What is an Internship?

“It is the first of all problems for a man to find out what kind of work he is to do in the universe.”
-Charles Horton Cooley

Internships are hands-on experiences that relate to a specific major or career interest and usually involve training and responsibilities for which the student has already completed appropriate academic coursework. An internship may be full time or part time for the duration of a semester or summer. Internships are often non-paid although a stipend or some pay may be provided by some organizations. Mount St. Mary’s offers support for credit-based internship as well as non-credit based internships. Internships for both non-credit and credit are open to all majors. 

The goal of Mount St. Mary’s University’s internship program is to provide students with a valuable experience as well as the ability to gain marketable skills for their field of interest. Internships provide a “free try” at a career – enabling the student to work at the internship site for a period of time without any long term commitment in order to see what it could take to be a part of the industry. Participating in an internship can often times lead to a full time offer from the employer.
 
Please view additional Benefits of an Internship.
 
“Get involved with as many internships as you can. The work experience looks great on your resume and employers like seeing that you can adjust to different work environments. The internships are also going to give you real life experience and better understanding of the industry (so if you’re thinking it’s definitely for you an internship could either confirm that decision or point you in a different direction you might not have considered).” – Kaitlyn Keough, Intern at the Frederick County Government Human Resource Division