SEPTEMBER 2017

What do we know about

RESEARCH BRIEF #2 the impact of internships
MATTHEW T. HORA,
MATTHEW WOLFGRAM AND
on student outcomes?
SAMANTHA THOMPSON Results from a preliminary review of the
scholarly and practitioner literatures
CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON COLLEGE-WORKFORCE TRANSITIONS RESEARCH BRIEF #2

KEY FINDINGS

1. A considerable amount of empirical and practitioner research exists on

internships, but the literature is limited by terminological imprecision,
incomparability across countries and disciplines, and a lack of rigorous field
studies on student outcomes.
2. A detailed and standardized definition for what constitutes an
“internship” experience does not exist.

v3i.denEce indicates that internships improve students’ employability, academic

outcomes, and career crystallization, but the evidence is mixed regarding the
effects of internships on employability over the long-term and little research
exists about the effects of internship experiences on wages.
4vi.denEce also indicates the importance of internship characteristics such as job-site
mentoring, autonomy, pay, and meaningful tasks on outcomes such as
student satisfaction and job pursuit, yet few studies examine the relationship
between these design characteristics and student outcomes.
5. The practitioner or “grey” literature highlights the importance of careful
planning, institutional support systems, coordination between academic
programs and job- site mentors, a large “stable” of employers willing and able
to host interns, and careful attention to legal and ethical issues.
6ta.tes Sand institutions hoping to scale up internship programs should ensure
adequate staff, funding, and willing participants are in place before
creating internship programs at scale.
7. The field needs rigorous mixed methods longitudinal studies that
examine the impacts of specific internship characteristics on a variety of
student outcomes.

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Introduction
Work-based learning, whether in the form of an internship or apprenticeship, is currently one of the most influential
ideas in public higher education and workforce development policy. For example, President Trump recently
proclaimed that, “Apprenticeships are going to be a big, big factor in our country,1” and Wisconsin’s Governor Scott
Walker included a provision in the recent state budget that all recipients of bachelor’s degrees from the UW System
be required to have an internship experience.2
The central idea behind this advocacy for work-based learning is that hands-on experiences in authentic, real-world
contexts are an important complement to academic programs and classroom teaching – an idea expressed by
educational researchers and learning scientists for decades.3 Internships in particular are often touted as being a
win-win-win situation: Students can get real-world job experience and establish professional networks, educators
get their students opportunities to translate theory into practice, and employers get inexpensive and educated
workers that may turn into new hires. Additionally, internships are increasingly seen as a central strategy in solving
the so-called “skills gap,” such that newly trained workers would fill open positions, boost local economies and
essentially fix the many ailments facing local labor markets.
With these apparent benefits and mounting pressure for colleges and universities to adopt work-based learning
programs, one could argue that U.S. higher education is poised to enter the “era of the internship.” But several
questions remain:

1ha.tW do we really know about internships and their ultimate impacts on student outcomes such as wages, employment
status, and career satisfaction?
2ha.tW are the most important design characteristics of an internship that lead to positive student outcomes, and which
could potentially lead to negative student and employer experiences?
re. inAitiatives at the state and institutional levels promoting and even mandating that college students have an internship
3
experience being designed with attention to the evidentiary base?

These are critical questions, because many state governments and institutions of higher education across the
U.S. are actively developing and/or expanding internship programs that will affect the lives of millions of
college students, the companies they intern with, and the academic programs that are ultimately responsible
for their education.
However, despite the fact that the notion of internships as a positive and beneficial experience is a “repeated dictum”
among policymakers and many educators, the view in the literature is that the relationship between internships and
early career experiences is “under-tested” to say the least.4 In fact, as we discuss in this policy brief, while a rich body
of practical knowledge exists regarding how to design and implement effective internships, the research literature
on internships is severely limited by a lack of rigorous studies, terminological confusion and by being scattered
across various disciplines and industries. Additionally, while the literature does include evidence regarding the
value of internships for students, educators, and employers alike, researchers have also identified many challenges
and problems with internship programs.
One of the central findings of our review of the literature on internships is that attention to design characteristics -
such as the duration, type and quality of mentorship, pay, and coordination with academic advisors – is an essential
yet frequently

1
Fain, P. (June 14, 2017), New money and new players on apprenticeships. Inside Higher Ed.
2
Walker, S. (2017). State Government of Wisconsin: Budget in brief. Madison, WI: Department of Administration.
3
Dewey, J. (1997). Experience and education. Kappa Delta Pi; Resnick, L. B. (1987). The 1987 presidential address learning in
school and out. Educational Researcher, 16(9), 13-54; Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces:
Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 193-212.
4
Silva, P., Lopes, B., Costa, M., Melo, A. I., Dias, G. P., Brito, E., & Seabra, D. (2016). The million-dollar question: can internships boost
employment?. Studies in Higher Education, 1-20, p.2

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overlooked component of internship programming. If not sufficiently considered, an internship can be detrimental to
the interests of students and employers alike. After years of experience as a director for career services at a major
university, Nancy O’Neill felt that while internships could provide many benefits to students, she nevertheless cautions
that:
“… I also met many students who landed in my office precisely because their internships lacked direction
and meaningful work. These students, frustrated and disappointed, began to view internships quite cynically
as “resume fillers” and “door openers” that needed to be completed in order to land a job after graduation.”5
In the interests of avoiding situations like this, we conducted a preliminary review6 of the scholarly and practitioner
literatures7 to inform policymakers, employers, higher education leaders and career services professionals’ decisions
about how to design and administer internship programs. In this policy brief, we report findings from our review
that includes the following: (1) a discussion about what internships are to different researchers and practitioners, (2)
evidence from the empirical literature on key characteristics of internships and their relationship to student
outcomes, and (3) design tips for creating effective internship programs.

What is an internship?
As we examined the literature,
it quickly became apparent Before examining what the scholarly and practitioner literatures have to say
about internships, it is worth considering and articulating precisely what is
that no single definition exists meant by the term. As we examined the literature, it quickly became
and in practice, internships apparent that no single definition exists and in practice, internships can take
can take many different forms many different forms and vary according to a range of characteristics.
and vary according to a range
For example, consider the following definitions of internships. For
of characteristics. Merriam- Webster, an internship is defined as “an advanced student or
graduate usually in a professional field (such as medicine or teaching)
gaining supervised
practical experience (as in a hospital or classroom).” This definition considers what are known as practicum (in
nursing) or student teaching (in education) as internships, along with the view that the experience is supervised
and limited to

The Center on Research for College-Workforce Transitions

The mission of the Center for Research on College to Workforce Transitions (CCWT) is to conduct and support
research, critical policy analysis, and public dialogue on student experiences with the transition from college to
the workforce in order to inform policies, programs, and practices that promote academic and career success for
all learners. In particular, CCWT aims to document and analyze the perspectives and experiences of the various
constituencies involved in the college-to-career transition process: which include employers, students and their
communities, educators and career services professionals, and state governments. Consequently, our approach
to this literature review was to critically consider the needs and perspectives of all constituencies involved in the
college-to-career transition process.

