Internship Guidelines

Internship Timelines

Domestic Students

International Students

*If employers are unable to accommodate these dates, students are able to register for 1-Credit Internships beyond this deadline.

Becoming an Internship Host Site

Employers looking to provide internship opportunities are encouraged to review the Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #71 as a start. In addition to meeting federal requirements, potential internship host sites must, at the very least, provide:

• A complete job description including a defined beginning and end to the internship experience. This must include desired qualifications.
• A staff internship supervisor possessing an educational and/or professional background in the internship’s field of experience.
• Resources, equipment, and facilities required for the intern’s work and learning objectives.

Internship Host Site Requirements

Additionally, there are a number of Internship Policies that Emerson College requests its internship sites to follow. These policies are outlined below.

1. A student intern cannot complete a credit-bearing internship with an organization that is their current employer.
2. The host organization is expected to comply with the Emerson College Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policies in all interactions with the student intern.
3. The host organization supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the intern is provided with a safe workspace. The workspace must be in a professional office and cannot be located in a private residence or non-commercial setting.
4. The host organization supervisor is responsible for ensuring that no more than 25% of the intern’s duties involve clerical work.
5. The host organization supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the student intern does not perform inappropriate tasks, such as maintenance duties or personal errands for host organization employees.
6. The host organization supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the student intern is not required to use their personal automobiles for duties at or related to the internship/intern site.
7. Organizations may offer to host an undergraduate student intern for a second semester. If the student accepts this offer, they are responsible for obtaining academic department approval from their departmental internship coordinator. The approval process requires the student to prove that the second internship will provide a new academic challenge (i.e., new department, project, or supervisor). Graduate students are not permitted to complete additional credit- bearing internships with the host organization.
8. Liability Insurance: Emerson College’s liability insurance includes student interns under limited circumstances. It covers Emerson student interns while they are serving in a supervised (i.e. credit bearing) internship program in satisfaction of course requirements, as long as they are acting within the scope of their duties or obligations as interns. The insurance, underwritten by Lexington Insurance Company Reciprocal Risk Retention Group, a well-known higher education insurer, contains the limitations and exclusions common to such policies.
9. Organizations who host an international student who is not being paid should be aware that there are particular rules which preclude them from receiving any compensation, including gifts in kind or “freebies” unless they are authorized for such in advance. Learn more about Curricular Practical Training (CPT).
10. The host organization supervisor is responsible for submitting two performance evaluations to the student intern’s departmental internship coordinator during the course of the semester. Evaluations are used in determining the student’s course grade.

Unpaid Internships & “Volunteer” Internships Statement

Unpaid Internships create equity issues and put low-income students at a disadvantage. Our office encourages all employers to consider providing monetary compensation in addition to any credit-bearing opportunity; however, a significant number of unpaid roles still exist.

It is our expectation that all companies offering internship opportunities to our students should provide monetary compensation in exchange for their contributions to your organization, regardless of whether or not they will be receiving academic credit for the experience.

The Department of Labor mandates that for-profit companies compensate their intern employees financially. Failure to do so may put your organization at risk for litigation.

Nonprofit companies are not required by law to pay interns. We still strongly encourage those with the financial resources to consider providing paid opportunities. Read NACE's statement on unpaid internships for more information. 

Unpaid internships create equity issues and put low-income students at a disadvantage.