What is an Internship?

The term intern is often misused in describing positions that the federal government actually deems employer/employee or work-for-hire situations. Internships are meant to be an extension of the student educational experience, so they must be structured much like an academic situation as opposed to focused on the employer’s operations. Additionally, the intern—not the business or organization—must be the primary beneficiary of the internship activity. The federal government sees most internships in the for-profit private sector as employment, which means interns must be paid at least the minimum wage.

Compensation

If an internship position is unpaid, the intern’s role must be largely observational and training-oriented, for which the internship mentor or host company derives no substantive material benefit from the efforts of the intern, and the position must meet all the following criteria established by the U.S. Department of Labor:

1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;

2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern (not the company or organization);

3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;

5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and

6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

Academic Credit

Not all students may choose to receive academic credit for internships or employment positions. Positions that earn students academic credit can be either paid or unpaid but must meet the following requirement regarding mentoring and one of the following criteria regarding compensation:

mentoring

• The student must be supervised and mentored by an experienced professional/artisan in the same field of practice as the internship. For example: in a photography internship, the student must be mentored by an experienced photographer or creative director, whereas a graphic design internship requires mentoring by a seasoned professional designer or visual communications specialist. Accordingly, a photography or design intern could not be mentored by a professional in a different field such as marketing, management or retail.

compensation:

• Student works for a for-profit company are paid for their efforts, in which case those students may participate in and contribute to the work of the company.

• Student works in a volunteer capacity for a public sector or a non-profit organization and are not paid for their efforts, in which case those students may participate in and contribute to the work of the company. 

• Students work for a for-profit company and are not paid, but whose internship role is largely observational and training-oriented, for which the internship mentor or host company derives no substantive material benefit from the efforts of the intern, and which are consistent with the guidelines established by the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division including all the criteria listed below.

Submit a job or internship listing

To submit a job or internship to be shared with students in the School of Art, fill out this webform.
Submissions that do not follow the above guidelines will not be posted.