Experiential Education

UNC Charlotte broadly defines an internship as a work experience in a professional setting that is an extension of the academic experience. 

UNC Charlotte believes that all internships should be paid, and therefore we do not post unpaid internships. For more information, visit the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Guide to Internships.  NACE connects career services and early talent recruiting professionals and is the authority on the employment of the college educated. 

Internships may vary in number of hours worked to accommodate the needs of both the student and employer. Employers are encouraged to consider students' academic schedules if they are participating in internships while still taking classes. Internships submitted solely as work experiences may vary in hours and length or duration. 

Some students seek academic credit for internships; academic departments often require that internships be a maximum of 20 hours a week during the Fall/Spring semesters and up to 40 hours a week in the Summer. Generally, they must last the entire semester. It is the responsibility of the student to submit the internship to the appropriate academic contact if they intend to seek academic credit.

A combination of goal-setting, training, supervision, and evaluation should be defined and agreed upon by all parties: the student, the employer, and a university faculty/staff administrator, especially if academic credit is involved.

The  Career Center reviews all internship postings to ensure they meet our criteria. 

Internships for Academic Credit

Academic internship courses are offered in all colleges at the undergraduate (60 are optional, 13 mandatory) and graduate levels (64 optional internship courses: 32 mandatory). Requirements vary by each college/department. Upon hiring a student, employers direct the student to the Experience Portal to submit their application for academic credit. The academic department will then connect with all parties to develop and approve specific learning objectives, structure, and evaluation criteria.

Internships for F-1 and J-1 International Students

Employers seeking to hire UNC Charlotte students with F-1 and J-1 international student visas as interns, can easily do so by providing the student with an offer letter that meets the following criteria: 

• Written on company letterhead; ;
• Contains prospective CPT employer's name; 
• Notes the physical location/address of proposed internship (no P.O. Boxes); 
• The start date of employment (view the important dates above); 
• The end date of employment (view the important dates above); and 
• The number of planned hours per week. 

The student then submits this offer letter and a job description through their Hire-A-Niner student account for consideration. Once an internship has been vetted through the Career Center, the International Student and Scholar Office authorizes Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for F-1 students or Academic Training for J-1 students.  

Most employers who hire new graduates rate EXPERIENCE as the top criteria used in selecting successful employees. If this describes your philosophy, you will benefit from becoming actively involved with the Co-op Program. This exciting relationship will help you identify and train prospective employees before they graduate.    

What is a Co-op?

• Paid career-related educational work opportunity to help students gain experience in a professional setting before graduating
• Available to students in the College of Computing and Informatics, William States Lee College of Engineering, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and Belk College of Business
• Students may work 3 alternating full-time semesters of work with full-time semesters of school, or 2 full-time semesters of work (either summer/fall or spring/summer); Fall/Spring back-to-back is not permitted except for Architecture
• College of Engineering students must commit to complete 3 alternating semesters
• Engineering students may earn 1 complete year towards their professional license after completing three semesters of co-op
• College of Computing and Informatics students can only complete 2 semesters of co-op 
• Students are enrolled in a zero-credit transcript notation course each semester they work in order to maintain their full-time status with the University
• Students in select colleges will complete a 1 credit co-op seminar follow-up course each semester they return to school

Program Requirements + Eligibility 

• Students must be undergraduate, enrolled full-time (exceptions for Engineering students), have completed freshmen level courses, and have a minimum GPA of at least 2.5
• Students must meet with their faculty advisor to plan out their co-op work and class rotation schedule before starting the co-op
• Students must complete the Co-Op application in the Experience system and include their co-op offer letter and approval from their college
• Both students and employers submit a program evaluation at the end of each work semester. Evaluations are sent by email near the end of each semester.

Questions? Employers can reach out to Amy Browns, Associate Director of Employer Engagement + Experiential Learning at amy.browns@charlotte.edu. 

Gig Training is a short-term project that an organization or internal University department might require assistance with, but there isn’t quite enough work for it to be constituted as a full internship. Gig Trainings are classified as project-based learning experiences that could assist our students with acquiring more marketable skills.

Projects can range in duration, extending from a brief 10 hours or a few days to as much as six weeks. Although projects can span over a longer period of time, student participation cannot exceed 40 TOTAL hours. 

• The students' hourly/weekly commitment is determined by Student Employment and is based on existing on-campus employment and class level. 
   
• All opportunities will be presented to the Undergraduate student population only.
   
• Projects should provide the student with the opportunity to build career-related experience and develop usable skills for the future. 
   
• Projects must be feasible without the need for professional licensure.
   
• The Career Center will compensate students at a rate of $13 per hour for their participation in this program.
   
• Due to university policy, short-term projects are not eligible for academic credit.

