Course Overview

CFAN 3096: Making the Most of Your Professional Experience is for students who wish to undertake the internship/professional experience course concurrently (alongside) with their internship/professional experience. 90 of the required 120 hours at the internship/professional experience site must take place DURING the semester/summer you take the class. 

• The course is offered spring, summer and fall.

• This course meets virtually and synchronously via Zoom. 

• Students must gain approval for their internship/professional experience through Handshake by 9/x/2026 for fall, 1/29/2026 for spring and by 5/28/2026 for summer semester.

Spring 2026 syllabus for CFAN 3096

Spring 2026 Course Sections of CFAN 3096 

These sections are remote & synchronous. 

Last day to sign up for class is Thursday, January 29, 2026

• THIS SECTION IS FULL: Section 001, 4 Fridays, 2-4:30pm - 1/30/2026, 2/27/2026, 3/27/2026 and 4/24/2026. Instructor: Mari Ruddy

• Section 002, 4 Mondays, 4-6:30pm, 2/2/2026, 3/2/3036, 3/30/2026, 4/27/2026. Instructor: Abby Conover

Summer 2026 Course Sections of CFAN 3096 

This section is remote & synchronous. 

• Section 001, 4 Thursdays, 6-8:30pm - 6/4/2026, 6/25/2026, 7/16/2026 and 8/6/2026. Instructor: Mari Ruddy 

Fall 2026 Course Section of CFAN 3096 

This section is remote & synchronous. 

• Section 001,  4 Mondays, 4 - 6:30pm - 9/21/2026, 10/19/2026, 11/16/2026 and 12/7/2026. Instructor: Gina Brewingon

Internship Approval: This must be done before you can register

Complete the Handshake Experience Form within a week of receiving your internship/professional experience offer using the following instructions:

1. Log into (or create) your Handshake account at https://career.umn.edu/channels/handshake/​. You must use your UMN email account. 

2. Click on “Career Center” on the left side column and select “Experiences” in the middle of the page to access the form.

3. Click on “Submit an Experience” then for Experience type, select the course you are taking: “CFANS - CFAN 3096/4096” 

4. Follow the prompts to complete ALL the questions as best as you can. It is essential that you include the START and END dates for your experience AND you must include the name, email address and phone number of your experience supervisor. 

5. For the Course Information section, provide or select the following information: 

• Instructor name: Mari Ruddy (no need to enter email for Mari Ruddy) 

• Course Number:   CFAN 3096​

• Which Semester:   CFAN 3096: Choose the term you plan to take the course

• Section Number:   Type in your preferred section number from list above

• Number of Credits:   Type in “1” 

• Internship Documentation:   Type in “Presentation” 

• Learning Goals:       Type In “To Be Determined” 

6. Enter your e-signature and click on the green button called “Submit Experience” to submit your Experience Form. 

7. Tell your site supervisor to watch for the email from Handshake, requesting their approval of the agreement. After your site supervisor approval is received, the form will be routed to the Internship Coordinator, Mari Ruddy, for approval. Tell your supervisor the email will come from Handshake, not from the University of Minnesota.

8.  Allow time for the approval process prior to the beginning of the course. Be advised, it can take 1-2 weeks to complete the internship approval and course registration process. 

Course registration for CFAN 3096

You will receive a Permission Number once your professional experience is approved through the Handshake Experience Form. When you get your permission number, register for the course immediately, so you get access to the Canvas site.