Career and Internship Center (CIC)
Internships offer students an opportunity to enrich and enliven their academic programs. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 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. Work is supervised and evaluated in conjunction with the Director of Internship Programs and the Faculty Internship coordinator as well as a field site in the agency, institution, or business organization providing the internship. The Office of Internship Programs works to market opportunities to students and track data. Internships are generally open to juniors and seniors, and in some cases underclassmen who meet departmental and school qualifications. The student must meet with the appropriate Faculty Internship Coordinator to determine the necessary requirements including, prerequisites, GPA requirements or any other academic standards which may apply.
The School of Liberal Arts, School of Business, and School of Science each offer credit-bearing internships which are field experiences integrated into the student’s academic areas of interest. All credit-bearing internships require a minimum of 40 hours of field experience for each hour of academic credit. All students participating in credit-bearing internships are required to keep a journal that relates the field experience to the student’s academic area of interest. School internships usually require a final paper or research based presentation that is due by the first day of the final examination period for that semester. Please consult the syllabus for requirements. Certain academic programs, such as Social Work, Psychology and Education, offer specialized field placements as part of the curriculum that are run by the department and have their own eligibility and grading criteria. Such field placements may also be subject to outside accrediting body standards that departments must adhere to in the design of learning objectives and outcomes as well as number of placement hours.
The following are the minimum campus-wide regulations applied to internship participation:
- To participate as interns, students must:
- Be matriculated
- Have attained junior or senior standing , depending upon applicable academic department or school guidelines, and/or completed other program-specific prerequisites
- Be registered as a full-time students
- Have electronic permission from the Faculty Internship Coordinator/Department Chair.
The Dean’s Office of each respective school will be notified when a student from that school is approved for an internship.
- Internship participation is permissible during the fall and spring semesters and during the summer at the discretion of the academic department, school, or program. In order to participate in a summer internship, the student must have a minimum of 75 credits completed toward her/his degree or permission from the faculty internship coordinator and if less than 75 credits, must provide a program of study (signed by the student’s advisor) outlining the completion of degree requirements within twelve months. Summer internships are limited to a total of three credit hours.
- A student may earn a maximum of twelve credit hours for all internship activity and may take only one internship in a single semester. Major programs may limit the number of internship credits that can be applied towards the major.
To assist both the students and the internship coordinators, the Office of Internship Programs serves as a Siena clearinghouse for information about school internships. A faculty member from each school is also available to discuss internships with students. Letter grades are earned for all departmental internships. However, all school internships are graded on a pass/fail basis. Because this pass/fail option is mandated by the College, the course does not count toward the maximum number of pass/fail courses that a student may take in any semester.
Study Abroad
Siena College offers students in every major the opportunity to study abroad through an approved list of short-term, semester and full academic-year programs. Options are varied and include direct enrollment at foreign universities, international internships, and service-learning placements, available in both English-speaking and foreign language environments. Semester-long study abroad is typically undertaken during the junior year. Transfer students must complete one semester of full-time study at Siena before studying abroad. A minimum overall GPA of 2.75 is required to apply for semester-long study abroad; however some programs require applicants to have a GPA of 3.0. Passing grades earned during a pre-approved semester, summer or J-term abroad are accepted for credit but are not included in the calculation of the Siena term or cumulative GPA. Courses taken abroad may count toward the major, minor, certificates and core. For detailed information consult the website www.siena.edu/studyabroad.
Washington Semester
Selected students may participate in a semester study program in Washington, D.C. under the combined auspices of Siena College and American University. Students must enroll in two seminars from a variety of topics, encompassing fields such as political science, business, marketing, environmental studies, and more. Students will also participate in an internship, with recent examples including Congressional offices and committees, international organizations, nonprofits, research think tanks, executive branch agencies, interest groups, local government offices, multinational corporations, and media offices. Students may also enroll in an elective Washington Semester course, Independent Research, or elective courses at American University. The program is offered each semester and is open to second semester sophomores, juniors and seniors with a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Students must apply to the program through American University. Students interested in participating in this program should contact Dr. Jack Collens, Assoc. Professor of Political Science before applying to the program. Information may also be obtained from the website: https://www.american.edu/spexs/washingtonsemester/ .
The Williamsburg Collegiate Program in Early American History, Material Culture, and Museum Studies
Siena students in any major are invited to participate in the unique “history immersion” program offered through Siena College’s McCormick Center for the Study of the American Revolution and the College of William and Mary’s National Institute for American History and Democracy. The semester-long curriculum provides a thorough grounding in interdisciplinary study of early American history and material culture. Students will complete a required course in public history, a “field school” in material culture, archeology or architectural history, an additional elective, and a semester long internship at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Students will live at the College of William & Mary, the second oldest college in the United States. The program is offered each semester and is open to Siena students in any major. Students interested in participating in this program should contact Dr. Jennifer Dorsey, Director of Siena College’s McCormick Center for the Study of the American Revolution. Information may also be obtained from the website: www.wm.edu/as/niahd/.
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