Learn valuable new skills outside of a traditional classroom. While exploring your career interests you will be able to simultaneously acquire knowledge of the field, industry and employer.
Build your soft, non-technical skills as well has your hard, technical skills. Employers seek new job candidates who are able to mix soft skills, such as communication and leadership, with hard-skills that are associated with the specific skill set required in a job.
Internship experience can provide you with an advantage when you apply for jobs upon graduation by adding work experience to your credentials.
Internships are a form of professional learning experience that integrates practical knowledge and learned classroom skills that will give students the opportunity to build and develop career paths; gain practical work experience, build their resume, and grow professional connections in their career field.
Students at ECCU have a choice to pick an Internship, Capstone Project or Comprehensive Exam in their Capstone course. The capstone project can allow a working adult to apply technical knowledge gained from the program to work related projects as applied learning. The Internship can serve as an alternative for Capstone project. Students participating in a for-credit internship must be registered for a related course, are required to complete graded assignments in relationship to their work with organizations and are advised by faculty during their work term. Students enrolled in a for-credit internship course are expected to intern a minimum of 13.5 hours per week during the 10-week term. Full-time internships students may be required to work 20-35 hours or more per week. Program internships can be paid or unpaid. The internship is considered as 3-credit or 135 contact hours.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the Capstone course, students will be able to:
ECCU will determine if the internship option meets ECCU International Internship standards and guidelines and adheres to the Department of Labor Fair Labor Standard Act. Please review the Capstone course options located in the course syllabus for details about these options.
ECCU team will assist in matching students based on their learning experience, skills and academic specializations. ECCU will help provide students with ongoing support in all aspects of internship experience. All internships job are pre-qualified to meet ECCU standards and guidelines established for internships by the Department of Labor Fair Labor Standard Act and adherence to ECCU International Internship Policies. Through this internship program, student benefits the following outcomes:
Gain in-depth industry knowledge and experiences, develop industry-specific skills and skills necessary for future opportunities. Gain the opportunity to attain valuable applied experience that is consistent to your career path, while developing teamwork, communication skills, decision making skills, and social responsibility.
Broaden your chance of landing a job and jump-starting your career by building your resume.
Grow your connections and professional network in the right industry by meeting professional role models and potential mentors who can provide guidance, feedback, and support.
To be eligible for the Internship Program, ECCU students need to adhere to the following:
The success of an internship depends on the partnership between representatives of the organization, the university, and the student. These three parties need to agree on the conditions of the internship, the responsibilities of each party, and the reporting requirements. Part of reporting requirements for interns are:
Identified Learning Goals
The learning contract allows the intern to document how, when, how often, with whom, etc., the learning goals are accomplished. The learning contract is a tool to formalize the internship. It includes information such as a description of the internship responsibilities (job description), goals and objectives, and how objectives will be met and assessed.
Identified learning goals allow students to assess their own progress, as well as allowing the internship mentor/supervisor to be able to assess the students. The mentor/supervisor, the intern, and the academic dean will sign the learning contract. Each partner will have a clear understanding of the expectations of the experience and what the final results should be.
Academic Assignments
This monitoring mode encourages reflection about the learning experience and invites the intern to critically reflect on the experience and to evaluate each learning goal outlined in the internship objectives. This method encourages interns to evaluate their experience in a more analytical manner, especially in relation to the context of other life experiences, their curriculum, and major field of study.
Mid Semester Check-In
The mentor/supervisor, the intern, and the academic dean will closely monitor the progress of the internship through written reports of job tasks learned, site visits, phone calls, and evaluations.
Final Evaluations
To be completed by both the intern and mentor/supervisor as a way to identify key areas of success.
Identify areas for improvement for the intern and the internship site.
Highlight personal strengths and prescribe solutions for the intern’s professional development.
Students would seek internship opportunities in their local area through the networking activities of the university, corporate partners and student initiative. Various online job service sites serve the internship market and work placements in similar ways to job search.
