Pre-Professional Experience
We strongly encourage students to accept an internship or Co-op assignment prior to graduation. Statistics prove that students with practical work experience have a greater chance of obtaining permanent employment or admission into graduate/professional school upon graduation. Summer internships offer on-the-job training directly related to the student's career interests. Cooperative Education (Co-op) is a mutually beneficial program combining alternating or parallel semesters of classroom study with supervised related work experience.
What is an internship?
An internship is any short-term, supervised work experience usually related to a student's field of study, for which the student may or may not earn academic credit. Summer internships usually last from ten to twelve weeks. Both Co-op and internships are great ways for students to "try before you buy." These pre-professional experiences are vital for a student's career development for a number of reasons:
- You can discover what you like or dislike about a particular career field
- You can also validate your choice of major and/or career
- You may even begin to acquire benefits such as vacation and sick leave
Take advantage of the opportunity to "earn while you learn!"