Career Prep Courses

The College of Design offers classes to guide you through your career planning process. These courses address topics such as career exploration, résumé and cover letter development, networking, and job and internship search strategies. Courses are online/asynchronous, typically offered fall, winter, and spring terms, and are open to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing any of our College of Design majors.

Preparing for and Implementing the Internship/Job Search

The following courses divide the internship/job search process into two parts: Prep and Search. Select the course that best fits with where you are in your career development. If you have questions about which course to select, please email the instructor for assistance. Assignments incorporate independent research and therefore enable students pursuing any College of Design major to participate.

DSGN 408/508 Wrk Job & Intern Prep—1 credit

Instructor: Kristin Grieger, kgrieger@uoregon.edu

This course is designed to help students explore and begin to prepare for an internship or post-graduation job search. In this class you will:

  • Identify your top values and strengths
  • Brainstorm career paths you are curious about and conduct online research to help you define a career direction
  • Create a résumé and cover letter that represent your interests and abilities
  • Learn about how to prepare for employment interviews and create example responses to questions

DSGN 408/508 Job & Internship Search—1 credit

Instructor: Kristin Grieger, kgrieger@uoregon.edu

This course is designed for students who are beginning the search for an internship or post-graduation employment. In this course you will:

  • Learn about various proactive and reactive search strategies, select a few of these strategies, and use them throughout the term
  • Craft an elevator pitch
  • Conduct a minimum of one informational interview with a professional you select who is engaged in work that is of interest to you
  • Identify your preferred organizational culture and organizations/companies/firms to connect with/apply to

Earning Credit for your Internship

DSGN 404/604 Internship 1–12 credits

Instructor: Kristin Grieger, kgrieger@uoregon.edu

This course is for students seeking academic credit for an internship they have arranged to complete in an upcoming term. Assignments for this course focus on reflection and research activities to enhance the on-site experience and are managed through Canvas which allows flexibility for internship location.

Steps for enrollment:

  1. Contact the DSGN 404/604 faculty to review your internship and the forms you will be required to complete.
  2. Fill out the Internship Learning Agreement which will be completed by you and your site supervisor.
  3. Submit your completed Internship Learning Agreement no later than Friday, Week 9 of the term PRIOR to when you will begin your internship.
  4. Once the DSGN 404/604 faculty reviews and approves your Internship Learning Agreement you will be preauthorized for the course.
  5. Log into Duckweb and enroll in DSGN 404 (undergraduate students) or 604 (graduate students). This course is variable credit so you will need to change the credit to reflect the amount indicated in your Internship Learning Agreement. Typically, you will earn 1 credit for every 30 hours worked at your internship (approximately 3 hours weekly for a 10-week term). In the case of graduate credit, some graduate programs require 40 hours per credit.

Resources to help you with the internship search: