Program Overview

College of Arts and Sciences Internship Course

The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Course is designed for students to complete an internship and earn 3 credits for their experience. This interdisciplinary course (50:090:399) can meet a general elective curriculum or experiential learning (XPL) requirement.

Eligibility Requirements

• Must be a matriculated undergraduate student at Rutgers-Camden.
• Sophomore, junior, or senior standing. The course is not open to first-year students.
• Good academic standing (minimum 2.5 GPA)
• Internships must be approved by the Internship Coordinator
• Internships must be a minimum of 120 hours during the semester
• In addition to the practical experience, students will need to attend classes covering topics related to experiential learning and professional development
• Complete other assignments as required by the Internship Coordinator
• Current or new jobs may not be used for internships.
• Students must be working at their internship during the same semester they are registered for the course. Credit is not given prior to starting the internship or retroactively after the internship is completed.
• Intern site supervisors cannot be related to the intern. Students cannot earn credit for an internship done at an organization owned or operated by a family member.

What is Considered an Internship for Credit?

An internship is a pre-professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work experience related to a student’s field of study or career interest. An internship is an experience that has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what the student is learning throughout the experience. Internships allow students to apply principles and theory learned in the classroom in a professional environment. Through an internship, students are provided an opportunity for career exploration and development as well as a chance to learn new skills.

Although internships vary widely from organization to organization, some common characteristics of internships include:

• Is a time-limited experience that usually lasts about three months and occurs during the fall, spring, or summer semesters.
• Has been created as a formal internship within the organization and is not traditionally a part-time job or volunteer work for the organization.
• Is different from a short-term job or volunteer work or shadowing and has an intentional “learning agenda” in a structured work environment.
• Includes learning objectives, observation, reflection, evaluation, and assessment.
• Has an existing employee working in the department/position to mentor and supervise the intern.
• Seeks to establish a reasonable balance between the intern’s learning goals and the specific work tasks of an organization.
• Promotes academic, career, and/or personal development.

Steps to Take

1. Secure your internship: It is the student’s responsibility to secure an internship. Assistance is provided by the staff of the Career Center.
2. Have your internship approved: Your internship site supervisor must complete the internship approval form.
3. Register for the internship class: Upon approval of the internship by the internship instructor, a special permission number will be granted to register for this course.

Deadlines for Course Registration

• Fall Internship: September 11
• Spring Internship: January 29
• Summer Internship: May 28

Examples of Roles That Will Not Be Considered for Internship Credit

• Tutor
• Shadowing
• After School Aid
• Teachers Aid
• Traditional Volunteer Work for an organization
• NJ PIRG
• Traditional Part-time or Full-time job for an organization

Participating Departments

The Career Center has partnered with a number of academic departments where, based on departmental approval, your internship may be eligible to earn major elective credit. These departments include:

• Biology
• Childhood Studies
• Criminal Justice
• English
• Health Sciences
• National Security Minor
• Sociology
• Spanish
• Urban Studies

The Arts & Sciences internship course is open to all majors as general elective credit.