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Academic Credit for Internships

Wesleyan has three options for granting credit for an internship experience: Education in the Field, Independent Study, and the Quarter Credit option.  For both Education in the Field and Independent Study you should see your class dean or faculty advisor to review the requirements and begin the process.  Please note that some academic departments do not offer credit for internships.

Tuition and fees for 2012-2013, including the fee for the summer internship course CSPL 493.

EDUCATION IN THE FIELD

  • Students must receive faculty and department sponsorship prior to starting the experience.

INDEPENDENT STUDY

  • Students work one-on-one with a faculty member on a research project.

THE QUARTER CREDIT OPTION AND INSTRUCTIONS

I. General Information

To guard against the use of interns as a source of free labor and the possibility that unpaid internships might be substituted for entry-level jobs, the U.S. Department of Labor in 2010 issued a set of rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1947. These rules indicate that interns should derive benefits from unpaid internships similar to those they would receive in an educational setting.

Wesleyan has established a pass/fail partial-credit course, CSPL 493, as the vehicle through which you will receive .25 credit upon successful completion of an internship. To receive credit, you must satisfy 1) the requirements of the internship and 2) Wesleyan’s specific learning requirements. You can receive the .25 credit for both paid and unpaid internships.

The Career Center will be working in tandem with the Director of Service-Learning to administer the internship credit process.

Note: Before applying for the quarter credit, confirm with your employer exactly what they require from you.  Some employers require only official assurance by the institution that students are eligible to receive academic credit for an internship. If this satisfies the employer's requirements, the Career Center will send a letter to the employer explaining Wesleyan’s credit policy. To request this letter, email Jim Kubat, providing the employer's full contact information and email address.  Turnaround time from the date your request is received is three week days.

If, however, your employer requires verification of enrollment in Wesleyan's internship course, CSPL 493, for either academic credit or an audit notation, follow the steps in Section II below.  Once we have received your CSPL registration and Information Form, Jim Kubat can then send a credit verification letter to your employer, similar to the one described above.

There may be a charge for an internship credit; there is no charge for an audit notation (see Section III below).

II. Steps in Earning Academic Credit or the Audit Notation for an Internship

Please read these instructions carefully.  The following four steps must be fulfilled in order to earn academic credit for an internship . 

1) Register for CSPL 493 by emailing your name, WesID,and request for either the academic credit or audit notation to Prof. Krishna Winston, Director of Service-Learning. She will process the Drop/Add form with the Registrar.  You must confirm your employer's requirement for either the credit or audit notation.

2) Fill out the For-Credit Internship Student Information Form.  This will be reviewed and filed by Jim Kubat, Wesleyan Career Center.

3) Ask your internship supervisor (or her/his designee) to complete the For-Credit Internship Description Form by accessing this link.  He or she must provide contact information for verification.  The internship information will then be reviewed and filed by Prof. Winston.

4) When the internship ends, ask your supervisor to complete the For-Credit Internship Completion Form.  He or she must again provide contact information for verification.  Your supervisor's performance evaluation will be reviewed and filed by Prof. Winston.

Note the following to fulfill the credit requirements!

6) Wesleyan’s learning requirement consists of a report on the internship, to be submitted to the Service-Learning Director. It may be helpful to keep a journal on your daily experiences and reflections during the internship, which can serve as the basis for your report. The report should be a thoughtful essay of at least 500 words, describing the internship experience and reflecting specifically on what you learned from it. Be sure to mention both positive and negative aspects of the experience and how you responded to the latter. You might focus on new skills and knowledge you acquired, existing skills and knowledge you enhanced, and insights you gained into the workings of the organization and the professional field to which it belongs.

7) Enter your internship experience in the WesSID (Wesleyan Summer Internship Database): http://www.wesleyan.edu/careercenter/jobsinternships/wessid.html.  Enter your report under WesSID Entry.  The information you provide will be valuable to other students seeking internships. You can view other students’ reports in your e-portfolio under “Career Resources, WesSID Search.”

8) Once the Director of Service-Learning has ascertained that the internship has been satisfactorily completed and the reporting requirement met, you will receive either credit or the audit notation for CSPL 493.

III. CSPL 493: The Audit Notation and Charges for Credit

Audit Notation

An Audit Notation is an acknowledgement on your transcript of your completion of the internship.  It is not a grade, does not award credit, and does not carry a tuition charge.

Charges for Credit

1) In-semester internships, paid or unpaid:

There is no charge for an internship credit if the internship takes place during a semester while you are a full-time student at Wesleyan or on a Wesleyan-approved program of study abroad.

2) Summer internships or internships while you are on leave, paid or unpaid:

If you receive need-based Wesleyan grant financial aid, there is no charge for the credit. If you do not receive such financial aid, the charge for a summer internship credit is .25 of the current summer per-credit tuition (in 2013, $700). The charge for an academic-year internship if you are on leave is .25 of the regular per-credit tuition.

IV. Internship Policies
• No more than two .25 internship credits (for a total of .50) will count toward graduation.
• If you plan to intern for a second time with the same organization and wish to receive academic credit for the experience, your report (see Section II.6 above) must document the ways in which the second internship entails responsibilities or assignments that differ significantly from those of the first internship.
• If you are on strict probation, you are not eligible for internship credit.
• The minimum number of hours for an internship credit is 40. There is no maximum; it is up to you to determine whether the work hours are reasonable.

V. Internship Expectations
• You must comply with any confidentiality rules in force at the internship site.
• You are expected to observe all policies and procedures stipulated by the employer.
• Regular attendance and compliance with all job requirements are essential.
• You must confer at least weekly with your supervisor to receive guidance on your assignments, feedback on your performance, and explanations of the organization’s mission, objectives, methods, and operations.

VI. Deadlines
1) The For-Credit Internship Student Information Form must be filed with the Career Center as soon as possible before the scheduled beginning of the internship.
2) The For-Credit Internship Description Form must be filed with the Director of Service-Learning before the internship begins.
3) If you wish to withdraw from CSPL 493 without having a “W” appear on your transcript, you must inform the Director of Service-Learning within 10 days of the start date of the internship indicated on the Description Form. If you drop out of the internship at a later date, you must notify the Director of Service-Learning before the scheduled end of the internship; otherwise you will receive a U for the course.
4) For internships undertaken during the spring or fall semester, your report (Section II.6) on the completed internship must be submitted to the Director of Service-Learning by the first day of classes of the following semester. For internships taken during the summer or while you are registered for the summer session(s), your report must be submitted by the end of the drop/add period in the fall semester immediately following.