Internships for Academic Credit

Internships are often done for academic credit in the College of Arts and Sciences, and they are a graduation requirement in the Pamplin School of Business. Students in the School of Nursing & Health Professions, the School of Education, and the Shiley School of Engineering all have experiential learning built into the curriculum, and internships for academic credit are not as common. While you can obtain credit for an unpaid internship with a nonprofit, the ideal scenario is that internships are both paid and eligible for academic credit.  

College of Arts & Sciences 

In the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), students must enroll in a course and gain approval from a faculty member to complete the internship for credit.  Many academic departments offer internship courses for credit, typically under a 397 or 497 course number. These are variable credit courses - students and faculty determine the amount of credits applicable based on the site hours and meeting hours with the faculty member.  Students must enroll in the semester in which the internship begins and takes place. 

Steps to Take Before Enrolling

1. Secure the internship or be in the process of securing the internship 
2. Verify that you have time and ability to meet the minimum site hours and faculty meeting hours during the internship (see chart below)
3. Connect with your Program Councilor (PC) and/or the Internship Coordinator (internship@up.edu). They will help you navigate enrollment as the process can be complicated. 

Steps to Enroll in an Internship for Credit

There are two ways to enroll, and it depends on the students major and course availability:

1. If a department is already offering a course and there is room in it, students can just enroll in the pre-existing course. 
2. If their department isn't offering a course, students can enroll in a 1:1 internship course, by doing the following: 
   1. Find a faculty member who is willing to serve as a faculty supervisor
   2. Connect with their PC to discuss the additional credits
   3. Inform the Internship Coordinator of the experience
   4. Fill out a variable credit form (This form can be obtained via email from their PC. It must remain embedded in an email chain and needs to be signed by the student, their department chair, and the faculty supervisor before the PC can submit it to the Registrar's Office).

Pamplin School of Business 

As part of the Pamplin School of Business P4 curriculum, students are required to take both BUS 302, an Internship Prep Course, and BUS 397, a Business Internship. BUS 302 and BUS 397 are taken the same semester, during Junior year. Then the internship is often completed during the summer between the Junior and Senior year. BUS 302 is three credits and BUS 397 is one credit. Internships completed before enrollment in BUS 302 will not qualify for the BUS 397 credit. If students want to complete a second internship for credit course, they can enroll in BUS 497, which is a variable credit course. 

Steps to Enroll in the Required Internship for Credit (BUS 397) 

1. Secure the internship or be in the process of securing the internship 
2. Enroll in BUS 302 and BUS 397  

Steps to Enroll in the Optional Internship for Credit (BUS 497) 

1. Secure the internship or be in the process of securing the internship 
2. Obtain a variable credit form from the Registrar’s office or your Program Counselor to enroll in an internship course 
3. Meet with the P4 Director to approve the internship, confirm the credit hours you’ll be enrolling in, and get the variable credit form signed  

Once Enrolled: Steps to Complete an Academic Credit Internship 

In both the College of Arts and Sciences and Pamplin School of Business all students must do the following to receive academic credit for an internship:  

1. Submit a Learning Agreement (LA) and secure faculty and site supervisor approval
2. Fulfill hour requirements at the internship site and complete syllabus requirements 
3. Submit a final student survey near completion of the internship and assist in collection of the final site supervisor survey

Questions?  

Contact the Internship & Experiential Learning Coordinator, in the Career Education Center at 503.943.8445 or internship@up.edu.