Internships

Internships in the Economics Department provide students with an opportunity to study economics through fieldwork and practical experience. The Gateway Career Center provides information and resources to assist students interested in finding and pursuing internships in Economics and in other areas. The Economics Department itself does not provide internships for students or assist students in finding them. Normally credit is reserved for students with at least sophomore standing.

Internships in Economics consist of professionally supervised work in a variety of settings. Students who have secured an internship should check with Professor Susan Averett (averetts@lafayette.edu) to determine if their internship qualifies for academic credit as an internship in Economics.

In order to qualify for internship course credit, the internship must be extensive, interactive, and intellectually challenging:

Time commitment. All internships must meet the guidelines noted in the Federal Credit Hour compliance statement as defined by the College, and the intern must make and honor a commitment to fulfill those guidelines through on-site work, plus additional reading, preparation, etc. Please see the Registrar’s Office web site for the full Federal Credit Hour policy and practice statement.
Interactive relationship. The key to a good internship experience is the relationship between the student and the Internship Sponsor. Given the busy and complex nature of the organizational context for the internship, it is reasonable that the intern sometimes will merely observe the Internship Sponsor performing certain professional functions. It is also reasonable that the intern sometimes will be given a solitary task to perform (e.g., analyzing data). Both the intern and the Internship Sponsor, however, should make regular time for conversation, consultation, and feedback.
Intellectually challenging. Every organization and activity involves some “grunt” work, but such activity by the intern should be a modest part of the experience. A significant part of the internship should be intellectually challenging and should make the intern think critically, exercise judgment, and communicate effectively. If possible, the Internship Sponsor will provide some opportunity for the intern to become acquainted with the overall operations of the organizational setting.

Students who are approved for an internship in Economics will be graded on a credit/no credit basis. Credit for an Economics internship counts for a full course and is designated as Econ 367. This counts as one of the 32 courses needed for graduation but does not count as an elective for the economics major or minor. Here is the application form for Econ 367.

If the internship is conducted over the January or summer break, a tuition fee will be charged for the course credit.

Internships must be approved for credit prior to participation; no credit will be awarded ex post facto for internships. Students cannot register for Econ 367 unless their internship has been approved.

While the intern is responsible primarily to the Internship Sponsor for the day-to-day activities associated with the internship, the intern must also keep a journal with daily entries documenting duties undertaken and when possible linking these tasks to class materials. On the last day of the term, the student shall deliver the journal in electronic form to the instructor along with a 3-5 page reflection paper that discusses how the internship influenced the student’s personal and professional growth. Failure to submit the journal and reflection paper on time will jeopardize the awarding of academic credit.

INT 200 is a College-wide internship program for internships that do not qualify for Econ 367 or for a credit through other departmental/program internship courses (e.g. Africana Studies, Art, Engineering, English, Film and Media Studies, Government and Law, History, Music, Psychology, Theater, or Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies). INT 200 credit is recorded on the transcript, but may not be used to fulfill the minimum course requirement for graduation. Economics majors who are interested in pursuing an internship through INT 200 should check with the Department’s INT 200 supervisor, Professor Lena Ogrokhina (ogrokhio@lafayette.edu). Here is the application form for INT 200.

Additional Information and Requirements

General College-wide information on internships is available from the registrar and the College Catalog.

Internships are available to all students upon completion of their first year, including rising sophomores, but internships completed in the summer between the first and second year may not count for credits towards graduation.

Students earning stipends or other types of compensation are eligible to receive internship credit.

Please contact the Registrar’s Office to determine the fee associated with summer/interim internships.

All internships must be approved in advance. Summer/interim internships must be approved in advance by submitting the internship registration form. The Summer Internship Form may be completed and submitted online. Adviser and department/instructor approvals can be emailed separately to registrar@lafayette.edu.

To determine if you are eligible to earn an Economics credit for an internship, contact:

Professor Susan Averett
Economics Department Internship Supervisor
averetts@lafayette.edu
(610) 330-5307