Grammy-Winning Producer Jermaine Dupri Announces Music Internship for Emory Students
Credit: Gilbert Flores / Contributor / Billboard / Getty Images- Grammy Award-winning producer Jermaine Dupri is offering students an internship lasting 6-8 weeks to learn about music production, business, and Atlanta’s music industry history.
- Emory University students in the College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, the Business School, and the School of Nursing can intern for credit.
- Applications open Oct. 16.
- Emory’s Impact Lab, which hosts in-house industry professionals for 20 students a semester, has focused on film, media, and entertainment this semester.
Grammy Award-winning producer Jermaine Dupri is doing his part to ensure selected students at Emory University in Atlanta have a shot at the music industry.
Dupri, an Atlanta native, has produced music for recording artists like Usher, Bow Wow, and Mariah Carey. Now, he’s searching for two undergraduate creatives to intern at his label So So Def Recordings.
“I’ve always been a person that gives younger individuals and people who want to be in this business a chance,” Dupri said in a press release. “I’m looking for superstars that are not on the stage, and I hope that I can find them in this So So Def/Emory intern partnership.”
Students in Emory’s College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, Business School, and School of Nursing can begin applying Oct. 16 to intern for credit, a spokesperson for Emory told BestColleges.
Emory said that over 6-8 weeks, students will work with each other, Dupri, and other staff to learn about the music production process, Atlanta’s music industry history, and business. Students will also be enrolled in internship courses and gain access to a faculty mentor/director.
On top of the internship, Emory has also been empowering students to enter the entertainment industry through the Impact Lab within the Oxford Center for Pathways and Purpose. The Impact Lab enrolls 20 students each semester and hosts resident professionals who teach and guide students in projects and provide career coaching.
This semester focuses on Pathways in Film, Media, and the Entertainment Business and features Scott Garner, a programming and brand strategist with 25 years of experience in content development with recent consulting for the Oprah Winfrey Network, and Lea Anne Jackson, a seven-time Emmy Award-winning creative services director.
Colleges and the Music Industry
The music industry is no stranger to Atlanta colleges. Last year, another music giant, Spotify, invested in Spelman College, a historically Black women’s college.
Spotify granted five students each a $10,000 NextGen scholarship to “infuse, activate, and grow podcast culture on college campuses.” The partnership enhanced the curriculum and opened the doors for NextGen scholars to serve as ambassadors to students on behalf of Spotify.
“I think what makes the Next Generation scholarship so incredible is that I know so many other girls who have come up to me and been inspired by me [getting] the scholarship and them realizing that maybe they can get something like that too from Spotify,” NextGen scholar Bailey Lois Johnson previously told BestColleges.
“Because it’s not just going to be me who gets the scholarship; it’s going to be other now-sophomore girls and sophomores coming.”
Music superstar Beyoncé also committed a total of $1 million to 10 colleges in cities where she toured for her album “Renaissance.” The plan called for 100 students to receive $10,000 toward their education. Around the same time, she launched a limited-edition collaboration with Tiffany and Co., with all profits going to the About Love Scholarship. The scholarship supports students earning a degree in the arts, history, and communications at five historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Another music superstar, Taylor Swift, has been finding her way nationwide as the hottest topic in classes. Since 2020, colleges have been in their “Taylor Swift Era,” creating different Swift-oriented classes around storytelling, ethics, business, English, philosophy, and gender and communication.