Internships

In this section

An internship is an opportunity to test a potential career field and to gain career-related experience in an area of interest.

Interns infuse new talent, ideas, and creative energy into an off-campus organization while developing meaningful professional relationships and new skills.

As an intern, you bring value to the internship organization, and we expect that the organization is invested in your career exploration and professional development.

A mutually beneficial, career-related experience will situate your education at the center of the internship, allow you to make a meaningful contribution to the organization, and provide an experience where you receive regular and on-going feedback, coaching, and mentoring.

You may elect to pursue your internship (paid or unpaid) for academic credit. See the Pursuing Internships for Credit section below for details.

Benefits on an internship:

Develop professional relationships and build your network.
Apply what you have learned in your major/Puget Sound to real-life scenarios.
Learn which working environments are ones where you thrive or don't thrive.

Finding an Internship

Finding an internship is similar to any job search. Puget Sound has resources to support your search. Start your search early, especially if you hope to enroll for credit.

Looking for guidance? Make an appointment to connect with a Career and Employment Services (CES) career advisor. We can help you customize an internship search strategy that aligns with your goals.

Timeline

Timelines differ by industry and by size of organization. For established internships, you can expect to find opportunities available during the following windows:

Summer

Government:
- FBI and State Department: These organizations have a lengthy background-check process. Applications tend to open in August.
- Federal Internships: Application deadlines vary from September/October to February/March.
- State, County, and City Internships: Opportunities tend to be posted between January and April.
Large Corporations:
- With more recruiting capacity, large for-profit organizations tend to recruit around the same time of year, competing to have "first dibs" on top talent.
- Many internships are posted in early fall semester – by September or October.
- There tends to be a short recruitment period in early spring semester, for internships that weren’t filled through the fall recruitment process.
Midsize Organizations:
- Recruitment activity ranges from October to April/May.
Small Organizations:
- Small organizations and start-ups tend to use a “just-in-time” hiring process – when they realize that they need an intern, they post. Internships may be posted as late as May/June.
- Smaller organizations may lack the recruiting capacity to manage an online hiring process, or to advertise their opportunities. Through networking, you may be able to inquire if an organization would be open to hiring an intern to work on X problem or contribute to Y project over the summer.

Fall Semester

For organizations with the capacity to do so, you may see internships for fall posted as early as March or April.
The majority of fall internships are posted between July and September.

Spring Semester

The recruiting season for spring opportunities tends to begin in October, and may continue through January/February.

Search Tools & Strategies

PugetSound.JoinHandshake.com: Handshake is the best resource to find an internship. From the Jobs tab, sort through opportunities utilizing the filters.
- Life hack: enter career interests, location preferences, and complete the Handshake profile for the algorithm to help identify opportunities of interest!
- Look at the Curated Employers section in the Career Center of Handshake, and especially the Great for Internships group.

Search the LinkedIn Puget Sound alumni page to identify Loggers in career fields or in geographic locations that interest you.
- Tip: Search for folks who had your same major AND the keyword “intern”. This helps you see where Logger alumni interned when they were students. If you’re curious and want to learn more, send them a message or visit their internship organization’s career website to see if there are open internship positions.

Check out alumni on Logger Link. Do some research and see where other Puget Sound Loggers have interned during their undergraduate education. While Logger Link is not a job or internship posting system, you may reach out to alumni to learn how they found their internships during undergrad or to inquire if their current organization offers internship opportunities. With the concept of seeking advice and information at the center, alumni might be open to referring you to the organization, connect you with other professionals for informational interviews, or share other known internship programs.

Use the PathwayU jobs page. Complete the 4 assessments and use the Job Search tab to find internships that align with interests, workplace preferences, personality, and values.

Consider joining Puget Sound affiliated groups on LinkedIn. Alumni can be a useful source of information about their own internship experiences, or may be able to point you to internship programs in their organization. Some professionals post internships to groups and can be a great way to find opportunities.

Talk with faculty by visiting during office hours. Many faculty stay in touch with alumni after they graduate. You might learn about a connection to an organization or industry of particular interest that could lead to an internship.

Not sure where to start? Make an appointment to connect with a Career and Employment Services (CES) career advisor. We can help you customize an internship search strategy that aligns with your goals.

Pursuing Internships for Credit

Internships can be pursued for Academic Credit during the academic year, or for Activity or Zero Credit during the summer.

Requirements:

Sophomore, junior, or senior class standing
Minimum GPA of 2.0

Note: No more than 2.0 units of internship for credit can be applied towards graduation.

Zero Credit

Academic Credit

Activity Credit

Funding Your Internship

Puget Sound Internship Grant

Summer Fellowship Internship Program (SFI)

IPE International Internship Grant