Posting Your Opportunity for UO Students
Jobs and internships are vital in our students' career development process. Both are experiential learning opportunities, critical for students to be competitive in their chosen career fields.
You can support students by posting part-time and full-time jobs and internships in Handshake, a platform used by the UO, as well as many other universities nationally, to help connect students and alumni with opportunities and employers.
What distinguishes an internship from a job?
An internship is a supervised experiential learning opportunity that enables students to apply their skills and knowledge in a professional setting while receiving training and guidance to build their understanding of their intended career field. As the host of the intern, you identify learning goals and projects to give the intern specific career-related experience and provide feedback on their performance. The internship can also act as a practical, in-depth interview, allowing you to discover whether a student is a good fit for long-term employment.
- Intern Goal: Gain direct work experience in chosen field, expand professional development in related areas, explore new fields for transferable skill building.
- Required Skills: Specific skills identified and brokered as trade for mentorship and learning opportunity. Graduate level internships will bring high level leadership and professional skills.
- Level of Commitment: Committed period of time, sometimes aligned with academic term, though can extend depending upon agreements.
- Pay Rate: Varies depending upon requirements, skill level, and standards within the field.
What isn’t an internship?
An internship is not a home project that can use some of the expertise our students have gained, for example, creating a design and drawings for your new garage. (This might be a great part-time paid job opportunity, though.) It is also not unpaid extra help at your office or business. The US Department of Labor has established guidelines that help employers determine whether interns and students working for “for-profit” employers are entitled to wages.
Host an Intern
Large or small, for profit or nonprofit, and public or private sector organizations can all host interns. Share your experience and support a student in their career development by posting your internship on Handshake.
How do I develop an internship?
- First, develop a position description for the internship. Include:
- organization information
- title, duties/responsibilities
- learning goals
- qualifications/requirements
- compensation
- schedule (hours/week, daily schedule if appropriate)
- how to apply
- one-time or ongoing program (host interns on a regular basis)
- Next, set up a plan for how the intern will be trained, supervised, and evaluated.
- When you have all that put together, access the Handshake posting database to set up your account. If you have questions about posting, contact Student Services for assistance.
Internship Learning Agreement
An Internship Learning Agreement is strongly recommended to ensure clarity of expectations and a good match. To assist you with your role, site supervisor expectations are listed on page two of the agreement. The use of the Internship Learning Agreement used by College of Design is typically initiated by the student.
Academic Credit for Internships
Some students might opt to pursue academic credit for their internship. If they choose this option they are responsible for seeking UO faculty supervision and enrolling for the credit. As a site supervisor, the student might present you with an internship learning agreement to sign and an evaluation form to complete as part of their requirements for the internship class.
A general guideline for credit calculation is 30 hours of internship for every 1 credit. Example: 3 credits = 9 hours a week for 10 weeks or 90 total hours.
The University of Oregon operates on an academic quarter system with 10-week terms, starting in September (fall term), January (winter term), March/April (spring term), and June (summer term). To allow time for recruitment and hiring as well as completion of academic paperwork needed for a student who wants to enroll in credit, post your opportunity (at a minimum) at the beginning of the term prior to the term you want the intern to work with you. For example, post in late February/March/April for a summer term position that begins in June or July.
Don’t have an opportunity to post but still want to help?
You can connect with students for mentoring and networking or share your own career story on panels or in an informational interview. However you want to participate, we need you! And we appreciate your commitment to assist our students in reaching their career goals. You can review portfolios, invite students to visit your office or studio, and/or participate in Student Services events (panel discussions, roundtables, recruiting, etc.). Your contribution toward supporting students’ career development is valuable. Contact Student Services to find out how you can participate.