Internships - Valuable Experience in the Field
Internships are an important step toward future employment. Internships can help you gain experience for your résumé, aid you in making career choices, and integrate the knowledge you’ve learned in the classroom with the realities of the world of work. Internships can also help students establish credentials and contacts in the field and may even lead to a job opportunity within the organization or through a contact established through interning.
How will an internship help me?
- Explore career options and professional interests
- Make connections with experienced professionals and potential mentors
- Develop professional experience and build your resume
- Gain marketable skills and self-confidence
- Apply knowledge you’ve learned in the classroom in a professional setting
Finding an Internship
Locating an internship is the responsibility of the student. Students can explore internship opportunities that are listed in Nittany Lion Careers or by reaching out to potential employers. The Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network (CEN) also provides internship resources to help students strengthen their applications and find opportunities. Within Criminology and Sociology, students can connect with Joy Vincent-Killian, Co-curricular Coordinator, to further explore internship opportunities and their career interests.
Students are encouraged to discuss their interest in pursuing an internship with their academic adviser early on for assistance in determining the best time to pursue an internship and to confirm that a for-credit internship aligns with specific degree requirements.
Advertised opportunities
Advertised opportunities are those that are posted, much like traditional jobs, such as company websites, job boards and other job posting systems. Many advertised internships are a part of established internship programs that offer additional support and learning opportunities.
Job & Internship Fairs
Penn State offers several career fairs throughout the year. The department also hosts an annual mentoring workshop for all students.
Research Internships
In addition to receiving internship credits for working with an outside agency, student may also receive credit for doing research work with a faculty member in the department.
Earning Credit
The internship program in Sociology and Criminology provides students with structured work experience related to the field and an opportunity to earn academic credit through coursework, but most students pursuing internships do not seek credit, but rather use the experience to build their résumé, gain work experience, and build connections in the field. Some internships might require that students be registered for credit, though most do not. Keep in mind that earning credit for an internship requires both an academic course component in addition to work at the internship site. If you are seeking credit for an internship, the internship credits will impact your total credits enrolled in any given semester and may impact tuition. If enrolling in a summer internship for credit, tuition is assessed.
The primary criteria considered for receiving academic credit for an internship is doing work that is closely related to criminology or sociology and that you will be supervised (and trained, as needed) by someone with a professional background related to the field. Work that is primarily clerical is not sufficient. For each credit you wish to earn, you must work a minimum of 40 hours in the internship.
To complete the internship, students must fulfill a time commitment in the work setting, compile field notes recording your experiences, and complete several brief writing assignments in which you systematically analyze that setting and your experiences. The assignments are designed to merge what you’ve learned in the classroom, with the work you’re completing in the internship. Please refer to the handbooks if you would like to pursue the internship for credit.
Registration
Once an internship has been identified, to verify that the department approves that the internship qualifies for credit, you will submit an Internship Registration Request Form. The form will be reviewed by the Director of Undergraduate Studies and if approved, the Undergraduate Studies Coordinator will register the student (students do not enroll themselves) in CRIM 495 or SOC 495. Students earn 1 credit for each 45 hours they work at their internship. Therefore, students enrolled for 1 credit must arrange to work at least 45 hours, and those enrolled for 3 credits must work at least 135 hours.
FAQ's
Can I Get Academic Credit?
To complete the internship, students fulfill a time commitment in the work setting, compile field notes recording their experiences, and complete several brief writing assignments in which they systematically analyze that setting and their experience. Thus, the internship provides students the opportunity to integrate the knowledge they gain in their course work with the realities of the world of work. Most students find this experience invaluable for testing (and sometimes revising) their career goals and for establishing credentials and contacts that aid in finding a permanent position after graduation. The internship is highly recommended for all criminology majors, regardless of their long-term career goals.
To earn departmental credit you must be in good academic standing, meet the requirements outlined below and the internship must relate to the field of Sociology or Criminology. Students may enroll in LA 495 for 1-12 credits (some exceptions may apply). Up to 3 of those credits maybe used to fulfill degree requirements toward a 400-level course, beyond the core 400-level course requirements. The remaining internship credits will be used as electives. Students earn credit based upon the number of hours spent working at the internship and the number of papers they submit.
If you decide to receive credit or would like more information please contact the Undergraduate Studies & Internship Coordinator, 814-863-0453
Eligibility Requirements to Complete an Internship for Credit
Any Penn State student majoring in Sociology or Criminology may apply for an internship for credit, providing they meet the following requirements.
- Students must be enrolled with a 2.0 GPA and must be a declared major in either SOC. or CRIM.
- The internship must have a minimum time-frame of 8 weeks with a minimum of 10 hours worked per week.
- The internship is a minimum of 45 worked hours per credit.
- The internship must involve work in the sociology or criminology field.
