Academic Internship Agreement (AIA) form and process for internship registration

List the year and semester (fall, spring, or summer) that you will be interning. You can only list 1 semester. If your internship is longer than 1 semester, you will need to complete an additional form at that time.

List how many credits your internship is for. Every 40 hours of internship you complete, you are eligible to earn 1 credit hour towards your elective courses. You are responsible for payment for each credit you complete. It is easier to increase your credits later and nearly impossible to decrease your credits once you have enrolled in the course. Please consider that any changes to credit load can affect the amount of financial aid you are receiving.

List what subject your internship will be in. Our list uses the abbreviations for courses from the course catalog. Examples: Accounting (ACCT), Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), Technical Communications/Interaction Design (TCID), Management Information Systems (MIS), and so on.

The information you provide here will be listed on your transcript. (25 characters will show.) You are encouraged to describe your internship.

Examples: “System/Network Admin Internship” or “Data Analyst Intern”

You have 2 options available for how your internship is graded. Satisfactory/No credit (S/N) or Letter grade (if allowed in college/department). Check your department guidelines and consult with your Faculty Learning Evaluator if you have questions.

A faculty member is responsible for verifying your evaluation of your internship and assigning a grade for your course. This person can be identified by consulting with the Dean of your academic program.

This is the name of the company you are interning with.

Consider what your position would be called if you were an employee. This might be another way for you to title your internship as we saw under “Internship Course Title.”

Identify if your internship is happening in person, remote, or hybrid. If your position is in person and not in Minnesota, we need you to report the state in which you are working.

Provide your supervisor’s name and contact information that can be found at your internship.

Provide exact dates of internship start and end. Dates should exist within the time frame of the academic semester.

By providing how many hours a week you are interning and the dates in which you will intern, we can support interns in verifying that they accurately count the number of credits they are eligible to earn from this internship.

We request you accurately report how you are being compensated for your internship to better educate employers in the value of internships and future students in what to expect for compensation for their own internship.

The following sections are to be completed by the student. Before completing these sections, you are encouraged to consult with your Faculty Learning Evaluator to see if they have specific guidelines for you to follow. As you consider your answers to this section, you are also encouraged to consult with your Site Supervisor to fully understand what opportunities you will have in your internship.

This is the learning goal, or ultimate outcome, you will accomplish. Be able to answer the question: What will I know once I complete the internship?

• Start with a basic structure, such as: 
  "Knows (theoretical) and (practical) of (subject area) at a (level/description) well enough to (application: write a brief description of the knowledge/skills to be gained)."
• Fill in the parentheses above with words and phrases such as:
  (theoretical) and (practical): history, theory, concepts, principles, ideology, beliefs, laws, relationships, vocabulary, generalization, systems, roles, patterns
  (subject area): write the subject area/academic focus of the internship
  (level/description): at a level equivalent to/appropriate for, at a beginning, introductory, intermediate, advanced, specifically, including, apply, use, interpret, translate, evaluate, analyze, relate, plan, compare, function, write
  (application): methodology, techniques, methods, skills, processes, determine, procedures, treatments, research-techniques, functions

Examples of competence statements

• “Knows basic concepts and procedures of arts administration and can apply this knowledge in planning and coordinating performing arts programs.”
• “Knows and can apply the principles and techniques of individual and group counseling within a chemical dependency treatment program at the level of a beginning professional counselor.”

Describe what you are planning to do to achieve your learning outcomes. Include practical and theoretical applications in your field. Most internships have 3-4 learning strategies. These are the activities and work that help achieve the learning goal stated in the competence statement. Learning strategies can include work activities/projects during internship, readings (include titles and authors), and/or interviews. Learning strategies must include deliverables required by college/department guidelines.

Examples of learning strategies:

• “Monitor fiscal and programmatic aspects monthly, prepare records for audit, and communicate with the appropriate departments.”
• “Create and submit a critical analysis journal noting activities, observations, reflections, and analyses that have made a significant impact on internship experience.”
• “Actively participate in and understand the full cycle of a marketing plan.”
• “Read Jeff Pope’s book Practical Marketing Research and write a three-page paper integrating his book with field work.”
• “Conduct market research to assist in defining product strategies.”

Describe how the Learning Evaluator will evaluate learning. Evaluation can take many forms, including: oral interview, written test, performance test, situational observation, product evaluation, reflective paper/essay, or journaling. The evaluation must include requirements specific to college/department guidelines, such as group meetings/seminars, bibliography, log of readings, summary paper, or post-test.

Examples of evaluations

• “Bi-weekly meetings to discuss internship experience and discuss of readings.”
• “Situational observation in group meetings and one-to-one work with investigators and other personnel.”
• “Submit written log with reflections on experiences.”
• “Assess completion letter from internship site supervisor.”
• “Attendance at the Internship Group Meetings and successful completion of all assignments.”

The free program Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to complete the e-signatures on this form. Metro State University recognizes a typed electronic signature as official approval.

This is your signature

This is the signature of your internship supervisor at the organization you are interning at.

This is the signature of the faculty member who is evaluating/grading your internship

This is the signature of the Dean of the college where your internship will take place. The Learning Evaluator will make sure your form gets signed by the Dean.

Once the form is completed, the form must be emailed to internships@metrostate.edu. Once the form is reviewed, the Internship an Apprenticeship Coordinator will work with the Registrars office to have your internship course registered. You will receive a confirmation from internships@metrostate.edu once your course has been registered.

You cannot register for an internship until all financial holds are lifted from your account.

Internships follow the alternative learning strategies registration deadline that are outlines on the academic calendar.

Students, we want to help you have a great internship as part of your college experience!

For questions, information, and support, please contact us at the Career Center: internships@metrostate.edu or 651.793.1289.