Center for Community Engagement

Academic Internships

Neil Pathak checks plants with his mentors during his internship with TreeTown Nurseries in Fallbrook, CA.

Bronco student checks plants with his mentors during his internship with TreeTown Nurseries in Fallbrook, CA.

Community and Industry Partners Frequently Asked Questions

Promoting an Internship

Successful internship experiences should combine mentoring, training, and purposeful project assignments. A significant amount of time, energy, and resources are needed to host an intern.

A partnership is necessary to ensure students are provided with a safe learning site and learning-based internship opportunities. A Request to Initiate Partnership Form must be completed for all organizations wishing to host an intern or promote their internship opportunities.

If you already have a current university community partnership agreement with us and want to submit a new internship opportunity, please email cce@cpp.edu.

While internships are year round, it is recommended you submit a Request to Initiate Partnership form (for new community partners) 4-6 weeks prior to the start of the semester. Fall semesters begin late-August, Spring semesters begin late-January, and Summer sessions vary from June to August.

Recruitment events are held on campus throughout the academic year. Announcements and invitations are sent to all current community partners via email.

The University is the only entity that can administer academic credit for internships. Some students are eligible to receive credit based on their academic major and the appropriateness of the internship for the course.

The U.S. Department of Labor has defined parameters for unpaid internships. Students completing non-academic internships at businesses/ for-profit organizations must be paid at least minimum wage. Compensation for academic internships is highly encouraged to assist the student offset the cost of taking the internship course.

Credit internship courses will require students to complete 90-120 hours per semester. Students should not be completing more than 20 hours per week for an unpaid internship.

Hosting an Intern

Organizations hosting students for an academic internship are required to establish a university community partnership. This is to ensure the student is being provided with a safe and an academic-oriented opportunity. Furthermore, it promotes ongoing collaboration between community partners and the university.

No additional paperwork is needed on behalf of the community partner once the agreement has been finalized. The student is responsible for creating a placement in the internships database and an internship placement confirmation will automatically be sent to the internship site supervisor. In some cases the student's faculty or instructor may request additional forms to be completed.

Timesheet maybe required for academic internship course to complete. However, please confirm with the faculty/instructor on how timesheet will be submitted.

Current Community Partners

Currently, the database is only accessible to students and faculty. Please contact us with your requested changes at cce@cpp.edu and we'll be happy to assist you.

If you already have a current university community partnership agreement with us and want to submit a new internship opportunity, please email cce@cpp.edu.

The internship opportunity will be available as an ongoing basis unless otherwise indicated.

Have More Questions?

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