Information for Faculty:

What are the benefits of internships?

Your students will benefit from the practical experience and will find it easier to identify and compete for jobs after graduation. 

Academic programs that include internships are very attractive to students because they can learn about their prospective career and earn money to offset the cost of their education.

Faculty can learn and stay current with careers in their discipline through the interaction with employers who hire interns.  

How do I set up an internship for my students?

Internships that bear academic credit must be approved by your chairperson.  Each department has at least one course that can be used for internship credit.  These courses end with 85 or 90. 

The procedure for setting up an internship varies by discipline or department.  In some cases, a formal contract, signed by both a university representative and internship employer, establishes the guidelines for the internship.  In other cases, a simple verbal agreement between the faculty member, student intern, and employer can suffice.  If you would like to see examples of internship contracts, please contact Dr. Jeff Bauer or Mr. Steve Gregory.

Most importantly, whether there is a signed or verbal agreement, the internship should be well defined before you allow a student to register for course credit.  For instance, the number of credit hours, work hours per week, description of the duties, and evaluation method should be determined prior to beginning of the internship.  In addition, a supervisor from the internship site should be identified as the main contact for the faculty advisor.

What is my responsibility as an internship advisor?

Your responsibility is to periodically check on the student's progress and performance by communicating with both the student and his/her supervisor. You should make sure that the student is obtaining a truly educational experience.  The intern's work duties should be substantive and directly related to his/her field of study or major.

Do I receive credit for advising internships?

Yes. Workload credit varies by the type of internship.  Some faculty offer a classroom-based course for their student interns.  So, in addition to the work experience, students meet with their faculty advisor in a classroom setting. For this type of internship, the faculty member receives the same type of workload credit that they would for a regular course.

For internships where the faculty member has periodic but brief contact with the student intern and his/her supervisor during the semester, the workload credit is likely to be considered as "remote, indirect supervision" and is defined by your contract.

Your workload credit must be determined prior to the beginning of the internship and approved by your chairperson.