Internships for New College Students

An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization to a student for a limited period of time, typically one semester or less.  Internships are experiential learning opportunities. An internship does not guarantee to you a job, but it does help build out your resume and give you an inside glimpse into a potential career field. 

Handshake is a great place to start looking for internships.  Use keyword search terms and filters to your advantage to focus or expand your search. 

Use your network.  Speak with your faculty, advisors, classmates, alumni and other people in your network to hear what they recommend. 

Internships can also be found on job posting sites like Indeed.

Before starting an internship, consider the following:

Am I required to get an internship for credit? Some programs offer credit for internships and some do not.  You can still pursue an internship even if it is not for academic credit in order to gain valuable experience.  Just make sure to tell your employer ahead of time if you are seeking academic credit or learning experience.

Is this internship paid or unpaid? It is a common misconception that internships are unpaid.  Many internships can be both for pay and for credit! 

What is your purpose for getting an internship? Take some time to think about your personal academic, professional, creative and personal learning objectives.  Does this particular experience support your learning and how?  What do you want to achieve?  These will all be important questions to ask yourself as you go through your internship.

What do you want to experience during an internship and how can you find the right internship for you? As part of the process, you will articulate how career concepts and your coursework apply to the internship experiences as well as how your internship experience applies to your future career.

All internships must be approved in Handshake before students can acquire academic credit.  

Meet with your Academic Advisor to make sure that an internship is the right choice for your path and that you are on track with your degree.

When you receive an internship offer enter it as a Experience in Handshake.  This begins the approval process and requires acknowledgement from your potential on-site supervisor.

Once approvals are received, you will be given an override to enroll in the internship 484 course. You will be responsible for completing assignments including reflective journals, submitting time-sheets, evaluations and a formal paper.

International students should contact the International Student and Scholar Center (ISSC) before applying to internships.  F-1 students are required to speak with an academic advisor and an ISSC advisor prior to starting an internship.

F-1 students who are completing a degree program can gain experience off-campus through volunteering or as an unpaid intern only when there is no compensation of any kind and the position does not violate any U.S. or state labor laws.