Internships

Internships through our department are for Labor Studies majors or minors only. To receive degree credit for an internship, please fill out and submit the internship application form. If you need assistance finding an internship, please fill out and submit the internship candidacy form to the internship coordinator.

Develop Work Experience Through an Internship

Labor Studies majors are encouraged to apply for internships.  Professional development is an important component in your progess towards becoming active and knowledgeable contributotrs to the workforce and society.  Increased knowledge and greater skills that come with internships and field work make you a more attractive job candidate and provide you with the tools to perform more effectively in your future positions.  Internships help you become viable, experienced job applicants when seeking employment after graduation.  In fact, many employers consider internship experience in the hiring process, and often look to their own interns as the best potential candidates for full time positions. 

Sattik Deb, our Director of  Student Services and internship coordinator, has lists of organizations that have sponsored interns. We also send information about internship and other opportunities to our majors and minors periodically through our listserv. Students are free to find an internship on their own, through a faculty member, or they can contact Sattik for assistance.  Internships may be paid or unpaid but they should not be simply low-level clerical or other routine work. Your internship should be an effective learning and professional development opportunity.

Receive 3 Degree Credits for your Internship 

Students may receive 3 degree credits for an internship.  Upon departmental approval of an internship, students receive a special permission number to register for an online internship course--37:575:496 or 37:575:497--that students participate in concurrent to their internship to receive credit.  The course is available in the fall, spring, and summer semesters and consists of a series of online activities through which students share their experiences with other students currently participating in internships, reflect on the internship, submit journals and engage in other activities designed to integrate academic knowledge to practical application. A final paper is also required.

Credit cannot be granted for previously completed internships.  Credit also cannot be granted for a current job.

Receive up to 6 Degree Credits Through Internships

A student may do up two internships but they must be with different organizations—you cannot earn 6 credits by interning at the same organization.

Faculty Supervision is Essential

After securing an internship, students must submit a description 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.  Students are expected to communicate regularly with their faculty advisor during the internship.

Guidelines to Registering for Labor Studies Internships:

1. All students must have completed three (3) Labor Studies courses and be a Labor Studies major or minor.
2. If the internship is in an HR department, students must have had one of the following:
   Introduction to HR Management (533:301),
   or Employment Law (575:315), or People Work and Organization (575:230).
3. If the internship is with a union doing work on contracts or representation, students must have had the following: 
   Either Introduction to Labor Studies (575:100) or Work, Society, and the Quality of Life (575:110), and either Collective Bargaining (575:314), American Labor Law (575:340), or  Union Organizing (575:360).  Alternative courses may be considered.
4. Obtain a faculty advisor to supervise your internship.  Establish guidelines, roles, expectations and meeting times with your advisor (the role of the advisor may be as formal or informal as you choose).  The advisor must be a full-time faculty member in the Labor Studies department. Sattik Deb can connect you with a faculty advisor if you choose.
5. Once you have secured an internship and faculty advisor, complete the internship application form and email it as an attachment to the internship coordinator.
6. After approval, you will receive an email with the registration information.
7. Internships must be a minimum of 120 hours.

Application for internship credit

Download the internship application form and e-mail the completed form to the internship coodinator. The form will be reviewed and upon approval, you will receive an index number and special permission number to register for the online internship course. Approval is contingent on your form being completed properly, the suitability and relevance of the internship, and your academic record.

Online Internship Course Overview
 

 A. Introductory Paper (2 pages) on “Internships and Future Career Objectives”  (due within first three weeks of your 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 information summarizing how your time was spent, what you learned, what went right/wrong, how you are applying classroom theory to practice, etc. You are expected to submit substantive information that is more than just your "day-to-day."

C. Online Forum Discussions

1. You will engage in several online discussion forums in which you communicate your insights and thoughts with other students currently engaged in internships while learning from one another in the process.   For each discussion forum you will post answers to situations or questions posed and then comment on each other’s responses.

D. Final Paper (12-15 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.

Careers

Labor majors and minors open up a variety of career paths.  The Labor Studies and Employment Relations major is a multidisciplinary field that is designed to prepare students for a wide variety of careers, including those in employment relations, state and federal government agencies, human resource management, organizational management, business and finance, marketing and outreach, social and community organizing, among others.  The skills attained with this degree are relevant in all types of organizations; large and small, private and public, for-profit and non-profit.

Entry level workers usually enter formal or on-the-job training programs.  Later they may advance to a managerial position.  A master's degree or higher is desirable for individuals seeking these and general top management positions.  Many choose to pursue master's degrees in labor and employment relations, law, business, or human resources management.