Internships

Regardless of your major, an internship is an extremely valuable opportunity that offers key experiences that will help you shape your career goals and objectives. As an intern, learning about functional roles, organizational cultures, and industries will benefit you in developing transferable skills, direction, and a professional network to serve you in your future career pursuits. You can complete one or more internships anytime throughout your time at The University of Alabama, and there are plenty of opportunities available for you locally, nationally, and even internationally. Start your search in Handshake!

Finding an Internship

The Career Center maintains a working relationship with many employers throughout the country in an effort provide students with a broad range of internship opportunities. You can access these opportunities through your Handshake account.

Strategies for finding opportunities outside of Handshake include:

• Checking internship postings on individual employer websites.
• Networking and learning about openings by attending career fairs.
• Meeting with a member of our career consulting team to discuss possibilities, including creating an internship.
• Talking with your departmental internship coordinator or academic advisor.

As defined by The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), components of a strong internship are as follows:

• Expectations and learning objectives are clear
• Formal and informal evaluations regularly occur
• It’s a true learning experience for you, the student
• Appropriate training and supervision is provided
• Compensation is clearly defined upfront: Internship Programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act

Unpaid Internship Stipend

The Division of Student Life offers stipends for undergraduate students participating in unpaid internships. The intention of the stipend is to encourage and support experiential learning opportunities that help students prepare for their careers.

Awarded stipends vary from $500 to $1,000 and are limited. The number of awards and dollar amounts will be based on available funds and demonstrated student interest and need.

The application process consist of an essay with a maximum of 250 words. The following are guidelines for the content.

• Detail how a stipend would impact your ability to complete your internship
• Describe the type of internship you have secured
• Describe how the completion of the internship will relate to your career aspirations
• You must also include your name and CWID in a header for your essay.
• Application opens early spring.

Share Your Internship Experience

Complete the survey to share you internship experience with the Career Center! Your report helps The University of Alabama build relationships with more organizations to host UA students in the future.