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Internships

The Career Development Center offers a 3-credit internship/fieldwork course whereby you can work at an agency in your field of interest for a semester. You must first pre-register for an internship course with the Office before registering for the internship course during regular registration. In order to participate in an internship, you must first qualify for the program. You may not take more than fifteen (15) credits in internship courses.

Before registering for the internship during the regular registration period, you must pre-register with the Career Development Center. For further information, call 212-237-8435 or email interncooped@jjay.cuny.edu.
To see a list of our internship partners, click here.
To learn more about what’s entailed, please review the information below:

Eligibility
How to Apply
Placement Process
Required Documents
Internship Experience
Grading the Internship Experience
Benefits


Eligibility

  • A cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or better (some internship placements have their own requirements).
  • Completion of 30 or more academic credits (some placements require more credits).
  • Availability of eight to ten hours a week (16-20 during the summer) for a total of 96 hours of fieldwork for the semester.
  • Ability to attend five seminars (three hours each) on Fridays.
  • Completion of at least one semester at John Jay College.
  • Pass a background check for certain agencies.

Acceptance into the Program is not guaranteed.


How to Apply
You must call or stop by the Center to schedule an appointment during the pre-registration period. Everyone is seen by appointment on a first-come, first-serve basis. After an in-depth interview exploring your career aspirations, you are referred to one or more agencies.


Placement Process
All interns are expected to contact the agency representative and set up their own appointment. Dress for the interview should be professional and successful job search skills should be employed to secure the field placement. If a resume and/or letter of recommendation is/are required, it is your responsibility to provide one. If the first two field placement referrals do not work out, you are given additional referrals until a suitable placement is secured. Sometimes placement interviews are conducted on campus.

Registration for the assigned INTERNSHIP/FIELDWORK COURSE must be done during the regular registration period.


Required Documents
You are required to complete an Internship Application and submit a transcript or grade report at the time of your appointment during the pre-registration period. Anyone who pre-registers for an internship must complete an Internship Contract that explains the internship course and your responsibility. This contract is filed with your application. Furthermore, all interns are required to complete a Memorandum of Agreement (an agreement between the agency and the student) and maintain a time sheet.


Internship Experience
Interns are required to work in the field eight to ten hours per week (16-21 hours per week during the summer) for a total of 96 hours for the semester. Interns are also required to attend 15 hours of seminar meetings. These meetings are usually held on Friday mornings from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM for five meetings. Seminars may include guest speakers from various agencies, role-playing, resume writing, oral presentations or other professional development events. Each seminar has an assigned faculty advisor.

All interns are required to attend an orientation called Internship Day that is usually scheduled on the second Friday of the semester. You will receive three hours credit toward your 15 hours of required seminar meetings for your attendance at Internship Day. In addition, you must complete assignments from your faculty advisor; this may be a log, a term paper or an oral presentation. At the end of the internship, you will be evaluated by the agency supervisor and graded by your faculty advisor.

Internships afford you opportunities for academically related fieldwork in a wide range of criminal justice, government and social service agencies, cultural organizations, businesses, health, research and non-profit institutions. Courses are offered in Corrections (COR), Police Science (PSC), Psychology (PSY) and Sociology (SOC).

You may earn up to 15 credits in internship courses toward your baccalaureate degree but only one internship course is allowed per semester.


Grading the Internship
Field Evaluations are mailed approximately one month before the end of the semester to agency/field supervisors. The field evaluation is considered in the final grade for the internship course, which is given by the assigned faculty advisor, and he/she has total discretion in determining your final grade. Your field evaluation, course assignments and attendance are all considered in deciding the final grade.

PLEASE NOTE - Interns may drop their Internship/Fieldwork course at the Registrar's Office before the deadline. It is your responsibility to notify the agency/field supervisor, the faculty advisor and the Office of Internships.


Benefits
An internship is one way for you to gain valuable work experience, which may enable them to build their resume, network with agencies, cultivate references and letters of recommendation for law or graduate school, make educated career choices, evaluate theory and practice and most of all attain employment. An internship experience can validate students' career choice, and open their eyes and ears to new possibilities of which they may be unaware. It might also force them to rethink their choices, and they may need to make new decisions. Whatever the outcome, the experience is a way for students to assess their strengths and weaknesses prior to graduation.