Internships
At Penn State Behrend, an internship is a professional, career-related experience in an organizational setting for which the student may receive academic credit. The amount of time spent by the student at the internship location is approximately 10-12 hours during the academic year and 10-40 hours during the summer. However, alternative schedules are possible and depend upon the needs and expectations of the parties involved.
The parties involved include the student intern, a faculty adviser, and the intern supervisor from the sponsoring organization. Career Services will not place students in internships but enable the student to obtain an internship by providing contacts and postings. Many internships in non-technical fields (and some in technical fields) are not paid. Employers expect students to have experience before they begin their job search; therefore the career-related experience is valuable. Also, we welcome discussion regarding internships with various companies, suggestions on companies to contact, and faculty discussion with current or potential intern employers.
Please visit the Internship and Co-Ops assistance page for more information.
Faculty can access internship postings on Nittany Lion Careers. Please email [email protected] if you have any questions, and refer students to Career Services for internship search preparation.
Career-Related Experience (Non-Credit Internship)
The Career Services can assist students with finding career-related experiences, often called non-credit internships. Many employers may provide varied levels of financial compensation or no financial compensation for these experiences. We can also assist students with their summer job search. LionLink, a service coordinated through University Park, is also a great way for students to get career advice and network with alumni.
Co-Ops
Co-ops are not the same as internships. Although many colleges and employers define co-ops differently, a co-op at Behrend is coordinated over two or more semesters. Many co-ops are often taken outside of the Penn State Behrend area and may lengthen the student's college career by a semester or a year. The Career Services staff can assist with locating possible co-op sites, but does not coordinate the individual programs. For more information about co-ops, please visit the Internship and Co-Ops assistance page.