As its primary purpose, a College of Business internship gives a student the opportunity to gain experience and training in his or her major field of study by working for a business or other organization while still enrolled in a degree program. An internship gives students valuable insights regarding the types of work they may perform after graduation and helps students to decide on long-term career paths. Other potential advantages of the program include providing the student with experience in interviewing, résumé preparation, working with teams, and community involvement. Ultimately, the internship program benefits students, employers, and the College of Business.

Students benefit from participating in the program by gaining on-the-job work experience, applying academic knowledge in a supervised job situation, learning new skills, and interacting with the business community.

Participating employers benefit by having the opportunity to train and to determine the "fit" of potential future members of their work force, by hiring highly trained and qualified students, and by maintaining an interactive role with the local academic community.

The College of Business benefits from close interaction with the business community and from the feedback and constructive suggestions employers give us about business students and the courses they take in preparing for their careers. The assessment and evaluation of our students' abilities can alert the College of Business to strengths and weaknesses in the existing undergraduate curriculum.

Academic Requirements  |  Eligibility  |   Student Expectations
 Special Cases for Current Jobs  |  Postings for Jobs and Internships

 

Academic Requirements

The internship involves both on-the-job works hours and academic requirements.

On-the-Job Work Hours

The amount of time on the job relates to the number of credit hours for the internship.
Three-Credit Internships: 150 hours of work experience (15 weeks, 10 hours per week).
Two-Credit Internships: 100 hours of work experience (10 weeks, 10 hours per week).
Three-Credit Internships: 50 hours of work experience (5 weeks, 10 hours per week).

Special arrangements to fulfill the on-the-job work experience hours require a mutual agreement with the intern's work supervisor, the COB Career & Placement Office, and the student. For undergraduates, the internship grade is pass/fail only.

Academic Requirements

In addition to the work experience requirements listed above, students taking internships for academic credit must complete the following requirements:

Activity Log. The log describes the specific activities, along with comments concerning expectations and assumptions behind the actual work, along with feedback received from the employer. The log begins daily, but can become weekly as the tasks become more routine.

Work Samples. Students must periodically submit work samples, either through e-mail or during the meetings. The final report will also contain work samples.

Formal Report. The major academic requirement for the internship involves a bound formal report. The basic report consists of nine-to-ten pages discussing topics such as functions performed, lessons learned on the job, application of class theory, and benefits derived from the experience. Toward the end of the internship, the academic advisor will assign the specific topics. The formal report includes attachments: the activity log, work samples, and additional research if required.

Student Evaluation

At the end of the internship, students must submit an Evaluation Form that includes recommendations on improving the program. The academic advisor will not see the student evaluation before submitting grades. However, if the Career and Placement Office has not received the form, the instructor will not submit a grade.

Unusual Scheduling

To meet business requirements, a potential internship may not fall within the normal semester time frame. These special situation internships require consultation with the Career & Placement Office, the advising faculty, the work supervisor, and the student. For example, if a student wishes to begin an internship after the census date, the internship may be approved to start (and perhaps even end) in the current semester. However, the student will actually enroll for internship credit in the following semester. For example, a student who applies and begins an internship after the census date in the spring would enroll for internship credit in the summer semester. That way, students can meet their and the employers' needs and the College can award credit within the University registration requirements.

Eligibility

The student must be admitted to the College of Business, either undergraduate or graduate. Undergraduate students must have completed a junior level class in the discipline of the internship, and the internship requires approval of the supervising department chair. (Non-business students earning a minor in business cannot receive internship credit towards their minor coursework.) For MBA students, an internship will serve as an independent study course.

Student Expectations

The student has the ultimate responsibility for his or her own success in the Internship Program.  The college will monitor the activities and progress of students periodically to ensure a rewarding educational experience occurs. Participating employers and the College of Business faculty, acting in partnership, will guide the student through the internship program.

The program offers synergistic benefits for all parties involved. The College of Business faculty encourage enrollment and strongly advocate participation in the internship experience with businesses in the Colorado Springs area. As part of its quality improvement effort, the Career & Placement Office values the comments and evaluations from both students and employers who have taken part in the program and actively solicits suggestions for future change.

Students applying for enrollment in the program must fulfill or meet the following expectations: (PGM students should discuss the unique requirements for their internships with the program's Internship Coordinator).