5
O’Neill, Nancy. 2010. “Internships as a High-Impact Practice: Some Reflections on Quality.” Peer Review 12 (4): 4–8.
6
This policy brief represents an early, preliminary review of the literature on internships based on keyword searches of academic databases
and reviews of reference lists from widely-cited papers. A more systematic and scholarly literature review is currently underway that will
involve
a more intensive and lengthy review of the research base. Our aim in producing this preliminary review was to disseminate early
conclusions and findings in order to inform current debates about internship programming.
7
The term “research literature” refers to peer-reviewed journal articles published in scholarly journals, while the terms “practitioner” or “grey”
literatures refers to self-published how-to guides, policy analyses, and other non peer-reviewed publications. We view the grey literature
as a valuable source of information on internships, particularly for those engaged in the practical aspects of designing and
implementing programs.
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advanced students. In contrast, the Oxford English dictionary

considers internships to be, “The position of a student or trainee who Clearly, a shared conception of
works in an organization, sometimes without pay, in order to gain work what precisely constitutes an
experience or satisfy requirements for a qualification.” This definition
views the learner as a neophyte and considers them to be employees of internship experience does not
an organization, while also raising the issue of pay (or lack thereof), exist, and this poses considerable
and the goal of obtaining qualifications (which is often associated with issues for researchers,
apprenticeships). policymakers, students, educators
The differences in these definitions are symptomatic of the and employers alike.
terminological differences and lack of consistency in defining
internships evident in the research and practitioner literatures. For
instance, while some scholars clearly
specify what is meant by the term “internship” in their research, in most cases the term is never defined. Besides a
lack of operational specificity, another issue is the fact that some consider internships to encompass a wide range
of work-based learning (e.g., apprenticeships, practicum, work placements, etc.),8 while others limit their
conception of internships to short, work-based learning programs undertaken by undergraduate students.9
Another widely used approach, which underscores the issues with a lack of clear and standardized definitions
regarding what precisely constitutes an internship, is the reliance on students to indicate whether or not they have
participated in one – with no indication regarding what type of program (e.g., duration, nature of work, link to
academic program, etc.) is being documented.10
Clearly, a shared conception of what precisely constitutes an internship experience does not exist, and this poses
considerable issues for researchers, policymakers, students, educators and employers alike.11 In order to address this
problem, the National Association of Colleges and Employers developed the following definition.

An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the
classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give
students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields
they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent
(National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2011).

While this definition adds clarity regarding the relationship between academics and job-site experience, it
unfortunately fails to distinguish internships from other forms of work-based learning (e.g., coop programs) or to
specify programmatic features that could be used to discern one type of internship from another. While making
such distinctions may not appear to be important in practice, for empirical research such clarity is essential.
Furthermore, as governments and postsecondary institutions move ahead with scaling up or even mandating
internships, developing a consistent and robust definition will be of utmost importance so that students and
employers have some guarantees that they are participating in a particular type of program.

8
Silva, et al. (2016). The million-dollar question: can internships boost employment? Studies in Higher Education, 1-20.
9
McHugh, P. P. (2017). The impact of compensation, supervision and work design on internship efficacy: implications for educators,
employers and prospective interns. Journal of Education and Work, 30(4), 367-382.
10
In the widely used “National Survey of Student Engagement,” student respondents are asked to indicate whether they have,
“Participated in an internship, co-op, field experience, student teaching, or clinical placement,” which are considered “high-impact”
practices. However, the differences among these programs and what precisely constitutes an internship is not articulated. See:
http://nsse.indiana.edu/html/ high_impact_practices.cfm
11
Indeed, we advise readers to consider that in the literature we discuss in this brief, given the absence of operational definitions
regarding internships, it is possible if not likely that the researchers and practitioners whose work we cite all had different
conceptions of what exactly constituted an internship.
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Distinctions from other forms of work-based learning

While the literature on internships often does not distinguish among different types of work-based learning, there
are widely viewed distinctions among programs such as internships, co-ops, apprenticeships and practicums. In
order to provide readers with a sense of how these work-based learning experiences vary according to researchers and
practitioners, we offer the following brief overview (see Table 1).

Table 1: Outline of four common forms of work-based learning programs

A short-term opportunity for students to work (paid or unpaid) for an employer where ideally their
Internship
academic learning can be applied to real-world tasks.
A formal academic program where students work full-time for a significant duration at a firm while still
being considered a student. Work is standardized, structured and project-based. Most co-ops function
Co-op
via a contractual agreement between a university and an employer, who “cooperate” in educating the
student.12, 13
A structured academic program where students “learn and earn” by working at a job site while taking a
Apprenticeship limited number of academic courses. Apprenticeships can take between 3-4 years, often require on the-
job-training and can lead to professional certification and often full-time employment at the job site. 14
A component of some educational programs where students are placed in a job site (e.g., classroom,
hospital) and observe the work of professionals while also spending some time performing tasks
Practicum
themselves. Typically, students are also enrolled in a course connected to the practicum for deeper
understanding and meaningful facilitation of what is being learned during the experience.

One of the key takeaways from a comparison among these four types of work-based learning is that internships
are the least regulated and standardized among them. Apprenticeships are often regulated by strict federal and
state standards with respect to duration, type of academic programming, nature of on-the-job mentorship, and
compliance with industry standards. Co-ops and practicums are formal educational offerings that have clearly
articulated criterion and standards
by host institutions and/or departments regarding program characteristics (e.g., duration, mentorship, etc.), and
often feature some form of oversight by industry boards. While the specific nature of each type of work-based
learning program can vary from institution to institution, internships are unique in their lack of definitions,
articulated guidelines and monitoring even within a college or university.

What does the research literature say about internships?

In this section we review the key findings from our review of the literature. Before summarizing the empirical
evidence on internships and their effects on students, however, we highlight four issues that we identified in the
literature that are important to consider.
The first issue is that the literature is scattered across multiple disciplines and countries. While variation in the
disciplinary and national contexts where studies about internships take place indicates a widespread, global interest
in internships,
it also presents challenges. Different countries and regions have distinct approaches to and policies about
internships, making comparisons across national borders difficult. For example, in some European countries
such as Denmark and Austria internships are compulsory for 1st or 2nd degree programs, whereas in others
(e.g., Portugal) there is no such

12
Katula, R. A., & Threnhauser, E. (1999). Experiential education in the undergraduate curriculum. Communication Education, 48(3),
238-255. 13 Barrick, D. (November 18, 2016) “Co-Op vs. Internship: What’s the difference?” Cooperative Education and Internship
Association. http://www.ceiainc.org/co-op-vs-internship-whats-difference
14
“Apprenticeship USA,” United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration. https://www.doleta.gov/OA/
apprenticeship.cfm

