Internship Overview
Objectives
The UAFS College of Business Internship Program was developed to encourage students to engage in a significant professional learning experience beyond the classroom. An internship experience offers student interns the opportunity to develop their core business competencies in a professional environment.
What are the Benefits of an Internship? |
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To the student Intern, the internship will provide the chance to
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To the College of Business, an internship provides
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To the Internship Host, a student Intern provides
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President of Williams/Crawford & Associates considers the UA-Fort Smith Internship Program a “triple win.”
“One, it’s good for the student interns because an internship enables students to apply knowledge acquired in the classroom to an actual business environment. Two, it’s good for the University and the College of Business because they can partner with local businesses. And three, it’s good for the participating businesses because student interns bring such a breath of fresh air into the company. In any innovative business you need that.”
~Fred Williams
What Qualifies as an Internship?
As the primary goal of an internship is to provide a meaningful, high quality, supervised learning experience to the student intern, internships should be structured so that both the student intern and the internship host will gain from the internship opportunity. In order to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship, both the student intern and the internship supervisor, with the assistance of the internship coordinator, should set pre-determined learning objectives which will contribute to the student interns’ core business competencies and professional development.
Internship positions can be:
- Special Project Lead: The intern will be responsible for completing a project during the semester.
- Assistant to Professional: The intern will assist the professional with his or her daily tasks and responsibilities.
- Junior Staff Position: The intern provides the same services to the organization as a recent college graduate.
- Rotations Between Various Departments: The intern will be provided a general overview of the organization by rotating through departments and performing routine job duties of various positions for a short term.
An internship should not be perceived as a short-term job or a repeat of a previous part time position, rather it should be viewed as a new learning experience for the student intern. Students who have been employed by the Internship Host for more than three months will not be eligible for an internship for credit unless the student’s job description has changed significantly to include a higher level of responsibility. The job duties for the student intern should be of a nature equivalent to a typical entry level position for business graduate.
To Apply:
- Students wishing to participate in the Internship Program must first meet the academic requirements of the programs. See Student Guidelines
- Employers may contact the Internship Coordinator to provide information about the company and a job description of the internship position available. For more information see Host Guidelines
