“Internships integrate knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting.” –National Association of Colleges & Employers
Internships are powerful "beyond the classroom" learning experiences. They enable you to learn and grow your knowledge and skills under the supervision of a professor or a professional in your field of interest. They come in all shapes, sizes, and settings:
Here are our 5 top reasons to do one (or more!):
Connecting and engaging with faculty members in your area of interest early is key. Here are our top tips to get you started:
Internships are educational and professional stepping stones.Therefore, the best have the following 5 qualities:
There are two primary ways of finding and setting up an internship experience – either through established advertisements and announcements or by developing and proposing a project that you feel would benefit a campus or community organization. In either case, think about where and from whom you would learn the most given your educational and career goals. Here are some ideas to get you started.
A Research Internship is a work or volunteer experience in a field or lab setting where you assist graduate students and/or faculty members with their research (data collection, data preparation, data analysis, etc.). This is in contrast to Undergraduate Research which involves doing your own research under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
Advanced approval is required and will not be awarded for internships completed previously.
To be approved you must demonstrate (via an approval form) that the internship is good fit with your educational and professional purpose and goals, has clear learning objectives, appropriate site supervision, and includes real work assignments, duties, and projects.
You can choose either academic credit or non-credit, depending whether you need credit to graduate, for financial aid enrollment level, or other reason.
Academic Credit | Non-Credit |
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*"Successful Completion" or "Non-successful Completion"
NOTE: International students must also complete a Curricular Practical Training (CPT)