oriented Development case studies and best practices to be used by local planners.
• Reviewing and compiling Local Water Supply Plans from 2006-08 and 2016-2018 to improve water infrastructure for the 186 communities in the metro area.
• Coordinate efforts in partnership with the ten regional park implementing agencies, particularly with their planning and outreach staff.
• Maintain occupational health files and drug and alcohol program files according to applicable federal, state or Council procedures.
• Work with the Data Management team to enhance the value of data by improving data quality, availability, consistency, reporting, dashboards, key performance indicators, insights and analytics.

As a Met Scholar intern in Metropolitan Transportation Services Transportation Planning, Travel Modeling and Research Group, you will have the opportunity to experience transportation data resources and their real-life applications. You will use ArcGIS, online ESRI applications, Geospatial mapping in R/Python, Excel, and other databases. Your work will support transportation planning studies and policy documents, help planners answer questions, and produce materials for public use.

Internship Information:

• Length: 1 Year
• Hours: Full-time (40 hours per week) June - August. Monday – Thursday in the Planning and Finance department and Met Scholars programming on Fridays.  Part-time (at lease 20 hours a week) during the school year.
• Start Date: 06/09/2025
• Location: 390 Robert St, St. Paul, MN 55101

NOTE: This position is eligible for a hybrid (both remote and onsite) telework arrangement. Candidate's residence must be in Minnesota or Wisconsin.  

What does a 2025 Internship with the Metropolitan Council entail?
As a 2025 Intern with the Metropolitan Council you will benefit from on-the-job training and mentoring along with participation in team projects, social events, and professional development.  Interns will receive the opportunity to build professional relationships and enhance their interpersonal skills.  Interns will also interact with their coworkers and participate in projects that directly impact business value.
 
Who is the Metropolitan Council?
The Metropolitan Council is made up of several operating divisions that service the Twin Cities Metropolitan area in a number of ways.

• Metro Transit provides bus and light rail public transportation for the greater metropolitan area.
• Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) manages wastewater treatment plants and the regional wastewater collection system for the seven-county metropolitan region.
• Community Development is responsible for helping the Council shape its regional growth plan and Metro HRA provides affordable housing programs in the region.
• Metropolitan Transportation Services (MTS) is responsible for the transportation planning functions as the Twin Cities metropolitan planning organization (MPO) for transportation.
• Regional Administration provides support services (Finance, Payroll, HR, etc.) for the Council.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

• Producing maps, interactive maps, and other visualizations for the Transportation Policy Plan and other planning studies.
• Maintaining, updating, managing, and publishing spatial data for transportation planning.
• Fulfill peer region comparisons and review other transportation planning related research.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Must be enrolled in a degree seeking program (Associate's, Bachelor's, Master’s, or PhD) OR be a recent graduate (within 12 months from posting date) from a degree program.
• Candidate's residence must be in Minnesota or Wisconsin during the internship.
• An UNOFFICIAL/OFFICIAL transcript is required to be attached to application.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with GIS analysis and geospatial mapping.

DEGREE PROGRAM/AREA OF STUDY PREFERRED

• Geography, GIS, Planning, Data Science, or related field.

What you can expect from us: 

• We offer the opportunity to make a difference and positively influence the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
• We provide a competitive salary, excellent benefits and a good work/life balance.

More about why you should join us!

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Union: American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
FLSA Status: Non-Exempt
Safety Sensitive:  No
 
What steps the recruitment process involves:
1.    We review your minimum qualifications. 
2.    We rate your education and experience. 
3.    We conduct a structured panel interview.

Once you have successfully completed the steps above, then:
If you are new to the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a drug test (safety sensitive positions only), and a background check which verifies education, employment, and criminal history.  A driving record check and/or physical may be conducted if applicable to the job.  If you have a criminal conviction, you do not automatically fail. The Metropolitan Council considers felony, gross misdemeanor and misdemeanor convictions on a case-by-case basis, based on whether they are related to the job and whether the candidate has demonstrated adequate rehabilitation.
 
If you are already an employee of the Metropolitan Council, you must pass a drug test (if moving from a non-safety sensitive position to a safety sensitive position) and criminal background check if the job you're applying for is safety sensitive, is a supervisory or management job, is in the Finance, Information Services, Audit, or Human Resources departments, or has access to financial records, files/databases, cash, vouchers or transit fare cards.  A driving record check and/or physical may be conducted if applicable to the position.

IMPORTANT: If you make a false statement or withhold information, you may be barred from job consideration.

The Metropolitan Council is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and veteran-friendly employer. The Council is committed to a workforce that reflects the diversity of the region and strongly encourages persons of color, members of the LGBTQ community, individuals with disabilities, women, and veterans to apply. If you have a disability that requires accommodation during the selection process, please email HR-OCCHealth@metc.state.mn.us.