DO YOU PLACE ME IN AN INTERNSHIP?
No, students are responsible for securing their own internship. The instructor, other Sociology faculty members and Career Services provide support and guidance for students along the way, but each student finds their own internship based on their professional goals, geographic location, and schedule.
One reason for this is that it accommodates students' varied interests and needs, allowing for an individualized experience.
Another reason is that the process of identifying appropriate opportunities and pursuing them is a crucial skill for young professionals, for which the process of securing an internship is an excellent experience.
For guidance, see "How Do I Find an Internship?” below.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS AN INTERNSHIP?
There is no set definition of an appropriate internship, as we wish for you to have latitude in pursuing varied interests and respect the range of individual circumstances and preferences among those enrolled in the course.
In general, an appropriate internship will have the following characteristics:
The situation benefits the student more than the organization hosting the intern. While mutual benefit is the goal, the opposite (unpaid labor with no educational dividend) is inappropriate.
The experience should provide experiential training of some kind that is commensurate with the human capital of someone completing a Bachelor’s degree.
The placement does not need to be directly relevant to sociology as an academic discipline, but should promise to be relevant to the skills and knowledge that are part of an undergraduate major in sociology. In general, the vast majority of possible internships can qualify on some level, with ones not qualifying offering no connection to the study of human behavior or organizations.
The proposed internship activities, schedule, and supervision must be established ahead of time and for the most part meet the previous two criteria. (It’s okay if you are asked to pick up lunch now and then, but there should be a list of activities, duties or roles that engage you as a young professional with training in sociology). Unacceptable are informal tutelages or being confined to shadowing without a role.
The Internship Form (Internship for 4950) is the tool used to evaluate the appropriateness of a proposed internship. While verbal communication with the instructor before submitting this is advisable, not until this document detailing the parameters of the placement, plan, and identification of site supervision is submitted and the plan approved is an internship “approved.”
Internships that have not been officially approved cannot have logged hours or evaluations credited toward your grade. In other words, without the Internship proposal being approved, you cannot earn points in the course for the internship.
I HAVE BEEN DOING AN INTERNSHIP LEADING INTO THIS SEMESTER. CAN THAT COUNT?
As long as the internship in which you are engaged qualifies, you are welcome to use it for SOCI 4950. However, since the learning outcomes of the course require specific reflections while engaging in the internship, you must accumulate additional hours.
I DID AN INTERNSHIP LAST (SUMMER). CAN THAT COUNT?
Since the learning outcomes of the SOCI 4950 course require specific reflections while engaging in the internship that you cannot do retroactively, you cannot retroactively count a prior experience for the SOCI 4950 requirement. The good news is that your existing experience makes you a much stronger candidate in seeking a new opportunity!
DO I HAVE TO DO THE INTERNSHIP DURING THE SAME SEMESTER IN WHICH I AM ENROLLED IN SOCI 4950?
Since we do not offer the course each semester or during the summer, with prior written approval you may arrange to do an internship before taking the course. In this situation you would have to complete the internship the summer or semester before the course according to the policies that apply to the course requirement. This would require meeting with the instructor ahead of time for instruction about how the internship relates to the proposal requirement in SOCI 4950 and how written reflection must document that relationship. Again, this is based on prior approval and not retroactive. In this situation, an internship completed prior to taking SOCI 4950 could not be awarded academic credit unless you meet the requirement of number of hours for both credit-earning opportunities.
CAN I DO A VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP?
Ideally, you will not do your internship virtually, although depending on the opportunity and the circumstances a virtual internship may be approved.
The main reason face-to-face experiences are important is because you have to use your internship to identify a sociological topic and question for your research proposal. Often, your duties may not inspire your sociological imagination and you may not have a great sense of the organization, but if you are face-to-face on a routine basis there are endless questions about human interactions in specific contexts that you could pose. A virtual internship would confine you to a proposal related to your duties and teleconference interactions, which may be extremely constraining if relevant.
Another reason that a face-to-face experience is much preferred is that an internship supervisor is a key source for a reference and building your professional networks. Although such a mentoring relationship may develop virtually over a long period of time and with daily interaction, the chances of a virtual supervisor being able to offer a reference as strong as someone who witnessed your professionalism and soft skills personally are extremely low.
Finally, an important role your internship should play is professional socialization, including social norms and workplace culture; it is extremely difficult in a short time period to realize this benefit of an internship experience.
