Introduction

Since 1976, approximately 7,500 U.Va. students have been placed in professional practice internships through the University Internship Programs (UIP). UIP student interns have provided more than 1.5 million hours of service to the community. Each semester, UIP matches approximately 250 University of Virginia undergraduate student interns with 200 sponsors in business, government, and non-profit organizations in the Charlottesville area.

We continually seek to expand the breadth of the UIP. If you are an established organization in the Charlottesville area that currently employs at least three, full-time people and could benefit from the efforts of bright, talented University of Virginia students, we encourage you to consider participating in this unique opportunity. By partnering with the University Internship Programs, we hope to cooperatively provide students with a professional or semi-professional experience while also working to strengthen University-Community ties.

We are delighted at the prospect of working with you to develop and design internships that will meet the needs of both your organization and our student interns. Please review the information below and complete the "Internship Sponsor Application and Intern Request Form." We will review your application and request and get back in touch with you as soon as possible.

If you have questions about becoming a UIP internship sponsor or need assistance in developing your internship description, please contact Karen A. Farber, Ph.D., M.B.A., University Internship Programs, at 434-982-5552, KFarber@Virginia.edu.

University Internship Programs (UIP) Overview & Internship Options

The University Internship Program (UIP) is an experiential learning, service learning, civic engagement activity. The UIP has two parts: an academic seminar and a professional practice internship. Interns are enrolled in upper-division Sociology and Psychology seminars that require participation in an internship. Forty percent of the student's final course grade is determined by the internship sponsor. Interns must maintain a weekly interning schedule of 10 hours per week during the academic year (September - May); and, 17 hours per week during the summer session (June - August).

UIP interns serve at no monetary cost to sponsoring organizations. Although the UIP is an unpaid, academic internship program, there is no prohibition regarding compensating interns if it is your practice to do so. However, sponsor-provided stipends, allowances, or salaries must be discussed and arranged with the UIP in advance of any discussions with our students. Additionally, because we are an academic program and compensation is not required, monetary compensation associated with an internship will not be disclosed during the recruitment, interviewing, or matching processes.

Students apply to the UIP during the Spring semester of their third-year for an internship during the following 8-week summer session and/or the 28-week academic year (fall and spring semesters).

Commitment & Expectations of Sponsors

• Provide an on-site professional practice internship experience.
• Help interns integrate theory with practice in a "real world" professional setting.
• Expose interns to complex and multi-faceted functions of community organizations.
• Teach interns basic business and organizational skills.
• Promote interns' social, educational, personal, and professional development growth.
• Assist interns in clarifying their career goals and decisions.
• Serve as supervisor, mentor, and role model for an aspiring young professional.
• Help interns gain confidence and be competitive in the job market following graduation.
• Attend at least one UIP Sponsors' meeting each year.
• Evaluate interns' performance twice each semester.

UIP Schedule Requirements for Internships in the Charlottesville Area:

UIP students are required to intern for 10 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters, and 17 hours per week during the summer session. Each semester, sponsors and interns are required to establish a mutually agreeable weekly schedule consistent with UIP's hourly requirements, the sponsor's business hours, and the intern's academic class schedule.

Internship sponsors may not unilaterally decrease or increase UIP weekly interning requirements. Decreasing required hours will jeopardize the overall learning experience, the relationship between the academic seminar and the lab/field experience (internship), and the intern's eligibility to receive academic credit. Increasing required hours, depending upon the circumstances, may be inconsistent with the intent of the UIP, and may be a violation of the U.S. Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act regulations.

Interns placed in your organization through the UIP are not required to regularly and routinely intern or work beyond UIP's weekly interning requirements. However, after discussion with UIP, sponsors and interns may mutually agree to a schedule beyond the applicable 10 or 17 hours per week consistent with the following procedure: students interning or working additional hours during a particular week must be given equivalent time off during the following week. If time off during the following week is not practicable, the student must be paid at an hourly rate of no less than $7.25 per hour or the minimum wage.

If you regularly and routinely have need of an intern for more than 10 hours per week in the fall and spring semesters, and for more than 17 hours per week in the summer session, we strongly recommend you request additional interns.

Different laws and policies apply to extended schedules of interns who are international students and require discussion on a case-by-case basis.

The information above is not applicable to extensions of the UIP weekly schedule related to voluntary, personal and professional development experiences that are for the sole benefit of the intern. Invitations by a sponsor to an intern to voluntarily participate in activities that do not constitute an extension of interning responsibilities or additional work are enthusiastically encouraged and do not require compensation of any kind. Examples of voluntary activities may be opportunities to observe or participate in special organizational activities and events, inclusion in non-routine professional meetings and gatherings, unique opportunities for training and professional development, access to networking opportunities, inclusion in celebratory events, and the like.

UIP Schedule Requirements for Internships Outside of the Charlottesville Area:

From time to time, and particularly in the case of summer internships at organizations outside of the Charlottesville area, exceptional scheduling requirements and circumstances may exist. Sponsors are expected to bring exceptional situations to the attention of UIP for discussion and resolution.