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| What is the College of Business Internship Program? The College of Business Internship Program provides students an opportunity to get real-world experience directly related to their major field of student and academic credit! Students can receive three hours of academic credit for 120 clock hours of work on their internship. An internship is a great opportunity for students to combine academics with experience—while you’re still in college! Plus, doing an internship often makes their other coursework more meaningful.
Who Can Be an Intern? Generally, interns must have a minimum of 9 upper-level hours in their major field of study. Graduate students must have at least 15 graduate hours before doing an internship. Interns should have at least a 2.5 gpa in their major. If your gpa is lower than this, you can write a letter requesting consideration. Please check with your advisor before doing an internship. Why Should a Business Want an Intern? Businesses almost always report that having an intern is a good experience for them. Interns bring energy and excitement to the workplace. They are talented individuals who are thrilled to have an opportunity to finally work in their major field of study. They have fresh knowledge and an eagerness to learn. Also, many organizations report that another advantage of having an intern is the opportunity to “try before buying” new employees. If the intern does an excellent job and an opportunity arises, the business already has a potential full-time employee! Some of the most frequently-asked questions by businesses are answered below. What is the responsibility of the internship site? The internship site is asked to provide 120 clock hours of supervised work that is related to the student’s major. The site is also asked to appoint a site supervisor for the intern and provide a list of job responsibilities for the intern. For example, while filing and answering the phone are parts of all of our jobs, we ask that clerical duties not represent more than 15-20% of the intern’s work experience. We also ask the site supervisors to complete one or two evaluations of the intern each semester. These evaluations are one page in length and can be faxed back to the internship director. What type of work is suitable for an intern? This varies from organization to organization as well as among the various fields. However, it’s not unusual for an intern supervisor to assign the intern a project that has been needed yet put on the “back burner” for sometime because of a lack of time. Interns love participating or attending meetings with you or sitting in, if possible, when you meet with clients. If you would like some additional ideas of the types of jobs for interns, a professor or department chair in your field of study will be happy to discuss this with you. Can the intern work longer than 120 hours? Of course! If the site and intern mutually agree, it’s perfectly all right. It’s not uncommon for businesses to offer jobs to the interns after their internship is completed. Does the intern have to be paid? If so, how much should the intern be paid? Whether the intern is paid is between the intern and the internship site. While most of the interns receive some type of compensation or stipend, not all do. The stipends given to the interns (at the end of a successful internship) are usually given to help offset the cost of tuition for the internships course. Quick Facts: Advantages of an Internship May include the following: For the Organization/Internship Site · Year-round source of talented, motivated pre-professionals · Flexible, cost-effective workforce not requiring long-term employer commitment · Cost-effective way to recruit and evaluate potential employees · Quality candidates for temporary or seasonal projects · New perspectives brought by students to job · Increased visibility on campus · Opportunity to help someone get started in his/her career
For the Student: · Real-world experience related to major · Academic credit · Opportunity to meet/network with others in your professional area · Resume enhancement · Increased job prospects · Great learning experience
For more information, please contact Dr. Sandra Bevill, Director College of Business Internship Program 870-972-3960 sbevill@astate.edu
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