Internships for Academic Credit
Academic Credit | Internship Types | Tuition | Requirements | Contact
An internship is a professional learning experience that offers meaningful and practical work related to a student’s field of study or to their career interest. Internships are supervised and structured learning experiences in a professional setting that provide students the opportunity to learn new skills, explore career options, and develop their personal and professional networks.
Students looking for an internship opportunity should explore the Career Center’s DoreWays database.
Academic Credit for Internships
Any student who is at least a sophomore and is in good academic standing may earn academic credit in the College of Arts & Science for an internship during the fall, spring, or summer sessions. The credit hours earned count towards the total credit hours needed for graduation. Internship courses do not count toward the college’s general education requirements (AXLE for students entering prior to Fall 2025; College Core for students entering Fall 2025 and later). In most cases, internship courses do not count towards major or minor requirements, but some departments do allow departmental internships (see below) to count towards their major or minor requirements.
Students doing an internship for academic credit must complete a weekly journal of activities and a final written paper that is evaluated by an Arts & Science faculty member. A&S faculty members at the rank of Senior Lecturer or above are eligible to serve as a faculty supervisor of an internship.
Types of Internships
The College of Arts & Science offers two types of internships for academic credit: Interdisciplinary and Departmental.
Interdisciplinary Internships
These internships are listed under the INDS heading in YES. Any student who is at least a sophomore and in good academic standing may enroll in an Interdisciplinary internship. There are no prerequisites to enroll in an interdisciplinary internship course other than class and academic standing. The following courses are available to students:
- INDS 3880: One credit hour only. Only available on a Pass/Fail basis. Repeatable for a maximum of 3 credit hours in 3880 and 3884, combined. May be taken in the fall, spring, or summer sessions.
- INDS 3884: One credit hour only. Only available on a Pass/Fail basis. Repeatable for a maximum of 3 credit hours in 3880 and 3884, combined. Only available in the summer. This course number is only used for students applying for a tuition subsidy because they are required to earn academic credit for their summer internship.
- INDS 3990/3991: INDS 3990 and 3991 are co-requisite. INDS 3990: Internship Training may be taken for 1-3 credit hours, based on the number of hours spent working during session (see details below). INDS 3990 is only available on a Pass/Fail basis. INDS 3991: Internship Readings and Research may be taken for 1-3 credit hours, based on the amount of reading assigned and the final paper that will be written (see details below). INDS 3991 is only available on a graded basis.
Students may enroll in INDS 3880 and/or 3884 for a combined total of 3 times during their time at Vanderbilt. The INDS 3990 and 3991 courses may only be taken once.
Departmental Internships
Many departments offer internships, which are listed under that department’s heading in YES. In order to enroll in a Departmental internship, students must have completed at least 6 credit hours of prior work and must meet the minimum GPA requirements in the department in which they wish to enroll. Departmental internships are not repeatable within the same department.
All internships under this designation are taken as two classes concurrently. INDS 3880: Internship Training is taken for variable credit hours [1-9], based on the number of hours spent working during the session (see details below). INDS 3880 is only available on a Pass/Fail basis. The second course is INDS 3881 [or 3882 or 3883]: Internship Readings or Research, which is also taken for variable credit hours [1-6], based on the amount of reading assigned and the length of the final paper that will be written (see details below). The 3881 (or 3882 or 3883) courses are only available on a graded basis.
Tuition Charges
Internships taken during the fall or spring semester will fall under the normal tuition charge unless the student exceeds 18 credit hours during the semester. The hourly tuition rate will apply to any credit hours taken over 18, which must be approved by an associate dean in the College of Arts and Science.
During the summer, all classes carry the hourly tuition rate. Internship courses taken during the summer also carry a tuition charge. Some summer internships require students to earn academic credit as a condition of their participation in the internship. In such cases, the university subsidizes the tuition for a 1-credit-hour internship course, called INDS 3884. Students will pay only $200 for INDS 3884, rather than the regular summer hourly tuition rate. Students must document that they are required to earn academic credit for their internship in order to enroll in INDS 3884. Students who are not required to earn academic credit for their summer internship may enroll in INDS 3880, INDS 3990/3991, or a departmental internship and pay the accompanying tuition to earn academic credit over the summer.
Academic Requirements
Students doing an internship for academic credit must complete a weekly journal of activities and a final written paper that is evaluated by an Arts & Science faculty member. The journal entries should include brief descriptions of their activities and their impressions of the internship experience. Students may also use their journals to document anything they find to be exciting or unusual about their experiences at the site, and to reflect on their successes and disappointments.
The journals and final paper must be turned into the faculty supervisor by the last day of classes of the semester (or summer session). The faculty member then submits the grade for the course through YES during the final exam period.
INDS 3880 and 3884
Students must write a final paper that is at least 5 pages in length. The paper is usually a summary of readings, a small research paper, or a reflection on the internship experience itself. The recommended length of readings for INDS 3880 and 3884 is 250 pages, which may include readings and research assigned to the student by supervisors at the worksite.
A student must work at the internship site a minimum of 5 hours per week during a semester or summer for 15 weeks (or a total of 75 hours) to earn one hour of credit for either INDS 3880 or 3884.
Departmental Internships and INDS 3990/3991
The variable credit hours earned in these courses depends on the amount of time spent at the worksite, the amount of reading, and the length of the final paper.
Students must work a minimum of 5 hours per week for 15 weeks (or 75 hours total over the semester or summer) for the Internship Training course (INDS 3880 in a department or INDS 3990). The table below lists the minimum hours a student must work per week (or across the semester) to earn additional credit hours. A student may elect to earn fewer credit hours than listed in the table below.
Credit hours for Internship Training Course | Minimum Hours at Worksite per Week | Total Hours at Worksite per Semester (or Summer) |
1 | 5 | 75 |
2 | 6 | 90 |
3 | 9 | 135 |
4 | 12 | 180 |
5 | 15 | 225 |
6 | 18 | 270 |
7 | 21 | 315 |
8 | 24 | 360 |
9 | 27 | 405 |
The amount of credit hours earned for the graded Research or Readings course (INDS 3991 or departmental course 3881, 3882, or 3883) varies with length of the final paper and amount of reading assigned. The recommended length of readings for the Research and Readings component in these internships is 250 pp. per graded hour, which may include readings and research assigned to the student by supervisors at the worksite. The project must result in a written project that is at least 5 pages in length per graded credit hour. The paper is usually a summary of readings or a research paper. The amount of credit hours earned for the Readings and Research course is determined in collaboration with the faculty supervisor.
Contact
For information on how to apply for academic credit for an internship, please contact arts-sci-internships@vanderbilt.edu.