I VOLUNTEER AT ___. CAN I COUNT THAT?
Volunteer positions are usually not appropriate for meeting the learning outcomes of an internship. You are welcome to ask if yours would be appropriate if you believe it meets the criteria (especially if you have a leadership role or there is opportunity to adjust your role for a short time).
I HAVE TO VISIT THE SITE FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS AND TRAINING BEFORE I START. DOES THAT TIME COUNT TOWARD MY HOURS?
Yes. Just include it in your logged hours that your supervisor will sign off on.
CAN I DO A PAID INTERNSHIP?
As long as the role you assume allows for you to be the primary beneficiary of experiential learning akin to your collegiate training and relevant to your major in sociology, it is fine if you are paid.
Students who cannot sacrifice a loss of pay due to the internship hours (e.g., need to be paid) must plan ahead to position themselves for more competitive paid internship opportunities or seek additional training to qualify for a position that is appropriate for this experience. For example, while a “normal” college-student job probably would not qualify, if you use experience and skills to work for pay in an entry-level professional or paraprofessional capacity and the role you propose meets the learning objectives, getting paid is fine.
I AM A STUDENT ATHLETE AND HAVE TIME AND TRAVEL COMMITMENTS THAT AFFECT MY ABILITY TO FULFILL THE INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENT. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Unlike family emergencies or illnesses, athletic commitments and the internship demands are predictable and anticipated. Student athletes may need an unusual schedule or a virtual internship, but must still complete the required hours in an approved internship. Given these special needs, student athletes should be especially proactive in identifying appropriate internship placements (working diligently and ASAP).
WHAT IF I CANNOT FIND AN INTERNSHIP OR I FIND IT TOO LATE?
It will depend. If you can document a process of an earnest and timely search (emails, appointments, notes/documents) and you have kept the instructor abreast of your challenges and process, and you are doing well in the course otherwise (including the other components and attendance), the instructor may grant you an Incomplete so you can extend the term’s period to complete an internship. NOTE that for graduating seniors in a spring term this would mean not participating in commencement. It might also be mathematically possible to earn a C in the course if you do not do an internship but earn full credit for all of the other components and at least submit an internship form proposing an internship. You may also consider taking a W after mid-terms and before the deadline if you have not made any progress in finding an internship, as by then it would be impossible to find one, get it approved, and complete the hours in the remaining weeks.
CAN I DO 2 INTERNSHIPS INSTEAD OF ONE?
Assuming both opportunities qualify, you may do two more limited internships instead of one. You must complete two Internship forms and two separate logs.
I FOUND AN INTERNSHIP BUT TRANSPORTATION (CLOTHING, MEALS DURING SHIFTS) IS A PROBLEM. DO I NEED TO FIND A DIFFERENT ONE?
See your instructor as soon as you become aware of a barrier to your ability to participate in the internship of your choice. They can attempt to help you resolve this, as well as similar challenges.
MY INTERNSHIP IS NOT GOING WELL, BUT I NEED THE HOURS FOR THE COURSE. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
Whether the internship is going well or not, you should maintain communication with your instructor about your experience through class, office hours, and your logs. Assuming it is not a matter of an imminent threat to your personal well-being, if your situation is not going well, your first course of action should be to visit your instructor during office hours. As a first step, your instructor may help you devise a plan for you to implement on your own or intervene on your behalf and contact your supervisor.
The impact an unexpected set of circumstances will have on your ability to complete the course requirements would be similar to challenges arising in a course such as illness or emergencies. Almost always, however, communication amongst parties can result in avoiding this situation provided you maintain communication with your instructor and act responsibly in your internship role.
ONCE INTERNING, WHAT ARE THE RULES, POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS?
Refer to the course syllabus and the Internship Guidelines document.
Should your performance while interning reflect a lack of ethics or professionalism (including attendance, punctuality, comportment, or other unacceptable or illegal behavior going beyond resulting in a poor evaluation) you will not receive credit for your internship. You will receive 0s for this part of the course, resulting in having to retake it when it is next offered (whether this interferes with commencement or not).
Note that falsifying hours in the log would constitute receiving a 0 for the internship component and subject you to Academic Dishonesty procedures as outlined in the course syllabus. Beyond the impact on your grade, and any penalty imposed in the Academic Dishonesty proceedings, any impact this has on your timeline toward graduation would be a consequence of your commission of fraud and therefore not make you eligible for any incomplete or other special framework to protect your target graduation date.
