Internship
Berea College supports experiential education opportunities for students in the form of internships, and defines an internship as a supervised, credit-bearing, career-related learning experience in the workplace that allows students to apply knowledge acquired through their classes and studies to practical situations and problems. Such experiences promote engaged learning by helping students find connections between theory and practice, between learning in the classroom and learning outside the classroom, and between their academic interests and potential career possibilities.
Process and Learning: Learning is optimized when these experiences are intentionally designed to include reflection and assessment. A student participating in an internship will develop an Internship Proposal prior to the experience, meet with faculty sponsors, keep a reflective journal, complete a final paper, be evaluated by the internship site supervisor, give an oral presentation, submit a student evaluation of the experience, and receive a letter grade.
Academic Course Credit: Typically students may earn up to one course credit and meet the Active Learning Experience requirement with a successful internship. However, an internship may not be used to meet the Practical Reasoning (PR/PRQ) or any Perspective Area in the General Education Program. Internship are registered using a program (BIO, ANR, BUS,GST) rubric and are numbered 395 for sophomores and juniors and 495 for seniors. To be considered for course credit, the proposed experience must:
- further the student’s educational goals by enabling exploration of an educational area of interest
- provide the opportunity to gain skills relevant to a possible career choice
- support the student’s academic major/minor
- be approved by the student’s primary and secondary Faculty Sponsors, Academic Program Coordinator (or the Dean of Curriculum and Student Learning, if a GST internship), Academic Advisor, International Advisor (if applicable), and the Internship Director
Eligibility/Hours/Timeline: Rising sophomores, juniors and seniors, who are not on probation, are eligible to participate in internships. Internship experiences are typically full-time in the summer and part-time in the fall or spring based on the following parameters:
- Summer: 30-40 hours per week for 8-10 weeks, with a minimum of 240 total work hours
- Fall/Spring: 9-10 hours per week for 15 weeks, with a minimum of 135 work hours
Students should begin researching and identifying potential summer internships early, so they will be aware of early employer application deadlines (some are as early as September or October, although most are in January and February). Students should plan to attend resume and interviewing workshops, and consider scheduling appointments for resume assistance and interview coaching during the fall, so they will be prepared to apply for internship positions early in the spring.
Pay/Funding: Internship employers are encouraged to provide some form of compensation to student interns, such as an hourly wage, a stipend, housing, meals, or transportation, however, if the employer is unable to offer sufficient compensation, the College will help cover related costs for up to two internship experiences, subject to availability of institutional funds and in accordance with policies. Funding is available to students participating in full-time academic internships during the summer. Typically, no funding is available to students during fall or spring if the experience is a 15-week local internship, which is part of a student’s regular course load. In order to obtain funding from any campus program, the internship must receive the approval of the Office of Internships.
Students who wish to participate in an internship should visit , attend an Internship Basics presentation, and/or contact the Office of Internships at (859) 985-3656 to learn more about how to find an internship, the process for receiving credit, possible funding, policies regarding international internships, and the deadline for submitting internship proposals.