Student Internship Guidelines

Internships combine classroom learning with paid or volunteer practical work experience and are taken for academic credit. They also provide the opportunity to clarify career goals and establish contacts for jobs after graduation. Local, state, national, and international internships are available. Interns are required to take at least one academic credit in an x98 (198, 298, 398, …) course number. Registering for internship credit is extremely important, as this is the only way in which interns are covered by the Montana University System's (MUS) intern liability insurance policy.

Internship Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for internships, a student must be pursuing a degree program and be in good academic standing. Some departments require a minimum number of hours taken in their department or at The University of Montana before a student is eligible for an internship.

How to Find an Internship

• Register with Internship Services. You can do this by completing an online Student File Registration on our website or manually completing one at our office.
• Set up an appointment with an Internship Coordinator in our office. We can assist with internship searches, resumes, cover letters, and job applications.
• Search for internships on the Griz eRecruiting website. If you haven’t already done so, you need to follow the steps on Griz eRecruiting to “Set Up Student Account.” After registering, you will be able to access the system in approximately 24 hours.
• You can apply for advertised internships (follow application procedures outlined in the position announcement on Griz eRecruiting), or develop your own with assistance from the employer, faculty, and Internship Services staff.

How to Get Internship Credit

• Meet with your department's faculty internship advisor to make sure the position qualifies for internship credit. If so, proceed to the following steps.
• Print an online Learning Agreement (pdf) or obtain one from Internship Services.
• Complete student information section and sign.
• Meet with employer and ask him/her to complete and sign the Internship/Employer section.
• Obtain written job description from employer and attach it to the Learning Agreement. If not available, type your duties on a piece of paper and attach to Learning Agreement.
• Meet with faculty internship advisor and ask him/her to complete Academic Faculty Information section and sign. He/she will determine the method of evaluation and number of x98 internship credits you can earn (a maximum of six x98 internship credits can be counted toward University graduation requirements), and will assist you in developing learning objectives for this internship (developing learning objectives is often a joint effort among the student, employer, and faculty).
• Make sure you understand academic assignments your faculty internship advisor may require in conjunction with the internship.
• If needed, have faculty internship advisor complete Override or Drop/Add Slip (depending upon time in semester). For questions regarding course request numbers (CRN), contact the Registrar’s Office.
• If needed, turn in Override Drop/Add Slip to Griz Central to register for class. Business students can register through Cyberbear.
• Review Learning Agreement for accuracy and make sure all parties have signed.
• At the beginning of the semester, return Learning Agreement with attached job description and learning objectives to Internship Services for final approval and signature.
• Internship Services will send copies of the signed Learning Agreement to all parties.
• Internship Services will send notices to students and employers when evaluations are due.
• If you will be enrolled less than full-time as an intern and have any form of financial aid, check with the Financial Aid Office for further information.

Your internship will be more positive if you have clearly defined goals, if you take part in employer's staff activities, and if you get sufficient communication and feedback from your supervisor.

Our staff conducts a limited number of on-site visits each year. We may also be able to facilitate conflict resolution with your supervisor. We may be able to provide advice on housing, organization of the internship, and other areas of concern. Please feel free to call us if we can help in any way.