May 1, 1998

UC Davis: Academic Senate/Academic Federation

Jennifer Kantorowski, Academic Senate Office

356 Mrak Hall, University of California, Davis

Phone: 752-2220 Fax: 752-9690

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Awarding Academic Unit Credit for Internships

ACADEMIC SENATE - UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

Davis Division (DD) Guidelines on Internships (Section #21, Rev. June 1991)

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Internships provide students with the opportunity to enrich their academic preparation through complementary experiential education. Among other benefits, internships enable students to experience the application of their academic preparation in the work setting and help them identify areas where further academic study is needed. Under certain circumstances, it may be appropriate for students to receive academic credit that can be utilized toward the attainment of a baccalaureate degree.

These guidelines are designed to assist faculty members in deciding whether academic credit should be granted

in connection with an internship and to provide recommended procedures that should be followed to assure the academic integrity of this kind of work. These guidelines are not meant to apply to departmentally based internship programs operated as part of an approved degree program (e.g., Political Science/Public Service).

In all other cases, however, it is expected that individual departments will adopt complementary guidelines that specify the conditions under which academic credit is appropriate (see III ©).

I. An internship for which academic credit may be awarded is one in which:

A. Students are able to apply the concepts and methods of one or more academic disciplines to an appropriate work experience or field setting;

B. Students are able to grow intellectually by the extension of the general intellectual tools of one or more academic disciplines to the workplace; and

C. Faculty sponsors are able to assess the quality of academic work completed by the student.

WORK THAT IS CLERICAL IN NATURE

OR INVOLVES ROUTINE MAINTENANCE OR SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES

DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR ACADEMIC CREDIT.

II. A student for whom academic credit may be awarded is one who:

A. Possesses a suitable background in the discipline for which academic credit is sought;

B. Possesses the background or skills necessary to complete successfully the requirements of the internship;

C. Will experience significant intellectual growth as a result of the internship and the associated academic work (see III ©).

III. When it is determined that an internship is appropriate for academic credit and a student is suitable for that internship, the arrangement for credit must involve the following elements:

A. Prior approval by the appropriate Program Manager in the Internship and Career Center [HCD students see the HCD Internship Coordinator] certifying that the internship is appropriate for academic credit. When an internship is initiated by the student, a written description of the proposed internship must be submitted to the Internship and Career Center [HCD students see the HCD Internship Coor.] accompanied by a letter from the sponsor that describes that student's duties and responsibilities, hours, and the sponsor's expectations. Evidence must be provided that the student intern will be directly supervised by a career professional who is aware of the University's standards for academic credit.

B. Prior approval by a faculty sponsor whose background and expertise is related to the area of the internship and appropriate for supervision of the student's activities.

C. Adherence to department guidelines setting forth specific requirements for the granting of academic credit. Requirements will vary depending upon the nature of the discipline, but generally it is to be expected that a student will complete reading assignments and a research paper or project that requires the student to relate the academic discipline to the internship experience. The paper or project should demonstrate the student's ability to perform critical reasoning and/or methods of research appropriated to the discipline. Student participation in a concurrent seminar or discussion section may also be required, but student achievement must be documented.

D. Faculty/student contact as appropriate including, at minimum, a preliminary conference setting forth the faculty member's expectations and requirements for satisfactory completion of the internship for credit. Consultation by the faculty sponsor with the field supervisor is encouraged whenever possible.

IV. Time Commitment and Unit Value

The number of units awarded is contingent upon the degree of commitment to the internship setting.

The basic formula is one unit of credit per three hours per week commitment for a ten-week period.

Departmental requirements for research papers or projects should be proportional to the commitment devoted to the internship. (En. 6/4/85)

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