New SFA Internship First of its Kind in U.S.
By Alyssa Faykus, Staff Writer
SFA’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts has a new program to help students gain real-world experience and increase their likelihood of getting job offers.
The Applied Skills Internship is the first program of its kind in the nation. The program is offered to juniors and seniors in the College of Liberal and Applied Arts. Eight students will be chosen and put into two teams that will be led by a high-profile executive.
Students can anticipate fixing real- world work problems, potentially gaining certifications and setting up a mentorship with professionals in their field to help students with finding employment after college.
Dr. Brian Murphy, dean of the college, has been vital in making the program at SFA, along with many other professors in the college.
“The Applied Skills Internship was created as part of a strategic planning exercise in the College of Liberal and Applied Arts. According to a study by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, ‘Undergraduates who major in liberal arts disciplines … actually earn more across their careers than peers who pursue pre-professional or professional majors,’” Murphy said. “In other words, liberal arts students out- earn most college graduates because they have the skill set to succeed in professional careers. In fact, 74 percent of CEOs in a survey recommend a liberal arts degree as the best preparation to hold their job. The Applied Skills Internship is intended to prove that SFA’s liberal arts students can succeed and even excel in a workplace context.”
Students in this program will be assessed for seven skills, including collaboration, professionalism and intercultural fluency, among others, and can earn certificates for any of the skills in which they demonstrate proficiency. These skills can be included on résumés.
Criteria to apply for the Applied Skills Internship include being in the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, having junior or senior standing, completing six hours of upper level classes and earning a cumulative GPA of 2.0. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1.
If a student does not qualify for the Applied Skills Internship, there are many other opportunities for internships. According to SFA’s internship policy, internships allow students to gain practical work experience and academic credit at the same time. Internships are intended to provide students with the opportunity to apply what they are learning in class to real-world situations.
“Every program in the College of Liberal and Applied Arts has an internship opportunity built into its curriculum,” Murphy said. “In this way, any student in our college can perform an internship and have it applied to their graduation requirements. Additionally, the Center for Career and Professional Development offers the Lumberjack Internship Program that will assist students in locating internship placements.”
The College of Liberal and Applied Arts is not the only college that recommends internships. Some degrees might require internships to graduate.
The Center for Career and Professional Development offers many services to students to help set up internships and jobs. Websites like LinkedIn can assist in locating Internship placements.”
The College of Liberal and Applied Arts is not the only college that recommends internships. Some degrees might require internships to graduate.
The Center for Career and Professional Development offers many services to students to help set up internships and jobs. Websites like LinkedIn can assist in finding these internships, or SFA’s Handshake, a university specific platform that links students with employers who want SFA students.
Jihye Nam, an international business student, is enjoying her new internship as the social media director for Her Campus, an online collegiate magazine aimed toward empowering women.
“Doing an internship provides you the insight and ideas for your future career, not to mention how great it looks on your resume,” Nam said. “Since most of the companies want candidates with more experiences, preparing yourself early in college will definitely help.”
According to Forbes, “If you are a college graduate and you are working at a paid internship, a new study shows, 60 percent of the time, that internship will turn into a job offer. For those who were working in unpaid internships, however, the news is much less encouraging.
Thirty-seven percent of unpaid interns got job offers, according to the data. That’s just 1 percent better than graduates with no internship experience, 36 percent of whom got job offers.”
However, it will always depend on your employer. Some employers look for quantity, while others look at quality.
Internships, whether paid or unpaid, students can learn valuable skills they cannot get anywhere else.
Article originally appeared on The Pine Log.