University of Virginia Internship Programs Overview

1) INTRODUCTION

2) THE TWO COMPONENTS OF A UIP INTERNSHIP

• Academic Seminar
• Supervised Professional Practice Internship

3) ELIGIBILITY

1) INTRODUCTION

The University of Virginia Internship Programs (UIP) at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service offers several internship options to U.Va. undergraduate students in collaboration with the Departments of Sociology and Psychology of the College of Arts & Sciences. All UIP internships are for academic credit and have two parts: the academic seminar and the supervised professional practice internship.

The UIP options offered are:

• Academic Year Internship Program in Charlottesville (Fall & Spring Semesters)
• Summer Internship Program in Charlottesville (Summer Session)
• Extended Summer Internship Program in Charlottesville (Summer & Fall Semesters)

To-Go Summer Internship Programs in:

• Dublin, Ireland (Special Summer Session) 
• Washington, D. C. (Summer Session)
• Other U.S. Cities and Abroad (Summer Session)

^{Please see the UIP Program Options tab for more information.}

The University Internship Programs is an interdisciplinary program that coordinates and administers the academic and administrative components of internships for U.Va. students in more than 50 undergraduate majors and concentrations in the College of Arts and Sciences. The program is intended and designed to provide students with academically relevant classroom content and a field placement which builds on knowledge and skills learned from study in their major and in the social sciences generally. The majority of students participating in the UIP are in the College of Arts and Sciences; however, participation is open to students from other schools. In addition to the College, UIP interns have included students from the McIntire School of Business, Curry School of Education, School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

The UIP combines academic instruction and work experience in an applied setting under the supervision of UIP liaisons, faculty members and field sponsors. The interdependence of the classroom-field combination involves intentional learning that supports interns' academic, career and personal interests. The UIP field placement is a meaningful, closely monitored, career-related, major-related and/or interest-related work experience that extends interns' learning beyond the classroom to non-profit organizations, government agencies, and for-profit businesses. The upper-level Sociology and Psychology UIP seminars provide interns with a structured classroom environment to actively reflect on their field placements and to discuss and learn about themselves, their professional areas of interest, the workplace, and life in organizations.

Through its "To-Go" program option, the UIP offers U.Va. students the opportunity to participate in internships outside of the Charlottesville area and abroad. The UIP develops opportunities for and the mechanisms by which U.Va. students are able to integrate academic and applied experiences in the context of service within public and private organizations, and to make contributions to society and to the local and global communities; thereby extending the public service mission of the University of Virginia.

Since its beginning in 1976, the UIP has placed approximately 7,000 U.Va. interns in public and private sector organizations in the Charlottesville area. A conservative estimate of the value of UIP interns' contribution and service from 1976 through AY 2006-07 to organizations in the Charlottesville area is $13 million dollars.

2) THE TWO COMPONENTS OF A UIP
INTERNSHIP

• Academic Seminar

All interns are assigned to an academic seminar based on the client population they serve or the service area in which they intern. Academic seminars are conducted by a faculty member from either the Psychology or Sociology Department. The weekly seminar will provide interns with a structured classroom environment to actively reflect on their experiences and to discuss and learn about themselves, the workplace, service delivery, and life in organizations.

Seminars are structured around a different focus each semester:

1st Semester Focus:  personal/professional development and understanding work and organizational behavior

2nd Semester Focus:  post-graduate transition topics, and emerging professional, organizational, and community concerns

In the seminar interns will participate in group and structured learning experiences, group presentations to the class, and write short topic papers and a term paper. The seminar also provides interns with a supportive environment to reflect on events that occur while at their internship and to discuss their experiences with other interns.

• Supervised Professional Practice Internship

Whether in Charlottesville or elsewhere, the local, national and international areas are rich in social, governmental, cultural, and natural resources. As the community and its economic base have expanded, internship opportunities have grown. Through the University Internship Programs, every organization becomes a stimulating educational laboratory. Interns have the opportunity to:

• Recognize their skills & talents by working with professionals in the public, for-profit, or non-profit sectors
• Broaden their understanding of the diversity in Charlottesville, other U.S. cities, and abroad
• Experience, first hand, the challenges faced by organizations
• Prepare themselves for the post-collegiate transition to either graduate school or work

3) ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for the University Internship Programs, students must:

• Be a rising fourth-year student enrolled at the University of Virginia*
• Have an overall and major GPA of 2.5
• Have no academic warnings
• Have no record of judicial or disciplinary actions
• Have no criminal record
• Be willing and able to devote the time and energy necessary to meet UIP's demands

*Rising third-year students may participate in any of the Charlottesville or To-Go Summer Internship Options. Participation of first- and second-year students is determined on a case-by-case, space available basis.