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requirement. Research on internships has also taken place in fields as varied as marketing and business, the
performing arts, science and engineering, and the social sciences, each with potentially different academic
expectations, internship characteristics, and workplace tasks. Along with the aforementioned issue of
terminological consistency, the various disciplinary and national contexts where studies occur makes comparability
across studies even more difficult and even untenable.
The second issue is that there exists a considerable practitioner literature on internships that is not published in
scholarly journals. These reports and “how-to manuals” are often authored by higher education career services and
corporate relations professionals, and provide in-depth advice about designing and implementing internship
programs for postsecondary educators and employers. These reports represent a valuable source of practical
wisdom, yet they are often absent from research articles and would not show up in a traditional academic literature
review. We integrate findings from these reports into our analysis, and also provide a brief list of practitioner
manuals in the Resources section.
The third issue is that while a considerable number of practitioner guides
exist, and a search of Google Scholar using the term “college internships” There is a surprising lack of
results in 110,000 hits, there is a surprising lack of rigorous empirical rigorous empirical research on
research on the impacts that internships have on student outcomes. As one the impacts that internships
scholar said, “An assessment of the impact of internships on the
unemployment rate, accounting for mediating factors such as the structure have on student outcomes.
15
and format of internships, is virtually non-existent.” Another paper stated
that, “Simply put, the literature on
internship experiences is largely descriptive and anecdotal.”16 Complicating the general lack of empirical studies on
the topic are methodological problems raised by terminological inconsistency and the subsequent inability to
discern precisely what an “internship experience” reported in a study really looks like in practice.
The fourth issue is that the literature focuses on two distinct yet inter-related aspects of internships – characteristics
of programs themselves and their effects on student outcomes. In quantitative research, these foci translate into
dependent (i.e., characteristics) and independent (i.e., outcomes) variables, and in Table 2 we outline some of the
most common variables included in each category. One of the key findings of our review is that besides
insufficiently defining what is meant by the term “internship,” the literature also too infrequently operationally
specifies these variables and examines the specific relationships between them.
Table 2: Key variables used to study internships: Program characteristics and student outcomes
Characteristics of internships Outcomes of internships
Compensation Student employment opportunities
Coordination between academics/job-site Student long-term wage gains
Supervisor behaviors/roles Student academic achievement
Duration Student career planning/expectations
Autonomy Employer opportunities to “trial-run” potential hires
Task clarity Educators enhance reputation of program
Frequency
Feedback mechanisms for students

15
Silva, et al. (2016). p.704.
Narayanan, V. K., Olk, P.M., & Fukami, C. V. (2010). Determinants of internship effectiveness: An exploratory model. Academy of
16

Management Learning & Education, 9(1), 61-80.

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Finally, for readers interested in specific and illustrative examples of the diverse research base on internships, we
highlight three papers and two practitioner guides that provide an excellent introduction to the literature.

Table 3: Selected papers on the impacts of internships on student outcomes

Type Author(s) Title Publisher Results Pros/Cons

Journal Narayanan, Determinants Academy of Aspects of employer Good literature review,
article V. K., Olk, P. of internship Management and university actions rigorous methodology,
M., & Fukami effectiveness: An Learning & impact student and innovative 3-stage
(2010) exploratory model Education, 9(1), satisfaction. model; little insight into
61-80. employer behaviors/
student experiences.
Journal McHugh, P. The impact of Journal of Supervisor support Good literature
article (2017) compensation, Education and and mentoring are review, focus on
supervision and work Work, 30(4), significant predictors specific outcome
design on internship 367-382. of internship efficacy. and internship
efficacy: Implications characteristic variables;
for educators, little insight into
employers and employer behaviors/
prospective interns student experiences.
Journal Klein, M. Is forcing them worth Studies Mandatory Longitudinal analysis
article & Weiss, F. the effort? Benefits in Higher internships do not of 2,594 German
(2011) of mandatory Education, have a positive effect students, little insight
internships for 36(8), 969-987. on labor market into employers’
graduates from outcomes, especially reasons; little insight
diverse family for 1st generation into employer
backgrounds at students. behaviors/student
labour market entry experiences.
Practitioner Univ of Notre An employer’s guide Notre Dame 4-step guide Thorough guide
guide Dame, Career to developing an Career Center for program for employer
Center internship program design (planning, considerations before
description, launching internship
recruitment, program.
management)
Practitioner True, M. Starting and Messiah Review of key steps Thorough review of
guide maintaining a quality College, for starting internship planning steps, legal
internship program. Technology program. issues, supervision.
Council of
Central PA.

In the remainder of this section, we provide brief descriptions of the research findings with respect to
programmatic characteristics of internships and effects of internship participation on student outcomes.

Internship characteristics
Many scholars of internships focus on specific characteristics of programs that are examined on their own
merits or in relation to outcomes such as employability or career satisfaction. In this section, we outline some of
the key issues and findings addressed in the literature.

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Compensation
Both paid and unpaid internships are commonly offered to college students across the world, and the issue of
compensation has long been a controversial issue in the field. The U.S. Department of Labor has weighed in with a
six- point test to determine if an internship can legally be unpaid,17 and based in part on these criteria the National
Association for Colleges and Employers issued a statement on unpaid internships arguing that they should be
permissible if and only if the educational quality of the experience can be demonstrated and not simply an
“operational work experience that just happens to be conducted by a student.”18
There are also ethical consequences about the normalization of unpaid and
temporary labor, and its role as an obstacle to social mobility. Some have There are also ethical
argued that the Department of Labor has failed to enforce the Fair Labor consequences about the
Standards Act which would protect students from substandard unpaid normalization of unpaid and
internships.19 Considerations of students’ economic status is essential with temporary labor, and its role as
respect to internship pay, since low-income students are unlikely to be able
to afford the time away from paid labor to engage in unpaid internships, or an obstacle to social mobility.
the additional expenses of needed travel and professional wardrobes.20, 21 In
terms of research
findings, scholars have found that important benefits of internships such as career development and student
satisfaction are lower for unpaid than for paid interns, and that low-income students who struggle to afford unpaid
work are less likely to receive the benefits often associated with worksite placements.22

Coordination between educators and employers

Studies have shown that the more internships are clearly
coordinated with academic coursework, the more students will gain The more internships are
from the overall clearly coordinated with
experience. 23, 24 One study of 114 business students at a large university academic coursework, the
in the southwestern U.S. who had participated in internships found that more students will gain from
these students derived greater value from internship programs that were
more the overall experience.
specifically structured, were integrated into the students’ program of study,
and that were clearly related to their specific interests and career goals.25 In
contrast, in a study of workplace learning in the health, engineering,
business, and social
work industries, a lack of coordination between academic staff and employers in terms of the internship standards
and procedures for providing feedback and evaluations, led students and employers to feel that the program was a
frustrating waste of time and resources.26

17
https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm
18
http://www.naceweb.org/about-us/advocacy/position-statements/position-statement-us-internships/
19
Bennett, A.M.. (2011). Unpaid internships and the Department of Labor: The impact of underenforcement of the Fair Labor Standards
Act on Equal Opportunity. University of Maryland Law Journal 11(2): 292-311.
20
Curiale, J. 2010. America’s new glass ceiling: Unpaid internships, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the urgent need for change.
Hastings Law Journal 61: 1531–1560.
21
Perlin, R. (2011). Intern nation: How to earn nothing and learn little in the brave new economy. Brooklyn, NY: Verso.
22
McHugh, P. (2016). The impact of compensation, supervision and work design on internship efficacy: Implications for educators, employers
and prospective interns. Journal of Education and Work, 1–16.
23
Katula, R. & Threnhauser, E. (1999). Experiential education in the undergraduate curriculum. Communication Education 43, 3,
238-255. 24 Narayanan, V. K., Olk, P. M., & Fukami, C. V. (2010). Determinants of internship effectiveness: An exploratory
model. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9(1), 61-80.
25
Hergert, M. (2009). Student perceptions of the value of internships in business education. American Journal of Business Education, 2(8),
9-14.
26
Martin, E. (1997). The effectiveness of different models of work-based university education. Aust. Government Pub. Services.

