Registering for an Internship Course
Course Credit & Hour Requirements
- Internship courses will now be offered for 0-4 credits, depending on the major
- Each credit will require 45 hours of work at the internship site, so a 1 credit internship course = 45 hours of work at the internship site, 2 credits = 90 hours, 3 credits = 135 hours and 4 credits = 180 hours.
- A zero-credits internship course requires 30 hours of work at the internship site.
Steps to Register for an internship course
In order to recognize the learning that occurs in internships, academic departments may award credit for an internship if a student gains approval from a faculty internship sponsor within the department they wish to receive credit from and the internship is related to a student's major or career goals. Internship courses are implemented at the departmental level. Each department has established internship courses that are specific to their department with distinct prerequisites and academic requirements.
Follow these steps to apply for academic credit:
- Read the Internship Information Sheet to ensure your understanding of the academic internship policies.
- Review the Internship Learning Agreement Tip Sheet to become familiar with the form.
- Confirm eligibility to receive credit by meeting with your Academic Advisor.
- Secure an internship and discuss responsibilities, expectations, and supervision plans with an internship Site Supervisor.
- Discuss internship with faculty member in department from which you are seeking credit
and request they become the Faculty Internship Sponsor for the internship course. Ask what the faculty member is requiring for academic
work to demonstrated your learning . It is the faculty internship sponsor's responsibility
to decide if the internship warrants academic credit.
- If you are applying for zero-credit, you will skip this step. Zero-credit internship courses do not accrue credit and do not satisfy any requirements, and therefore do not require any academic work.
- If applying for credit for an independent international internship, that is, not part of your study abroad program, meet with the Office of Global Education to gain information and approval.
- Complete the Internship Learning Agreement (ILA) by Requesting an Experience in Handshake.
- From the Handshake home screen, go to Career Center > Experiences, and Request an Experience
- You will see the Internship Learning Agreement (ILA) as an Experience Type.
It is important to have all of the above-mentioned conversations and all necessary information before starting the Internship Learning Agreement (ILA) because you will not be able to save a draft. Use the Tip Sheet (edit the Word document) to gather all the necessary content, then cut and paste into Handshake when you're ready.
The CEO will review your submitted ILA and start the approval process, which is all managed in Handshake. Handshake will send an email to your Academic Advivisor to review the experience. After they approve it, it will continue to the next approver (Faculty Internship Sponsor) on the list, and follows that sequential order for Site Superviso and the Office of Global Education (if applicable). If the approver misses their deadline or chooses to not approve the experience, the approval process will be halted and “Needs Review”.
You will be able to track the process via Handshake to determine the status of the process.
Deadlines and important dates
Feb 3, 2023 - Early Deadline to submit an ILA for Spring Internships
Feb 3, 2023 - Work due to Faculty Internship Sponsor for Winter internships (important date for the ILA)
March 31, 2023 – Final Deadline to submit an ILA for Spring internships
May 11, 2023 - Work due to Faculty Internship Sponsor for Spring internships (important date for the ILA)
June 2, 2023 - Early Deadline to submit an ILA for Summer internships
July 7, 2023 - Final Deadline to submit an ILA for Summer internships
Forms to register for an internship course
Please review first:
- Information Sheet for Registering for an Internship Course (PDF)
- Tip Sheet for Completing the ILA (PDF)
Internship Learning Agreement (ILA) - Request an Experience in Handshake
Forms to submit at the end of the Internship
Student Reflection on Internship Experience
Performance Evaluation - Will be emailed to the internship site supervisor
Is there a fee to register for an internship course?
During the fall and spring semesters, most full time students build their internship course into their course load. If internship courses exceed the 18-hour max, students will need to 1) petition the Associate Provost to be in overload, and 2) pay any fees associated with that overload. For more information, please see the Full-Time Undergraduates section on this page.
For summer and winter internships, there is a per-credit fee associated with registering for an academic course for an internship. For more information, please see the Part-Time Undergraduate section on this page.