Internship Checklist

List of items/tasks to complete prior to starting an internship/co-op education for academic credit. 

❏ Confirm Eligibility & Requirements: Confirm your general internship eligibility and check-in with your department to ask about any department-specific internship requirements, processes, or information. 
● Internship Eligibility & Policies 
● Be In good academic standing with no active registration holds 
● Must be a current/future experience (no retro) & related to major 
● Must have completed at least 90 credits (standard) or 45 credits (exploratory) towards your degree. 
● Must have completed at least 15 credits at CWU
Undergrad: Anything over 18 credits for the quarter requires an overload permission form to be signed and returned
Grad: Overload is anything over 16 credits.
For more information and to find the overload permission form: https://careerservices.cwu.edu/resources/overload-permission-form/

❏ Find and Secure an Internship Provider/Host: You will need to locate and secure a potential internship provider. 
● Tips for Finding Internships 
● Current Affiliation Agreements List 

❏ Identify Faculty Advisor & Course Details: Ask your department to assign you an Internship Faculty Advisor who will act as the instructor for your internship course. You will need to work with this faculty member and your department to obtain key course information such as the course code, course prefix, and any academic or homework assignments that will be required. 

❏ Create Learning Objectives & Activities *If Applicable: If your department does not provide you with pre-defined objectives and activities, you will need to work with your internship faculty advisor and your intended internship site supervisor to come up with at least three learning objectives detailing what you will learn or practice during the experience. For each objective, you will then need to identify at least two specific activities you will complete towards that objective. 

❏ Complete Training & Insurance Requirements: Complete the required sexual harassment training and purchase the required liability Insurance. Attach proof of insurance and training certificate to your application.
● Required Sexual Harassment Training 
● Liability Insurance for Medical Settings 
● Liability Insurance for Non-Medical Settings 

❏ Complete your Internship Application/Learning Agreement Forms: 
Online Application: 

  1. Use the Internship Academic Requirements Worksheet or an alternate internship form guide provided by your department to collect required information from your department or faculty advisor. 
  1. Login to your Handshake account via the link in the menu located on the right side of your MyCWU dashboard. (If this is your first time logging into Handshake, you may have to set up your profile.) 
  1. Use the left tab to navigate to “Career Center” then to “Experiences”. 
  1. Select the “Submit an Experience” tab. 
  1. Select the Internship Application from the Experiences drop-down menu. 
  1. Fill out the rest of the form and then click “Submit an experience” at the bottom of the page. 
    Make sure to attach proof of insurance purchase and required sexual harassment training certificate.

Note: If you aren’t sure of who your approvers should be, ask your faculty advisor (professor). They will know the department chair and associate dean that should be listed.

*For students who need to or prefer to use a paper application, please contact our offices at career@cwu.edu for the required paperwork and instructions. 

❏ Once your application is reviewed by the Internship office, it will be sent out for approval. The approvals will come via email with a link to the application. The approval emails will be sent out in order beginning with the work site/internship supervisor. Once approval has been submitted an email will be sent to the next person in the queue before going to the student for a last review before being routed again to the Internship office.

❏ Await Registration: Once the learning agreement has been reviewed and approved by all the required individuals, the CWU internship coordinator will register you in your course for credits. 

❏ Complete Internship Activities: During your internship, you will be expected to complete 40 hours of work for every 1 academic credit in which you are enrolled. In addition to completing your work hours, you will need to ensure you are completing the assignments and objectives outlined in your learning agreement. 

❏ Complete Evaluations: During the middle and end of your program your site supervisor will be sent evaluations to complete. Please ensure to make sure they know to expect these. You will also be sent an evaluation at the end of the program. 

For questions or assistance, contact CWU Career Services: 
Website: cwu.edu/career 
Email: career@cwu.edu 
Phone: 509-963-1979 

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