Internship Proposal Process for Faculty Sponsors

Typical steps in preparation for summer internships include:

  • Student expresses initial intentions/plans to participate in an internship.
    • New for Summer 2024: To be eligible to participate in a Summer 2024 internship, the student must fill out and sign the Internship Agreement by or before February 1st to declare their intention (they do not have to have an offer at this point). Once the Internship Program staff receives the Agreement via DocuSign, the student will be enrolled in the Internship Prep Course in Moodle, which breaks down the internship process into smaller, more management segments. The student must successfully complete the Internship Prep Course by or before February 15th. We encourage students to complete these first two steps before they start applying for positions, so they are better informed when they do. Steps for Students can be referenced here.
  • Once the student has applied, interviewed, and been offered a position, meet with the student to draft and revise the Internship Proposal Form, based on the offer.
  • When the final revisions have been made on the Proposal Form, and you as the Faculty Sponsor give the green light, the student will submit their Proposal through Handshake. 
  • Once submitted online, it will be automatically be routed to each of the approvers in sequence, with a link for online approval. Approvers will be able to review the attached Proposal Form, and approve or decline it (Approval Instructions for Faculty). If you serve in more than one approver role, you will receive more than one email (Faculty Sponsor, Academic Advisor, Department Chair). It may appear to be a duplication, but it is not, and you must approve each one separately.
  • Oversee the student’s progress during the internship.
    • Read and respond to journal entries weekly. Journal prompts are encouraged (see examples).
    • Contact the site supervisor by email or phone after the student has been working for 2-3 weeks, to introduce yourself, make a connection, and ascertain how things are going, making the Internship Office aware of any serious concerns.
  • Assess the student’s submitted assignments and presentation, along with the supervisor’s evaluation, and submit the internship grade via email to the Registrar by midterm.

Stipends of $300 per intern will be disbursed after fall midterm to faculty sponsoring 395/495 internships who are not receiving other compensation, such as departmental stipends or course release. To be eligible for the stipends, faculty sponsors are expected to follow best practices.

If a faculty member is unable to fulfill his/her commitment as an intern’s faculty sponsor for some unexpected reason, the sponsor and/or the Department Chair should ask another faculty member to fulfill the commitment.