Internships provide real-life work experience and college credits for students in graduate or master’s programs. They are required in many fields, including teaching, counseling, social work, nursing, medicine, dentistry, and business. Internships offer the opportunity to build a professional network and create stronger resumes.
An internship can be defined as a learning experience that is usually undertaken at the college level and often in master’s or other graduate programs. They provide college credits and a real-life opportunity to work in a chosen field. Typically, the internship should include some form of class reunion or formal recognition by a university, in addition to providing work experience. Several graduate or master’s curricula require some type of internship in addition to the formal courses that conclude a program.
There are several settings where students almost always complete one or more internship semesters. Students studying for teaching credentials are usually required to complete a certain number of teaching hours. They are under the supervision of licensed teachers while completing this work, and many need to teach at several different grades and schools to receive full credit for the internship. Training teachers may also have a classroom component to this formal stage and have an instructor with whom they meet, along with other students, on a weekly basis to help complete and reflect the learning experience.
Likewise, many student professional counselors who are licensed or earn their marriage and family therapy degree also have an internship requirement. Many of these students participate in on-campus counseling programs, or occasionally in community programs, and provide counseling to other students supervised by licensed faculty. They can come together in small or large groups to reflect on what they are learning through their practice. Journaling or paper recording can be part of earning units in addition to participating for a set number of hours as a training advisor.
Some of the most stringent internship requirements exist for accredited masters of social work programs. In addition to completing 40 to 50 graduate-level units, students must complete 1000 or more hours of work. This is usually accomplished in one to two years of formal field placements supervised by licensed clinical social workers or masters of social workers. It includes a classroom component, so students can reflect on their field experiences and grow from them.
Other education programs that offer some variant of internship take place in the school of nursing, medicine, dentistry and some business school models. While these trainings take time to complete, they do have advantages. They help students practice what they’re learning so they don’t start a profession without real experience. They can also be the beginning of building a professional network and can create much stronger resumes for people starting a career.
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