This year, Moody celebrates two decades of UTLA and the fifth anniversary of UTNY. Each program offers students from all majors the opportunity to live in a city to get real-life experience in their respective industries. 

For the programs, students must have at least 60 credit hours and a minimum of a 2.0 GPA. For UTNY, students with more than 30 hours may apply but will have an additional interview.

During the program, students spend 15 weeks (or 10 during the summer) balancing internship work by day and classes by night, all while building their professional network. There are also scholarships available, which students can apply to by filling out the optional section of the application. Students interested in applying for scholarships should visit the UTLA and UTNY websites, along with the UT scholarships websites for more information and application deadlines. 

“Both programs and both cities are a chance for students to put their toes in the water, rather than just take the plunge,” said Noah Isenberg, executive director of UTNY and UTLA. “(They get to) do so with the full support of a wonderful team.”

Students must apply to UTLA and UTNY about nine months before they start living in their chosen cities. To prepare, students are placed in the “pre-departer” semester, where students are to intensively work with staff to polish resumes, cover letters and find their internships. 

“Whether a student likes the fit where they end up interning, or whether the place where they intern ends up inviting them back for an entry-level position, they at least have this indispensable experience of having spent a significant amount of time living, working and learning in these two cities, ” Isenberg said.

UTLA 

The UTLA program attracts students in the entertainment and music industry. Before UTLA, students could go to LA for a one-week intensive and build their network. Now, students complete at least one internship and take courses taught by industry professionals. 

UTLA also offers two optional programs for students, including a mentorship program and a mock interview program. College of Fine Arts students are also offered another program through UTLA, where students travel for acting or theater.

“My favorite part is watching the arc of students when they come to when they finish [UTLA],” said Amy Lasser, UTLA program director and assistant professor of practice. “You might come interested in one thing and then leave interested in something totally different, because of people that you met (in LA).”

Radio-television-film senior Lucy Culzick completed UTLA last fall. Culzick worked two internships, one at Happiness Entertainment, which focuses on children and family animation development, and one at Unicorn Island, Lily Singh’s production company. Culzick said that because of  UTLA, she now plans on moving back there in the summer in hopes of finding work.  

“I don't think I understood how LA and the business side of the film worked,” Culzick said. “I absorbed so much, it's honestly hard to put into words, but I better understood the little nuances of things.” 

Alyssa King graduated from the School of Journalism and Media in May 2024 and participated in the program in spring 2023. King now works for Concordia University Sports, where she broadcasts softball and basketball games. She also works for a startup called Live Take Sports. King said when she started UTLA, she had little to no experience in sports media, but she felt more prepared after applying to more than 50 internships. She said the program is why she has a job today. 

“Once I started working, UTLA showed me that you can do it,” King said. “You are an adult. You got this job by yourself. Yes, they help you and they'll help your search,  but you're the one that locked down the job. You're the one that actually made the big jump to move, and you can do it.”

RTF alumna Nikayla Belford graduated in May 2023, and she currently works as an office production assistant on an upcoming Ryan Murphy show. When attending a UTLA information meeting, she connected with a former Longhorn who told her to apply. In her senior year, with the help of her connection, she landed her first job.

“I did a lot of growing, both inside and outside of the classroom,” Belford said. “UTLA helped me not be afraid to try and experience a lot of things. During that semester, there were a lot of firsts and a lot of growth. Whether it was being in the classroom and them directly helping with or being outside of the classroom and just being in the city, it definitely helped me branch out and break out of some shells I had.” 

UTNY

The UTNY program started in fall 2019, but after COVID-19 it faced a few setbacks. Even though the program only started five years ago, over 500 students have participated. Unlike UTLA, UTNY serves multiple majors and industries such as finance, fashion, journalism, advertising and even the medical field. Students enrolled in UTNY can choose between the internship track, where students work in their preferred industry, and the independent study track, which allows students to design their personalized course of study through research or creative projects. 

UTNY also offers programs. For example, the McCombs Success Scholars is a program where students travel to the Big Apple with Xavier Sztejnberg for a networking intensive for 10 days. The Texas Creative students also come to the city that never sleeps for their capstone experience for portfolio reviews during New York Creative Week. Starting this fall, a cohort of 50 to 60 first-year students in the Pathway program will start their UT journey in New York. 

“It's a place where, if you have the perseverance and a high threshold in terms of dealing with intensity in a fast-paced city, it can be very rewarding and gratifying,” Isenberg said.

RTF alumna Nicole Yen graduated last semester and is the production assistant for Texas Athletics in their broadcasting and big screen department. Yen participated in UTLA in spring 2023 and UTNY in summer 2024. She said she found UTNY to be more helpful for her career. For UTLA, she interned with a production company called Mosaic Media Group. For UTNY, she chose the internship track and interned at Madison Square Garden, where she worked in the entertainment industry but also networked with the sports department.  

“The hardest part would be getting used to a new city,” Yen said. “The program has helped a lot because you have all these people who are also getting used to a new city. There's someone who's experiencing the same thing, so you can go through the process together.”

Yen said she chose to do both UTLA and UTNY because after being in LA, she realized Hollywood wasn’t for her. Senior year, she considered doing UTNY, since it focuses on business entertainment and sports. Now, she dreams of returning to Manhattan and working in sports entertainment. 

“I learned just by being there, working my internship and getting advice from my professors in New York and LA,” Yen said. “They give a lot of career advice because it's a really career-centric program. The advice was really helpful when I got into the professional world after I graduated.”