BAS/IPS 493: Internship

The following information leads you through the steps needed to sign up for an Internship with the BAS/IPS Program. We also have a handy Internship checklist that outlines this in brief. 

Step 1: Find an Internship

The checklist has links to some resources for you to find an internship through Boise State resources. (These are also available in this section.)

Many of our students find or create their own internships! Often, our students design their own internships by reaching out to companies or organizations where they would like to intern, to learn more about that organization or type of work. Students call, email, or even knock on the door, and as experienced individuals returning to school to complete their degree, they are often received very well. Both of these approaches have been very successful for our students.

You can also use your current job or other positions to create an internship! We actually have many students do internships at their current jobs, with an important distinction: the internship must be an extension beyond your current job--in other words, a learning or growth opportunity (and not just getting internship credit for going to work and doing your regular job). This is a very fruitful approach--by asking for further responsibilities or projects and beyond the work they're already doing, students really help their organizations grow, they learn a lot, and they look great to their employers. 

If you'd like to talk further about any of these ideas or options, please let me know!

Or, you can use databases and job boards to search for internship possibilities! Think broadly and be open to lots of experiences and interests as you search. The flexibility of the BAS/IPS program means that many different kinds of experiences can count as an internship. 

If you'd prefer to find an internship being offered publicly on job boards and databases, the following resources are very helpful.

Resources for finding an internship:

• Boise State University's Handshake 

For the following, be sure to search for your specific location and/or for remote or virtual opportunities:

• Indeed.com Internships 

• LinkedIn 

• Chegg Internships

• WayUp

• Idealist

And some newer internship models if you want to try something cutting edge:

• Acadium: Digital Marketing Internships

• Forage

• Riipen

Step 2: Get Needed Information 

Once you find your internship, you'll need to gather some information that you'll need on the application form in Step 4. See the end of this step for the info you need. You'll also need some personal info that you'll already have.

At this point it's important to talk with your advisor and decide on how many credits of Internship you'd like to take each semester. Note that you can repeat the internship course, so you don't have to take all your Internship credits in one semester!

 You can have a total of 9 internship credits count towards your degree, and can take those over several semesters, if you'd like. Each 1 credit equals 45 hours of work at your internship site over the course of the semester (15 weeks in fall and spring, 10 weeks in summer). So, for example, 3 credits of internship in Fall/Spring would equal 135 hours on site, or on average about 9 hours per week if spread out over the semester's 15 weeks. (Summer 3 credit internships equal 13.5 hours/week over 10 weeks.)

Step 3: Acknowledge Your Understanding of the Internship Course

To get credit for Internship, you have to work your required number of hours at your site, and complete the required academic coursework. More about that coursework:

There is a Canvas course that happens synchronously with your Internship--it's a fun course built to help you reflect on the internship experience and your career goals, and link the work experience with the BAS/IPS curriculum. It offers three different Learning Tracks for students to choose their own academic focus area in addition to their on-site work.

It's not an arduous amount of work. But it's important work you'll use to document, reflect on, and enrich your internship experience as you go through it. 

We have a very quick form for you to fill out where you acknowledge that you understand how the Internship course works; basically, you acknowledge that you understand how many hours you'll need to work at your internship site, and that you understand there is an accompanying Canvas course with weekly assignments due. 

To complete Step 3, fill out this Confirmation form. (It'll take just a few seconds!)

Step 4: Apply!

Finally! Fill out the Internship Application on the BSU Career Center webpage.

You'll use the information you gathered earlier, plus some other personal info you'll have. There is also an orientation video and a simple quiz you need to complete on that site. 

The Application is sent for approvals to me, then your site supervisor, and finally the Registrar. After they receive it, you'll get a confirmation email, and then you will be enrolled automatically in the course by the Registrar. 

In other words, the Registrar will put the course directly on your schedule; unlike a regular course, a student doesn't sign up for Internship directly but is enrolled by the Registrar after these approvals go through.

I hope this helps start you in getting answers to your questions! If there's anything further I can help with, please reach out; I'd be glad to email or chat if that would be helpful. Let me know! bakerlawley@boisestate.edu

Best wishes,

Baker