Nature and Goal of the Academic Internship Program
The Internship Program is designed to augment the educational purposes of Hanover College by offering students an opportunity to extend their liberal arts education into areas beyond the traditional classroom. Students are placed in a supervised position in a field of their choice. Here they have the chance to apply the knowledge received in their formal education to actual work situations and to enhance that knowledge with the practical experience which they gain in the process. In this way, students are afforded a means of exploring specific career options and of broadening their vision of the world and its needs. The program thus aims at making students more mature, experienced and responsible participants in the various communities into which they will enter upon graduation from Hanover. The first time an academic internship creates an overload situation, no additional tuition for the internship will be charged.
Minimum Requirements
1. Eligibility.
a. Class Standing. The student must have achieved at least a sophomore class standing.
b. G.P.A. The student must have a cumulative G.P.A. of 2.0 or better.
c. Limitations. Students may engage in only one internship experience of any kind during a given term, and may take no more than two academic internships during the course of their college career. Of these, only one can be in the student's major, and the second must be in a discipline other than the first.
2. Hours Required. The internship must have a minimum of 160 contact hours within one academic term or during the summer months.
3. Reading Requirement. The internship experience must include a substantial reading requirement. A reading list will be developed by the student in consultation with, and must be approved by, the Faculty Supervisor and the On-Site Supervisor.
4. Presentation. The student will be required to present the results of the internship experience before a public forum, with the performance being evaluated by the Faculty Supervisor and the Internship Coordinator.
5. Analytical Essay. The student will be required to submit an extended essay, whose particular format and length will be determined by the Faculty Supervisor, in which the student analyzes and evaluates the internship experience, seeking to correlate it with relevant academic work and especially with the readings which have been assigned for the internship.
Copies of the essay are to be submitted to the Faculty Supervisor and the Internship Coordinator.
6. On-Site Supervisor's Report. A written report, describing the student's internship experience, and evaluating his or her performance in it, will be submitted by the On-Site Supervisor to the Internship Coordinator, who will forward copies to the Faculty Supervisor and to the student.
Evaluation and Credit
Final responsibility for the evaluation of the student's achievement in the internship experience and determination of the final grade to be assigned for the course lies with the Faculty Supervisor. The evaluation will be made on the basis of the public presentation, the analytical essay, the written report of the On-Site Supervisor, the Internship Coordinator's assessment, and such other work as the Faculty Supervisor may require (e.g., conferences during the term, journals, reports). The internship experience will be subject to all appropriate faculty regulations governing courses, and will receive one unit of credit; the grade received will be included in the calculation of the student's grade point average.
Application and Approvals
The student's application for an Internship Experience must be approved by the Faculty Supervisor, the On-Site Supervisor, the Director of Service Engagement and Experiential Learning, and the Registrar's Office. Applications are available in the Office of Service Engagement and Experiential Learning.