Each year, two dozen NAHJ student members are asked to trade part of their winter break to spend two weeks at The New York Times Student Journalism Institute, where they work side-by-side with some of the best in the industry to create an interactive news site and newspaper.

Students pitch, report, and write the stories; copy edit; design and layout pages; and shoot photos and video. Their work is guided by mentors — many of them fellow NAHJ members — from The New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the NYT Co. regional newspapers.

The days may be long and the work exacting — but the payoff for some is huge: sometimes, NAHJ students members’ work is published in the Times. The Institute has helped jump start careers and its alums often gain immediate notice from professional newsrooms. Ask Astrid Galvan, an Arizona State University graduate who went through the program and is now a hard-hitting cops reporter for the Albuquerque Journal. Ask Nathan Olivarez-Giles, a graduate of the University of Arizona who is now a videographer and reporter covering technology at the Los Angeles Times. Or ask James Wagner, a University of Virginia graduate who is now a sports writer at The Washington Post. Here’s what James had to say about the Institute:

“This may not seem like the most obvious reason to want to attend the New York Times Student Journalism Institute, but consider this: the students you share the experience with will be your colleagues in journalism for years to come. Not only have the professional journalists and instructors been valuable resources and helpful connections since, but my fellow Institute participants have been incredibly vital as well. Years later, they still help me with story ideas, writing tips, job prospects and more, in addition to being important friends and colleagues. And for those reasons, the Institute has had a lasting impact on my life so far.”

Apply now, and the next credit or byline could be yours. This is your chance to learn, work, and get noticed.

Check out work from the last Institute, held at Florida International University in Miami.

This year, the Institute will be held at the University of Arizona in Tucson from Jan. 2 to 16. There is no cost for students invited to attend. The New York Times Co. pays travel and hotel expenses, and students receive a stipend for food.

Applications must be postmarked no later than Oct. 29, 2011, and should include work samples, an essay of up to 500 words about why the applicant wants be a journalist, and a letter of recommendation from a professor or editor, which must be mailed separately.

Obtain the application now.

For more information about the Institute, please contact:

Don R. Hecker, Director

The New York Times Student Journalism Institute

The New York Times

620 Eighth Ave.

New York, NY 10018-1405

(212) 556-1576

hecker@nytimes.com

Here’s what some other alums had to say about the Institute:

“Put simply, no internship experience can get you better or closer access to top-notch professionals than here. The New York Times Student Journalism Institute offers you the chance to explore new opportunities—want to try video or audio work? No problem—or hone your craft with the industry’s best.”

—Nic Barajas, who attended the 2008 Institute when he was a student at Ithaca College and is now a paginator at The New York Times.

“Those ten days in Tucson were the most fun I’ve ever had as a reporter.  By working alongside some of the most talented and generous people in journalism and pushing myself harder than I ever realized, I was able to raise the quality of my work to that of The New York Times. More importantly, through at least 15-hour workdays and outrageous amounts of coffee, I met some of my best friends.”

— Stephen Ceasar, University of Arizona graduate who attended the 2010 New York Times Student Journalism Institute and was a summer intern at The New York Times and is now a reporter at the Los Angeles Times.

“To be the best you have to learn from the best – that is what the New York Times Student Journalism Institute offers to its trainees. Your classes can only do so much. You have to get dirty. You have to be challenged. You need real world experience. This intense 14-day adventure will sharpen your skills, put you to the test and help you refine your talent alongside the top editors in the country while you develop relationships with some of the finest student journalists out there.  I am confident that were it not for the passionate instruction and experience of those days in Miami, I would not have been prepared for the profession. Thanks to the New York Times Institute, I and many of the students in that first class in 2007 are working journalists.”

—Marie De Jesús, a student at Daytona Beach Community College in Florida in 2007, who is now a staff photographer at the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, NY

“There’s no doubt – those ten or so days at the Institute aren’t easy, but it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  I connected with the best in the industry, learned skills that would have otherwise taken weeks or months, and formed some of the most important friendships of my life. I’d do it again.”

—Nicole Santa Cruz, staff writer, who attended the Institute in 2009 when she was a student at the University of Arizona and is now a reporter at the Los Angeles Times