Take a deeper dive into this program

Please note that all non-profit "host" sites will have no financial responsibilities when participating in this program. Want to learn more?  Please contact Patrick Madsen at pmadsen@charlotte.edu

Welcome to the Community Internship Program! This program is designed to connect students eligible for Federal Work Study with meaningful internship opportunities in nonprofit organizations, governmental agencies, and other community-supporting entities. These internships are created to align with the Federal Work Study guidelines, focusing on improving the quality of life for community residents, especially those from low-income backgrounds. Organizations in the community can learn how to participate in this initiative, while eligible students can explore available internships and find out how to apply.

• Community Partners provide the internships, mentors, and site supervisors
• University pays the student intern! (via the Federal Work Study program)
• Community Internships are between January 13th - May 1st

Organizations must meet the following criteria for approval:

Be a nonprofit or governmental agency (federal, state, local)

Serving the community in areas such as educational activities, health care, literacy training, welfare, social services, housing support, public safety, emergency preparedness and response, crime prevention and control, rural development, or community improvement, or related areas of focus

Be able to provide consistent onsite mentorship and supervision for an intern

Provide an experience that is both educational, adds value to a student's career, and helps them develop key skills and a strong professional network

Commit to an internship that is between 5-10 hours per week, 10-12 weeks, during the spring semester

Take a deeper dive into this program

Building an internship program not only supports students, but also makes smart business sense. Interns can help manage workflow, provide extra bandwidth to accomplish your objectives, and offer a fresh perspective. It's an opportunity to "test-drive" potential future employees, increase productivity, and access talent at a lower cost. Additionally, internships allow you to strengthen your company’s brand while contributing to the professional growth of the next generation. Investing in an internship program helps both your business and the community thrive.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers defines an internship as:

NACE defines an internship as a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional workplace setting (across in-person, remote, or hybrid modalities). Internships provide students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience, develop social capital, explore career fields, and make connections in professional fields. In addition, internships serve as a significant recruiting mechanism for employers, providing them with the opportunity to guide and evaluate potential candidates.

To create a strong program that can last, consider the following aspects that make up a fully-designed experience:

• Intensive Orientation: factor in the onboarding period for new interns that provides them with your organization's policies, procedures, and communication happens; 
   
• Business Essentials: build in opportunities for students to learn your business that might include shadowing meetings and presentations with mentors, handling smaller projects or work tasks, or other opportunities that help them engage in the job function; 
   
• Integrated Skills: your program will want to include some of the top career skills needed in the world of work. These might include having students practice communication, perform on teams, utilize technology in their internship, or solve real world problems; 
   
• Specialize: consider having your interns work on one big project that spans their entire internship; complete with a final presentation to senior leadership; and 
   
• Professional Development: if your organization has learning modules for current employees on topics such as leadership, teamwork, or other areas that add value to their career. seek to have them complete these opportunities as part of their internship. 

The internship description should be clear, to the point, include the pay rate, and fully explain the experience to the student. Sections to your internship description should include:

• Title: clear title that includes the word "internship." Consider an title that indicates the actual job function. Examples might include project management intern, financial analysis intern, marketing intern, etc.
   
• Details of the Experience: provide information on the types of work and projects the student would be working on, the types of shadowing and networking they will be a part of, and any other aspects that help them understand what the 10-15 weeks might include.
   
• Learning Experience: in this section, you can provide the student with the types of skills they will be working on during the experience, what job functional learning they will take part in, and any other aspects that adds value to their learning experience at your organization.
   
• Expectations: be clear with working hours, communication, key deliverables and milestones for the internship, hybrid versus otherwise, as well as any other aspects to help a student understand what is expected for working at your organization.
   
• Qualifications: clearly define the skills and experiences needed from a student to be a top candidate for this internship.  Be more specific with skills rather than what "academic major" they studied.

Check out our Internship Template

Internships are more than just having a person do some work for the organization.  Often times, having an intern means you will need to devote more time to mentoring and supervising to provide them with the best experience.  Here are some considerations:

• Scope of Experience: during the on-boarding stage is the perfect time to go over every aspect of the internship learning experience.  Discuss with them the skills they will be gaining, the projects they will be working on, and how they can process all of it during their time with your organization.
   
• Build a Network: this is a perfect time for interns to meet everyone at your organization and build a strong professional network while they are there.  Not only does this help them get to know you all but it helps the company develop a strong relationship with great talent!  Encourage them to reach out to key leaders, introduce them to your fellow work mates, and actively hear about what they learned from others.
   
• Continuous Communication Plan: consider your communication structures.  Maybe you decide to have weekly stand up meetings, virtual project check in meetings, or a designed project management plan.  What ever the case, make sure you are over-communicating with your intern.
   
• The Final Performance: have your intern do a presentation or formal report of the project/work that they have done with your organization.  Debrief on their experience in the internship to help you refine for future interns.

Weeks: minimum of 5-weeks (80 hours); No Maximum (Recommend 10-15 weeks)

Hours per week: Fall/Spring Semesters (20 hours per week max); Summer (Part Time or Full Time)

Projects: one major project, with a few smaller tasks/projects

Don't have enough "work" for a formal internship program?  Not a problem!  Check out Micro-Internships or GigTraining Programs.