Internships: Preparing for Life After College

Internships taken for academic credit are work experiences designed, conducted and evaluated within an academic context. Students earn academic credit while gaining experience in their desired career fields. Ongoing communication, feedback and evaluation among students, faculty and work supervisors ensure that educational and work goals are met.

Participation in an internship or experiential learning opportunity prior to graduation is strongly encouraged for ALL students regardless if it is, or is not, a requirement for graduation.

What Is An Internship?

An internship is a structured educational experience, which incorporates productive work experience as a regular part of a college student's curriculum. An academic internship is a partnership between the student, employer and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Through this experience, students are provided the opportunity to improve their basic work skills, explore career choices, develop professional competence, and witness classroom theories and principles being applied in real world situations.

Through an internship students learn more about a particular field and gain real world work experience. In return, the employer benefits by having an intelligent, creative and enthusiastic employee who can make a meaningful contribution to the employer's organization. It is also an avenue to explore and recruit college-level talent by the company or organization. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in 2021, 66.4% of interns were converted into professional hires.

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