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Internships

Internships through our department are for majors or minors only.

Develop Work Experience Through an Internship

Upper-level labor majors are encouraged to apply for internships. These allow you to develop relevant work experience and also to explore possible careers. Sattik Deb, sdeb@work.rutgers.edu, our Director of  student Services, has lists of organizations that have sponsored interns. We also send information about organizations seeking interns to majors periodically via email. Students are free to find an internship on their own, through a faculty member, or they can contact Sattik Deb for assistance.

Only Paid or Unpaid Learning Opportunities Qualify

Internships may be paid or unpaid but they should not be simply low-level clerical or other routine work.Your internship should be a learning opportunity.

Register for 3  Internship Credits. 

Students registered in 37:575:496 or 37:575:497 will also be asked to participate in a set of online activities to receive credit in the internship. In the online portion of the course, students will share their experiences with other students, reflect on the internship, submit weekly journals and engage in other activities designed to integrate their academic knowledge of work with their internship experience. A final paper is also required.

A Maximum of 6 Credits is Possible

A student may do two internships but they must be in different organizations—you cannot earn 6 credits simply by devoting more time to one job.

Faculty Supervision is Essential

Students must submit a description of the internship to a faculty advisor and get that faculty member to agree to supervise their internship.  The description should be a paragraph of 50-100 words—not a sentence—and should provide detail on what you will be doing in the internship.

Instructions for Registration of Undergraduate Internships:

1. All students must have completed three (3) Labor Studies courses and be a Labor Studies Major/Minor.
2. If the internship is in an HR department, students must have had one of the following:
   Introduction to HR Management (37:533:301),
   or Employment Law (37:575:315), or People Work and Organization (37:5757:230).
3. If a student wants our help in finding an internship with a union doing work on contracts or representation, they must have had one of the following: 
   Introduction to Labor Studies, and either 
   Collective Bargaining, American Labor Law,
   or  Union Organizing.
4. Contact one professor from any previous Labor Studies class and ask if s/he can supervise your internship.  Once they agree, write their name on the Internship Information Form and include their email. In the summer semester we also require an email message from the professor verifying this information.
5. Read the entire Internship Application Form and email it as an attachment to the  Director of Student Services, Sattik Deb, sdeb@work.rutgers.edu   and cc Amy Marchitto, amarchitto@work.rutgers.edu (keep a copy for your records).
6. After the Sattik has agreed to the internship and signed it, you will receive an email with the registration information:
   Index Number
   Special Permission Number
   Credits 3
7. Contact your supervising professor to discuss the required work and when it’s due.
8. Students are responsible for getting the completed work to the supervising professor and for completing a total of 120 hours.
9. You will be forwarded a syllabus for the online portion of your internship.

Undergraduate Internship Requirements

 Online course - You will be asked to enroll in, and participate in, an online course the semester you do the internship.

  Required Papers -

A. Introductory Paper (2 pages) on “Internships and Future Career Objectives”  (due within first three weeks of internship)

1. Briefly describe your internship duties and responsibilities, training offered, intended learning.
2. Describe your future career goals.
3. Do you think this internship will advance your future career goals or open up new career paths for you to follow?
4. Aside from career advancement, what other objectives do you wish to accomplish from this internship.

B.  Weekly Journals

1. Journal entries should include substantive information summarizing how your time was spent, what you learned, what went right. (see online syllabus for more info).
2. This record must be submitted at the end of the semester.

C. Final Paper (at end of internship 12 to 15 pages)

Part I    Description

1. Describe the internship:  Name and objective of organization or institution; where located; unit of organization or institution to which you were assigned and its role within the organization or institution; hours worked per week; person (s) you worked with and their assigned tasks.

2. Describe your assigned duties:  Unit of organization or institution where assigned; its tasks and objectives; your specific tasks and objectives.

Part II   What was learned?

1. Skills, information and insight acquired.
2. What classroom concepts from Labor Studies and Employment Relations were you able to apply in real life situations?
3. How did the internship aid you in understanding the field of Labor Studies and Employment Relations?
4. Was any of the practical experience you acquired in conflict with classroom material and book learning?

Part III  Evaluate the Internship

1. Was the organization or institution helpful in aiding you to achieve your assigned tasks?
2. What suggestions would you make to aid organization or institution and the next intern to achieve their goals?
3. Negative and positive reactions to your placement.
4. Whatever else you feel is relevant.

(Students may be asked to rewrite their original paper)

Permission is Needed

Download the Internship application with instructions attached (MS Word). Send it via email to your faculty adviser, the Director of Student Services, Sattik Deb,  and to our Credit Office support person in the Credit Office, Wanda Radowski. Wanda will send you the special permission number needed to register after the Credit Director has approved the internship. Approval is contingent on the suitability of the internship and your academic record. For instance, you must have taken courses related to unions before you intern in a labor organization.

Careers

Labor majors and minors open up a variety of career paths:

• Manage people well whether you work for a corporation, government, or a community organization.
• Apply knowledge of current issues like work-life balance or employee rights to your workplace
• Specialize in diversity, dealing with unionized employees, or other parts of employment relations
• Represent employees as a union leader or staff member.
• Pursue an MBA after graduation—or a law degree, or a professional master’s degree in human resources or labor relations 

We encourage you to take the Senior Seminar, a course that allows you to explore opportunities in the career or careers that you are considering, as well as the further education that might help you in your quest.