Why Do I Need an Internship?

An internship can be helpful to all types of students, whether they are beginning their first career or making a transition to a new field.  Academic credentials are important, but never underestimate the importance of real world experience!  Work experience helps you to build a track record of success and accomplishment.  This will give you a foundation for future success and increase your appeal to employers.  Most employers want to fill top positions with employees who they can count on to get the job done.  A 1997 study published in the Washington Post reported that 70 percent of employers require new employees to have internship or other related job experience (Ginsberg 1997).

An internship can also lead directly to a job.  A study done at one university revealed that 80 percent of students in internships were offered permanent employment by the agencies where they interned (Stateman 1997). An internship is valuable because it will give you experience in the field specifically related to your area of study. Through an internship, you have the opportunity to gain new skills, make new professional contacts and experience a different work environment. Finally, internships give you the chance to find out more about specific professions. Although you may have an idea of what you can do with your degree, there may be possibilities that you have not considered. By working in an organization in your field, you will learn to understand the different options that are available. 

The learning objectives depend on you to some extent.  Internships can fill different needs.  Some might need a immersion into a particular field of work and others might want specific skills, for example.  From an instructional perspective, we are seeking to achieve these goals:

1. Internships should provide mentoring.  That is, you should learn something about a field of work through direct contact with someone who does it and is willing to share their experiences as well as assess your strengths and weaknesses.

2.  Internships should involve direct, hands-on experience with work activities that relate directly to your educational program.  The internship should enhance your academic experience at the university, allowing you to view the topics you have studied from different perspectives.

3.  An internship should lead to some conclusions about your next career steps.  Some may have some very specific ideas, and others may need to gather more information.  Either way, the internship should generate some forward progress toward the development of some concrete ideas about the type of skills, knowledge, and work that you intend to pursue in the future.

Internships do push students to face up to the realities of the working world, which is important, but we are also committed to making certain that our internships also offer a valuable learning experience.

Can I Receive Academic Credit for an Internship?

Internships can be taken for elective credit for the Bachelor of Science degree in Public Policy, the Masters in Public Policy, and the Master of Public Administration degree.  Please see the Office of Academic Assistance for further information about your degree requirements, and the faculty internship coordinators can also help you to sort out your options. 

A college relations specialist at FedEx said, "The earlier, the better. That's my philosophy on internships. I would recommend immediately starting to research companies that I was interested in and that offered internships in my field" (Smith 1996). If you are considering getting an internship or you are required to complete an internship, do not wait to find one until after you have registered for our internship course. Take time to research the internship opportunities available. Find an internship that will help you in your career and your studies. Some students have found themselves in internships that were not beneficial because they made a last minute decision. If you wait until the last minute, you probably will not be able to find an internship that really interests you. Before you start your search, consider the following questions:

What field am I really interested in?
What are my career goals?
What experience do I have? What experience do I hope to gain?
Do I want/need a paid internship?
What agencies and organizations am I interested in working with?
What type of a work setting do I want?

Internship information Available on uLearn

If you are considering an internship, you should ask one of the internship coordinators to add you to the internship uLearn page. We add registered students automatically, but you need to contact us if you want to access the page prior to registering.

Please note that getting an account on the home page does not register you for the internship course. You still need to register, just as you would for any other course.

Where Can I Find an Internship?

There are many places you can look to find an internship. Many people find internships simply by word of mouth. If there is an organization you are interested in working with, call them and ask if there are any internship openings.  Some resources we offer include the following:

1. Our most important offering is an Email service that notifies subscribers of any job openings that we hear about.  Everything we hear about goes to this list.  Occasionally students and alumni contribute something as well.  You can get list postings in your Email, as a regular digest, or you can read mail on the Web.  You can also read the list archives on the Web as well.  The archives can help you catch up on previous postings.  They also give you some leads on past employers to investigate.  The archives are very useful.  Just subscribing to the list is fine if you have several months to find a position, otherwise you want to make sure you use the archives.  Click here for more information about this list. 

2. Another great resource is Georgia Hire. The Georgia Hire service lists job and internship opportunities in our region.    Many students have reported getting good internships from this service.  Some have posted their resume and employers have come to them!  Click here for information on Georgia Hire.

3. Georgia State University has an Office of Civic Engagement, and they might have some opportunities for you.  Volunteer work can count for internship credit.  The volunteer solutions student guide is a good place to start.

4. You may also find something interesting on the United Way Volunteer Solutions page.

5. Investigate the internship and job search aids on the uLearn internship home page.  There is a link to these other resources, look for internship and job search aids.

6. Study the internship descriptions that are also available on our internship home page--the uLearn page.  Look for the internship experiences icon.  Here you get the actual internship descriptions that students posted on the internship bulletin board as a part of their course requirements.  These descriptions give you considerably detail about where students worked an how they felt about their experiences.

We have some great resources available, but you have many other options as well, friends, family, co-workers, fellow students, and other GSU professors.  Students are usually very happy with their internships, so keep a positive outlook.  Of course, we are happy to talk to you if you are having problems finding an internship.  Just make an appointment and come on in. 

We Frequently Asked Questions Available

We have prepared a document that answers frequently asked questions about the internship.  This is available from the Internship Home Page and it can also be accessed from this location.

What Needs to be Done?

The internship checklist gives you a quick overview of everything needed to successfully complete an internship.

Internship Coordinators

You can reach the PAUS Internship Coordinators through the Internship home page. They will respond to questions you post on the bulletin board or in private email. You can also reach them through their GSU faculty email accounts listed below.

Greg Streib

Gstreib@gsu.edu

(404) 413-0116

Fax: (404) 413-0104

 Katherine Willoughby

Kwilloughby@gsu.edu

(404) 413-0117

Fax: (404) 413-0104 

What Types of Internships Do Students Find?

Our students have had great success in finding wonderful internship positions.  Some past employers include the following:

Additional Readings on Internships

Emmons, Eric. "Experience becomes Students' Required Course." Atlanta Business Chronicle. July 28, 1995, p. 4A, 20A.

Ginsberg, Steven.  "Soar Spot:  Why Internships are Increasingly Crucial."  Washington Post.  June 1, 1997, p.H4.

Gross, Lynne Schafer. The Internship Experience. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, 1993.

Kennedy, Joyce Lain. "Internships for Career Changers: a Timely Idea." San Diego Business Journal. August 12, 1996, p. 45.

Stateman, Alison.  "Survey: Internships Provide Advantage."  Public Relations Tactics.  Sept. 97, p. 8.

Smith, Laquita Bowen.  "Survey Shows Interns have an Advantage when Company Looks for New Hire."  Memphis Business Journal. Dec. 23, 1996, p. 25.

Sweitzer, H. Frederick and Mary A. King. The Successful Internship: Transformation and Empowerment. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1998.

Access this Document on the Web!

If you have a paper version of this document, you can call up the web version at the following location:  http://www.gsu.edu/~padgds/Update.html