Internships, Research and Shadowing Experiences

What is an internship?

An internship is any career related experience, and is typically more sophisticated work than a “summer job”.

• It can be near home, near school or in a city you’ve always wanted to see.
• It can be paid or for credit. It can be on a volunteer basis to gain experience.
• It can be full time or part time.
• It can be during the academic year or during break.
• It can be all summer long, during the academic year or a mini-experience during winter or spring break.
• It can be, for Engineering students, an Industry Practicum or co-op like experience.

By utilizing counselors and resources available in the Goldberg Library, students investigate multiple options before focusing on and acting upon internship and post-baccalaureate goals. Internship Counselors facilitate goal identification, assist with resumes and cover letters, and inspire effective search efforts, which will include printed and web resources, networking, as well as proactive and reactive techniques.

Rochester is a member of the Nationwide Internships Consortium (NIC), which through shared postings makes over 6,000 internships available to students seeking opportunities in varied fields and locations, both nationally and internationally. Consortium schools include: Claremont McKenna College, Dartmouth College, Davidson College, Drew University, Hampshire College, Harvey Mudd College, Johns Hopkins University, Lewis & Clark College, Occidental College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, Reed College, Sarah Lawrence College, Scripps College, University of Chicago, University of Puget Sound and Whitman College.

Many overseas studies programs also include internship options. The University coordinates study abroad programs in London, Paris, Madrid, Brussels, and Bonn/Cologne/Berlin. For example, in London, internships are available at the House of Commons, National Party Headquarters, Research Institute, Law Office, Royal Festival Hall Marketing Department, Catalyst Fund Management, Credit Suisse First Boston, Mindshare Media, Bonham’s Auction House, Victoria & Albert Museum, King’s College School of Medicine, Charing Cross Hospital School of Medicine, and Kind’s Head Theatre.

DOES THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER ENCOURAGE INTERNSHIPS?

We encourage each student to identify and act upon internship goals and we facilitate activities required to translate goals into strategies, and strategies into offers. Once offers are received, students can determine if they will earn a salary, if they wish to earn academic credits or, for internships not offering compensation, if they wish to apply for “Reach Funds.” Reach Fund stipends, which “make internships possible, not necessarily profitable,” encourage and enable students to complete experiences that would, because of financial constraints, otherwise not be viable. Each year, we are proud that just under $150,000 in stipends are distributed.

Some internships are promoted through large, well publicized and structured “programs,” and others are identified through the self-initiated efforts. The Center strongly encourages all students to maximize internship experiences. Our counselors are knowledgeable about strategies to secure internships as well as specific internships that are available. We offer multi-faceted resources including printed and web-based postings, counseling, on-campus interviews and, through off-campus Career and Internship Connection recruiting events in New York, Boston, DC, Los Angeles and Chicago.  Internship search efforts often begin online, using  CareerLink or the Nationwide Internships Consortium (NIC) Database. We encourage you to take the initial steps of our internship seeking students by accessing www.rochester.edu/careercenter/students. Whenever you wish, click on CareerLink, then use Meliora as your Username and yellowjacket as your Password. Once in the system you will most likely be interested in the postings of internships, and on-campus recruiting (via the Calendar), and post-baccalaureate jobs.

We promote, collect resumes and facilitate applications for many top national internship programs including:Abbott Laboratories, Barclays, Buffalo VA Hospital, Cerner, Citigroup, Carnegie Mellon Dept of Chemical Engineering, Kodak, Harvard, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan, IBM, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lockheed Martin, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Novartis, NASA, Senator Harry Reid, Senator Jeff Klein, Strong Medical Center, Boeing, Dow, Universal McCann, US Congress, Weill Medical, WXXI Public Broadcasting, Wyeth, Yale, and Yellowstone National Park. Also, we are confident that a student seeking an internship in Rochester during the academic year will be able to attain one. Often, area employers solicit Rochester students for internships. Other times, proactive strategies, with students communicating directly with firms or organizations, are most effective. Through individualized counseling we support the unique and diverse efforts of our talented and diverse undergraduates.

HOW OFTEN DO ROCHESTER STUDENTS COMPLETE SUMMER INTERNSHIPS?

Prior to beginning their senior year, at least 90% of seniors have had at least one career related experience.  These include internships and summer jobs that are career related and completed during the summer and during the school year or informational meetings and networking with professional mentors.