Internships are structured, supervised, and short-term programs in which undergraduate or graduate students perform tasks and duties within an organization in order to gain knowledge and skills. They are mutually beneficial experiences, giving organizations fresh perspectives, innovation solutions, and new talent, while providing students with career related skills. If you are interested in becoming a host site for UTSA interns, utilize the steps below to create your program plan and hire a Rowdy intern.

Getting Started:  

  1. Develop a job description for your internship position, identifying learning objectives and clear goals for achievement. Keep in mind that 50% or more of the intern’s tasks should be career-related. Follow UTSA’s Guide to Hosting a Student Intern for step-by step instructions on creating a program plan, hiring, and supervising interns.
  2. Create a Handshake profile and post your internship for UTSA students to apply.

Frequently Asked Questions:

  • What should my internship include?
    To ensure that an experience—whether it is a traditional internship or one conducted remotely or virtually—is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship by the NACE definition, all the following criteria must be met:
    ☑️ The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom.
    ☑️ The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
    ☑️ The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
    ☑️ There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
    ☑️ There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
    ☑️ There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
    ☑️ There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
  • Do I have to pay my interns?
    Internships may be paid or unpaid, but MUST follow the U.S. Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act. We strongly encourage employers to arrange, at minimum, some kind of stipend for an unpaid internship to cover students travel and lunch expenses. This will help increase your applicant pool. Across degree levels, the average hourly wage ranges from $14.47 for first-year associate degree students to $32.35 for those pursuing doctoral degrees. (See Figure 1 of NACE’s Intern Salaries Up Across All Degree Levels, Years).
  • How do I recruit for interns at UTSA?
    We invite you to share your internship opportunity on Handshake, our online job and internship database serving UTSA students. For more information on how to create a free account and post your internship, please visit our Employer Resources page. We ask that you include learning objectives in your internship description.  In addition to sharing your internship virtually, we invite you to engage students through career related events and additional recruitment opportunities.  To discuss a more tailored recruiting plan, set up a Recruiting Consultation with our Employer Engagement Team.
  • What is the difference between an internship and a part-time job?
  • Can I give academic credit for my internship?
    Academic credit for an internship is arranged directly with a student’s academic department. In order to qualify as a credit-bearing experience, the experience must fit the NACE internship criteria, as well as the academic department requirements. To confirm that your experience aligns with the department, identify the academic program of interest at https://www.utsa.edu/academics/ and contact the department directly with your request. Some departments have an Internship Coordinator identified under Faculty, however if you are unsure of who the department contact is, contact Internships@utsa.edu for assistance.
  • Developing an internship for the first time?
    You are not alone! Join us for our quarterly Internship Workshops and learn how to establish and expand your Intern program. We facilitate a two-part series with the Small Business Development Center: How to Create a Quality Internship Program & How to be an Awesome Intern Manager. Sign up through the Small Business Development website to participate.
    – Writing an Effective Internship Description (PDF)
    – Learning Objectives Guide (PDF)
    – 15 Best Practices for Internship Programs (PDF)
    – U.S. Department of Labor: Internship Programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act (PDF)
    Guide to Hosting a UTSA Student Intern

Additional Experiential Learning Opportunities: 

  • Host a group of students for a half-day or full day externship. This is a great way to expose students to your company culture and open a pipe line for internship recruiting. Express your interest by completing an Employer Externship Request Form and a team member will follow up with you to set up the event.
  • Sponsor a short term project through our Micro-Internship program. These are 4-6 week projects where students can help tackle problems that you are facing within your business or organization.
  • UTSA Alumni- serve as a Career Mentor through our Roadrunner Network.

For more information on how to get involved in upcoming experiential learning opportunities, contact Internships@utsa.edu.