Business Internship Services

SIUE Business Internship Guidelines

While all professional experiences are important and the Office of Internship Services encourages students to seek out opportunities to grow their skills, the School of Business has specific guidelines for internship experiences to qualify for our internship or professional experience courses.

To ensure that an experience—whether it is a traditional internship or one conducted remotely or virtually—is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship by the NACE definition, all of the following criteria must be met:

• The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom.
• The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
• The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
• There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
• There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
• There is routine feedback from the experience supervisor.
• There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.

Additionally, for an experience to be eligible for the School of Business Internship Program for academic credit:

• The employer must be approved by the School of Business
  • All approvals are at the sole discretion of the department
  • Employers should have a company website and company-based email (no Gmail, Yahoo, free accounts, etc.)
  • Employers should have a traditional business setting (no personal residence or home-based businesses or locations)
  • Employers should be established
  • Employers should not charge the student fees of any type (e.g., insurance licensing fees)
  • Employers should not ask students to sign non-compete agreements
• The position must be approved by the School of Business
• Start and end dates for each term and experience must correspond with the SIUE academic calendar
• Positions must be in the student's major field of study
• Students must be in good academic standing for their program
• The position must be for at least 120 work-hours per academic term to qualify for academic credit
• Internship positions qualify for one of the 3 credit hour courses offered through the School of Business
• The supervisor must agree to complete an end-of-term evaluation of student career readiness
• Students must be directly and extensively supervised and mentored
  
  • Additional Position Criteria for Co-op
    • Position must be paid
    • Employer must be willing to retain students for at least two (2) academic terms
    • International students and students may work one (1) term
  • Additional Position Criteria for Micro-Internship
    • Must be paid
    • Must be project-based
    • Duration is shorter than traditional experiences (from a few days to months)
    • Must be 120+ hours to qualify for academic credit
  • Additional Considerations for VIRTUAL Co-ops and internships
    • Extensive direct supervision and major-related, meaningful projects and opportunities are the key classroom to career components required for quality experiences
    • Daily correspondence with students through virtual spaces such as Zoom is necessary
    • Design structured projects and assignments with scheduled progress meetings, providing students with rich learning opportunities
    • Afford students opportunities to participate in virtual meetings, workshops, and events
    • Provide students necessary accommodations to work remotely
    • Offer regular feedback to students to facilitate learning and professional growth

For more information about the School of Business internship or professional course requirements, contact the School of Business Internship Coordinator.

For assistance or information about co-ops, hiring international students, or the Illinois Cooperative Work Study Program Grant (ICWSP), contact the Career Development Center.