Special Announcement
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Institute of Design, Stuart School of Business, and Department of Psychology students have a different internship application process than students at Mies Campus. Please click on the links below to learn about the internship application processes for these schools.
Students in Armour College of Engineering, the College of Architecture, the College of Computing, and Lewis College of Science and Letters will complete the application process listed on this page.
Experiential Learning @ Illinois Tech
Experiential Learning, or “EL,” allows students to apply knowledge directly to experience outside of the academic setting; EL empowers students to learn by doing. At Illinois Tech, students may pursue various types of EL including internships, research opportunities, and much more!
Internships
Internships are work commitments to an employer that last one semester or more. Internships give students the opportunity to get a feel for their industry of choice one semester at a time, although multi-term internships are also allowed.
Important Facts About Internships
- Internships can be part-time or full-time—Students must enroll in academic courses each semester in the fall and spring to maintain full-time status and make progress toward their degrees, even if they are doing full-time experiences.
- Internships only award administrative credit—Administrative credits allow students to maintain their full-time student status at the university but do not give academic credits toward a student’s degree program.
- Summer semester internships are different than spring and fall semester internships—During the summer term, students are not required to take academic courses because it is considered an optional term by the university.
- Graduate students cannot take summer courses concurrently with full-time internships based on policies made by Graduate Academic Affairs. Students who have additional questions about this policy should contact Graduate Academic Affairs.
- Undergraduate students who are participating in an internship experience are allowed to take summer courses along with their full-time internship.
- Internships with administrative credits must span the entire length of an academic term—Students who choose to do internships with administrative credits must start their internship by the first working day after the drop/add date and cannot end any earlier than the last day of courses. Internships where administrative credits are not given offer more flexibility in terms of start and end dates.
- Final semester internships must be accompanied by on-campus coursework—Students completing an internship in the final semester are not allowed to exclusively sign up for online coursework. They must have an on-campus presence to be eligible to do the internship experience.
Full-Time vs. Part-Time
Benefits
- Apply school knowledge in practical work settings
- Learning which aspects of the profession best suits the student
- Networking
- Strengthens résumé
- Monetary compensation
- Possibility to turn the employment into a permanent full-time position post-graduation
- Possibility to take reduced course load while still maintaining full-time status
- Work terms will appear on official transcripts to prove work history—Many job applications will ask for school transcripts in addition to the résumé and cover letter. Not only do transcripts serve to gauge academic merit, but it is an official document that proves the student has completed work terms complement the work history on a résumé.
Curricular Practical Training (CPT) And Academic Training
F-1 students and J-1 students seeking to do Experiential Learning must obtain additional approval from the Office of Global Services. F-1 students will have to obtain Curricular Practical Training (CPT) work authorization in addition to completing the application forms for the Experiential Learning Office. J-1 students will have to obtain Academic Training work authorization, which does involve the Experiential Learning Office. Information regarding both has been hyperlinked.