To participate in an academic internship, a student must have:

• full-time, undergraduate student status in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences;
• rising junior standing (minimum 60 credits completed); and
• a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 (fall or spring semester internship), or 2.7 for a summer internship. (Note: some employers may require a higher GPA)

Application

Students seeking an internship must file an application form (vu username and password required) with the Internship Office. A copy of the personal resume and a brief essay on the student’s reasons for undertaking the internship must be included before the application is considered complete.

Credit Approval

Students must secure academic credit approval before the internship commences. No academic credit shall be awarded retroactively for an internship.

Compensation

Employers determine if compensation will be paid to the intern; the College determines if any academic credit will be awarded. Monetary compensation for an internship does not affect eligibility for receiving academic credit. Students should realize that most, but not all, internships are unpaid.

Course Requirements

In order to earn academic credit for an internship, students agree to the following stipulations:

• Work Hours: A minimum of 150 work hours must be completed within a single semester to be eligible to earn three (3) credits. Students must indicate the number of hours worked each week on their Activity Journal.
   
• Learning Objectives Agreement: At the beginning of the internship, the student will meet with the site supervisor to establish three to five learning objectives. These objectives are documented on the Learning Objectives Agreement, signed by both the intern and the site supervisor and submitted to the Internship Office no later than the third week of the internship.
   
• Activity Journal: Interns must maintain an Activity Journal that recounts the specific jobs and functions that they have performed. These entries should include the nature of the projects and tasks performed, the relationship of the activity to the goals and objectives set forth in the Learning Objectives Agreement, occur not less frequently than weekly and indicate the exact number of hours worked that week. To ensure the intern remains focused on the learning objectives, the site supervisor will review and initial the Activity Journal weekly.
   
• Intern Evaluation Report: Interns will complete an Intern Evaluation Report to help ascertain the effectiveness of the experience including assessment of the workload, quality of supervision, extent of professional development and the overall quality of the internship from the student’s perspective.
   
• Academic Paper: All interns are required to complete a reflective paper documenting the following general points. NOTE: Certain departments in the College have specific requirements for papers submitted in satisfaction of credit requirements – it is the responsibility of the student-intern to comply with these requirements. A specific outline will be given to the student-intern by the Internship Office.
  • General points to be covered:
    • Nature of the work performed;
    • Success in meeting the Learning Objectives Agreement;
    • Relationship of intern experience to academic coursework;
    • Insights gained regarding industry, career goals, management styles, etc.;
• Paper must include a cover sheet with student-intern name, email address, telephone number, name of internship company and title of internship completed. Additional outputs of work performed are to be included as appendices to the paper.

Cost

Internships during the fall and spring semesters are included in the regular tuition for the semester involved. The tuition for a summer internship course (3-credit) is $600.

Grading

Internships are graded on a satisfactory(S)/unsatisfactory (U) basis. Internship credits are included in the number counted towards graduation, but are not included in the calculation of the student’s overall GPA. An academic internship will appear on a student’s transcript according to the academic department by which it is approved.

Length

Internships must be at least 150 work hours in length to earn three credits. Additional credits require additional hours. In all cases, the employer must stipulate the number of hours worked.

Registration Deadlines

Study abroad

Internships that are part of a study abroad experience are administered by the Office of International Studies. Credit approval for international internships is granted by the faculty chair of the appropriate academic department or faculty coordinator of the international program.

Submission Deadlines

Students are required to complete an Activity Log, Reflective Paper and Internship Evaluation for an academic internship. These are due to the Internship Office, St. Augustine Center, Room 415, by:

Type

Internships fit into the following types:

• Major -- A practical experience related to the student’s major. This is the most common way for students to take part in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences internship program. There may be prerequisite coursework before a student will be permitted to do an internship. For example, there are specializations in the new Communication Department curriculum that have prerequisites for internships. It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of all course requirements for an internship.
• Minor -- An experience related to the student’s minor. Again, be aware that there may be prerequisites. Some departments do not allow minors to do internships.
• Concentration -- An experience related to the student’s concentration. Again, there may be prerequisites.
• Liberal Arts & Sciences -- the purpose of this internship is career exploration by the student. The student may have coursework or other preparatory work for an internship, but does not have a major, minor, or concentration in the field. The student must make a valid case through their essay for the internship.