A proposal is the first step and an important aspect of an Internship experience. The proposal offers students opportunity to develop learning objectives and goals to consider during the internship.  Internship proposals must be approved by the Internship Committee prior to the start date of the Internship.

Deadlines for proposals are listed in the back of the COA catalog and posted on the Internship Information Board near the Student Mailboxes.  

Once the proposal has been approved by the Internship Committee, it constitutes a contract between the student, the college and the sponsor/employer. A letter from the Internship Director outlining the Internship program will be sent to the sponsor/employer. A work performance evaluation form will be sent to the student’s direct supervisor as well. This evaluation discusses the student’s general work habits and how well their  performance met the supervisor’s expectations.  When the student returns to campus, they will submit a report of their experiences that includes challenges they faced as well as new learning and skills.  

Both the Internship proposal and report will become part of a student’s permanent record at COA. Therefore, it is important that all paperwork submitted to the Internship Committee be well organized and well-written. Sample resumes and internship documents are available in the Internship Office. The Writing Center is available to assist with the writing requirements.

There are some reasons why the Internship Committee may decide that a proposed Internship is not acceptable for fulfillment of the degree requirement. These include:

  • Less than required time, 440 hours for credit; 320 hours for non-credit
  • Little opportunity for new insights because proposed Internship largely duplicates past experience/education
  • Proposal for a course of study rather than a work experience (usually identified when separate academic credit is offered or when payment is to be made by the Intern to the enterprise rather than other way around)
  • Doubts about the competence or stability of the proposed sponsorship and its readiness to provide guidance.

Internships for academic credit (3) require 11 weeks of full-time work during an academic term with a total of 440 hours or more.  Full tuition is charged for credit internships and these meet the internship degree requirement.

Internships for non-credit require a minimum of 8 weeks and 320 hours total.  There is no tuition fee for non-credit internships and these meet the internship degree requirement.