University of Pikeville
Office of Career & Professional Development

CareerCounseling@upike.edu
(606) 218-4467

Sonia Smith
Campus Employment Specialist
SoniaSmith@upike.edu
(606) 218-5223

Internship Information

What is an Internship?

An internship is a structured learning situation where concepts learned in the classroom are applied to the realities of an on-the-job experience related to the student’s major and career goals. Internship experiences facilitate student entry into their chosen profession and can provide them with experience at state-of-the-art facilities, training on specialized equipment, income to help offset educational expenses, academic credit applied toward a degree program and a professional network. In addition, the college gains valuable feedback from employers on instruction, curricula and programs.

kycome students study anatomy in the coal building

The primary purpose of an internship is to provide an educationally sound platform for the development of the student’s human, social and career readiness skills through a field-based activity. Interns receive practical training and experience in a variety of settings through cooperatively arranged placements. Interns are employed in pre-professional (not menial) positions and work side-by-side with permanent employees.

Internships provide students with the opportunity to:

  • Evaluate fit within a particular career field
  • Gain career-related work experience
  • Develop professional work habits and career readiness skills
  • Gain confidence in abilities
  • Enhance marketability for future employment opportunities
  • Develop a network of professional contacts

In a competitive job market, career-related work experience can be the key to obtaining full-time employment following graduation. Many employers use internships as a means of identifying potential employees and “trying” them out before committing to full-time hire. A career-related internship experience can give you the edge in the employment marketplace.

For additional information, please check out the LibGuide Button below provided by Allara Library and the department of Career and Professional Development


Finding and Securing Internships

Each year up to 123 UPIKE students participate in substantive, career related internship experiences. The keys to their success are getting an early start and preparing. The following are a few guidelines outlining steps in the process.

Must you earn money or can you volunteer? Are there specific things you must have included as part of the experience or is general exposure okay? Can you live anywhere or is a specific location necessary?

Know what you bring to a potential internship employer: interests, skills, personal characteristics. Develop a resume (attend a Career Development workshop) to effectively market and distinguish yourself from other candidates. Understand how your qualifications fit with a particular employer and prepare to sell them on how you can assist in solving their problems.

The Career Development Office has a variety of resources available to assist you in identifying potential internship employers. Potential resources include Bears@Work, employer/internship directories, internet databases, career fairs, faculty, alumni contacts and places with ongoing relationships with the University of Pikeville Don’t forget your personal network of contacts.

It is always better to be too early than too late. Many of the best formulated internship experiences have early application deadlines. Some as early as January for summer internship experiences. Typically it is appropriate to contact a human resources department (or other appropriate individual) 3-4 months in advance. Call or write to request information and ascertain application procedure.

Internships-USA – Post resumes and search internships. USERNAME: Upike   PASSWORD: GoBears

Neatly complete (type) any application forms/materials. Ensure that your file is complete. Should you be offered an interview, be prepared. Consider attending an interview workshop offered by the Career Development Office.

Always send a thank you letter indicating your appreciation and interest. If you were not granted an interview, follow-up as well to distinguish yourself from other candidates for the next round of internship hires.


The Internship Process

A student pursuing a credit internship must be of junior or senior status, have a 2.0 cumulative grade point average, and be in good academic standing. Individual departments may set additional requirements including a higher GPA standard.

1. A student who is currently employed in a position related to his/her academic studies may consult with Career Development and/or the Faculty Sponsor to determine if the position satisfies all internship program requirements.

2. A student who is not currently employed in a position related to his/her academic studies may be provided with assistance in conducting a search to secure such an internship experience: contact the Career Development Office.

3. Once the student secures a position and wants to proceed with registering the internship, the student then secures a Faculty Sponsor (Credit Internships ONLY) to oversee the internship experience.

  • The Faculty Sponsor should be someone from the respective department in which the credits will be awarded.
  • Some departments have a designated faculty member who oversees all internships within the department.
  • Some departments allow the student to select any faculty member within the department and ask that individual to oversee the internship.

4. To register an internship, the student must?

  • The student will provide the basic information regarding the internship (Supervisor name, address and contact information, job description).

5. The student will consult with the Faculty Sponsor to determine the number of internship credits attempted, requirements and evaluation process.

