L E G A L C O N S I D E R AT I O N S An unpaid internship can be in violation of The Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act, and all faculty/staff and students should understand laws surrounding internships. Department of Labor Requirements • The U.S. Department of Labor has created guidelines for employers who utilize interns to determine whether an intern must be paid. These guidelines dictate how interns must be compensated. • All interns must be paid, UNLESS ALL criteria outlined in The Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act is met • The Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act is available at https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/ compliance/whdfs71.pdf
L O C AT I N G I N T E R N S H I P S The Career Development Center provides resources, workshops, and services for you to learn about job/internship opportunities and interact with recruiters. It is recommended that you utilize multiple job/internship search strategies to maximize your efforts. Ultimately, internships are self-sought and secured individually by the student. The following list are resources to help you secure a quality internship: • • • •
Drop-In Career Counseling Resume Resources Brand Yourself As a Professional Networking and Fairs
Additional Tips • Check with faculty in your academic department for leads to other possible internship opportunities. • Talk to professionals in the field (ask friends and family or networking opportunities), join student professional organizations, and tell your own personal network of family and friends about your desire for an internship. • Make the most of your internship. CandidCareer.com has thousands of videos from industry professionals for you to view topics such as interviewing, career pathways, resume writing, etc.
O B TA I N I N G A C A D E M I C C R E D I T An academic credit internship would be arranged between the intern, employer and sponsoring faculty. The
prospective intern must take the initiative to prepare the paperwork and documents necessary for academic credit. Academic credit for internships is available only as arranged on an individual basis by students and their academic department. This is a contractual agreement between the prospective intern, sponsoring faculty member, and internship supervisor. The following guideline will help students initiate Academic Credit: • Intern is offered a position by the internship supervisor. • Intern identifies a faculty sponsor within their academic discipline and completes the Self-Selected Internship Placement Site Agreement form. • Intern and faculty sponsor develop internship agreement for academic credit. • Intern presents the internship agreement to the internship supervisor. • Intern coordinates with sponsoring faculty and internship supervisor to complete and submit all required paperwork to earn academic credit. 6
CSUCI Internship Toolkit Guide for Students & Faculty
