Internships
at Macalester
How an internship fits in with a Macalester education
Roles involved in an academic internship
How an internship fits in with a Macalester
education
Internships are an integral part of a liberal arts curriculum,
enabling students to participate in structured, supervised learning
experiences that enhance knowledge gained in previous course work,
connecting the theoretical with real world applications. Students
also benefit from having opportunities to explore fields of interest
as they crystallize their passions into an academic course of action
and career path. The Internship Program works with students, faculty
sponsors, and community partners to create intentional, academically
relevant learning experiences. Students may engage in internships
in a wide range of off-campus settings which match their academic
goals, including non-profit organizations, government, business,
and the arts.
The objectives for the Internship Program are:
- To provide opportunities for students to examine first-hand
knowledge and theories learned in the classroom for their wider
impact on society and the world at large.
- To provide opportunities for students to evaluate and apply
a body of knowledge and methods of inquiry from an academic discipline.
- To provide students access to a larger or different "laboratory"
of equipment and/or situations not easily obtained or available
on campus.
- To provide students expanded opportunities for self-directed
learning.
- To enable students to develop work competencies for specific
professions and to explore career interests and form professional
networks.
- To provide opportunities for students to develop intellectual
and professional partnerships.
Internships are only one form of experiential education students
may take advantage of at Macalester. Students are also encouraged
to participate in:
- Volunteer work in the community coordinated through the Civic
Engagement Center and various student organizations;
- Service learning activity or community-based research connected
to coursework;
- Classes that have structured internship experiences embedded
into the course design;
- Informal non-credit internships or work experiences that provide
valuable, relevant experience, but that do not earn academic credit;
- International, study abroad programs that may incorporate an
experiential component or independent internship.
It is a common process for students to initially gain valuable
experience through volunteer and service activities that expand
awareness and personal interests. Later, as students delve more
deeply into chosen disciplines, academic internships allow more
intentional, focused field experiences that increase the connection
of the classroom to the real world.
Civic Engagement
Center
Study
Abroad Office
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Roles involved in an academic
internship
Student intern
The whole reason for the program! The student is responsible for
searching, planning, and arranging the internship, utilizing the
support and resources of the Internship Program and faculty. The
intern is expected to fulfill all performance expectations in the
internship/work setting as well as all academic learning outcome
measures as outlined in the Internship Learning Contract.
Faculty sponsor
The faculty person who will oversee the academic direction of the
learning experience of the internship is a requirement if the student
is to receive academic credit for the internship. The student and
faculty sponsor work together to plan all aspects of the internship
and complete a Learning Contract, which includes discipline-specific
learning objectives and learning outcome measures. As the internship
progresses, the intern is to maintain contact with the faculty sponsor
for ongoing guidance, direction, and support. At the end of the
experience, the sponsor will award a grade and credit for the completed
internship based on how the student demonstrates what has been learned
during the experience.
In assigning a grade, the faculty sponsor will consider:
- Feedback received from the internship site supervisor via mid-term
and final evaluations;
- Ongoing communications with the student during the course of
the internship; and
- Learning outcome measures (assignments) as defined in the Learning
Contract.
While considering internship options, the student should think
about what he/she hopes to get out of a given field experience and
talk with various faculty members to determine who would be willing
and available to be a sponsor for a particular experience. A faculty
sponsor may be different from the student’s academic advisor.
Credit earned for the internship will be in the department of the
faculty sponsor, as the sponsor will be helping the intern examine
the internship experience through the lens of her/his particular
academic discipline. For instance, if the faculty sponsor is from
the Psychology department, the student will receive psychology credit
for that internship.
Site supervisor
The person at the internship site who oversees the actual hands-on
work of the intern. The site supervisor is expected to provide a
written position description, orient/supervise the intern, host
a site visit by a Macalester representative, and complete evaluations
of the intern's performance and progress during the term. The role
of the internship site supervisor is to support the intern in learning
new skills, exploring career options, and applying new knowledge
while gaining “hands-on” experience in this particular
field of interest.
The site supervisor is responsible for evaluating the student’s
performance halfway through the internship and again at the end
(there is only one evaluation for the three-week January term).
The completed evaluations will be sent to the intern’s faculty
sponsor who will incorporate the evaluation into the grading of
the internship.
Internship Program Director
The person responsible for the administration and coordination of
Macalester’s Internship Program. The director approves and
authorizes students’ internship registrations, advises site
supervisors and faculty about the Internship Program, conducts site
visits, and oversees student, faculty sponsor and site supervisor
relations during an internship.
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