Internships
Why Do an Internship?
Internships can provide valuable work experience that prepares you for professional employment in addition to helping you network with employers in your field. It is also an opportunity to apply sociological thinking to better understand the world of work and to help you figure out what kind of employment you should seek once you have graduated.
How Can I Find and Internship?
You are free to seek out your own internship opportunities or to utilize the services of the campus Career Resource Center, but sociology faculty can also help to guide you towards internships that are appropriate for you. The director of the Human Services Concentration and the Criminology Concentration coordinator can assist students who are seeking internships in those fields. But other sociology faculty can provide guidance for how to secure an internship in a wide range of areas. You should consult with your advisor or faculty members who specialize in the area in which you are seeking an internship.
Is Credit Given for Doing an Internship?
Sociology students can receive credit for doing an internship with an organization related to their sociological interests. There are several means by which you can enroll for internship credit. Students in the Human Services Concentration have specific fieldwork requirements and designated course registration procedures. Other students can receive credit under the course title “Fieldwork in Sociology” (SOC494).
Fieldwork in Sociology is sometimes offered as a course in which students doing a variety of different internships meet occasionally to share experiences and to do a modest amount of coursework related to their internship positions. But even when this is not being offered as a regular course, students can receive credit by arranging for an individual faculty member to supervise their fieldwork experience with an outside organization. The specific requirements of this type of fieldwork experience must be arranged with the faculty supervisor. A written description of the work, the organization providing the internship, and academic assignments associated with the fieldwork must all be spelled out and agreed upon. The internship provider must name an on-site supervisor who will directly oversee and evaluate the intern. Typically students will also be asked to meet occasionally with the faculty supervisor to discuss their internship experience and to write a paper or to do some other scholarly work based on what they are learning in their internship position.
How Do Fieldwork Credits Count in Terms of the Major?
Fieldwork credits count towards the elective course requirements in the sociology major program. Students are allowed to count up to six credits towards the major for fieldwork or independent study work.
Can I Get Paid to Do an Internship?
Internships are primarily about gaining valuable work experience, so most of the time they are unpaid. But paid positions may still qualify for credit provided they offer professional experience directly related to the sociological issues of interest. It is also possible to receive a stipend for internship work through the CAS Internship Stipend Program.
