Internships integrate knowledge and learning from the classroom into practical applications with hands-on experience. Internships go by many names like experiential learning, externship, co-op, apprenticeship, and more. Internships are typically short-term employment or project-based learning opportunities. Interns should be supervised by an expert in their field. Internship job-duties should be related to the field of study or career goals. Interns should be learning new skills relevant to their career field, rather than merely performing remedial tasks around the office.
Internship credit is based on the total number of hours included in your offer letter or scope of work document. 45 working hours is worth 1 academic credit. Please make sure your registered internship hourly commitment aligns with the number of credits for which you have registered. Some courses have a minimum, maximum, or specific set of credit hour requirements. Speak with your faculty or academic advisor if you have questions.
Internship Credit by Hours Worked In Enrolled Semester
You can receive 1 academic credit hour for every 45 hours worked within your internship. Please see below for the estimated weekly internship hours based on the number of enrolled credit hours. We have included estimates below to help plan your internship hours.
- 1 Credit Hour is 45 hours a semester. For a 16 week course, that averages to 2.8 hours a week. For an 8 week course, that averages to around 5.6 hours a week.
- 2 Credit Hours is 90 hours a semester. For a 16 week course, that averages to 5.6 hours a week. For an 8 week course, that averages to around 11.25 hours a week.
- 3 Credit Hours is 135 hours a semester. For a 16 week course, that averages to 8.4 hours a week. For an 8 week course, that averages to around 16.8 hours a week.
Paid internships and Internships in Places of Previous Employment
Students may be paid for an internship and are encouraged to seek out paid opportunities, but they may not receive internship credit for their full-time or part-time ongoing job unless the internship has clearly defined learning objectives outside of their regular duties. If you are applying for internship credit at an organization where you are regularly employed, indicate in the application and learning objectives how the internship work hours and duties exceed the normal job requirements within the sponsoring organization and please ensure that you have a different supervisor from your regular job duties. The internship may only be approved by faculty.