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Supervisor behaviors and roles

An important factor in perceived internship quality and efficacy is the behavior of job-site supervisors. High-
quality mentoring as measured by factors such as careful screening, project definition, and matching students to
appropriate work, has been found to be positively associated with whether interns became interested in
permanent employment.27 In addition, supervisor support positively impacts students’ satisfaction with the
internship experience,28 and supervisor support was positively associated with job pursuit, satisfaction, and career
development in a study of 99 students in an undergraduate management program.29 As McHugh said,
“Organizations and the supervisors who accept internship
placements need to be cognizant that interns require, and likely expect, a higher level of supervisory engagement.”
Thus, if a company desires to keep interns on as full-time employees and/or intends to provide a satisfying learning
experience for students, the evidence suggests that they should ensure that interns’ supervisors are well-trained and
provide a meaningful experience.

Duration of internships
One of the least discussed aspects of internships is how long they should last. While apprenticeship and co-op
programs have clearly articulated requirements for the number of hours required for workplace training, research
on internships infrequently addresses this critical issue. In some of the few studies on the topic, researchers found
that most were 120- 150 hours for three academic credits in criminal justice,30 and another reported that while
students felt that 400 hours was excessive, supervisors felt that such an amount of time was adequate for an
internship.31

Autonomy of interns
Another aspect of internship design that researchers have examined is the degree of authority and autonomy
students have in the workplace. One of the key aspects of student satisfaction in an internship is autonomy, and
greater freedom to design and perform tasks is associated with increased workplace learning32 and career
crystallization.33 Another study found that intern autonomy predicted job satisfaction and interest in accepting a
full-time position in a retail setting.34
However, some have found no relationship between autonomy and job satisfaction,35 leading to speculation that too
much autonomy is a risk as many student interns are unaccustomed to professional workplace tasks and expectations.

27
Narayanan, V. K., Olk, P. M., & Fukami, C. V. (2010). Determinants of internship effectiveness: An exploratory model. Academy of
Management Learning & Education, 9(1), 61-80; Zhao, H., & Liden, R. C. (2011). Internship: a recruitment and selection perspective.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(1), 221; Hurst, J. L., Good, L. K., & Gardner, P. (2012). Conversion intentions of interns: what are the
motivating factors? Education+ Training, 54(6), 504-522.
28
D’abate, C. P., Youndt, M. A., & Wenzel, K. E. (2009). Making the most of an internship: An empirical study of internship satisfaction.
Academy of Management Learning & Education, 8(4), 527-539.
29
McHugh, P. (2016). The impact of compensation, supervision and work design on internship efficacy: Implications for educators, employers
and prospective interns. Journal of Education and Work, 1–16.
30
Stichman, A. J., & Farkas, M. A. (2005). The pedagogical use of internships in criminal justice programs: A nationwide study.
Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 16(1), 145-179.
31 Murphy, D., Merritt, W., & Gibbons, S. (2013). Student and supervisor perspectives on the benefits of criminal justice internships.
Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 24(2), 235-250.
32
Virtanen, A., P. Tynjala & A. Etelapelto. (2014). Factors promoting vocational students’ learning at work: Study on student experiences.
Journal of Education and Work 27(1): 43–70.
33
Taylor, M. S. (1988). Effects of college internships on individual participants. Journal of Applied Psychology, 73(3), 393.
34
Feldman, D. C. & B. A. Weitz. (1990). Summer interns: Factors contributing to positive developmental experiences. Journal of Vocational
Behavior 37: 267–284.
35
D’abate, C. P., Youndt, M. A., & Wenzel, K. E. (2009). Making the most of an internship: An empirical study of internship satisfaction.
Academy of Management Learning & Education, 8(4), 527-539.

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Clarity of tasks and activities

Another feature of internships associated with positive student outcomes is task clarity, where students are
provided with a clear understanding of the work, expected deliverables, and performance criteria. The absence
of task clarity is associated with reduced student satisfaction, in part due to the fact that many students will be
making the transition to
the workplace for the first time, in contrast to professionals switching jobs or careers.36 In a study of interns from an
MBA program, researchers found that goal clarity was positively associated with job searching behaviors and
students’ learning,37 while others have found that task variety as well as feedback and chances to interact with
professionals were significantly related to career crystallization and perceptions of self-efficacy.38

Frequency throughout academic programs: The thick-thin distinction

A distinction is made in the European literature between what are called “thin sandwich courses” which includes
two or more shorter, work-based learning experiences within a degree program, and “thick sandwich courses” that
are single
experiences of a longer duration.39 In the U.S., internships are generally thought of in terms of a single “thick”
experience towards the latter end of a student’s program, but it is important to recognize that an internship can take a
variety of forms in terms of when they occur and how long they last. For example, some scholars have found the
prospect that early placement (i.e., in first or second year of a program) can increase the pedagogical repertoire of
instructors and also enhance students’ employability.40 In any case, the critical design characteristic of the frequency
and duration of internships is too often ignored in the empirical literature and policymaker debates.

Feedback mechanisms for students

The hallmark of the internship experience is by performing real-world tasks on the job. But participation in such
work must be accompanied by critical self-assessment informed by detailed feedback from both educators and
employers. In a study of 402 undergraduate business students’ perceptions of the quality of their internship
experiences, many emphasized the need for more and higher quality feedback, especially with specific directives
rather than ambiguous suggestions.41 Besides employers providing detailed critiques and feedback, academic
programs can also develop programs that spark student self-reflection and growth. For example, a university that
offers an internship as part of academic credit for a technical writing certificate requires that students maintain an
activity log, create a professional portfolio and write a final assessment of their internship experience.42 Students
benefit from opportunities to self-assess their internship experience— rather than simply being assessed by their
academic or workplace supervisor at the end of the experience, usually with
a grade or pass-fail determination. Such tasks provide students with an opportunity to evaluate their progress
toward their own learning goals and identify connections between their internship and their academic program.43
Consequently, interns should be provided with detailed feedback so that students can self-evaluate, reflect, and
intellectually process the experience and relate it to their academic learning.44

