Offering Credit-Bearing Internships

The Fleishman Internship Program gives employers the opportunity to mentor undergraduate student interns who are being graded for their credit-bearing internship experience. 

Current Guidelines Due to COVID:

  • Supervisors must develop a remote internship plan in the event of future interruptions.

Details and Requirements

Please review all content areas below and contact the Fleishman Internship Team at CDCI@binghamton.edu with any questions.

Watch our virtual information session to learn about offering a credit-bearing internship at your organization:

Note: We encourage organizations to post their internship opportunities in hireBING by Handshake. Once you have hired a Binghamton University student, the student must then submit a request to CDCI and have their internship approved.  Once the internship is approved, academic credit can be offered.

  • Developing Internships for Credit

    • All internships must meet the requirements put forth by the Department of Labor to be considered for academic credit.

    • The internship site is expected to identify and develop meaningful projects in advance for interns to work on throughout the semester. Interns should spend 75% of their time working on meaningful projects and can spend 25% of their time on administrative tasks to support the organization as needed.
    • Interns should have a dedicated space to work to increase their efficiency and maintain their sense of value. If working remotely, the employer must ensure the student has all the technology and software needed to complete the internship effectively. 
    • In-person internships must take place in a safe, public place of business (no personal residences). If a student is participating in a remote internship, they can complete their responsibilities from their residence or on-campus.
    • Interns must not replace employees and must be supervised by a professional staff member at the organization ( supervisors cannot be not be a student or peer). 
    • Interns must be supervised by a professional who can educate the students on new techniques and professional skills needed to complete projects. 
    • If the internship site requires that students receive academic credit in order to participate in an internship, the employer MUST make that clear to the students in advance.
    • Internships typically last one semester in length, but they can be mutually extended by the employer and the student. If a student wishes to earn credit at the same internship site twice, they must demonstrate that they have new responsibilities or advanced projects
  • Posting Internships/Recruiting  
    • For credit internships must fall within the confines of academic semesters (including summer). Contact CDCI@binghamton.edu for details.
    • Internship posting should provide details of what you are looking for in an intern, examples of projects, as well as what an intern can expect to learn through the experience.
    • Sites are responsible for choosing applicants to interview and making applicable offers.
    • Once the site has offered an internship to a student, it is the students responsibility to contact CDCI@binghamton.edu to request academic credit for the experience.
    • Site supervisors will receive email notifications when students request CDCI credit for internships at their organizations. Supervisors must complete a supervisor agreement form before students’ internships will be approved for academic credit.
    • All internship sites, both on site and remote, will undergo a review process established by the CDCI Academic Council to ensure that the internship meets academic standards.  Any internship site that does not meet those requirements will not be approved for the CDCI Program.
    • The Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development reserves the right to refuse service for any reason. Employer policies can be reviewed here.
  • Intern Orientation/Provide an Intern Orientation to Your Organization 
    Even if interns have prior work experience, they may not have been exposed to factors that are instrumental to day to day operations at your organization such as organizational politics, confidentiality measures, or the importance of teamwork. Please address these dynamics and expectations during orientation or training. All sites should provide in person or virtual orientations for new interns. Topics should include, but are not limited to:
    • Office dress code
    • Project expectations and overall responsibilities
    • Schedule for completing internship hours
    • Chain of command (who to ask what)
    • Organization's mission and how interns' work fits into overarching goals
    • Learning outcomes (what can the students expect to learn from the experience)
    • How to use office resources (phones, fax, copiers, filing systems, time cards, etc.)
    • Contact protocol for absenteeism or tardiness/sickness 
    • Safety regulations and requirements 
  • Supervision Expectations  
    • Interns must be supervised by a professional who can educate the students on new techniques and professional skills needed to complete projects
    • The supervisor must be able and willing to provide regular and meaningful feedback on projects.
    • Students may not intern for family members, directly or indirectly.
    • Students may not serve as supervisors to other students. 
    • Supervisors cannot have a conflict of interest where they hold a position of power or influence that directly affects the student outside of the internship, ie., Supervisor/Landlord; Supervisor/Current Professor.
  • Evaluations

    Feedback is essential to a productive internship experience. Beyond evaluations, we encourage supervisors to meet with interns regularly to provide feedback concerning work performance and insight about areas for growth.

    • Site supervisors will receive student evaluations via email. Mid-semester self evaluations completed by the internship supervisor and discussed with the student in a timely manner. Mid-semester evaluations are an opportunity for supervisors to provide constructive feedback to student interns. 
    • The student and site supervisor must work together to accurately track internship hours and the supervisor will be asked to confirm the number of completed hours on the final evaluation. 
    • Final evaluations are completed, via email, by the site supervisors and count for 50% of the students' final grades. These must be discussed with the interns prior to the end of the internship.
    • Letter grades are given for all classes, based 50% on the internship supervisor's evaluation of the intern’s performance and 50% on student’s performance in their CDCI class. Instructors have the final say on grading.
  • Hour Requirements
    Interns must complete a specific number of hours to receive the corresponding number of academic credits:

    Fall and Spring Internships:

    • 60 site hour for 2 credits
    • 120 site hours for 4 credits
    • 240 site hours for 8 credits

    Summer Internships:

    • 70 hours for 2 credits
    • 140 hours for 4 credits
    • 280 hours for 8 credits
  • Remote Internships

    Best practices and expectations for supervising remote interns can be found here.

  • Employer Recruiting Policies and Procedures