I’m currently an (undergraduate) junior in college, and I keep getting asked:
“Don’t you need an internship to graduate”
This is coming from both people who have never been/ has been to college. and so now I’m just confused. As far as I’m concerned the awnswer is no. I’ve never had a class that required an internship, and I swear to god my major/intended major doesn’t require it.
So why are people asking this question? Am I missing something?
im not talking about getting a job after I graduate either. Of course you kind of need an internship to get a good job with your degree. I’m just asking if you need it to graduate college does it vary with colleges? I just feel stupid saying “no?” Because then they kind of just stare at me blankly… so now I’m really curious
The university I attended as well as the one my kids attended did NOT require any internships to graduate from college. The universities my nieces and nephews attended similarly did NOT require internships either. As you state, it is VERY helpful for getting a good job in your field if you’ve interned and had experience in the field while you were in college, but not necessarily essential. Internships vary as well–some are part time while some are full time. Some are volunteer while some are quite well-paid. Much depends on the field and where the individual is able to get the internship.
It usually depends on your major in college. My daughter is required to do an internship for her major, but most of the other majors at her university do not require an internship. In Europe, it is more common for an internship to be required, but in the US it is not that common.
Regardless of requirements for graduation, you should plan to do multiple internships during college to increase your chances of getting a job upon graduation. You can do internships in the summer, and if desired part-time during the academic year.
If an internship is required for a major at a particular university, it will show up on the list of requirements for the major. It could be listed as a required “course” for credit, or it could just be mentioned as a requirement. If it is a course, typically the student would work off campus full-time in summer or part-time during a semester, and would get college credit for that work, even if they are paid. A lot of universities encourage rather than require an internship.
Somewhat related to this… At my daughter’s university, every student in the school of business has to have an international experience. This is not a required course, but it is a requirement for the degree. It can be fulfilled by studying abroad or by interning abroad. I mention that for comparison, so you can get the idea of a requirement that is not a course, but is still described under what must be done to get the degree in a particular major.
It does vary from university to university and major to major. I’m a math and CS major and neither of those require an internship to graduate at my school, but the leadership major does, for example. There aren’t many majors that require internships at my school, though.