Internships
Career & Professional Development seeks to partner with faculty to promote student engagement in internships. Internships are an effective way for students to develop relevant skills for success in their future careers. As faculty often advise students on internships that align with particular majors, it is important that you maintain an awareness of the industry definition of an internship:
An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.
This definition and the following criteria are defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), a global organization comprised of career services professionals and employment professionals.
Criteria For An Experience To Be Defined As An Internship
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 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. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
- 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 by the experienced supervisor.
- There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
If these criteria are followed, it is the opinion of NACE that the experience can be considered a legitimate internship. Whether an internship is paid, unpaid, or grants academic credit, Career & Professional Development seeks for the above criteria to be consistently met to ensure an appropriate developmental experience for our students.
While academic credit legitimizes an unpaid experience, in order to be identified as an internship, that experience must fit the above criteria. For experiences that employers make available only if academic credit is awarded, the college or university’s requirements in combination with the criteria laid out above should be used to determine if the experience is a legitimate internship.
We encourage faculty members to support students by facilitating internships for academic credit when possible, particularly in cases where an employer will not be providing compensation. If you have questions about this process, please contact our office. Campus Greensboro, Humanities at Work, and the SECU Foundation Public Fellows are just a few of the fantastic internship programs available to Spartans.
Source: Position Statement: U.S. Internships, National Association of Colleges and Employers
Local Internships
We have curated a collection of local internships and made them available to students in Handshake. The list below contains a few of the internships in that collection. Please have your students log in to Handshake to see the entire collection.
- Employer: Carolina Material Handling Expires: 04/05/2026 Position OverviewThe Marketing Intern will assist with social media management, website updates, physical and digital marketing campaigns, and database organization. This is a hands-on opportunity to gain real-world marketing experience while contributing directly to company growth.ResponsibilitiesSocial Media ManagementCreate, edit, and schedule content for:InstagramFacebookLinkedInYouTubeAssist with content planning and […]
- Employer: Democracy North Carolina Expires: 03/14/2026 OVERVIEWWe transform outstanding students into frontline advocates for democracy. Now in its 27th year, Democracy Summer is an innovative internship program that exposes young leaders to new ideas and political movements. We teach our “friendterns” how to organize people around a shared vision for a better democracy in […]
- Employer: National Board For Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates Expires: 04/04/2026 Job Summary:The Web Developer Intern is responsible for developing and maintaining websites that meet specific business process requirements by performing the following duties, subject to the direction of the Web Administrator. Essential Duties and ResponsibilitiesSupports the creation of Web Applications in the .NET […]
- Employer: Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau Expires: 04/04/2026 Position OverviewThe Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (GACVB) is seeking motivated, professional, and detail-oriented undergraduate or graduate students to serve as Spring Semester Interns. This internship offers hands-on experience in tourism administration, destination marketing, hospitality operations, and organizational support within a fast-paced, community-focused environment. […]
- Employer: National Board For Certified Counselors, Inc. and Affiliates Expires: 04/04/2026 IT InternJob Summary:The role of the IT Intern requires the candidate to be a current college student in an information technology (IT) or business-related major who would like to gain IT experience while working within our IT department. The goal of this […]
- Employer: Averitt Express Expires: 04/02/2026 Kickstart Your Career with the Averitt Operations Internship!Looking for a logistics internship that'll give you real-world experience and help you grow? Join Averitt as an Operations Intern and dive into the fast-paced world of supply chain management. Get hands-on experience, work with top industry experts, and learn everything […]
- Employer: You Can Vote Expires: 04/02/2026 Join the North Carolina Civic Fellowship Program! As a Civic Fellow, you will work with teams of students across the state on nonpartisan projects to educate and mobilize students to make their voice heard and their vote count in the 2026 elections. This opportunity will require a […]