{"id":174,"date":"2024-02-16T16:48:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-16T16:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cas-experiential-learning\/?page_id=174"},"modified":"2026-01-22T14:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:11:48","slug":"offering-credit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/site.uvm.edu\/cas-experiential-learning\/?page_id=174","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Guide: Offering Credit for an Internship"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This guide is for faculty who teach internship courses or those who have been asked by a student to supervise their internship experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information on this page applies to all internship credit awarded via the College of Arts & Sciences or departments therein. However, your Department or Program may have more specific guidelines for awarding internship credit, please get in touch with your Chair or Director to learn more.<\/em> Jump to FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Internship Course Best Practices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Faculty are welcome to use these tools and best practices when planning to supervise an internship experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Course Format<\/summary>
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Depending on your department’s policy, you may offer credit for an internship as an independent study course (2993\/2995), or as an internship course (2991). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Internship Course<\/summary>\n

Students should work 40 hours at their internship site (in-person or remote) for every 1 credit they earn. The course format is extremely flexible, but students should have regular check-ins with faculty throughout the semester and produce a product that meets department requirements for credit toward the major (whether that be a presentation, paper, or other). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please check with your department chair for department-level policies regarding internship credit. Students and employers should fulfil all requirements detailed in the sections below. <\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Independent Study<\/summary>\n

While more free-form, independent study credit for an internship must ensure that the on-site experience is supplemented with sufficient academic work. Most commonly, faculty will require students to do a research project that draws from the day-to-day work they are doing for their internship site. For example, a student working with the Town of Milton to review housing policies from an equity lens might undertake a historical research paper that explores U.S. housing & urban development practices over time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours worked at the internship are not counted toward credit earned, but enough hours should be worked with community members that the student gets a substantive experience and can inform their academic work. <\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Syllabus Templates<\/summary>
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Faculty teaching internship courses are welcome to use the CAS 2991 or CAS 2920 (Communities of Practice<\/a>) syllabus as a template, understanding, of course, that their department may have additional or slightly different requirements for major credit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CAS 2991 Template<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
CAS 2920 Template<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Employer Responsibilities & Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No matter the method of credit internship employers have several requirements to complete before their interns can earn credit at UVM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that internships for credit must be with companies or organizations that are able to sign the UVM Internship MOU (i.e. legal entities or sole proprietorships with proper insurance coverage). If the internship is 100% virtual and the student will not be visiting the internship site in-person, some coverages may not be necessary and the MOU wording will be adjusted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employers must…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Identify a Clear Internship Supervisor for their Intern<\/summary>
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It is the responsibility of the internship employer to identify a supervisor for their student intern. This person should be excited and ready to be a mentor throughout the duration of the internship. They should also be prepared to evaluate the student at the end of the semester and provide updates as needed to the UVM faculty member awarding credit for the experience. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sign the UVM Internship MOU<\/summary>
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Employers must review and sign the UVM Internship MOU prior to the beginning of the internship. The MOU outlines the expectations and responsibilities of the UVM faculty member, the University, and the internship site. MOUs are valid for a period of three years and cover all UVM students who engage in a credit-bearing internship with that organization during that period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employers will be given an opportunity to review the MOU, request changes if necessary, and then sign. The Career Center maintains copies of all executed MOUs. The MOU identifies the minimum requirements of the institution, additional criteria may be added as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faculty should…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Write to cas.internships@uvm.edu<\/a> to determine whether the proposed internship site already has an MOU with UVM.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. If the MOU is not currently on file, it must be completed before the internship begins – please send the following link to your contact at the organization or contact cas.internships@uvm.edu<\/a> to begin this process as soon as possible. <\/strong>\n