Internships
An internship is a work experience opportunity with the purpose of expanding education by applying accumulated knowledge in an academic field of study. This purpose presupposes a student has accumulated a background of knowledge in an applicable discipline. Therefore, the availability of internships for academic credit is limited to upper-level students, juniors and seniors. Students are approved individually by the academic department that grants the credits to their majors for the work experience.
A student may earn from one to six academic credits for the work experience, six being the maximum number of credits any student may earn while at the University. These credits are based upon one semester credit per 50 hours of applicable work experience. The duration of an internship is normally one semester or summer. Internships will be limited to a maximum of 15 hours per week and 3 credit hours per semester for a full-time student taking at least 12 credit hours. Summer internships are usually 40 hours per week when the student is not taking courses. The credits are applied the semester of the internship and the per-credit fee associated with those credits will be charged to the student.
Internships are arranged through the Career Services Office, unless required and thus arranged by specific academic departments. They are conducted under the guidance of the student’s academic advisor. Internships must be approved before a student can begin the work experience for credit. The QPA requirement for internships is determined by the major. See the description for your major department.
In addition to Internships required by academic major and those pursued for Elective credit, Franciscan University has partnered with Parker Dewey, a company that offers Micro-Internships. Micro-Internships are shorter in duration than typical internships; usually accessed remotely; and always paid positions. These short-term projects range from five hours to 40 hours and may last from between one week and one month. Students may pursue Micro-Internships on their own at Franciscan’s Parker Dewey platform.
Students interested in internships for Elective credit should talk with their academic advisor(s) and the Career Services Office.