- Attend required meeting with the Internship Coordinator. Approval for registration will only be granted after necessary paperwork is completed and students have attended this meeting or made alternate arrangements. Please contact the internship coordinator to be added to the meeting schedule.
I do not meet the above requirement but still want to receive credit
Students who have secured an internship but do not meet the department’s internship course eligibility requirements may want to consult the LA 495 internship course information on the Career Enrichment Network website and request registration for the non-departmental/college section of LA 495. Credit earned in the Liberal Arts program will not apply to your major, but will count toward your general graduation requirements.
How Internship Credit Works
- For every 45 hours interned, a student will receive 1 credit. (3 credits = 135 hrs)
- Students can earn 1-12 credits per semester per internship
- Hours are determined by the number of credits a student wants to receive.
- Students have from the first day of classes until the last day of classes to complete their internship hours.
- Individual work schedules are negotiated between agencies and interns, but must be a minimum of 10 hours per week.
- Students must pay tuition for the academic internship (including summer internships)
- Internship must be approved by the Internship Coordinator
- All internships must be a minimum of 8 weeks in length
Assignments
- Complete written assignments in a timely manner as outlined by the internship grader.
- Students must earn a favorable work evaluation from their supervisor
- Interns are required to submit a time sheet with their total hours worked at their internship.
- Complete any additional departmental assignments
Deadlines
Students completing the internship for credit must attend the orientation meeting or meet with the Internship Coordinator, or her designee, prior to beginning the internship.
Please contact sociology@psu.edu for more information on the meeting dates and times. Please contact sociology@psu.edu for more information on the meeting dates and times.
Will I get paid?
It depends. We believe interns provide meaningful service to their supervising agencies. However, many organizations view the time and effort they devote to training interns as compensation for the learning opportunities gained by the students.
Cost
Penn State’s tuition rates vary by campus, program, student level, and residency. Use this student tuition calculator to determine your tuition rate.
Enrichment Funds
An important goal of the College of the Liberal Arts is to involve undergraduates in appropriate enrichment activities. Accordingly, the College, as well as a variety of Academic Departments, has modest funds available to assist students participating in activities such as internships, education abroad, or undergraduate research. Liberal Arts majors seeking financial support for such enrichment activities are encouraged to read the information on the Liberal Arts, Career Enrichment Network site.
Will I have Insurance During my Internship?
The University does not provide nor purchase liability insurance coverage for students engaging in an intern program or fieldwork experience nor to the host sites. Because some host organizations require that interns have liability or malpractice insurance, students need to personally purchase intern liability insurance when required to do so by the cooperating institution/agency/company. The University should NOT be listed as a named insured on the student’s personal policy. This is between the student and the host site only. University personnel must not obtain nor direct students to specific insurance providers
In addition, the University is not liable for accidents or harm that may occur while students are transported to internship sites in non-University vehicles. Information on supplemental insurance available to undergraduate students is available through the Penn State Student Insurance Office.
Students must provide copies of insurance, if required, directly to the site or through a third party service The University will not maintain evidence of such records on behalf of students.
I don’t have the finances to register for the internship for the semester
Can I take the internship now and register for it another semester? This is not an option. Senate policy 34–81 states that students must be registered for the course during the semester in which the course requirements are completed and a grade must be assigned at the end of that semester. The Registrar’s Office will not permit you to take the internship one semester and register for it another.
Requesting a signature
Some institution applications require a representative at Penn State to sign documents. If your employer asks for this information please contact the internship coordinator who will read and sign the requested forms at his or her discretion.
What do I do if I already have an internship?
Contact the department internship coordinator to ensure the agency meets the requirements and be added the the mandatory meeting schedule.
For further information on the internship program and process, please contact the Internship Coordinator at the information below:
- 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802
- sociology@psu.edu
Please watch for Department emails via our listserv from Joy Vincent-Killian for announcements.
Student Experiences
Interns will need to complete a newsletter. These newsletters illustrate the student’s overall internship experience.
Below are some examples
Internship Information for Agencies
The internship program is recognized by both students and alumni as one of the most valuable experiences of a student’s academic career. It provides students the opportunity to integrate their classroom experiences with work experience preparing the students by exposing them to other professionals in the field and to the work environment in a way that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. Serving as a supervisor for an intern not only permits you to participate in student growth, but also in the development of your organization’s future work force. Interns often bring new skills and knowledge with them to apply in their new work setting. They can add a fresh perspective and make a real contribution to your agency.
Supervisors are expected to:
- Allow the student the opportunity to apply classroom learning in an agency setting.
- Encourage the development of a professional identity and appropriate set of skills.
- Provide the student with a broad overview of the operations of the agency.
- Help students identify and clarify their career interests.
- Evaluate the student’s professional performance on the internship.
The internship will also allow you to observe and evaluate potential staff members.
If you or your organization would like to provide an internship opportunity for a current student, you can get started with the recruitment process by emailing the department at sociology@psu.edu.