Internships

All students are encouraged to explore career options and make professional connections by participating in an internship at some point during their studies. Students may choose to intern at any time, but those who wish to earn academic credit for SOC 491 (Professional Field Experience, 1-12 hours) must have junior or senior standing. 

Students who choose to earn credit hours as a part of their internship are required to write a learning journal and end-of-semester paper that connects their experience to the curriculum. Internships for credit must be paid for as other courses and are graded as pass/fail.

Typically, students intern in the summer sessions, but several intern in the fall and spring semesters depending on the internship and the amount of credit hours the student desires to earn from the internship. Students work an average of 45 service hours for each credit hour earned. An internship done for three credit hours would require at least 135 hours of service.

Some internships are paid but this depends on where you intern. Neither WVU nor the department guarantees pay for any internship and this must be something that you work out with the internship provider.

The department provides guidance on internship sites, but it is the responsibility of students to contact potential sponsors to make arrangements. 

Students are encouraged to contact soca-internships@mail.wvu.edu with initial questions. Once a student decides on placement, the procedure is as follows: complete the department information form, which will prompt the internship coordinator to add the student to the internship campaign. The campaign will then be sent directly to the student's mix email address for the student to schedule an appointment with the internship coordinator. After this meeting, the student must then fill out the internship application. 

Once the internship coordinator receives the signed internship application and the information is verified, the student will be permitted to register for SOC 491. Both the student's and the site supervisor's signatures are required at this stage. The internship coordinator will be responsible for forwarding the application to the Dean's office for signature.

Internships require advance planning. Each term, students should plan to make arrangements by their priority registration date.