Academic Internships
What is an Internship?
An internship is a career-related learning experience that provides an excellent opportunity for students to gain “real world” experience and to explore a variety of career fields. The academic internship program at Purchase College is designed to give students practical experience in their area of academic study or in other fields of interest.
Time commitments for on-site experience typically range between 3 and 10 hours per week during the course of the semester.
Academic internships may be paid or unpaid in accordance with the US Department of Labor’s six criteria. The Career Development Center strongly encourages for-profit internship sites to offer students compensation whenever possible in the form of pay, stipend, travel reimbursement, or housing expenses for a summer program. Please refer to the NACE Position Statement on Compensation for Internships for additional details. Credit-bearing internships are supervised both within the work setting and by a Purchase College faculty member who is knowledgeable in a discipline related to the internship.
Student Guidelines
View resources and guidelines for completing an internship for academic credit. To learn how to complete an on-line Learning Contract to register your internship for credit, please view our guide.
Site Supervisor Guidelines
Learn the process for sponsoring a Purchase College student for a credit bearing internship.
Internship Registration
The Summer 2019 deadline for internship registration is July 1st.
Short Course
Students can register for an Academic Internship as a “Short Course.” These are 1 or 2 credit internships (38 - 75 hrs. total) that begin by mid-semester in the fall and spring semesters. Check back in September for the fall semester Short Course registration period.
On-Campus Internships
Purchase College offers a variety of credit-bearing internship opportunities right here on campus. Learn more about these opportunities here.
Learn About the Internship Travel Grant
Participating in a credit-bearing, unpaid internship?
You may be eligible for a travel grant for up to $300 to cover commuting costs to and from your internship.
Check back in May for the Summer 2019 Travel Grant application.
(Proper documentation is required. Start saving your travel expense receipts when the internship starts as they will be needed for your reimbursement.)