Student Resource Center: Internships

Internship Policy

Internships are educational programs that allow students to gain practical work experience and academic credit at the same time. These are supervised programs of work and study which involve students working in governmental, community service, or business settings. The typical intern works ten to twenty hours per week. Forty-five hours of work are required per unit of credit. Internships are appropriate for advanced undergraduate or graduate students working in fields that relate directly to their career or academic interests. Students should have completed two courses in their concentration prior to seeking an internship. A waiver of this requirement requires extraordinary circumstances. Students are advised that internships are more valuable when taken close to their date of graduation.

Criteria used in approving internships:

There must be a clear and specified relationship to an academic program.
Placement must be at a professional level of responsibility appropriate for university credit. This does not imply that interns do not do routine work.
Internship credit is rarely appropriate in an organization where a student is already employed.
Exceptions may be appropriate given special circumstances related to job transfers in the organization.
Internships involving potential conflict of interests are not appropriate. Working in a small family business would be an example of such a potential conflict.
Internships require prior approval of authorized officials.

Internships may be paid or unpaid. Three units maximum may be applied to the major in Business Administration. More than three units may be earned, however, units exceeding three are elective units and may apply toward the overall unit total needed for a degree.

Roles

The Intern fills a position offered by a sponsoring organization and executes duties in exchange for appropriate remuneration and academic credit. The primary supervisor of the intern is the on-site supervisor.

The Concentration Advisor discusses available internships with the intern and helps the intern to select an opportunity that is desirable in terms of the intern’s interests and career goals.

The On-Site Supervisor is the primary supervisor of the intern. The relation between the intern and the supervisor is one of employee and manager.

The Internship Coordinator is the University supervisor of the Intern. He/she is responsible for helping the student to arrange the internship and is the instructor for the intern. The Coordinator is the liaison with the on-site supervisor and normally has minimal contact with the intern during the course of the internship. The student submits the final paper to the Coordinator. The Coordinator would serve as the resource person for any problems that may arise during the internship.

Last modified 01.30.2008 Duane Dove

Sonoma State University School of Business and Economics

Student Resource Center: Internships