Internships for Academic Credit

Internships for course credit are an exciting way to enhance your classroom learning and are available in every discipline/major at Augsburg. Some majors require an internship for credit; in other majors, the internship credit will be an elective credit. During an internship, you will:

• Make connections between theory and practice
• Gain new knowledge, understanding, and skills
• Apply what you learn in your courses to a related work or service-based learning experience

In addition, you will learn more about yourself and be exposed to potential career opportunities. During your internship, you will be “in charge” of what you want to learn, and you and a faculty supervisor will negotiate your learning goals.

REGISTERING FOR CREDIT

To register for and complete an internship for credit, follow these steps:

• Establish your goals for the Internship.
  • Meet with the Internship coordinator, Ana Eliason, in the Career and Internship Center to review criteria for internships taken for credit and registration information
  • Consult with your departmental internship coordinator, department chair or a faculty member.

• Secure a faculty supervisor for the Internship.
  • Secure a faculty member from the department in which you want credit who will serve as your faculty sponsor/supervisor.
  • Discuss your learning goals with your faculty sponsor/supervisor.
  • Discuss department criteria, expectations, and academic requirements with the faculty.
  • If you already have an internship site, have the faculty sponsor approve the placement.

• Secure the Internship work site/placement, if you don’t have one, yet.
  • Use the Strommen Career & Internship Services resource website for internship leads and meet with a career counselor for ideas.

• Register for the Internship during the registration period.
  • Obtain the internship registration form online from the registrars office (listed under “registration”) or in the Strommen Career and Internship Center.
  • Complete the registration form by getting the required signatures of your faculty sponsor AND the Internship Coordinator in the Strommen Center.
  • Submit your completed registration form to the Registrar’s Office/Enrollment Center during the open registration period.
  • You may register for an internship late with the approval of the Internship Coordinator in the Strommen Center; however, a late registration fee may apply.

• Begin the Internship and Write your Learning Agreement Plan
  • After you have located your internship and registered, you will need to structure the academic focus of your internship.  Consult with your faculty supervisor and work supervisor for specific academic requirements and work requirements. Specify and elaborate the academic and work goals and objectives, activities and strategies to achieve learning, target dates, and methods of evaluation.
  • For assistance creating your Learning Agreement, meet with the Internship Specialist in the Strommen Center or review our guide:
  • How to Write an Internship Learning Agreement
  • Complete your Internship Learning Agreement form online, click here to access the form.
  • The learning agreement is due by the end of the third week of the internship for semester internships, and by the end of the first week for summer internships.
  • The Learning Agreement Plan, written by you, must be “approved” by your faculty supervisor and acceptable to the work supervisor.

• Complete the agreed upon work and learning “assignments” outlined in your Learning Plan over the course of the internship.
  • Document what you have been doing and learning in your internship journal, paper and/or portfolio.
  • Most academic departments require an internship portfolio. Portfolio guidelines are available here.

• Evaluate the internship with your faculty sponsor and work supervisor at the conclusion of your internship.
  • Supervisor Evaluation and Student Self Evaluation should be sent or brought to the Strommen Career and Internship Services office to be placed on file.  Copies will be sent to your faculty sponsor.
  • Turn in your internship portfolio or paper to your faculty.  The faculty supervisor will then complete an overall evaluation of the internship and grant the academic credit and grade.

ANSWERS TO OFTEN ASKED QUESTIONS:

• Internships done for academic credit may be paid or unpaid.
• Students can receive 4 course credits or 2 credits for an internship.
  • 4 course credits involves a minimum time commitment of 160 total hours (on average, 12 hours per week).
  • 2 course credits requires a minimum time commitment of 80 total hours.
• Internships registered for credit are counted in your semester course load.
• Internships may be graded on a Traditional or P/N basis. In some departments, internships are graded on the P/N basis only.
• In most academic departments, students can register for either lower division or upper division credit for internships.  Typically, upper division internships are closely connected to students’ majors and are done in the Junior or Senior year.  However, some students do an internship for an academic connected career exploration experience in their freshman or sophomore year.  This type of internship usually receives lower division credit.
• Completing an off-campus upper division internship for credit will satisfy the Augsburg Experience graduation requirement.