36
Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J. S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational
socialization: a meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes, and methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(3), 707.
37
Beenen, G., & Rousseau, D. M. (2010). Getting the most from MBA internships: Promoting intern learning and job acceptance. Human
Resource Management, 49(1), 3-22.
37
Brooks, L., Cornelius, A., Greenfield, E., & Joseph, R. (1995). The relation of career-related work or internship experiences to
the career development of college seniors. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 46, 332-349.
39
Silva, et al. (2016). The million-dollar question: can internships boost employment? Studies in Higher Education, 1-20; Harvey, L.,
Moon,
S., & Geall, V. (1997). Graduates’ work: Organisational change and students’ attributes
no title. Birmingham: Centre for Research into Quality and Association of Graduate Recruiters.
40
Trede, F., & McEwen, C. (2015). Early workplace learning experiences: what are the pedagogical possibilities beyond retention and
employability?. Higher Education, 69(1), 19-32.
41
Rothman, M. (2007). Lessons learned: Advice to employers from interns. Journal of Education for Business 82(3): 140-144.
42
Tovey, J. (2001). Building connections between industry and university: Implementing an internship program at a regional university.
Technical Communication Quarterly 10(2), 225-239.
43
Jones, Elizabeth. Transforming the Curriculum: Preparing Students for a Changing World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
44
Eyler, Janet. (2009). The power of experiential education. Liberal Education, 24-31.

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Internship outcomes
Researchers have also examined a variety of outcomes that students may experience as a result of participating
in an internship. It is important to note that student outcomes include not only employment opportunities or
wages, but also non-economic factors such as job satisfaction, academic achievement, and career crystallization.

Employment opportunities for students

One of the most common effects of internship participation examined in the literature is that of students’
employment status immediately upon graduation and/or their general “employability” or perception by employers
regarding their readiness to enter the labor market. For example, a study in Korea about 961 college graduates
found that participation in an internship shortened the duration of time between graduation and acquiring a job,
increased their wages and overall job satisfaction.45 In a widely cited study, researchers found that internships
increased employment opportunities for business students, but these students also had a higher GPA, which raises
question about participation bias.46 Research on business students found that those who participated in an
internship were hired sooner by top organizations with higher salaries relative to students without internships.47
A few studies were notable given their methodological rigor and/or creativity. An innovative resume audit study,
where fictitious resumes were sent to employers with internships being the key variable distinguishing
experimental groups, revealed that internships increased the callback rate for interviews by 14%, suggesting that
internships make applicants more employable than those without.48 A large-scale study of Portuguese internships
found that graduates with internships had unemployment rates below the national average.49 One study argued that
“career readiness” was enhanced by internships,
particularly through providing new skills, knowledge and abilities that would help the transition from college to work.
Several other studies exist on the topic of general employability, making it perhaps the most studied of internship
outcomes.50
But there exists some contradictory evidence on this point of
employability, especially whether internships improve not only While vidence does indicate that
immediate employability upon graduation but long-term employment internships increase employability
prospects. A study of a cohort of college graduates in Germany who
completed mandatory internships did not find any significant effect of for students immediately
internship experiences on later employment. In addition, this study after graduation, there is far
found that mandatory internships did less evidence (and even some
not level the playing field by improving the disadvantages that students negative findings) about impacts
from lower educational backgrounds face when attempting to navigate
their way into the labor market.51 Finally, some scholars observe that a on their long-term employability.
debate exists
in the field regarding how to measure student employability – full-time

45
Jung, J. & Lee, S. (2017). Impact of internship on job performance among university graduates in South Korea. International Journal of Chinese
Education, 5(2), 250-284.
46
Knouse, S. B., Tanner, J. R., & Harris, E. W. (1999). The relation of college internships, college performance, and subsequent job
opportunity.
Journal of Employment Counseling, 36(1), 35-43.
47
Weible, R., & McClure, R. (2011). An exploration of the benefits of student internships to marketing departments. Marketing Education
Review, 21(3), 229-240.
48
Nunley, John M., et al. 2010. “College major, internship experience, and employment opportunities: Estimates from a résumé audit.”
Labour Economics 38: 37-46.
49
Silva et al, 2017.
50
Ross, L. E., & Elechi, O. O. (2002). Student attitudes towards internship experiences: From theory to practice. Journal of Criminal
Justice Education, 13(2), 297-312; Maynard, M. L. (2000). Challenging the 3.0 GPA eligibility standard for public relations internships.
Public Relations Review, 25(4), 495-507; Gault, J., Leach, E. & Duey, M., (2010). Effects of business internships on job marketability:
The employers’ perspective. Education+ Training 52(1): 76–88.
51
Klein, M. & Weiss, F. (2011). Is forcing them worth the effort? Benefits of mandatory internships for graduates from diverse family
backgrounds at labour market entry. Studies in Higher Education 36(8): 969-987.

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employment immediately upon graduation or several months (or years) out. Ultimately, while evidence does indicate
that internships increase employability for students immediately after graduation, there is far less evidence (and even
some negative findings) about impacts on their long-term employability.

Long-term wage gains for students

Much less research exists on a topic that is of great interest to current policymakers – whether internships increase a
student’s wages. In one of the few studies we identified, researchers in Germany estimated the effects of mandatory
internship completers have 6% increase in wages, driven by immediate full-time placements in the first five years
after graduation.52 The study also found that former interns pursued doctoral studies less frequently, and the primary
driver of these wage effects were a higher propensity for former interns to be working full-time five years after
graduation. But little else was identified in this review, indicating that this is a critical question for future researchers.

Students’ academic achievement

Research indicates that workplace learning has positive measurable benefits towards academic achievement. One
study found that internships led to a 3.3% increase in final grades as well as the probability of seeking (and
acquiring) a higher degree classification.53 Another study found internships in the second year of a bioscience
degree led to an increase of four percentage points in final grades, while controlling for pre-college qualifications,
gender and previous performance.54
Other researchers have examined the effects of internship participation on students’ ability to apply theoretical
concepts to practice55 and develop critical skills such as interpersonal competencies56 and leadership.57

Student career planning and expectations

Students often use internships as a way to test out career options, which in some cases can lead to what scholars
in counseling psychology call the “crystallization” of career plans and identity.58 For instance, some studies have
found that students who take an internship have higher rates of job satisfaction,59 which some argue is due to
the reduction of
“entry shock” to full-time work after college.60 Other career planning benefits of internships include the development of

