We believe in giving students the opportunity to get real-world experience through internships, so you see how your coursework meets application in real settings. Our Career Services team builds partnerships with businesses across the region to give students opportunities, and our College relies on an Advisory Board of professionals to keep our curriculum reflective of the marketplace. 

Internships are a form of hands-on learning that integrates knowledge learned in the classroom with skill development in a professional setting. As an intern you can gain valuable real-world experience, while evaluating interests and assistance with planning for future career goals plus make great connections in your future industry. 

Internship Guidelines for Management and Marketing Majors

Hospitality Management majors should contact Dr. Quantella Noto to set up their internship. Management and Marketing majors interested in completing an internship will need to forward to the Department Internship Coordinator or meet with the coordinator and bring to the meeting, the items below. If you are needing HA473 or HA658, contact Dr. Asa Wilson. For all other internships, contact Dr. Christine Ladwig.

• A current resume.  

• A brief summary of internship plans:  
  • The specific type of internship the student is interested in completing (e.g., sales, human resources, store/retail management, food-service management, marketing research, advertising, public relations, manufacturing management, etc.). 
  • Specific type of company, firm, or agency (for-profit or not-for-profit) the student is interested in pursuing an internship with.  
  • Specific reasons for wanting to complete an internship.  
  • The value an internship will offer in terms of personal development.  
  • How your personal qualifications match your internship interests.  
• A current copy of the student’s detailed degree audit. To assist with the above information, it is recommended that each student schedule an appointment to meet individually with a career counselor in Career Services. Prior to scheduling a meeting with the Department Internship Coordinator, students should read the Guidelines, noting eligibility (see Guideline A below). 

Internship Contract

Purpose

The academic internship is a valuable extension of formal academic education. It affords students an opportunity to combine their educational experience with professional work experience. 

Guidelines

• To be eligible for an internship, students should have completed 75 hours of college credit, have a minimum cumulative overall GPA of 2.5 with a 2.75 GPA in their major courses. Students should also have completed 9 hours in their major (MG or MK prefix). Exceptions to the above may be granted by the chairperson or designee only in appropriate situations.  

• Before credit can be earned, each student’s study plan in the form of an Internship Contract must be developed in conjuction with the Internship Site Supervisor and approved in advance by the department Internship Coordinator. Students also must complete the Liability Release and Limited Power of Attorney Form.  

• The internship experience must provide the students with a variety of learning tasks and experiences. The amount of credit granted will be determined by the internship expectations as indicated in the Internship Contract. At least 20 percent of the student’s time is to be spent in training rather than simply routine work. To receive credit, the student intern must participate fully in the assigned, contractual internship tasks. The maximum amount of credit normally awarded is three credit hours. A minimum of 50 hours of training and work is expected for each hour of academic credit for a total of 150 hours of training and work experience for three credit hours.  

• The Internship is offered on a credit/no-credit basis (letter grades are not assigned) dependent on meeting the agreed study plan criteria, an evaluation by the company’s supervisor and the quality of the student’s submitted written report. The final Internship Paper/Report is to summarize and critique the internship experience, evaluate what was learned in relation to their major curriculum and discuss the impact of the experience on future career plans (see Guidelines for Internship Paper/Report).  

• Students will keep a Time/Activity Journal showing when and what types of assignments were completed throughout the internship experience. Time/Activity Journals will be submitted to the department Internship Coordinator at the end of each week and will include the specific days worked that week, dates, specific times worked, total number of hours worked each day and a brief summary of the specific activities involved in each day. When the student submits a copy of their weekly Time/Activity Journal to their Internship Coordinator, the student will also need to forward a copy to their respective on-site Internship Supervisor for review. Upon review by the intern’s on-site supervisor, the onsite supervisor will then need to forward an e-mail to the department Internship Coordinator indicating he/she has reviewed the interns weekly journal entries and agrees to their accuracy. This particular process will be completed weekly throughout the intern’s placement. Credit for Internship will be submitted when the Internship Paper/Report, Intern Survey, Organization’s Evaluation of Internship Student, and Time/Activity Journal have been submitted to the department Internship Coordinator.  

• Internships can be taken on a paid or nonpaid basis.  

• Internship sponsors must follow practices consistent with the university’s guidelines on equal opportunity and affirmative action.  
• The Internship is a controlled class and enrollment in the class is initiated through the department Internship Coordinator. Internship Contracts must be completed and signed by the student intern, sponsoring organization, and internship coordinator or chairperson prior to being enrolled in Internship. The Liability Release form also needs to be signed before the enrollment is processed.