Earning Academic Credit for an Internship
Employer Vetting Information
Unsure if your internship or co-op qualifies for credit? Want to learn more about how to make your experience learning-focused? Read below to learn more about what makes an experience learning-focused and credit eligible. Students can visit careers.rutgers.edu/ricc to apply for credit or reach out to internships@echo.rutgers.edu with questions.
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- part-time job: a position that offers employment with no termination end date, pays at least minimum wage, with a schedule that is less than 30 hours per week at a legally established organization or company.
- full-time job: a position that offers employment with no termination end date, pays at least minimum wage, with a schedule over 30 hours per week at a legally established organization or company.
- internship (in terms of general credit): a paid or unpaid role with an organization that offers less than 30 hours a week of experience. This role is characterized by the intern having direct access to a supervisor that offers support, oversight and feedback related to the intern’s professional development and day-to-day responsibilities. The duties and responsibilities are centered around professional goal setting for them to be purposeful and learning focused.
- internship (in terms of RSSI credit): an unpaid role with a public service-oriented non-profit organization or direct-service government office that offers at least 200 hours over a minimum of 10 weeks during the Rutgers Summer Session. This role is characterized by the intern having direct access to a supervisor that offers support, oversight, and feedback related to the intern’s professional development and day-to-day responsibilities. Internship duties and responsibilities are centered around five public service pathways.
- internship (general definition): a paid or unpaid role with an organization is characterized by the intern having direct access to a supervisor that offers support, oversight and feedback related to the intern’s professional development and day to day responsibilities. The duties and responsibilities are centered around professional goal setting for them to be purposeful and learning focused.
- co-op: a paid role with an organization that offers at least 30 hours a week of experience for a minimum of 17 weeks during a typical semester timeline. This role is characterized by the intern having direct access to a supervisor that offers support, oversight, and feedback related to the intern’s professional development and day-to-day responsibilities. The duties and responsibilities are centered and focused on professional goal setting in order for them to be purposeful and learning focused.
- volunteer opportunity: an unpaid position with an organization that offers less than 30 hours per week of experience, OR an unpaid position that would not qualify for internship credit through CES. Specific criteria need to be met to determine if the position can be posted on Handshake.
- paid position: a role with an organization or company that offers financial compensation of some form and would not qualify for internship credit through CES OR an experience that is paid but does not meet the definitions of a part-time job, internship or co-op.
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- Process for advertising positions to students
- You are welcome to recruit Rutgers students via other methods, such as directly through professors or through other departments on campus.
- If you’d like to advertise your experiences to students via the University wide job board, Handshake, be sure to sign up for a free employer profile and begin from there.
- Once you are approved as an employer, be sure to fill out the RICC Employer Approval Form, especially if your internships are unpaid.
- Unpaid opportunities will not be approved unless your organization is “RICC approved”.
- For questions regarding Handshake approval, email recruiting@echo.rutgers.edu
- If approved, then post your experiences to Handshake and await approval.
- We recommend posting your positions to Handshake at least 2-3 months before the semester begins! Please see ‘experience eligibility criteria’ for more details on this.
- Note: employers are encouraged to financially compensate interns for their work, as eligibility for credit does not always guarantee the student will actually earn it.
- Process for students to earn credit
- Students must take an academic course through Rutgers University in order to earn internship credit. There are absolutely no exceptions to this policy.
- Students must take an internship course through the campus that they are part of.
- There may be more than one option available for students to take, depending on their school or major. The Rutgers Internship and Co-Op Course is an option available to all New Brunswick campus students who meet eligibility criteria. Students can learn more about which course is the best option for them through their academic advisor.
- Students applying to RICC should visit careers.rutgers.edu/ricc to apply during the appropriate timeline. Students will submit their application, and another portion will trigger to the email address they list for their supervisor. Once both supervisor and student submit their portions, our RICC team can review. Any clarifications will be requested at this time. If all eligible criteria are met, the student will be approved. An email will be sent to both the supervisor and the student, and the student will be responsible for enrolling in the actual course itself via a Special Permission Number. The student must pass the course in order to earn the internship credit.
- Please direct all credit specific questions to internships@echo.rutgers.edu
- Students must take an academic course through Rutgers University in order to earn internship credit. There are absolutely no exceptions to this policy.
- Supervisor coaching and professional development criteria
- Recognize that they are not full-time employees and are there as an introduction to your organization and industry. For some, this is their first experience in a professional workplace setting. Patience, support, feedback and open communication about your expectations and management style are key! Regular one-on-one meetings with your intern are very helpful, once a week at most. Some additional ways to support include but aren’t limited to offering opportunities for them to explore other facets of the industry or organization that may be outside of their role | intern meet ups | a Slack or GroupMe channel for interns and new professionals | a ‘coaching’ or ‘mentor’ system | professional development within the office in terms of networking, conferences, etc | help them see their impact on the organization as a whole!
- Supervisor/Employer involvement in student earning credit
- Your role as a supervisor involves supporting your intern the best way you can!
- For students to earn academic credit through the Rutgers Internship and Co-Op Course, the supervisor will need to be able to do the following:
- Complete a detailed job description form as part of the intern’s initial application
- Complete 2-3 evaluations throughout the semester and meet with them during/after to provide insight and implementable feedback
- Support the intern in creating personal and professional development goals
- Have 1:1 meetings or communication with them regularly (minimum once a week)
- Recognize that this is a learning environment- and provide ample opportunity for question responses and feedback
- Open communication and transparency in terms of expectations with your intern
- Process for advertising positions to students
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- For the purpose of earning credit through the Rutgers Internship and Co-Op Course, an internship must meet the following definition:
- The intern is working at least 120 hours over a minimum of 10 weeks (6 in the summer) during the semester that they are taking the course.
- Semesters are defined as the following:
- January through May = Spring
- June through August = Summer
- September through December = Fall
- This means that if this minimum is met during a timeframe that does not match with a traditional semester (ex: a position that goes from November through February), it will not be eligible for internship credit.
- Semesters are defined as the following:
- If the intern is working at least 30 + hours a week, they must be financially compensated at no less than minimum wage.
- There must be at least 5 duties/tasks/responsibilities that the intern is working on, and no more than one of them can be unrelated to NACE Career Core Competency building.
- There must be at least 3 NACE career core competencies that the intern will be developing during the internship.
- There must be at least 3 professional development skills that the intern will practice.
- There must be at least 3 goals/learning objectives set for the intern to work towards.
- The supervisor must be able to support and supervise the intern, providing regular feedback and meeting with the intern at least once a week.
- Interns in hybrid/in person positions cannot be on premises without at least two other individuals (for a total of three), one of them being a full-time employee, present.
- The position must be learning focused, with objectives and goals being central to their experience.
- This is where the distinction between an internship, a part time job and a volunteer opportunity come in – the learning aspect is not inherently built into experiences that are not internships.
- Visit careers.rutgers.edu/ricc to find more information about RICC and what qualifies/does not qualify on our website.
- The intern is working at least 120 hours over a minimum of 10 weeks (6 in the summer) during the semester that they are taking the course.
- For the purpose of earning credit through the Rutgers Internship and Co-Op Course, an internship must meet the following definition:
