Planning Your Internship

To: Prospective Interns
From: Dr. Susan Chizeck Director of Internships

Early in the semester preceding the internship semester, decide what sort of internship you would like to do and how it relates to your major. For IS students, three credits of internship may be included in your concentration, and an additional three credits may be used as an elective, for a total of six credits maximum. Most other majors use internship credits for free electives only. Check with your academic adviser to see where it fits in your own degree plan. You can begin an internship at any time during the semester (with prior approval) and register for the next formal semester, unless you are an international student doing CPT.

If you have contacts through family, friends, professors in the field, or your own initiative, you are welcome to set up your own interviews and find your own internship site. Many students already have the contacts to do this, particularly in specialized fields. Use all the resources you have. However, do come to see the Internship Director to discuss your intentions, and file your internship application.

If you need help finding a site, allot at least an hour to look through the Internship Opportunity Book, kept in the Interdisciplinary Studies /Internship Assistant's office, GR 2.240, and peruse it for placements that interest you. Make a list of five to ten placements from the book that seem most appealing and rank-order them. The Career Services Office in McDermott Library (MC) also keeps listings of paid jobs, co-ops and internships, which may qualify for credit. Placements found through the Co-op office can also be used for credit as an internship (or for co-op credit).

Prepare a resume (see Career Services if you need help), as most sites will ask for one to be sent, and you should always take one with you to an interview.

Pick up or print off an internship application form from the Interdisciplinary Studies office (GR 2.240) and fill it out. Bring it, along with your letter of intent, your list of possible sites, and your resume to the Internship Director, before or at the time of your appointment. Make an appointment with the Intersnship Director to discuss your interests, possible placemetns, and schedule for the next semester.  Please read all information handouts thoroughly before your appointment.  Although we can assist you, we do not "place" interns, as finding a site is part of the internship process.  If you do not have a phone answering machice or email, please clearly indicate how you can be reached in a timely manner, or check in with the Internship Director frequently.

After an interview, send a note to the interviewer thanking them for their time.  Also, give feedback to the Internship Director about how the interview went.

Occasionally students do internships at their current place of employment, but you cannot get credit for doing your regular job -- an internship is not just job experience credit. To qualify as an internship, you must be undertaking a new learning experience and learning new skills. Some suitable situations might be undergoing training for a new position or transferring to a different function in the company. In your letter of intent discuss the new learning you anticipate.

When you have been accepted at a site as an intern, have the site supervisor send a letter on company letterhead to the Internship Director stating that you are accepted as an intern, who your supervisor will be, the name, address, and phone number of the company, what your duties will be, and what your compensation (if any) will be.  If you are wanting to do an internship at your regular workplace, the letter must also mention the new things you will be learning.  The Director will be happy to speak to them in person and answer any questions.

Finding an internship can take several months, so it is imperative that you be willing to follow up on phone calls and leads. Start the search process well before papers and exams are due, so that you have the necessary time to find a placement. If a site requests that you call next week to set up an interview, do it. If they ask that you send a resume, do it immediately. Our office can fax materials as needed. Students who procrastinate on these items will often find themselves without a site when the semester begins. If you are unable to pursue finding an internship with any vigor, you are unlikely to be desirable or salable as an intern. Even seemingly secure placements can fall through at the last minute (due to a supervisor leaving the company, layoffs, etc.), so you must be prepared to do searching and interviewing in a timely manner. A placement can never be guaranteed, particularly in very specialized or competitive fields.

Internships are often unpaid, or pay at the minimum wage level. A few students a semester may be offered a job at their sites, so it is possible, but not probable. However, through an internship you will gain valuable experience and contacts that will assist in your job-hunting, particularly if you ask your site supervisor or colleagues for advice and assistance.

There is no retroactive credit for internships. This means that in order to get credit for an internship, you must file your application, complete with letter from your site sponsor. After your internship has been approved by the Internship Director, Dr. Chizeck, you will be given information on registration and an assignment packet. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR ASSIGNMENT PACKET BY THE BEGINNING OF THE SEMESTER, CALL OUR OFFICE. Any hours you do before your internship is approved cannot be counted towards the internship course. Although you can begin an internship at any time during the year, no hours will count unless it has prior formal approval from our office.

** PLEASE NOTE - BIS 4V04 is an academic course taken for university credit. For this reason, you must pay for this course at the Bursar's office after you have been registered.