Employers
At the College of Arts and Sciences, we are proud to assist the leaders of tomorrow in gathering the well-rounded knowledge that they need to be successful in your company. Through a curriculum grounded in the values of liberal arts, our students are exposed to a breadth of knowledge that they use to develop transferrable skills and a holistic understanding of how our world works.
We are dedicated to empowering students to take the knowledge and skills they have acquired in the classroom and community out into the workforce by providing them with opportunities to serve your organization. So if you are looking to hire local talent, we have the students for you.
Internship FAQs for Employers
As the employer of an intern, we ask that you provide a safe, educational, real-life work experience for our students. Students will be earning academic credit for these experiences, so they should be substantive. Interns should not be used only for clerical support or errand running. Students should be given the opportunity to experience work in your business as other full time employees do. Give them projects that they can work on while they are there, utilize them on short-term ad-hoc committees, invite them into office/staff meetings as appropriate.
Most departments also ask that you provide some form of evaluation of the student's performance while working at your company. This may be completed in a number of different ways depending on what department the student is registered for the internship through. Some methods of evaluation are through periodic phone calls, end of the term evaluations (forms) or through a letter that could be placed in the student's portfolio or used as a letter of reference for the student in the future.
First, students who participate in the academic internship program are working with a faculty supervisor and are registered for academic credit as part of this experience. This means that they are not only accountable to you, but also to our faculty for their work.
In addition to this increased accountability, our students have a broad based curriculum as part of their education. A&S students select an academic focus (major), as do all other university students, but they are also required to take courses from a variety of fields within the college, thus creating a well developed, balanced education for the student. A&S students have proven their ability to learn in a variety of areas and settings and can pull from these experiences to help you and your business.
While we hope you can provide some financial compensation for interns in your business, this is not a requirement. Our primary goal is to find opportunities for students to gain experience, meet professionals in the field and to earn academic credit.
If you do choose to compensate your interns, there are a couple of different methods you could use. There is no minimum or maximum salary required for internship opportunities. Salaries tend to range from minimum wage to $15 per hour. Some companies offer a monthly stipend, while others may only be able to provide free parking or lunches for the intern.
If you are a non-profit organization, you may be eligible to hire a student for an internship through the Federal Work Study program at a reduced rate for your organization. For more information about this opportunity and to find out if you are eligible to participate, contact the UC Financial Aid Office.
We prefer that you interview a few interested students and select the one that best fits your needs as you would for any position that you were filling. This is advantageous to both you and the student. You can ensure that you are getting students who understand your needs and have the skills and experience that are critical for success in your office; and the student can experience the interview and application process of job searching.
It is ultimately up to each company to determine what information the student will be asked to work with. If some of the materials are confidential or proprietary, you may ask that the student sign a confidentiality form, as you would ask any employee of your company to sign. In addition, you may ask any faculty member that many be reviewing the students' work to sign the same form; and if necessary ask the student and faculty member to reassess some of the reporting methods that may generally be used for internship programs.
While one of the goals of an academic internship program is to expose a variety of students to different workplaces, this is ultimately a decision to be made between you and the student. If both parties are happy with the arrangement and are interested in continuing the work relationship, it is allowed. The student will need to speak with faculty members to determine if the experience can still be counted for internship or other academic credit or if the experience will continue without credit.