Career Services | University of the Arts (2024)

What is an academic internship?
An academic internship is an experience for which students enroll to earn academic credit. It should be related to a student’s major (or minor) and have a site supervisor who is an expert in that field.

When are students eligible to do internships?
Students who have completed at least 60 credits toward their degree are eligible (typically starting the summer after sophom*ore year). Exceptions are made for students with fewer credits who are offered an excellent internship opportunity.

When are internships offered?
Internships are offered for academic credit every semester (fall, spring, summer).Up to three credits of a summer internship may be taken at a significantly reduced tuition rate.

How do students find internships?

• Schedule an appointment with Career Services at uarts.edu/careerappointment.

• Ask program faculty for suggestions.

• Review lists of previous places that UArts students have interned on the UArts Careers database.

• Do their own independent research and follow up with Career Services.

How do students register for internships?
UArts Career Services registers students upon their completion of the required Pre-Internship Application Process form.

How do students learn about the Pre-Internship Application Process?
Information is available in the UArts Portal: Offices and Services > Career Services > Internships. Students may also attend one of the Internship Information Sessions offered before the advising and registration periods for the following semester or contactthe Career Services office.

When do students need to complete the Pre-Internship Application Process?
Students should apply well in advance, since they must have an internship offer to be registered for credits. The process can be initiated as soon as a student begins planning to intern. Exceptions for late registrations are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

What are the expectations for academic internships?

• Students will internfor approximately 30 hours per credit over the course of the 15-week semester (a typical 3-credit internship equalsabout 6 to 10hours per week.

• Students should successfully achievethree learning objectives, defined by the student in collaboration with their faculty internship coordinatorand their internship site supervisor.

• They must document their internship experience.

• They must complete end-of-internship evaluations.

Our career counselors provide hands-on support to help prepare you for your next step. We also provide assistance in researching and pursuing fellowships, grants and contests, as well as graduate school and alternative post-graduation options. Students and alumni can go online to easilyschedule an appointmentto meet with us.

Schedule an appointment with Career Services

The Career Services staff has searched the web for sites that are valuable to students and alumni pursuing careers in the arts.

Explore online career resources

The LinkedIn Job Search tool is a great resource for identifying open opportunities. Not only can you narrow your results by geographic location, keywords, company, industry and other fields, but you will also see if any of your LinkedIn connections work at the companies when you click on the job descriptions.

Start your search using LinkedIn

It's always about what you know and who you know during the job search. How doesGlassdoorhelp you learn more about companies and who you can connect with during your job search? By offering these research networking tools:

• See how you stack up — salaries and bonuses for specific jobs at any company
• Take a look inside — detailed company reviews posted anonymously by employees
• Prepare yourself — interview questions and process details for any company or job

Start your search using Glassdoor

• Internships

• Part-time jobs

• Full-time jobs

• Freelance projects andgigs

• Auditions

• Summer jobs

• Contests andcompetitions

• Volunteer opportunities

Currently enrolled students already have accounts in the system (username is what is before @uarts.edu in your email address. The first-time logging in,click "Forgot Password" to get a link to set your password).

UArts alumni who don't already have an account canregisterfor one (clickthe Student/Alumnibutton).

The Career Services Office is pleased to offer employers access toUArtsCareers, our comprehensive online system. UArtsCareers allows you to post your open positions directly to the web in a password-protected system that is only accessible to our students and alumni, as well as to receive applications via e-mail directly from those who are interested.

If you would like to gain access to the system, go towww.uartscareers.comand click on "'Employers." Upon approval by Career Services, you will be able to post your opportunities.

We will also continue to accept position listings that have beene-maileddirectly to our office.

Your listing should include the following:

• Position title, description and desired qualifications
• Company name, contact person, address, phone, fax, e-mail and website address
• Any other pertinent information you wish to provide to us

An internship is a career-relatedopportunity that enables students to gain real-worldexperience andexplore a professionalfield. The academic internship program at University of the Arts is designed to give students practicallearning experiences that relate specifically totheir area of academic study.

Academic (credit-bearing) internships mightbe paid or unpaid. Based on recent litigation related to the Fair Labor Standards Act, we encourage employers to offer students compensation equivalent to minimum wage in the form of pay, stipend, travel reimbursem*ntor housing expenses for a summer program. However, we acknowledge that there are also valuable internships that are unpaid.

An unpaid internship must be a legitimate learning experience benefitting the student, and not simply an operational work experience that just happens to be conducted by a student. The work performed by an intern may benefit the employer, but not in a way that does not also advance the education of the student.

To ensure the quality of our students’ internship experiences, the Career Services Office at University of the Arts has adopted the following criteria, as developed by theNational Association of Colleges and Employers.

1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.

2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.

3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.

4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.

5. There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.

6. There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.

7. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.

How can an employer set-up an unpaid internship to comply with these criteria?

• To demonstrate that your internship exists for theprimary benefit of the intern, and not the sole benefit of your company, your internship description should focus onwhat the internwill learnfrom the experience andnot just what the internwill dofor your company.

• Your interns should beregistered to earn academic creditduring the duration of their internship. The university requires students to define learning goals and document their experience. In addition, there are both student and supervisor evaluations submitted at the completion of the internship. These requirements serve to support the educational purpose of the internship. Also note that student interns are required to complete 30 hours per credit, so the typical 3-credit internship requires 90 hours total over the course of the semester. While your internship can exceed this requirement, please make sure the total number of hours remains reasonable.

• Academic internships are supervised bothwithin the work setting by an expert in the discipline related to the internship, as well as by a UArts faculty member. Therefore, if you are seeking an intern, youMUST already have an employee on staff with specific, relevant expertiseto train and oversee the work of the intern. If you do not, then your position is either a paid freelance project or paid part-time job!

• The timing of academic internships should ideallycoincide with our semesters(fall, spring, summer) to enable students to register for and earn academic credit. We do recognize that your timeline may not line up perfectly with ours and will consider late registrations for internships that start after a semester has begun and our add/drop period is over, as well as Incompletes for those that last beyond the end of a semester.

Keep in mind that students must pay tuition to enroll for internship credit, so an unpaid internship poses an additional financial burden to students. Academic credit and compensation are not mutually exclusive; therefore, if your company or organization is in a position to compensate your interns, we encourage you to do so.

If you are interested in hosting a student intern at your company or organization as part of the academic internship program, email us the details atcareerservices@uarts.eduor enter it into our online system,UArtsCareers.