All you ever wanted to know about internships at Woodbury University…

Did you know that you have to complete at least one internship/work experience in order for you to receive your degree?

Internship Program

The Careers and Alumni Office can help you find an internship. Make an appointment today with a Corporate Relations/Internship Specialist to find out about the requirements and possible leads. Internship requirements vary from major to major so it is important you know the facts. Typically internships take place during your junior or senior year once you have taken the prerequisite classes.

The following is very important information you need to know in order to find, apply for, and make the most of your internship.

What is an internship?
What are the requirements for an internship?
Are there ever exceptions to the internship requirements?
What are the steps to take to find and secure an internship?
Why Do an Internship?

What is an internship?
An internship is a work-related learning experience for individuals who wish to develop hands-on work experience in a certain occupational field. Out-of-the-classroom work and service experiences are crucial components of a student’s career development. Most internships are temporary assignments that last approximately three months up to a year. Some internships are paid, while others offer credit and perhaps a stipend to cover expenses such as parking. These experiences allow students to test career options and build skills that will help prepare them for post-graduate pursuits. In addition to learning job-specific skills, students are able to demonstrate the communication, organization and analytical skills that are valued by every employer. The Careers and Alumni Office assists students interested in internships by developing and obtaining experiences of interest, by preparing their career documents, providing listings of openings and by conducting an active on-campus recruiting program.

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What are the requirements for an internship?
Woodbury University requires at least one internship or work experience in all of the academic majors in order for the student to receive their degree. Students need to complete prerequisite classes prior to pursuing an internship. Typically, only junior or senior level students are eligible for an internship, however it is never to early to start thinking about internship options and the steps that you need to take to complete this requirement. Students should seek out information or the Internship packet in your major from your academic advisor or from the Careers & Alumni Office. The Internship Contract form must also be completed and signed by everyone involved, namely, the internship supervisor at the company, your faculty advisor, the department chair, and you as the student. Once that form is signed by all involved, it needs to be submitted to the Registrar’s office, in order to register for the internship experience as a class and receive the credit.

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Are there ever exceptions to the internship requirements?
There are some exceptions to this rule. Architecture and Interior Architecture do not need to register for their internship or work experiences through the Registrar’s office. Those students, however, need to complete 300 hours of work experience. These experiences still need to be approved by the student’s academic advisor and a letter from the employer on the company’s letterhead needs to be submitted to the academic advisor stating the number of hours the student worked, the types of duties the student performed and how well they performed them before the student can receive their degree. The work experience requirement for architecture major needs to be completed with an approved architect or allied professional after completion of the second year and prior to enrollment in fifth year studio courses.

Graphic Design students, as of the Fall 2007 incoming class, can choose to complete 120 hours of field experience, instead of registering for the experience as an internship. The same rules apply though, the experience needs to be approved by the student’s academic advisor, and the site supervisor needs to submit a letter to the student’s academic advisor stating the hours completed, duties performed and how well they performed them in order for the student to receive their degree.

There is one other exception to the internship rule. If you are an older student who has had many years of work experience, you may be eligible to take an upper level course in place of the internship requirement. You must talk to your academic advisor to explore this option.

Organizational Leadership and Masters in Organizational Leadership programs do not have any internship requirement. However, that does not mean that you can’t complete one, if you are interested in doing so.

The same applies to MBA students. Most MBA students are not required to complete an internship. International MBA students, however, need to complete the Curricular Practical Training course for 1 unit. This course is designed to provide our international MBA students an opportunity to gain work experience in the area of management and marketing. This one unit course will not be counted towards the MBA degree and must be taken after a student has successfully completed 2 semesters of study work here at the Woodbury University.

There are some prerequisites: the student must be Graduate Standing and have the approval of the academic advisor and the international advisor. The students will work with their respective faculty in the fields of management and marketing. A grade of Pass or No Pass will be assigned at the end of the completion of the work experience and will be transcripted as such. National MBA students are not required to complete an internship, however, that does not mean you are not encouraged to pursue one. If you are interested in pursuing an MBA internship, please stop by the Careers & Alumni Office for possible leads.

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What are the steps to take to find and secure an internship?

1. Talk to your academic advisor! Find out if you have taken all of the prerequisite classes prior to searching for an internship. You do not want to go through all the work of finding one and then find out from your advisor that they won’t approve the experience because you haven’t taken the prerequisite classes.
2. Make an appointment to see a Career Counselor! The Careers & Alumni Office can make sure that your resume and cover letter meet the standards and expectations of employers.
3. Make an appointment with a Corporate Relations/Internship Specialist! The Careers & Alumni Office can help you search for different internship leads. You can discuss with the internship specialist your thoughts and dreams of what you want in an internship. The Careers & Alumni Office can help you find exactly what you’re looking for: industry desired, specific type of work environment that you feel most comfortable in, and desired location of the company. These are all things that you might not know if you just look on various job board websites and start applying for internship positions on your own. The Careers & Alumni Office can help give you direction.
4. Register on Woodbury’s online job board! https://woodbury-csm.symplicity.com/students You will be able to search for jobs/internships as well as upload your resume for potential employers to view. You will also be notified of our calendar of career related recruiting events through this system. Our online recruitment system has many resources for internships. Students then bear the responsibility of identifying the internship, submitting your resume and letter to the company or organization, and then interviewing for the internship, just as if it were a job. It is advisable to apply for at least 2 or 3 internships to ensure that you are accepted for at least one.
5. Fill out the necessary paperwork and submit it to the Registrar’s office! Once you have interviewed and chosen the internship you want, an internship proposal or contract form, which identifies the internship, the learning objectives, and criteria for evaluation, must be submitted to your academic advisor and department chairperson for approval. Once everyone signs off on it, you need to submit the form along with a drop/add form to the Registrar’s office to register for the internship as a “class”. Then you need to proceed to business office to pay for the credit. Woodbury internships generally require 40 hours for every 1 unit of credit awarded. So, for 3 units of credit, 120 contact hours are required, which equates to approximately 10-15 hours per week during a semester.

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Why Do an Internship?

Internships provide Woodbury University students an opportunity to gain practical work experience in a variety of fields. Due to the proximity of the college to the greater Los Angeles area, the reputation of the school, and the caliber of the students, many employers contact the Careers & Alumni Office with internship positions on a daily basis.

Here are just some of the obvious advantages an internship offers:

• Learn more about a chosen field.
• Apply classroom theory to real work situations.
• Become more knowledgeable about general work functions in particular fields.
• Identify and/or test interests and talents.
• Investigate organizational cultures.
• Learn career-related skills.
• Identify transferable skills.
• Strengthen written and oral skills.
• See if a selected career path is one you truly wish to travel.
• Find out what it’s like to work in a business environment.

In addition, here are some benefits:

• Internships enhance and strengthen your resume.
• Internships allow you to make contacts to gain future employment.
• Internships serve as a bridge between college and work.

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