Internships and Experiential Learning

Not all education happens in the classroom. Certain lessons can only be learned through direct hands-on experiences outside of the classroom with real world experiences in the field. Internships and experiential learning, or field experiences, give students the opportunity to connect one-on-one with faculty, fellow students, and other professionals.

Internships and experiential learning programs provide a supervised period of practical work experience that helps students explore various career fields and learn to apply classroom principles to real-world situations. Students will acquire leadership and management skills, professional growth and personal fulfillment that can’t be gained in the classroom.

How to complete an Internship or Experiential Learning

Eligibility and requirements for internships and experiential learning vary by major. Credits are assigned on the basis of 40 hours per credit. Students can earn up to 9 credits per internship and 6 credits per experiential learning experience.

IMPORTANT: if an internship course is part of the curriculum in your major, you must take the internship course in conjunction with doing your internship. Work with your program advisor to ensure you’re enrolled the course in addition to completing all of the steps listed here.

Before

To register for an internship or experiential learning for credit, a student must:

1. Search for an internship on Handshake or other sources with guidance from your faculty mentor/faculty advisor.
2. Download Experiential Learning Checklist (PDF)
3. Download & Complete the Experiential Learning / Internship Learning Agreement (Word Doc)
   1. Host Site Agreement (PDF)
   2. Student Agreement (PDF)
4. Obtain signatures from the faculty mentor, employer/organization, and Career Development.  Submit the Experiential Learning/Internship Registration form to the Registrar’s Office before the work experience begins
5. Download and complete the Time Log (Excel Form) to track hours for your work experience

After

At the conclusion of the internship or experiential learning experience, all completed paperwork must be submitted to the faculty mentor including:

• Evaluation of student from faculty (PDF)
• Evaluation of student from employer (PDF)
• Evaluation of employer from student (PDF)

The faculty mentor is responsible for submitting a grade for the work experience. Grading can be either pass/fail or a letter grade with the approval of the faculty mentor.