  • This information will be recorded by the Faculty Sponsor during the approval stage

6. Approval Emails will be sent to the Department Chair, Academic Advisor and On-Site Supervisor before being submitted to Career Development for processing and official registration with the Registrar’s Office.

7. The student begins the internship work experience.

8. Career Development or the Faculty Sponsor sends a student evaluation form.

9. The student completes the Student Evaluation Form

10. Career Development will send the On-Site Supervisor an evaluation form

11. The Faculty Sponsor grades the experience.


Intership Sites

Alaska Department of Natural Resources – Provides information on volunteer and internship positions with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources including an on-line application.

CoolWorks.com – Offers information on a variety of “cool” jobs on cruise ships and at ski resorts, camps, ranches and state parks.

Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Job Board – links to a variety of jobs in the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Browse by categories such as seasonal, internship, graduate and volunteer opportunities.

Dickinson College Internship Links – Provides links to a variety of internship websites organized by category.

Health Professions & Research Internship Links – Links to dozens of internship sites listing mainly experiences at colleges and universities.

InternJobs.com – A national database of internship jobs searchable by keyword and location.

Internships.com – This site provides links to internship job listings by employment category.

Internship Programs.com – Post resumes and search internships at this comprehensive site.

Internships-USA – Post resumes and search internships. USERNAME: Upike   PASSWORD: GoBears

MonsterTrak Internships – Provides lists of internships searchable by type of work, geographic location, keyword, company name and date. Password: Eagles.

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education – Provides information on Energy Research Undergraduate Fellowships available with the Department of Energy at their various lab locations.

Partnership for Public Service Internships – The best way to find out if working for the federal government is for you to try it out. With its many internship opportunities, federal employers are betting that once you try government service, you’ll want to make it part of your career.

Student Conservation Association – Provides information of the Resource Assistant Program (1,100 jobs annually) full-time, expense paid volunteers who work side-by-side with conservation professionals for 12-16 weeks.

USAJobs.gov – Provides information on federal government internship and job opportunities.

Transitions Abroad – Provides information on Short-term, Farm, Au Pair, Student Work, Summer, Teaching and Volunteer opportunities abroad.

Yale Summer Research Opportunities – This site contains information on summer research opportunities available to undergraduates studying science, mathematics and engineering. Arranged alphabetically by science field.


Types of internships

Credit for internships is not given for work per se. Students apply theoretical concepts to the workplace and reassess ideas. Hence, academic credit is given for placing the pre-professional work experience in a conceptual and comparative context. Internship placement is a coordinated responsibility of the student, faculty and career development staff. For credit internships, the student and academic department lead the effort.

In the case of credit internships students may be compensated for internship work as long as the department and/or faculty sponsor believes that the college can maintain enough control of the internship experience to ensure its academic validity.


Internship Roles

The Office of Career Development serves as an administrative arm for the Internship program from the beginning with the student application to the end with evaluation. Career Development:

  1. Can assist students in identifying potential employers.
  2. Facilitates student “placement.”
  3. Acts as a general resource.
  4. Resolves problems as they arise.

The Faculty Sponsor plays one of the most important roles in implementing credit Internship experiences. It is the Faculty Sponsor who works closely with the student and the employer, approving the internship, facilitating the seminar component and grading the overall experience, and thus maintaining the academic integrity of the program. The Faculty Sponsor:

  1. Discusses and assists students in determining job description/learning outcomes.
  2. Approves Learning Agreement Plan (signs off on them).
  3. Schedules job-site visits with the student and employer for the purpose of assessing progress toward completion of Learning Objectives.
  4. Determines the final grade for credit internships.
  1. Assists student in developing relevant job description.
  2. Provides work opportunities conducive to learning.
  3. Allows and participates in site visitations by the University of Pikeville personnel.
  4. Completes evaluation of Intern student and program as requested.
  1. Actively seek an internship position, they are not given to you.
  2. Students are expected to assume their share of responsibility for the successful operation of the program. Students on assignments represent the University of Pikeville to their employers and influence those employers’ continued cooperation with the college.
  3. Complete all applicable paperwork and related requirements.
  4. Report changes in work assignments, supervisor name, contact information, etc.
  5. Not leave an internship assignment without the approval of the Faculty Sponsor and/or Career Development.
  6. Participate in the Student/Employer evaluation process.

If registering a Credit Internship, please contact Darwin Kysor at darwinkysor@upike.edu