About the CAS Internship Office
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.
Start by contacting the Academic and Career Advising Center (ACAC) Internship Coordinator, PJ Lassek, plassek@une.edu, (207) 602-2597, if you are:
- A community site wishing to post internships and recruit students.
- A student looking to explore internship options, find internships that match your interests and geographic preferences, and for assistance with your search, applications, and coordination of the academic process for enrolling in an internship course.
Internship Story: Applying skills to the field
Explore how Sustainability and Business major, Kate Lindmark, applies her classroom knowledge at her internship.
See more course credit-qualifying internships and CAS internships sites
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)
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 offers academic (credit-bearing) internship courses with the following course description:
An internship is a high impact learning experience where knowledge and theory from students’ program of study are integrated with shadowing, volunteering, or paid employment with a private company, not-for-profit organization or government agency toward the intentional development of transferable knowledge, skills and abilities and practical application of professional competencies.
The semester prior to the internship, Academic Career and Advising Center staff assist students with preparing their application materials and searching and applying for (program-related) internships within the local community, stateside or abroad, as well as in defining learning objectives, educational and career goals, and professional deliverables to be met throughout the course of training and practice.
During the semester of the internship course, under the mentorship of a dedicated professional who has the education and/or background and expertise of the students’ discipline of study, students immerse in a remote, hybrid or in-person professional setting.
Through guidance, support and regular feedback from the mentor and internship course instructor, students strive to satisfactorily learn and practice their internship position and achieve their learning objectives. Students follow a course curriculum including: 40 contact hours at the host site per credit hour registered; participation in classes, meetings or workshops as scheduled by the course instructor; timely completion of homework assignments in support of student learning outcomes, professional readiness and career exploration; and end of semester evaluations. Internships culminate in a letter grade determined by the above criteria. Written pre-approval of the internship by the course instructor and Academic Director required.
The CAS Internship Office further subscribes to the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) and National Association of Colleges and Employer (NACE) definitions of an internship.
NSEE: “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.”
NACE: “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 Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) internship standards, best practices, and codes for ethical conduct.
Unpaid Internships
Academic (credit-bearing) internships may involve positions that are paid or unpaid.
The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office subscribes to the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE) statement on unpaid internships.
We comply with the Department of Labor guidelines on unpaid internships.
On-Campus Internships
The College of Arts and Sciences Internship Office has special considerations for on-campus internships. On-campus internships meet CAS Internship Office internship definitions, best practices, and codes of conduct. They provide a rigorous, real-world, professional experience that includes plenty of opportunities for you to experience non-academic work environments and off-campus professional networking.
Similar to off-campus internships, on-campus positions that qualify as internships distinguish themselves from campus work-study, research, and jobs by encompassing the following criteria:
- Incorporate a reasonable amount of work/learning in an off-campus setting.
- Involve a non-academic, professional setting.
- Include involvement with an external facility with unfamiliar professionals.
- Include attendance at meetings and/or events attended by diverse non-teaching professionals.
- Provide exposure to non-academic and unfamiliar learning environments and new professional cultures.
- Provide opportunity for in-depth and direct access to non-academic professional networks, such as potential future references or employers.
- Provide opportunity to result in a job offer beyond on-campus work-study, jobs, or research.
Work-study and internships are exclusive forms of experiential learning. Further, under the U.S. Department of Labor, work-study funds may not be used to pay on-campus interns. Therefore, one may not have unpaid interns in campus work-study positions.
Research and internships are exclusive forms of experiential learning. On-campus research positions under the mentorship of a faculty member, whether in a campus facility, campus laboratory, or in the field, are generally considered student research. Students seeking course credit for student research under a faculty member are advised to consider a program research or independent study course.
Contact
CAS Internship Office Contacts
If you are a student who wants to enroll in an internship, or a community site that wants to recruit student interns, contact PJ Lassek, Academic and Career Advising Center (ACAC) internship coordinator, at plassek@une.edu or (207) 602-2597.
If you have questions about the internship courses or curriculum, contact Cynthia Simon, CAS Internship Office director, at csimon@une.edu or (207) 602-2540.