Internships
What is an Internship?
Any practical experience related to your career goals.

Opportunity to build your knowledge and skills, exposure to opportunities, and connections to professionals in your field.

Can be paid or unpaid.
Earning Academic Credit for an Internship
  • In order to receive academic credit for an internship, students must ask their department/ academic advisor whether they have an internship course that provides the opportunity to earn credit in association with the internship.
  • Credit is earned by integrating the internship experience with academic work through the internship course.
UIUC Course Explorer

Searching for an Internship

Timing of your search
  • Start your search in September if you want to be part of a formal intern program at a large company. Many large corporations try to hire all of their summer interns before Thanksgiving.
  • Government agencies tend recruit interns late in the fall semester or near the beginning of the calendar year.
  • Small organizations or non-profits often begin seeking summer interns in February or later.
Tools for your search
  • Use job sites like Handshake to find posted opportunities for Illinois students.
  • Participate in career fairs or other on-campus recruiting activities.
  • Search individual company websites, internship databases, or general search engines to uncover internships that interest you. 

Is your Site Supervisor or Internship HR asking for a signature from the University?

Some internship HR departments or site supervisors ask students to have a university representative sign paperwork or provide some kind of endorsement, and it can be confusing to determine which university department or representative should be approached for which purpose.

  • In most cases, you should contact your school/college/department-level career services center for their signature or for additional advice. Check the University of Illinois' Career Services Directory to determine whether your major's school/college/department has its own career office. If not, or if you are unsure who to contact, please email or call The Career Center (217-333-0820 or careercenter@illinois.edu).
  • If this is a paid internship, the University usually will not sign the same sort of agreements or documents that they would if it were an unpaid internship for college credit. However, check with your career services office for advice on your specific situation.
  • If this is related to CPT/OPT for visa status, please see the ISSS office.
  • If the internship employer's HR or site supervisor simply needs to verify your student enrollment status, follow the instructions provided on the Registrar's page for Student Enrollment or Degree Verification.

Related Resources