Internships

Would you purchase a car without taking it for a test drive first? We didn’t think so. So why put money into an education to pursue a career that you haven’t given a trial run? Internships allow you to get in the driver’s seat of a certain occupation. 

Here are just a few things that you will gain from an internship experience:

  • Knowledge about the occupation, company, field, and industry
  • Hands-on experience to enhance your knowledge, skills, and resume for the future
  • Expanded network of professionals in a field of interest
  • An understanding of how you fit (or don’t fit) within that particular company or occupation
  • Confidence in your abilities and future career direction
  • A foot in the door to a company or organization that you may be interested in working for (a number of interns are later offered full-time or part-time employment within an organization)
  • Types of Internships

  

Co-Curricular. If you are in a program that does not require an academic internship for graduation, acquire an internship for your own professional development.

Academic Credit. Some degree programs at OSU-Cascades require internships as part of their curriculum for graduation (HDFS, Hospitality Management, Kinesiology, TRAL, Outdoor Products). If you need to complete an internship for academic credit, make sure that you are registering for the practicum and/or internship course(s) and are working with your department’s internship placement coordinator or faculty.

  

Micro-Internships. Micro-internships are a new opportunity for our students to take part in short-term, professional, paid work experiences, hosted on the Parker Dewey platform. Learn more about how to get set up in Parker Dewey here. Through Micro-Internships, students can demonstrate their skills, explore career paths, and develop their professional networks. Unlike a traditional internship, these paid opportunities typically range from 5 to 40 hours of work, and many can be completed remotely. Not only does this help the companies, but it allows our students to get immediate support and enhance their professional experience. Get Experience. Get Paid. Get Hired.

  

International Internships. IE3 Global through the OSU Office of Global Opportunities has been offering dynamic, full-time international internships for more than 20 years. Partnering with over 130 businesses, organizations and agencies worldwide, our interns build marketable, professional and cross-cultural skills while experiencing significant personal growth. Our team of program coordinators support candidates and interns through all stages of the IE3 Global internship process, from the application process to returning home. 

  • 2020-2021 VIRTUAL INTERNATIONAL INTERNSHIPS: Due to COVID-19, the IE3 Global team has developed a virtual international internship opportunity that allows students to continue building cross-cultural skills while working as a remote intern for international businesses, organizations or agencies. 

Finding an Internship

To find an internship in your field of interest consider the following: log on to Handshake to check out the latest internship listings, network with local companies of interest to inquire about internship opportunities, reach out to OSU alumni working in positions or organizations that are intriguing to you on LinkedIn.

The following internship search sites can also be helpful. But don’t rely on reacting to things that are already posted online. The more proactive you are in your search to seek out people and companies of interest, the more opportunities you will have presented to you. Additional resources can be found on the job search resources page.

Internship Search Sites

Securing an Academic Internship:

  1. Review your academic program’s internship requirements: This includes knowing the credits required, hours/week, learning objectives, supervision requirements, etc.
  2. Search for an internship site: Utilize resources on your program webpages and the Career Development Center’s webpage to help in your search for an internship site. You can also schedule a Job/Internship Search appointment with the Career Development Center in Handshake.
  3. Connect with a Faculty Internship Supervisor: Once you think you have found an internship site, connect with a Faculty Member of your program to ensure this will meet the program requirements. This faculty member will serve as your Faculty Internship Supervisor throughout the experience and will grade you on the academic portion of the internship. If you do not know which faculty to reach out to, email the Career Development Center at career@osucascades.edu.
  4. Secure an Internship Site Supervisor: Make sure to have an Internship Site Supervisor once you have obtained an internship. This will be the person directly supervising you in the internship experience.
  5. Submit an Experience Request in Handshake: When you have confirmed an internship placement with both a Faculty Internship Supervisor and Internship Site Supervisor, you can submit an Experience Request in Handshake. See below for more information on this process.
  6. Once all parties have approved your Experience Request, you will be able to register for the internship course.

Submitting an Experience Request in Handshake:

In this request, you will need the following information:

  1. Contact information for:
    1.  Internship Site Supervisor (whoever is supervising your work at your internship site)
    2. The Faculty Site Supervisor (the faculty member who will be supervising your experience). Again, you will want to clear this experience with your Faculty Site Supervisor if you have not done so already
    3. Your Academic Advisor
  2. Number of credits and correlating hours for your academic internship. Remember that 1 credit = 30 hours of internship, but ensure you know your program’s requirements as this may differ between programs.

You can watch this video that walks you through the Experience Request form. If you are having trouble, please email career@osucascades.edu.

Once you submit the request in Handshake, the Career Development Center will start the approval process. Handshake will send an automatic approval request via email to each party as follows:

  1. An approval request is first sent to the Internship Site Supervisor. Once they approve, it then goes to…
  2. Your Faculty Site Supervisor, once they approve it goes to…
  3. Your Academic Advisor. Once the Academic Advisor receives it, they will allow you to register for the course.

Please let your Internship Site Supervisor know that they will have 5 business days to approve the request before the link in the email expires.

If they are having a hard time finding the email, we recommend informing them to check their junk/spam inboxes as sometimes Handshake emails can be filtered out.

Feel free to contact career@osucascades.edu if you have any questions throughout this process!

How to Request an Experience in Handshake

 

Have additional questions?

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