Internships
The Wilder School Office of Student Success encourages students to participate in structured and supervised internships with government, nonprofit, business organizations and more. These internships provide our students with experience in a professional setting outside the classroom while enriching the learning process by supplementing theory with practice.
The Office of Student Success coordinates the promotion of internship opportunities, assists with registration for internship courses, and provides guidance and structure for the internship experience and expectations for host agencies.
View the Wilder School Internship Policies and Procedures Guide for complete program details.
Eligibility to earn academic credit
In order to earn academic credit for an internship experience, undergraduate students must:
● Be a junior or senior
● Have at least 9 credit hours completed in a major or minor program
● Have at least a 2.7 GPA in major/minor coursework
Approval of eligibility for students who do not meet these listed criteria will be reviewed upon submission.
Internship process
Students are encouraged to visit the Wilder School Office of Student Success to explore the many available resources for local, state, and federal internships. Students should identify opportunities of interest and contact the organization to begin the application process for positions that interest them.
Opportunities shared by employers and partnering organizations are disseminated to students by email and posted on Handshake, the university’s job/internship portal. Students may also find positions on their own; the position must be approved by the Office of Student Success in order to count for academic credit.
Helpful resources and tips for your search:
- Meet 1-on-1 with an Office of Student Success team member to learn strategies for searching and securing internships that you can implement and learn the process required to earn academic credit at the Wilder School Appointments can be scheduled by emailing wsinternship@vcu.edu
- Visit VCU Career Services to assist in developing a strong resume, which will be used when applying for internships in most organizations and for enhancing your interview skills.
- Monitor the OSS eNewsletters for recently promoted internships. Archived emails are housed on the Wilder School Student Resource webpage.
- Network- using identified contacts (personal, professional org., employer speakers, etc.).
- Email/call to ask agencies/employers if internship opportunities with their agency/organization exist. Have your resume ready to provide.
- Explore Agency specific job board/websites (see VCU Career Services list).
Students are responsible for researching and securing internship opportunities. The Wilder School Office of Student Success provides support and guidance for the research and application process. OSS does not place students in internships.
You must complete and submit the Office of Student Success GVPA Experience Application.
The Office of Student Success will send a confirmation email upon receipt of your completed application and will review for approval. The internship must be directly related to your program of study/field of study for academic credit approval.
Once approved, you will receive an override to register for the undergraduate internship course (GVPA 493).
When is the approval deadline?
Applications are accepted and reviewed for approval on a rolling basis. The deadline for earning academic credit for internships will be reviewed and approved by the Office of Student Success based on the internship timeline and semester calendar. Students are highly encouraged to submit their application for approval prior to the start of the academic semester they plan to intern.
Students are not able to be late added into the internship course after the withdrawal deadline of that semester (see academic calendar).
Can I earn credit for an internship completed in the past?
No — students are not eligible to earn retroactive credits for previously completed internship hours. The completion of internship hours and enrollment in the internship course must be concurrent in order to earn academic credit.
How many credit hours can I earn?
Undergraduate students have the option to earn between 1 - 6 credit hours. Students must work 50 hours per credit (i.e., a student taking three credits must complete 150 hours of internship work within the semester).
Students are highly encouraged to discuss their individual academic credit needs with their assigned Academic Advisor prior to requesting approval for internship credit.
Students are responsible for registering for the appropriate internship course once they receive the approved course override. Please contact the Wilder School Office of Student Success (wsinternship@vcu.edu) if you have trouble with access.
Students are provided the course syllabus which outlines course assignments, forms, and due dates at the start of the semester they are completing their internships. The course is asynchronous and students submit all assignments via Canvas.
See PDF forms below. The forms will be available via the course Canvas link.
A course grade of “pass” or “fail” is assigned by the Office of Student Success. All required forms must be submitted and hours completed for the credit total selected by the student at the time of registration.
VCU tuition and fees apply for all registered GVPA/PADM courses. (See tuition information).