Internship Opportunities

Purpose

The purpose of the program is twofold:

1. Provide a practical learning experience for students, in which they are able to utilize skills and knowledge learned in the classroom.
2. Provide bright and diligent short-term apprentices for sponsoring employers. These apprentice-interns must produce work beneficial to the sponsor.

Application Procedures

All students interested in participating in the Business and Economics Internship Program must complete the application procedures prior to the appropriate deadlines and submit that application to Ms. Arnica Mulder, the current Internship Coordinator, at mulder@roanoke.edu. It is important to understand that participation in the Internship Program is a privilege that must be earned, not a right to be claimed. More specifically, all applicants must meet a set of general requirements as well as a specific grade point average (G.P.A.) requirement. The application can be found on the Inside Roanoke page under Forms, All Forms, Business Administration and Economics, Internship Application BUAD/ECON.

General Application Requirements

All applicants will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. Academic responsibility and maturity (as evidenced by class attendance, academic integrity, class participation, and overall attitude).
2. Class performance in those areas most closely related to the proposed internship.
3. Whether or not adequate time is available, given the applicant's course load, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, etc.

Academic G.P.A. Requirements

To apply, a student must have junior or senior class standing and have at least a 2.5 cumulative G.P.A. A student may appeal for a waiver of the above requirements if that junior or senior has maintained a 2.5 G.P.A. in Business Administration and Economics over the last three full semesters (with any intervening Summer Business Administration and Economics courses also counted).

Dates and Deadlines

The Business and Economics faculty will decide on applications at the December departmental meeting (for Spring internships) and at the April departmental meeting (for Summer, and Fall internships). Deadlines for applications are December 1 for Spring/May terms, April 1 for Summer, and August 15, for Fall terms

Internship Procedures

It is the responsibility of the student to initiate the process by talking with the internship coordinator and filling out an application.

• In coordination with Career Services, the internship coordinator may help find internship opportunities for eligible students. Eligible students may also set up an internship and give contact information to the director. When the internship director agrees to provide credit to the eligible student, the student or the internship director will contact the prospective employer - preferably face to face - and make the initial arrangements.

• Work performed by interns should be of a substantive nature, working with supervisors, intermediate managers, and professionals. The sponsoring employer must evaluate the intern's performance using the Supervisor evaluation form and submit to the Coordinator. (These forms will be provided by the Coordinator.)

• Internships can only be counted towards a concentration if they are in the same functional area. 

• All internships are to be graded on a pass-fail basis. See Internship Requirements for Credit to get more information on what all Interns must complete receive a passing grade. 

International Students

Please be aware that international students (those on F-1 student or J-1 exchange visas) must request special permission to undertake internships, whether paid or unpaid. The process varies depending on whether the internship is credit bearing or not. Any international students should contact Sarah Lupton so that she can make you aware of the process. This is not generally a hindrance, but you need to make the appropriate arrangements ahead of time so you do not violate your legal status.

Internships from past students include: