Internships provide students the opportunity to gain "hands on" experience, to explore career options, to develop confidence in work abilities, and to put into practice the theory and principles they are being taught in class. For many Tisch students, an internship is a method of obtaining class credit under the supervision of faculty.*
TOCD requires all listed internships at for-profit businesses to conform to New York Department of Labor guidelines, which state that an intern is only exempt from the requirements of the Minimum Wage Act and Orders if the position meets certain criteria, including:
For more information, please see http://www.labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/factsheets/pdfs/p725.pdf
*TOCD does not administer internships for credit. Academic credit eligibility is determined by a student's academic department.
While TOCD will permit postings for unpaid internships to current students eligible for college credit, we will not list unpaid opportunities to our alumni.
Keys to a Providing a Successful Internship Experience
DO:
- Make sure they know you are open to questions, even fundamental ones.
- Include your intern in meetings and make sure that they are aware of your company’s projects and operations.
- Welcome your intern to make suggestions and acknowledge their contributions.
- Make sure your intern has a desk, computer, and office supplies, which will not only increase the interns' feeling of self-worth but also increase productivity.
- Menial tasks may be unavoidable, but be sure to also include projects that have substance. Part of an internship is the opportunity to have “hands on” experience so let your intern take ownership of a project.
- If you need to, consider creating a project that will allow the intern to learn industry-specific skills in a theoretical situation.
- Establish office rules, working hours, and the internship’s start and end dates. Spend time to make sure your intern understands your organization's culture and methods of task completion.
- Define goals and set expectations at the beginning of the internship so that both you and your intern are in agreement. There may be things that you take for granted that an inexperienced intern may not understand. Ensuring that you both start off on the same page will result in a more productive and beneficial relationship.
- When your intern leaves, ask for ideas! Ask your intern for feedback on his/her position and for a description of their accomplishments and challenges. Also, ask the intern to revise his/her internship description.
- Keep in mind that your intern is still a student so every little bit is appreciated!
- Be aware that there is a monetary cost for a student to do an internship for credit. A student may be foregoing potential income from a paid part-time job in a non-related field to receive the educational benefits of an internship.
DON’T:
- Even if your intern is a self-starter, don't forget that interns are there to learn. Be sure to set aside a specific time each week to discuss relevant issues in your workplace and make sure that the intern understands the concepts.
- In a busy office, you may feel like you don’t have time to teach and mentor an intern, but the investment in time will pay off for both of you.
- An intern is not meant to provide free administrative assistance, especially in a commercial business. Yes, phones need to be answered and data entry needs to get done, but is your intern really learning anything substantial from those tasks? Your intern should be developing industry-specific skills and knowledge from this experience.
- Be sure to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act and assist students in any formal paperwork to receive college credit if applicable.
- Interns are protected under Department of Labor rules and regulations. Most states, including New York and California, require a 30-minute break for every 5- 6 hours of work. Check your local government resources for more information.