52
Saniter, N. & Siedler, T. (2014). Door opener or waste of time? the effects of student internships on labor market outcomes. IZA
Discussion Paper No. 8141.
53
Binder, J., Baguley, T., Crook, C. & Miller, F. (2015). The academic value of internships: Benefits across disciplines and student
backgrounds.
Contemporary Educational Psychology 41, 73-82.
54
Gomez, S., Lush, D., & Clements, M. (2004). Work placements enhance the academic performance of bioscience undergraduates.
Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 56(3), 373-385. See also Bayens, G., Berry, P., & Smith-Mahdi, J. (2005). A descriptive
study of student appraisals of the benefits of a criminal justice internship. American Jails, 19(5), 26-30; Gordon, G. R., & McBride, R. B.
(2011). Criminal justice internships: Theory into practice. Routledge.
55
Swift, C. O., & Kent, R. (1999). Business school internships: Legal concerns. Journal of Education for Business, 75(1), 23-26; Hymon-
Parker,
S. & Smith, C. (1998). Benefits and limitations of internships as viewed by educators and retailers. Journal of Family & Consumer
Sciences, 90, 76–8; Fender, D. L., & Watson, L. E. (2005). OSH internships: One program’s perspective on benefits for students,
employers and universities. Professional Safety, 50(4), 36.
56
Beard, F., & Morton, L. (1998). Effects of internship predictors on successful field experience. Journalism & Mass Communication
Educator, 53(4), 42-53.
57
Cook, S. J., Parker, R. S., & Pettijohn, C. E. (2004). The perceptions of interns: A longitudinal case study. Journal of Education for
Business, 79(3), 179
58
Taylor, S. (1988). Effects of college internships on individual participants. Journal of Applied Psychology 73(3): 393.
59
Gault, J., Leach, E. & Duey, M., (2010). Effects of business internships on job marketability: The employers’ perspective. Education+ Training 52
(1): 76–88.
60
Paulson, S. K., & Eugene Baker III, H. (1999). An experiential approach to facilitate anticipatory socialization. The International Journal of
Organizational Analysis, 7(4), 365-378.

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professional contacts and networks,61 and their increased knowledge of the nature of particular occupations. For
example, one study found that supervisors of criminal justice interns (and interns themselves) felt that the primary
benefit of the experience was a more accurate understanding of the roles and work involved in policing.
Additionally, the students felt that they also benefited from the opportunity to establish professional contacts (i.e.,
develop social capital).62 However, one study found that while students who completed an internship were over
four times more likely to obtain employment after graduation, they reported no more confidence in the suitability
of that position than their peers who did not participate in an internship.63

Providing employers with opportunity to “trial-run” potential employees

Another potential outcome of internships accrues to employers, in that they can be used as an extended on-the-job
selection process for permanent employment, potentially benefiting both the employer and the intern.64 Some
researchers consider internships to be “risk-free” evaluations of potential hires,65 which ultimately reduces
recruitment and training costs to employers.66 Additionally, interns can provide seasonal labor for employers who
experience cyclical demand (e.g., hospitality) or personnel for projects that require a rapid infusion of short-term
hires.67 Of course, providing such training and oversight comes at a cost to an employer, in the staff-time required to
mentor interns that could have been used for company projects.

Hosting internships can enhance reputations of academic programs

There are other benefits of internship programming to educators, documented in a survey of 619 deans of business
schools across the United States. The benefits to universities that support their students’ internships include a
better connection and reputation of the university in community, and an increase of students being hired by small
businesses, which facilitates local economic development.68

While there is a considerable amount of research on internships across disciplines and national borders,
little empirical research exists on this key issue: How do design characteristics of internships affect
student outcomes? Future research will need to pay careful attention to operationally defining internship
characteristics with precision, focus on outcomes beyond wages and employability, and utilize more mixed-
methods and longitudinal designs that reveal nuances in the internship experience.

61
Murphy, D., Merritt, W., & Gibbons, S. (2013). Student and supervisor perspectives on the benefits of criminal justice internships. Journal
of Criminal Justice Education, 24(2), 235-250.
62
Farmer, R. (1978). Internships in police higher education: An evaluation. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 6: 452–461
63
Callanan, G. & Benzing, C. (2004). Assessing the role of internships in the career-oriented employment of graduating college students.
Education
+ Training 46(2): 82-89.
64
Zhao, H., & Liden, R.C. (2011). Internship: A recruitment and selection perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology 96 (1): 221.
65
Knemeyer, A. M., & Murphy, P. R. (2002). Logistics internships: Employer and student perspectives. International Journal of Physical
Distribution & Logistics Management, 32(2), 135-152.
66
Gault, J., Leach, E., & Duey, M. (2010). Effects of business internships on job marketability: the employers’ perspective. Education+
Training, 52(1), 76-88; Callanan, G., & Benzing, C. (2004). Assessing the role of internships in the career-oriented employment of
graduating college students. Education+ Training, 46(2), 82-89.
67
Knemeyer, A. M., & Murphy, P. R. (2002). Logistics internships: Employer and student perspectives. International Journal of Physical
Distribution & Logistics Management, 32(2), 135-152.
68
Weible, R. (2010). Are universities reaping the available benefits that internships offer?” Journal of Education for Business 85, 59-63.

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Recommendations: Key issues to consider when designing programs

In this final section of this report, we draw upon insights and evidence from both the scholarly and practitioner
literatures to make several recommendations about how to design and implement internship programs. We advance
these
recommendations, even in the absence of a rigorous evidence base, given the growing interest in and advocacy of
internships at the institution, state, and national level. As work-based learning is increasingly viewed as an important –
if not essential
– feature of a college education, educators, employers and legislators should attend to these issues in order to
ensure that students participate in experiences that are truly in their vocational and personal best interests over
the long-term.

1. Pay serious attention to legal and ethical issues

There are a number of serious legal and ethical issues raised by With the price-tag of college and
internship programs, which need to be addressed when considering basic needs increasing, unpaid
expanding such an internship requirement to the level of a college or internships can arguably be
university, let alone, an entire state university system. Who is legally considered unethical and unfair.
responsible for the safety of such students, or if instances of sexual
harassment or workplace injury occur? In fact, legal scholars have
argued that student interns exist in a
“legal limbo,” between their status as students and as employees or volunteers at a worksite, and the fact that there is
such wide variation in the quality of supervision of interns makes that legal limbo even more concerning.69, 70
The ambiguous employment status of unpaid interns also raises various regulatory issues, such as if they are covered
under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.71, 72, 73 Given this ambiguity, 13 Presidents of universities asked the US
Department of Labor to relax their regulation of unpaid labor, so as not to dampen their internship programs.74
While this approach
is not uncommon, stakeholders also need to consider how unpaid internships are untenable for low-income students
and may serve to reproduce socio-economic inequalities by providing privileges to upper-income students. In
addition, with the price-tag of college and basic needs increasing, unpaid internships can arguably be considered
unethical and unfair, especially if they are mandated by states or institutions as a requirement for graduation.

2. Explore whether a critical mass of willing (and capable)

employers exist Before launching an internship
program at scale, it is essential for
One of the under-explored issues with respect to expanding internship
programs across departments, institutions and entire educational policymakers and educators to
systems is whether or not employers even exist that are willing and able do their homework and identify
to adequately host interns at their company. Before launching an a critical mass of companies
internship program at scale, it is essential for policymakers and especially if students are required
educators to do their homework and identify a critical mass of to have an internship experience.
companies especially if students are required to have an internship
experience.

