Hutchins School of Liberal Studies FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS About Internships in Track I Internships are one of three alternatives for Track I Students to complete their off-campus work. The other two are Study Away and College Year Away from Campus, including Going Abroad. (See Notes, below.) What are Internships? Internships are a way for you to get "real-life" experience outside the classroom. They are a chance for you to find out whether you like working in a particular area or job. They offer you the opportunity to develop a project to "market" yourself to prospective employers or professional schools. You should know that employers and professional schools look more favorably on you when you have worked at a "real" job and have done an internship that shows you are capable of working in a particular area. When you finish your internship, you will put both the experience and the project on your resume. What are some typical internships? Internships are most often done off campus in businesses or social service agencies. You might help design an evaluation component for a homeless shelter or a marketing niche in a stock brokerage. You may work in a law office or a legislator's office. Some internships may be on-campus, where you work in student government. And some may be "on your own," putting together a plan for your business. The idea is to find a place or placement where you want to work and then work with the faculty person to make a project of it. You can be a volunteer in your internship or be paid for it! There is now a list of those agencies with websites in the forms section of the Hutchins website. How much work is it? Most students do the following path: three units of internship in the internship class offered in the Spring semester. You should do 135 hours of work project during that semester and participate in the Internship class discussing internship, career, and work-related issues.. You will be expected to produce a project on your internship, which will be shared in class. Additional units can be taken if your project warrants it. Your final project will focus on your internship in a larger context, be practical, and portfolio in nature to market you. You should see the Internship Advisor early in your junior year to begin the process. Some students may want to develop a particular internship with a specific instructor and project, such as the Latino Student Congress or Hutchins Center. You should see the instructor involved if that is your interest. When should you start your internship? You should see the Internship Advisor in your junior year. If you are working in the area of Human Services, you may want to volunteer in some helping capacity to see whether you like working with people. You should take Community Involvement Project (CIP) in Hutchins. This is not Internship, but it gives you a "feel" of being in a working capacity. It counts as University Elective Units, however, and it is taken on a Credit/No Credit Basis. You volunteer 30 hours for one credit. (You may not volunteer for more than 4 credits in any one semester, and six in all.) If you are working in a non-Human Services capacity, you may want to do Directed Study with a particular instructor or the Internship Advisor and develop a research project. You may also want to "prepare" for your internship by doing directed studies on your general area before you start your internship. How do you find an internship? There are many places to look. You can go to the Career Center on campus, speak to the Internship Advisor or your instructors, go the on-line list, or you can "create" on your own by contacting a place where you want to work. Ideally, the kind of project you would like to do is what your work supervisor wants and your instructor approves. How do I get academic credit for an Internship? You will need to fill out an internship Agreement found in the office bookcase (#SSU6,) and then obtain consent from your internship instructor and field supervisor, where appropriate. Then you obtain the Provost's signature and file the form with Admissions and Records. Can you do more than one internship? You may do more than one internship or study away or year abroad. But you should consult your advisor, because you are expected also to take a spread of courses or do independent study in a variety of different areas to be a well-rounded student. Notes: Other Ways of Meeting the Internship Requirement for Track I You may want to study away from campus on your own or in another university or do a field project while not "residing" on campus (i.e., be a regular student attending classes.) You should see your advisor as early as possible to begin this process. The CSU has year-abroad programs; so do other colleges, from a semester to a year program. You can obtain that information from the International Programs Office on Campus. Under special conditions, you may travel and do independent study after consultation with your advisor and approval from the Hutchins faculty. There are strict regulations from the CSU as to how you proceed; these can be obtained from the International Studies Office. If you are planning to go this route, you should speak to your advisor as early as possible. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR INTERNSHIP FOR TRACK II What are my options? Track II students may get credit for "real life" experience in the schools. You have two options: to volunteer in an approved school setting under the Community Involvement Program (CIP) or to do an internship. In the first case, you get university elective (not Hutchins) credit and you work on a credit/no credit basis. You work 30 hours for one credit. You cannot be paid! You can take up to four units in any one semester and six in total. You participate in a once-a-month seminar of CIP and Internship students. See the Internship Advisor. In the second case, you can do an internship in an approved classroom. You can volunteer or be paid for your work! Your units count as Hutchins electives and can be taken for a grade or on a credit/no credit basis. Each unit requires 45 hours work. You can take a maximum of two units in any one semester, with a maximum of four. Preferably you should only do two, as you will be getting your teaching experience in the School of Education. You write an analytical paper and participate with other Track II interns and CIP students in a once-a-month seminar. See the Internship Advisor early. Where do I find placements? You can go to the Career Center for listed placements. You can call up a school district to see where they have openings. You can talk to the Internship Advisor. Often, we can match you with a Hutchins graduate who is a teacher. If you work in a school setting or any childcare setting, you should know the following: You are a mandated child abuse reporter. This will be explained to you at the first session. Do not go into any setting that does not understand that you have a reporting obligation. You will be asked to produce a favorable TB test to work in a school. You may also be asked to go through the newly institutionalized fingerprinting requirement and registration as well. Fingerprints can be gotten at any police station and in some copy shops.