Confirm eligibility for an internship
- Check academic standing
- Students must be in good academic standing with no incomplete coursework when the internship begins. Students with incomplete coursework may register for internships but should have it resolved before the internship starts.
- Students must receive credit in the semester they are completing the internship. No credit can be retroactively awarded for internships completed in previous semesters.
- Review BearDen record with advisor
- Students should meet with their advisor to review their BearDen record and understand credit needs. Students can also make an appointment with Max Grube, Internship Coordinator, to learn how an internship will count toward degree completion (meeting with the advisor first is preferred).
- Students are encouraged to check with their academic advisor for additional eligibility requirements related to their major, graduation status, or other personal circumstances.
Students must identify a faculty sponsor
- Students are expected to identify a faculty sponsor from their academic department/program.
- Some SUNY Potsdam departments have a designated faculty sponsor.
- This faculty sponsor is responsible for providing a course syllabus, assigning and collecting academic coursework, maintaining contact with the student throughout the internship, and providing a grade upon completion of the experience.
- Students should discuss grading with the sponsor and choose a letter grade or S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory).
Begin your internship search
Students are encouraged to explore the following options when searching for an internship. This list reflects a variety of in-person, hybrid, and remote options as well as internship placements/programs on the local, state, national, and international level.
- Search the SUNY Potsdam Collections on Handshake.
- Each collection is tailored to a discpline/academic department at SUNY Potsdam. Once in a collection, students can explore the "Employer" tab for a list of potential internship sites.
- Not every employer/site listed in a collection has an internship program or position. However, a student can work with the Internship Coordinator to identify and contact a potential internship site.
- Use GoingGlobal
- Search for statewide, national, and international internships. Updated daily!
- Consider one of SUNY Potsdam's Structured Programs.
- Strucutred programs are partnerships, in which another university or internship program places a student intern on behalf of SUNY Potsdam.
- Search for a virtual internship:
- Handshake - Students can login to their SUNY Potsdam Account. In the Jobs menu option, search Virtual Internships
- Virtual Internships - SUNY Potsdam has a partnership with this company, who provide online internships with international companies. Interested students should contact the Internship Coordinator to connect with the Virtual Internships team.
- The Intern Group - Under Destinations in the top menu, click on Virtual/Remote
- LinkedIn - On home page, search for a job, then type in Virtual, United States
- Indeed
- WayUp
- Search for an internship in New York government:
- New York State: Student Intern Program provides a centralized location to access all New York State government internships.
- New York State Assembly: The Assembly offers up to 150 college students an opportunity to get involved in state government and gain firsthand knowledge of the legislative process.
- New York State Education Department Student Internship Program
- City of New York and NYC Public Service Corps Internships:
- The City of New York offers paid and un-paid internship opportunities through placements in agencies across the city.
- The New York City Public Service Corps (PSC) is the nation's first and largest off-campus internship program for college students. The program offers paid Federal Work-Study internships, as well as placements in which students may work for academic credit.
- Search for an internship using campus resources:
- Ask faculty members about contacts they might have with established internship programs or organizations and companies interested in establishing a program. They may know of alumni who will set up an internship program.
- Network!
- Networking is simply using every personal contact you have. These contacts include former employers, relatives, neighbors, or friends who may know of, or be employed by organizations, which may have an established internship program or could be persuaded to start a program.
- Request an Informational Interview. Informational interviews give you the opportunity to learn about other people’s jobs, their path of getting there, and if they have any advice for students looking to go into their field. The LoCAL has a list of questions to prompt these interviews. The interviews are informal, but professional - you're starting a networking relationship! Doing these interviews also puts you in the interviewee's mind for future internships.
For assistance in the internship search process, you can use job search resources independently, meet with a faculty advisor, or meet with Max Grube, Internship Coordinator.
Apply for internships
- This is like a job search: Students should have a resume and cover letter ready for internship applications.
- Book an appointment with Nichelle Burnett, Career Services Coordinator, to refine a resume and/or cover letter.
- Students can prepare for this task by reviewing the NACE Career Competencies, and considering what skills the internship can help develop.
- Follow the application instructions exactly as given.
- If the site requires an online application, complete this. If this site asks for a cover letter, include this in your submission. If the site requests 3 references or letters of recommendation, provide them with 3 of these. Do not provide additional materials that were not requested.
- It is best to apply to at least 5-6 organizations. Internships (like jobs) can be competitive, and it is best to have options.
- Resumes and cover letters should be tailored to each internship. Our Career Services Coordinator and Peer Advisors can help with this.
- Student applicants may need to complete an interview.
- Students can schedule a mock interview with a LoCAL staff member to smooth out jitters and get feedback on interviewing.
- Accept an internship offer.
- Students that have secured an internship must confirm their placement with the host site.
- Students must identify the site supervisor for the experience (may or may not be the main contact) and keep their faculty sponsor informed.
Students should use the Internship Proposal Form for gathering necessary details about the internship.
- Students should complete the Internship Proposal Form (PDF) when communicating with their faculty sponsor and site supervisor.
- This form is like a rough draft and does not get submitted.
- There should be no TBD answers or blank fields once you've completed this form.
- Once ready to register, students will transfer all information from this form to the official Handshake proposal.
- A student's faculty sponsor is a critical mentor during this experiential learning opportunity. Students should share all information regarding the internship with their faculty sponsor (this includes discussing the Internship Proposal Form and course syllabus for the internship).
Submit a Handshake proposal to register the internship
- SUNY Potsdam uses Handshake to process and register internships.
- Students must transfer all information from the Internship Proposal From (rough draft) to the official Handshake proposal.
- Handshake proposals go through an approvals process, during which a student's faculty sponsor, site supervisor, school dean, and the university registrar will review the proposal. At the end of this review, the registrar will register the student for the course.
- Students must submit their internship for registration via Handshake by the deadlines listed below.
Deadlines for Internship Registration
Late registrations are only accepted under extraordinary circumstances. Students who missed the deadline can appeal for a late registration using this form.
Submit the Midterm and Final Evaluation through Handshake
- Students will complete a midterm evaluation (this is a self evaluation) as well as a final evaluation of their site experience.
- Both of these evaluations create a balanced picture of the internship experience, and these give the student an opportunity to reflect on personal and professional growth, share feelings about the experience, etc.
- Student evaluations help the LoCAL and academic departments when advising future student interns.
- Note: Site supervisors also complete midterm and final evaluations through Handshake. Site evaluations are also used by the LoCAL and by faculty sponsors in assigning a course grade/writing a letter of recommendation.