There's no question that internships are a vital part of your education. In the College of Arts and Sciences, we offer select internships as early as your first year and encourage you to engage in multiple internships throughout your college career. Our goal is for you to transform your passions into professions, and to do that, we help you graduate with a degree plus a full, professional resume.
We will help you search for and apply to internships that match your interests and geographic preference. Once you've secured an internship, we coordinate the academic process for you to enroll in the course and successfully complete the requirements.
Additional Information
Memberships
The UNE College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office maintains the following professional memberships:
- National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE)
- New England Association for Cooperative Education and Field Experience (NEACEFE)
- Association for Experiential Learning (AEE)
- Hanley Center for Health Leadership, Undergraduate Health Leadership Initiative (UHLI)
Additional Resources
- Center for International Experiential Education (CIEE)
- Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA)
- Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS)
- The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
- The National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE)
- Universal Design Education Online
Parents and Alumni
The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office considers UNE parents and alumni strategic partners. We are eager to see our passionate students pursuing successful careers in their communities, and you can play an important role for them, as well as for your employer. As engaged citizens, employees, and members of professional networks, you can work with us to create an internship position with your company or organization. Please feel free to contact us to explore the possibilities.
Definitions of Internship
The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office subscribes to the NSEE and NACE definitions of an internship. In addition, it is allowed that the internship position consists of shadow, volunteer, on-campus work study, or paid work (employment).
National Society for Experiential Education: “A carefully monitored work or volunteer experience in which an individual has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience.”
National Association of Colleges and Employers: “An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths, and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.”
Standards, Ethics, and Best Practices
The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office subscribes to the CAS and NSEE internship best practices.
Unpaid Internships
The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office subscribes to the NSEE statement, and complies with the Department of Labor guidelines on unpaid internships.
On-Campus Internships
The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office strongly encourages on-campus internships. On-campus internships must meet all of the above internship definitions and best practices, and must provide a rigorous real world, professional experience that should include opportunities for networking, experiencing a non-academic work environment, and other factors as appropriate.
If you are working in an on-campus research position situated primarily in a campus laboratory with a faculty member, your position will generally be considered student research, not an internship. As such, if you seek credit for research work you should consider a research or independent study course instead of an internship course.
In order for an on-campus position to qualify as an internship, the position should encompass all of the following criteria:
Incorporate a reasonable amount of work/learning off-campus in a professional setting, such as field research data collection, work at an external facility with unfamiliar professionals, substantial attendance at meetings and events attended by diverse non-teaching professionals.
Provide exposure to off-campus, non-academic and unfamiliar learning environments and new professional cultures, such as partial work on a sea vessel or with an organization or government agency.
Provide direct access to non-academic professional networks, such as potential future references or employers.
Contact
CAS Internship Office
224 Danielle N. Ripich University Commons
Biddeford Campus