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Why Build an Internship Program?

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  • Develop a talent pipeline for future hires
  • Bring fresh ideas and innovation into your organization
  • Provide mentorship opportunities for current employees
  • Increase your company’s visibility and employer brand
  • Support time-consuming or high-volume tasks

Internship Guidelines

Duration: About 10 weeks, with defined start and end dates
Hours worked: 10-20 hours a week during the academic term, up to 40 during the summer.
Pay: Interns should be paid regardless of whether they earn academic credit for the
demonstrated learning associated with their internship. Pay rate amount depends
on industry.

All Internships Should Include

  • A learning experience that gives students the opportunity to gain valuable, real-world experience.
  • Clearly defined start and end dates
  • Clearly defined goals or learning objectives that meet the university's requirements.
  • Direct supervision by a professional who can provide productive, feedback, guidance, and resources.
  • A position with clear responsibilities and required qualifications.
Get The Ultimate Internship Playbook
Our detailed Internship Playbook walks you through deciding what type of internship program to build and the steps to creating a successful program. It also includes examples of internship projects, role descriptions, offer letters, and more!
Reach out to your Relationship Manager or email [email protected] for a copy!
Request the Playbook
    1. Establish your goals for the internship program and identify a meaningful project or role that is important to your organization that can be done by an intern.
    2. Determine how much support your program will need from the organization and find a manager who can help with onboarding, supervision, feedback, and performance evaluations.
    3. Sort out logistics for equipment and software needed, pay, workspace, and other details relevant to the role or project.
    4. Create a job description that includes:
      • What interns can expect to learn
      • Approximate start and end dates
      • Desired hours per week
      • Location
      • Compensation
    5. Work with your relationship manager to reach students who would be a good fit.
    6. Build an onboarding plan.

  • We expect internships to be paid. Paying interns increases your hiring pool, provides financial support for students, and encourages loyalty, investment, and accountability.

    Read NACE’s position statement on unpaid internships.

    Unpaid internship job listings in Handshake are approved on a case-by-case basis.

  • No. Decisions regarding the awarding of academic credit are solely within the purview of the University of Utah faculty.

  • Hourly wages for interns can vary widely depending on the industry, skillset of the student, and their level of experience. An hourly wage cannot be less than the minimum wage for the state in which the student will be working.

  • Internships are typically part-time during fall and spring semesters, adding up to between 10-20 hours a week; not to exceed 20 hours a week (August-May).

    Summer internships, or those during a semester in which the student is not enrolled in courses, can require up to 40 hours a week.

    We strongly encourage internships that require more than 20 hours/week of students to be paid on an hourly or stipend basis, regardless of industry.

  • Handshake is the primary place for employers to find applicants for internships and jobs. Additional recruiting options are available here.

New to Recruiting at the U?

Email us at [email protected] to get matched with a dedicated Relationship Manager.

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