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: Advocate Health Expires: 11/19/2026 The Advocate Health Summer Internship Program offers students the opportunity to explore careers in healthcare through meaningful work experiences, professional development, networking events and mentorship. Whether you’re a high school, undergraduate or graduate student, you’ll gain real-world experience, build valuable connections, and develop skills that support your future career […]
- Employer: Precision Walls, Inc. Expires: 11/19/2026 Precision Walls Interns Wanted!We have several locations offering Summer/Spring InternshipsOur company has an outstanding internship program that allows students the opportunity to gain hands on construction management experience in the field as well as the office. This is a great way to put into play knowledge learned […]
- Employer: Wake Forest School of Medicine Expires: 11/19/2026 2027 Summer Research Internship Program – Wake Forest University School of Medicine The Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) and the Center for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR) at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are excited to offer this summer research opportunity for undergraduate and master's students! This competitive paid 10-week summer […]
- Employer: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Expires: 11/14/2026 2027 Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Summer Scholars ProgramProgram Dates for 2027 Summer Scholars Program: June 2nd to August 6, 2027Online Application Opening for 2027 Program: October 15, 2027Application Deadline for 2027: December 15, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. EST. Applications will not be […]
- Employer: Arch Capital Group Ltd. – Arch Mortgage Expires: 11/30/2026 bout This InternshipArch’s internship program offers students a unique opportunity to gain hands on experience in the insurance industry. It provides challenging learning experiences that serve as a foundation for interns to explore their career choices and to develop professional skills. Working alongside some of […]
- Employer: Sheetz Expires: 11/07/2026 Provide assistance to FSQA Facilities team through development and implementation of key tasks and projects that also serve as experience and developmental opportunities for the field of food safety and quality assurance.Solve novel and unique problems through evidence/data collection, investigation, root-cause analyses, collaboration, and creative critical thinking solutions.Assist in […]
- Employer: Emma Bowen Foundation Expires: 11/05/2026 *Opportunities are available in locations across the United States.Do you see yourself doing any of the following this summer? Writing news articles and learning from experienced reporters and producersDeveloping apps or systems to streamline business proceduresConducting market and consumer research to assist with brand strategyDesigning creative campaigns that […]