1. Must be a College of Business undergraduate or graduate student. Students who are undergraduate and have completed a junior level class in the discipline of the internship are eligible for the internship, subject to the approval of the supervising department chair. (Non-business students earning a minor in business cannot receive internship credit towards their minor coursework.)
2. Students must complete all skills courses before eligibility for completion of an internship  for credit will be granted (ENGL 131, ECON 101 & 102, MATH 111 & 112,  INFS 110, ACCT 201 & 202, QUAN 201 & 202, and BUAD 300).
3. Student must have a  minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 in order to be eligible for completion of an  internship for credit.
4. Students must provide a current resume, degree progress report, student internship application, employer internship application, and completed workers compensation form to the COB Career & Placement Office before or at the time of applying for an internship agreement.
5. Students are responsible for arranging an internship with a company or organization. Faculty and the COB Career & Placement Office will provide assistance in networking students with the business community.  However, the student must make the internship arrangements.
6. The student should become familiar with any requirements expressed by participating firms concerning class standing (junior, senior), minimum grade point average, and prerequisite classes. The COB Career & Placement Office will help to provide this information.
7. Before enrolling, students must be absolutely committed to the program.  Dropping an internship course after the last day to officially drop a course established by the University requires the signatures of the advising faculty and the Dean. Approval will be granted for extremely unusual circumstances.  Students who wish to drop should be familiar with the University and College of Business policy on withdrawing from a course.
8. Students may enroll in an internship for one, two, or three University credit hours to be applied toward a business degree. The internship will qualify for College of Business electives, whether in your emphasis area or in the general elective pool. Students can enroll in a maximum of 6 credit hours. No more than 3 credit hours can be earned each semester for an internship.
9. The internship hours must be completed in no more than two semesters. Previous internships cannot be used for credit, they must be approved prior to beginning the internship.
10. Current jobs cannot be used for internships except on a case-by-case basis. Please see page 9 for more information.
11. Deadlines:  Students must have all paperwork for an internship approved and submitted prior to the last day to enroll in a semester as stated in the Schedule Book.

Special Cases for Current Job to Qualify as an Internship

A student who is already working may use this experience as an internship in limited situations. The College of Business has policies that clarify whether a current job can qualify as an internship opportunity.

In general, the College of Business does NOT give internship credit for positions the student already holds or work already completed.

Internships for current employees will be offered only on a case-by-case basis and only under the conditions described below. For these situations, the focus of the internship paper and the application of a learned theory will be of paramount importance.  Further, the number of credit hours earned may be limited.

Case 1: A student already employed by a business or organization should not expect a currently held job to qualify as an internship for credit unless the student can show evidence that the position is relevant to his or her educational experience.  The student must have started this job no more than one month prior to applying for an internship. Internship credit may only be awarded in situations which have convincing documented evidence that the position is important and relevant to the student's educational experience. In these situations, a 1 or 2 credit hour internship may be appropriate, provided the student can apply a learned idea from a course or courses to a specific situation during the course of the internship. Jobs where responsibilities do not change as a result of the internship generally do not qualify.

Case 2: In some situations, the quality of a currently held position may qualify a student for internship credit if he or she has an opportunity to put into practice a specific learned theory or process.  For example, if work activities focus on process improvement based on an approach or theory learned in the business school and require the results to be presented to the employer at the end of the internship, the position may qualify for an internship opportunity.

Case 3: Students who work for a business or organization but receive new responsibilities may receive internship credit because the scope of the job has changed. However, the scope of the internship paper will also change and be specifically focused on explaining how a learned theory can or was applied to a business situation. For this type of internship, the number of credit hours may be limited.

Both the internship coordinator and the advising faculty in the department must specifically approve applications in these special situations.

Job Posting Sites

There are many sites on the World Wide Web in which to search for internships. The College of Business Career and Placement Center utilizes an online network to post jobs and internships.  The UCCS Career Center website allows students and employers to access information based on employment needs. As a student, you can search for internships and jobs available around the United States. You can also post your resume and cover letter for employers to view.

Employers can post internship and job opportunities and view student resumes, to do so please visit MyInterfase for Employers.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call 719.262.3120 or email us at business@uccs.edu.