Business Internship Guidelines
- An internship is not intended to merely give a student academic credit for work being performed. An internship is designed to integrate a student’s academic studies with practical work experience in a professional environment. Through these kind of experiences, students are provided an opportunity to enhance their academic knowledge, their personal development, and their professional preparation. Please read and be familiar with the content of SUU Policy 6.3 Internships.
- Students are responsible for locating their own internship. The School of Business does not locate internships for students. The internship Credit Application is used to approve an internship, already found, for academic credit. This application is NOT used to apply for internships.
- An internship will only be approved if it is related to the student’s field of study (major).
- To qualify for an undergraduate internship, a student must have junior or senior status and have either a cumulative or major GPA of at least a 2.5. To qualify for a graduate internship a student must be accepted into a school of business graduate program (MAcc, MSBA, or MBA) and have a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
- Please be aware that the MBA and the MSBA do not have an internship course as part of their required or elective credits and students will need additional permission to have an internship applied as credit towards these degree programs.
- 1 to 3 credit hours of internship can be taken during a semester. A second internship may be taken in a different semester for another 1 to 3 credit hours. The second internship must be for a different experience. Duplicated experience is not allowed. A student is limited to a total of 6 internship credit hours. The following table provides the formula for establishing credit for an internship.
- Graduate internships, 6000 level, are limited to a total of 3 credits and cannot be repeated.
| Credits | Average Time Worked Per Week | Total Hours Required to be Completed in the Semester |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 hours minimum | 45 |
| 2 | 6 hours minimum | 90 |
| 3 | 9 hours minimum | 135 |
- Internship work must be performed in the semester the student is registered for the internship course, unless the Department Chair approves otherwise. If the Department Chair approves otherwise, then the internship work must be performed within one semester of completion of the internship work.
- Grades for an internship are pass/fail. The grade will be assigned on the basis of the student’s ability to integrate academic and field experience, not merely because of faithful performance on the job. Two assessment tools will be used in determining grade: 1) an Internship Report prepared by the student and 2) an Internship Performance Evaluation Form (or Letter of Successful Completion per company policy) provided by the on-site work supervisor.
- Internship credits may not be used in lieu of a required course for any business degree.
- The Department Chair, Internship Coordinator, or an assistant may contact your on-site internship supervisor a couple of times during the internship.
- Once the internship credit application is complete with all appropriate signatures, the packet must be turned in to the Leavitt School of Business Office so a record of the internship can be kept. Internship credit applications are due in the first 8 weeks of the semester requesting credit. Applications received late may be denied.