The Project-Based Learning Internship Program provides students with short-term, volunteer-based opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to real-world challenges. Projects are designed to give students hands-on experience in a professional setting while supporting the mission and needs of community organizations, nonprofits, and other partners.
Program Structure:
- Project Scope: Projects must be well-defined, with a clear beginning and end, specific deliverables, and an estimated workload of no more than 40 total hours.
- Supervision: Each student will be supported by both a site mentor (organization supervisor) and a campus mentor (faculty or staff member) to ensure a high-quality learning experience.
- Learning Contract: Prior to beginning, students and site supervisors will complete a learning contract outlining project goals, scope, and expectations. This contract must also be signed by the campus mentor.
- Final Deliverable: At the conclusion of the project, students must submit a final deliverable (e.g., report, presentation, or portfolio piece) that demonstrates the project outcomes and skills applied.
Guidelines:
- Projects must align with federal guidelines for unpaid experiences and be primarily educational in nature.
- Opportunities should focus on skill development, professional growth, and connecting classroom learning with practical application.
- All projects must have defined timelines and clear expectations to support student success.
Looking for a way to put what you’ve learned in the classroom into action? The Project-Based Learning Internship Program is your chance to gain real-world experience by working on short, focused projects with community organizations, nonprofits, and other partners.
These internships are:
- Short-Term: Projects are designed to take no more than 40 total hours to complete, are purely volunteer opportunities, and are either campus based or remote.
- Hands-On: You’ll work on a clearly defined project that allows you to practice and strengthen skills you’ve learned in your courses.
- Mentored: Each project includes guidance from both a site mentor (your organization supervisor) and a campus mentor (a faculty or staff member) who will support your growth.
What you’ll do:
- After securing your project, complete a Learning Contract with your site mentor to set goals and expectations before starting your project.
- Create a final deliverable (such as a report, presentation, or portfolio piece) to showcase the project you worked on and the skills you applied.
Why participate?
- Build valuable experience you can highlight on your resume.
- Develop professional connections with mentors on and off campus.
- Strengthen your confidence in applying classroom knowledge to real-world challenges.
This program is a great way to explore career interests, build your skills, and make a meaningful contribution—all in a manageable, short-term format.
The Project-Based Learning Internship Program connects students with short-term, volunteer-based projects that allow them to apply classroom learning to real-world challenges. These projects are designed to last no more than 40 hours in total and must provide students with a meaningful, skill-building experience.
Key Parameters for Projects:
- Defined Scope: Projects must have a clear beginning and end, specific deliverables, and an estimated workload not exceeding 40 hours.
- Compliance with Federal Guidelines: All opportunities must align with federal requirements for unpaid experiences, ensuring that projects are primarily educational in nature and not displacing paid work.
- Mentorship: Organizations are responsible for providing a site mentor who will supervise the student’s progress, offer guidance, and ensure the project’s educational value. The university will provide a campus mentor to support the student academically and help troubleshoot challenges; however, students are responsible for securing their own campus mentor.
Deliverables:
Students must complete a learning contract (signed by the site mentor and campus mentor) before beginning the project and will submit a final deliverable that demonstrates the project outcomes.
Options for Funded Experiences:
- Campus Organizations and Nonprofits: Eligible to participate in the Gig Program, which can provide funding to support student projects.
- For-Profit Organizations: Encouraged to use Parker Dewey, a national platform that allows companies to offer short-term, paid projects to students.
By participating, your organization gains valuable project support while helping students develop professional skills and apply classroom knowledge in meaningful ways.
Those on an F-1 visa are eligible to participate in campus based projects or projects that are remote only. It is vital that you and the organization submit all necessary paperwork for approval. Always check with ISSO on any experiences to ensure you are following all relevant regulations.
Nope! BUT - if your project meets the normal UCOL Internship Program's site hour requirements, you can run it through that process. Note: graduate students are not eligible for UCOL's program at this time.
Nope! This program is merely to provide structure to projects that employers submit for students and to ensure our students are receiving a purely educational experience during the project. If an organization is interested in funding this opportunity you do not need to go through this process (it would be considered a part time job!).
Not necessarily. This program invites organizations to submit a project for review and approval but typically students will secure their own project. Any projects submitted and approved by the Career Center will be pushed out through Hire-A-Niner to students with approved resumes in the system.
Students will be responsible for submitting a learning contract for review and approval. At the conclusion of the project, students will submit their final deliverable to the Career Center's representative.