Internship Requirements

Internship for Credit Step by Step Guide Review this resource carefully to learn the step by step process you must follow in order to submit your internship for credit, have it approved, and register for the required internship course.

How to Register Your Internship in Handshake This resource will show you how to register your internship in Handshake.

“An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent (The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)).” For more information on NACE requirements, please visit their website. 

• The internship must take place during the semester in which you plan to enroll in the professional experience course (i.e internships that have already been completed in past semesters will not count toward the professional experience requirement).
• Minimum of 120 hours (does not include commute time)
• Internship must be submitted for review and approved through Handshake.
• Student must be successfully enrolled in V381/H466 by the deadline provided on the enrollment email. Failure to enroll in the course means the experience will no longer count and you will need to reapply for a future semester.
• Students must participate in Canvas assignments.
• Students must confirm that their supervisor completes a final evaluation (including the total number of hours interned)
• International students working in/from the US must acquire the proper paperwork (CPT)

• Public Affairs (BSPA)
• Arts Management (BSAM)
• Healthcare Management and Policy (BSHCM)

• You must be admitted to the O’Neill School
• Be in good academic standing (your SPEA GPA must meet the minimum requirements and you can not be on Critical Probation)
• Passing grade awarded inV252/H267 (*Students may be concurrently enrolled in V252/H267 and their internship course as long as preapproval has been arranged)
• Internship has been submitted on Handshake by the designated deadline and has been reviewed successfully. Once your internship has been reviewed, the Internship Coordinator will grant you permission to enroll in the course.

Internships can take a minimum of 7-10 business days to be reviewed. It is important that you provide as much information as possible regarding your internship responsibilities. Your application may get held up if the internship coordinator needs to reach out for more information. Once your internship is reviewed it will be moved to either APPROVED or DENIED. If your internship has been APPROVED you will receive an email with information on how to enroll in the appropriate course. If your internship is DENIED you will receive an email detailing why it was denied. You are welcome to appeal the denial with Melissa Todd at internqs@indiana.edu. It is important to enroll in the course ASAP if you have been APPROVED.

All enrolled credits will be assessed for tuition and fees. Tuition is based on in-state or out-of-state costs depending on the student, and the academic term the credit is enrolled.  Use this calculator to estimate your tuition costs. Contact Student Central with any questions regarding tuition and fees.

Yes! Elective credits are available to students who qualify and are working more than 120 hours at their internship site. Each elective credit is an additional 80 hours (see table below) and must be approved by your academic adviser. To receive elective credit, please note in your internship application form that you would like additional credit hours, including how many.

During your internship application review the internship coordinator will reach out to your academic advisor to determine if you meet the criteria for additional elective credits. If you do not need elective credits for your degree your request will be denied. If it is approved an email will be sent to you will instructions on how to enroll in SPEA-V 380 (the internship elective course).

All elective credits will be graded as a whole and no partial credits will be awarded.

For each additional credit requested (beyond you initial 1 credit for V381/H466) you will need to intern 80 additional hours.  For example, if a student is interested in earning a total of 3 credits for their internship, the student can register for 1 credit of V381/H466 (120 hours) and 2 credits of V380 (160 hours). This is equal to 280 hours at their internship site. Failure to complete all credits requested and enrolled in for SPEA-V 380 will result in an F grade. You MUST complete all hours per each credit enrolled in, there is no partial credit given. Please see the table below for more details:

All credits enrolled in will be assessed for tuition, use this calculator to assess your tuition costs. 

• The student’s supervisor is a relative, students can work for a relative’s company, but the direct supervisor MUST not be related to the student.
• The student’s supervisor is not another student OR a recent graduate. If the supervisor is a recent graduate, they need to have at least 2 years in the field.
• Positions should not require the applicants to purchase or rent any kind of training or marketing and sales material to become employed
• Positions should not require students to provide on-campus solicitation or products, or services not authorized by the university
• Employers should not be private individuals requiring candidates to work out of private premises
• Posting containing advertising, promotion, solicitation for goods, services, funds, or solicitation for others to become members of an enterprise or organization, will not be approved
• Positions requiring the candidate to work with a product or service which is not legal on a state or federal level.
• Positions requiring door-to-door solicitation and telemarketing will not be approved
• Employers who offer housing may not be approved and will need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis
• The internship cannot be a Residential Advisor (RA), Teaching Assistant (TA), Research Assistant (RA) position, or a regular part time job.
• The student is an international student and is doing their internship in the U.S. and has not obtained the proper work authorization (CPT or Academic Training)

All undergraduate internship credits are graded pass/fail.

No! We do not refuse internships due to their pay status. All unpaid and paid opportunities are welcome if they meet the internship standards.