69
Bowman, C.G., & LippSmith, M. (2000). Legal limbo of the student intern: The responsibility of colleges and universities to protect
student interns against sexual harassment. Harvard Women’s Law Journal 23: 95–131.
70
Burke, D. D. & Carton, R. (2013). The pedagogical, legal, and ethical implications of unpaid internships. Journal of Legal Studies Education
30
(1): 99–130.
71
Coker, L. 2009. “Legal Implications of Unpaid Internships.” Employee Relations Law Journal 35(3): 35–39.
72
Curiale, J. 2010. “America’s New Glass Ceiling: Unpaid Internships, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Urgent Need for Change.”
Hastings Law Journal 61: 1531–1560.
73
Svacina, L. 2012. “A Review of Research on Unpaid Internship Legal Issues: Implications for Career Services Professionals.” Journal of
Cooperative Education & Internships 46 (1): 77–87.
74
McHugh, Patrick P. 2016. “The Impact of Compensation, Supervision and Work Design on Internship Efficacy: Implications for
Educators, Employers and Prospective Interns.” Journal of Education and Work, 1–16.

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Factors that should influence employers’ willingness and ability to host interns include availability of mentors,
presence of meaningful work, ability to pay students and coordinate with their academic programs. Employers
should not sign up to host interns simply because they need low-cost labor. Other factors that may influence the
presence of a critical
mass of employers is whether the discipline has a clear, obvious, and historical link to a group of employers. For
instance, engineering departments tend to have a long history of internship programs that are linked to regional
engineering-related companies. Schools of Business, especially in urban centers, have a similar tradition and benefit
from a dense and elaborate network of firms and alumni within the region. Other colleges and departments,
particularly in the arts and humanities, may be less well coordinated with regional industries and may struggle to
find employers to host high quality internships for their students. Further, colleges and universities in rural or
economically depressed regions may also struggle to place their students (and students from such areas are more
likely to be place bound).

3. Ensure that colleges and universities have adequate resources and organizational capacity
Designing and hosting internship programs requires significant resources at the college or university level. In many
colleges with established programs, staff are often dedicated to working with employers, mentoring students, and
administering the program. For example, 90% of their 2,550 undergraduate students at the UW-Madison School of
Business have at least one internship before graduation, and five career advisors facilitate student internships at
50% of their time. In addition, there is a fulltime Director of Career Services and three fulltime Employer Relations
Consultants. Jamie Marsh, the Director of Career Services at the School of Business, explains why such resources are
essential to ensure that high-quality internships are available for their students:
“There are some common things that have to be in place to support the student and there have to be
important measures to help consult employers to help them maximize their opportunity when they’re
with these students. So if an office doesn’t have the infrastructure to support either the student prep side
or the employer consulting side, it’s going to be a challenge. And those two units need to work in
tandem with each other to make sure it’s an overall positive experience…. So, our role is to come to the
middle, ask the right questions, consult with both sides to make sure it’s a positive experience. That
(coordination) is huge. It’s really important.”
Besides coordinating and establishing a program, one of the critical functions of internship coordinators is helping
students find appropriate placements, which can be challenging due to issues such as the aforementioned lack of
capable and willing employer hosts. Additionally, if no coordinator is in place to help students find appropriate
placements, the students must do so on their own, which is particularly difficult. One study found that internship
programs that required students to find their own placements placed the students under enormous pressure—in
one case a student contacted 40 worksites before locating an employer willing to supervise an internship!75 The
work of identifying quality internships becomes increasingly challenging when local pressure on the internship
market increases with the expansion of higher education internship programs. As faculty and internship
coordinators search far-afield for such opportunities, another issue is that it becomes increasingly difficult to
provide adequate institutional oversight to such far-flung and diverse placements.76
In addition, academic programs should carefully consider whether developing an internship program is in their
(and their students’) best interests. Some issues to consider on this topic include whether the student body is more
full-time than

75
Webber, Ruth. “Integrating work-based and academic learning in international and cross-cultural settings.” Journal of Education and Work
18.4 (2005): 473-487.
76
Divine, R. L., Linrud, J. K., Miller, R. H., & Wilson, J. H. (2007). Required internship programs in marketing: Benefits, challenges and
determinants of fit. Marketing Education Review, 17(2), 45-52.

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part-time, if an internship coordinator or other personnel are available, whether the institution is located near a
critical mass of employers, and if industry contacts and student employability are an institutional priority.77
Ultimately, it is clear that one of the essential ingredients to administering an effective internship program is to
ensure that colleges and universities have adequate resources to do so. Providing one or two staff members to
oversee an institution
or even system-wide internship program, or a web portal that acts as a clearinghouse for internship opportunities, is not
a sufficient replacement for advisors “on the ground” in colleges and departments to assist and mentor students.

4. Develop standards for internship quality

Once it has been established that a large cohort of employers exists and that local postsecondary institutions are
adequately resourced, it is essential to establish standards for internship quality. Much like apprenticeships and
practicums for nursing and teaching programs have detailed criterion regarding work-based learning experiences, so
too should internships
have similarly articulated standards for quality. Quality criterion should be developed not solely by policymakers or
institutional leaders, but also in close coordination with higher education professionals (i.e., faculty and career
services staff ) and employers who have a track record of hosting successful internship programs. An ongoing system
to regularly assess the quality and efficacy of internship programs should also be established in order to ensure that
students are being exposed to high-quality learning experiences.
These standards should include details regarding: the duration of the experience, expectations for meaningful
workplace tasks, the presence of high-quality mentoring at the job site, coordination between academic
programming and internship experiences, and so on. In the remainder of this section we provide details regarding
some of these quality standards.

5. Ensure that employers can provide quality job-site supervision

Supervision of the student through the duration of their internship, by both an academic advisor and a work-site
supervisor is critical to a successful internship experience. The quality of worksite supervision is a key factor which
makes a difference between a positive and negative experience for student interns. In one study of the internship
experiences
of 154 students majoring in criminal justice at a public university in the Midwest, nearly all students reported
positive experiences, highlighting that their assignments met their expectations and that their supervisors took an
interest in their professional development. The 10% who reported negative experiences, however, emphasized the
unhelpful nature of their supervisors, who failed to train the interns and “misused” them by assigning a large amount
of non-vital administrative tasks.78 The degree of support from a work-site supervisor also has effects on the gains a
student is able to make during their internship experience, with a common complaint among students being a lack of
supervision and direction for their work.79 Students that receive more guidance and support from senior employees
at their workplace are generally happier with their experience. A study of internship effectiveness shows that having
a mentor, especially in the workplace, was found to be critical in overall student satisfaction and success in the
experience.80
The amount and quality of internship training and supervision is one area with a high degree of variation. Worksite
training of interns in general varies a great deal as well, but it is typically lower quality and duration than that
received by

77
Divine, et al (2007). Ibid.
78
Ross, L. & Elechi, O. (2002). Student attitudes towards internship experiences: From theory to practice. Journal of Criminal Justice
Education 13(2): 297-312.
79
Katula, Richard and Elizabeth Threnhauser, “Experiential Education in the Undergraduate Curriculum,” Communication Education 43, no. 3
(1999): 238-255.
80
Anson, C. M., & Forsberg, L. L. (1990). Moving beyond the academic community: Transitional stages in professional writing. Written
Communication, 7: 200–231.