Yes! You can complete your internship in any semester (Fall, Spring and Summer) as long as the majority of your hours are completed during the semester in which you are enrolled in the internship course.

Students who are returning to the O’Neill School to complete their undergraduate education can apply for an internship requirement waiver if they can document at least one consecutive year of full-time professional experience with one employer, or one year of full-time military experience. If approved, no credits will be awarded, rather the requirement will read as satisfied on their transcript. If you meet these requirements and would like to acquire the waiver form, please email Miranda Redman (mdredman@indiana.edu).

Students who are currently serving in the military or guard can register and enroll their training for their internship requirement. Students will follow the processes for pre-approval and enrollment as students registering their internship for credit. Military training must be at least 120 hours and is required to be enrolled in the same academic term in which the training occurs. Students will work with their instructors for alternative assignments for their Canvas component of the course.

Internship for Credit Step by Step Guide Review this resource carefully to learn the step by step process you must follow in order to submit your internship for credit, have it approved, and register for the required internship course.

How to Register Your Internship in Handshake This resource will show you how to register your internship in Handshake.

“An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent (The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)).” For more information on NACE requirements, please visit their website.

• Before hours can begin to be counted towards your minimum hours, internship must be submitted for review and approval to the O’Neill Career Hub through the Handshake link on this page.
• Student must be successfully enrolled in V585/E589/Y750 by the University’s enrollment deadline
• Students are required to have two completed evaluations by the end of the internship: one self-evaluation and one supervisor evaluation. The supervisor evaluation will be sent directly to your supervisor. Please keep your instructor up to date on your supervisor’s contact information during your internship.
• It is the responsibility of all students to confirm that their supervisor completes a final evaluation (including the total number of hours interned)
• International students working in/from the US have acquired the proper paperwork

All enrollments will be assessed for tuition and fees. Tuition is based on in-state or out-of-state costs depending on the student, and the academic term the credit is enrolled. Use this calculator to estimate your tuition costs. Contact Student Central with any questions regarding tuition and fees.

• Required work hours for each internship are based on degree program and number of credit hours you are enrolled in. Please see the tables below for more details on academic degree programs, number of credit hours and required work hours.
• MPA, MSES, MPA/MSES Degrees:

MAAA, MPA/MAAA Degree:

Students may enroll in additional credits beyond their requirement up to 6 total experience credits during their academic experience. For each additional credit requested, you will need to intern 80 additional hours. See conversion table above.

• The highly competitive Accelerated Master’s Program grants students a unique opportunity to gain twice the experiential learning. AMP students must complete an internship to fulfill their undergraduate requirement and an internship to fulfill their graduate degree requirement
• For more resources on how to market the AMP degree to employers, please view our blogs here, stop by the Career Hub, Monday-Friday from 10am to 4pm for drop-in hours, or make a one-on-one appointment with one of the Career Hub Career Consultants

• In specific situations, student can apply for a research internship to be approved as their degree requirement. In order for research to count towards the internship requirement, student research internships must meet the following criteria:
• Interaction with practitioners in the data collection process and/or in the presentation of results
• Transferable skills to other professional settings
• Defined start and end dates
• Job description outlining qualifications and learning objectives/goals related to student professional goals
• Supervision provided by IU faculty with relevant expertise
• Routine feedback provided from supervisor
• Note: If the criteria is met, students must submit their internship using the Handshake link on this page for review. If review is successful, student will be sent the O’Neill Research Contract. The student is responsible for having their supervising faculty member complete the contract. Contract should be submitted at least 1 week prior to counting any hours

• The student’s supervisor is a relative, students can work for a relative’s company, but the direct supervisor MUST not be related to the student.
• The student’s supervisor is not another student OR a recent graduate. If the supervisor is a recent graduate, they need to have at least 2 years in the field.
• Positions should not require the applicants to purchase or rent any kind of training or marketing and sales material to become employed
• Positions should not require students to provide on-campus solicitation or products, or services not authorized by the university
• Employers should not be private individuals requiring candidates to work out of private premises
• Posting containing advertising, promotion, solicitation for goods, services, funds, or solicitation for others to become members of an enterprise or organization, will not be approved
• Positions requiring the candidate to work with a product or service which is not legal on a state or federal level.
• Positions requiring door-to-door solicitation and telemarketing will not be approved
• Employers who offer housing may not be approved and will need to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis
• The internship cannot be a Residential Advisor (RA), Teaching Assistant (TA), Research Assistant (RA) position, or a regular part time job.
• The student is an international student and is doing their internship in the U.S. and has not obtained the proper work authorization (CPT or Academic Training)

The Office of International Services is your key to getting off to a great start as an international student at Indiana University as well as a fantastic source of support.