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new employees.81 Interns, however, may potentially need more training than new employees because as novice
workers, the goals of their internship should include a broader array of learning and career developmental
outcomes.82 Thus,
the internship how-to manuals for employers also universally emphasize the importance of adequate and competent
supervision. Supervisors should be motivated to work with interns, and they should have time in their schedule to
do so, and they should have some job training or teaching experience, or otherwise they should receive some
training to do so.

6. Ensure that employers have meaningful work for interns

In the grey literature, many educational professionals emphasize that internships are intended to be an
educational experience for the interns, and warn employers against considering prospective interns as inexpensive
labor or as a way to offload menial or boring tasks from permanent employees. When given such tasks, the
satisfaction level of student interns declines and so does the ultimate benefit of a work-based learning experience
to their education and professional development. Thus, before enrolling in an internship program, employers
should be willing and capable of involving students in authentic, professional-level tasks that are appropriate for
an entry-level employee.
The grey literature also encourages employers to involve interns in professional networking events or informal
social activities such as taking the student out to lunch as part of an effort to socialize students into a professional
workplace setting. Employers are encouraged to also plan for the welcome and orientation of the intern to the
workplace culture, providing details about the reporting structure of the workplace, workplace norms and
expectations (e.g., dress code and performance metrics), and so on. Employers are especially warned about the
bad impression and disorientation that is caused by having an intern arrive unwelcomed on their first day of work.
Basically, interns require a stable workplace and the necessary tools to do their work—as would any other
employee.

7. Ensure that close coordination between educators and employers exists

The degree of coordination with what a student is studying and its applicability in their work at their internship
is also a major factor that influences the quality of the experience. Effective internships allow students to make
connections between their academics and what they are doing in the workplace. Faculty, employer coordinators,
and students should
work together to design specific educational learning objectives for the duration of the student’s internship.83 In
addition to well-planned learning goals, other ways to coordinate academic content and internship experiences
include internship journaling assignments, capstone projects, and structured feedback and evaluations coproduced
by the academic supervisor, the worksite supervisor, and the student.84
One of the most important aspects of educator-employer coordination is in developing clear procedures for
providing students with meaningful feedback. Internship how-to manuals for employers provide many
suggestions for creating such feedback mechanisms, including weekly meetings with supervisors to debrief the
progress of the work, encouraging
interns to present a summary of their experience at the worksite, focus groups and/or exit interviews with students,
as well as using surveys and other instruments to collect data from interns about the effectiveness of their internship
program.
Results from analyses of such data should then be fed back to employers and educators so that they can make
corrections to internship offerings and continually improve the experience for students.

81
Tovey, Janice. (2001). Building connections between industry and university: Implementing an internship program at a regional
university.
Technical Communication Quarterly 10, no. 2 (2001): 225-239.
82
McHugh, Patrick P. 2016. “The Impact of Compensation, Supervision and Work Design on Internship Efficacy: Implications for
Educators, Employers and Prospective Interns.” Journal of Education and Work, 1–16.
83
Jones, Elizabeth. Transforming the Curriculum: Preparing Students for a Changing World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
84
Young, Darlene and Baker, Robert. 2004. “Linking Classroom Theory to Professional Practice: The Internship as a Practical Learning
Experience Worthy of Academic Credit.” Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 75(1).

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8. Until and unless more evidence (and resources) exists, internships should not be mandated
In several states such as Wisconsin, policymakers are considering a requirement to make internships
mandatory for students prior to graduation. At this early stage of the research program on internships, and in
light of current fiscal challenges facing the postsecondary sector, we argue that such a move is premature.
First, consider that in the European countries where internships are mandatory, a much stronger infrastructure
exists for quality control, employer involvement, state support, and institutional resources. For example, in
Germany and
Switzerland, government agencies act as a mediator between employers and academic institutions, performing
regulatory functions, such as setting mentoring standards and guidelines for internship wages, all of which do not
currently exist in the US.85 Without a system in place with strict requirements on the quality of internship
experiences and larger employer involvement and professional career services support, it is likely that what qualifies
as “an internship” will include experiences which vary in ways that fail to advance students’ academic or professional
goals.
Second, given that the evidentiary base on the effects of internships on student outcomes is limited by
terminological confusion, a lack of rigorous empirical studies, and splintered across disciplinary and national
contexts, policymakers should pause in efforts to expand work-based learning programs and instead take a data
driven decision-making approach. Such an approach would involve investing in research on internship efficacy, and
then develop policies based upon robust evidence that particular forms of internship programming would advance
the interests of students, employers, and society.

Conclusions
While workplace learning has many benefits, some of which are well
documented, this review has demonstrated there is considerable The Center for Research
variation in many aspects of the quality of internship programing and on College-Workforce
experiences, all of which require substantial support from faculty, Transitions plans a program
academic career services
professionals, and employers in order to ensure that outcomes are of research to address these
maximized. gaps in the literature, and to
While internships may confer many benefits to students, the inform how policymakers,
unplanned and unsupported expansion of internship requirements educators, and employers
opens universities and employers to a host of legal and ethical issues approach internship design
and is unlikely to expand those benefits to students, and may in cases and implementation.
actually frustrate the academic, developmental and career attainment
of students.

This review of the academic and practitioner literature on internship

programing indicates that there is a lack of research both on the outcomes of internships in general, as well as of
qualitative and mixed methods research to document the characteristics of student internship labor and how they
are experienced by a variety of students. The Center for research on College-Workforce Transitions plans program
of research to address this gap in the literature and thus, to conduct research which might better inform internship
design and scaling.

85
Hoffman, Nancy. 2011. Schooling in the Workplace: How Six of the World’s Best Vocational Education Systems Prepare Young People
for Jobs and Life. ERIC.

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Resources
There are a number of excellent internship how-to manuals available online, which provide advice for employers to
develop their own programs; including the following:
“Designing a Successful Internship Program.” Business Career Center, University of Wisconsin School of
Business. https://bus.wisc.edu/~/media/bus/recruit-hire/internship_guide.ashx
“Starting and Maintaining a Quality Internship Program.” Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania.
https://www. binghamton.edu/ccpd/employers/starting-maintaining-quality-internship-program.pdf
“Employer Guide to Structuring a Successful Internship Program.” A collaborative effort of all of Rhode Island’s
colleges and universities. Bridge: Connecting Academic, Business, Community.
http://career.bryant.edu/resources/files/RI%20
Employer%20Guide%20Good%20Internships%20are%20Good%20Business2%20(3).pdf
“Internships: An Employer’s Guide to Developing an Internship Program.” The Career Center, University of Notre
Dame. https://careercenter.nd.edu/assets/136851/employer_internship_development_guide.pdf

The mission of The Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions (CCWT) is to conduct and
support research, critical policy analysis, and public dialogue on student experiences with the transition
from college to the workforce in order to inform policies, programs, and practices that promote academic
and career success for all learners.

Center for Research on College to Workforce Transitions (CCWT)

1025 West Johnson Street, Madison, WI 53706
For more information contact Center Director Matthew T. Hora ([email protected])
ccwt.wceruw.org

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