September 8, 2020Nancy Heiz

Want to Earn More Than 6 Internship Credits? Follow the High-Credit Internship Policy & Process

If you plan to earn more than 6 internship credits with one organization (excluding The Legislative Gazette), then you need to follow the SUNY New Paltz “High-Credit Internship Policy” and process outlined below.

Policy on High-Credit Internships

Any internship over 6 credits must get advance approval by the Department Internship Coordinator FIRST. They then take the student’s request to their department chair and dean. If approved,  the internship will be subject to additional oversight by the Internship Coordinator and additional work by the student. See the Internship Coordinator for details.

Requests, addressed to both the relevant department chair and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, MUST BE SENT TO NANCY M. HEIZ, INTERNSHIP COORDINATOR, AT LEAST ONE MONTH PRIOR TO THE START OF THE SEMESTER OF THE INTERNSHIP. The request letter must demonstrate the academic components of the internship that a student cannot get from a course at the college. The request letter must include a detailed description of the internship, a justification for the number of credits, a list of the additional learning outcomes the student would gain from such a high-credit internship, and explanation of how the learning outcomes apply to the student’s chosen field of study. A letter from the internship site supervisor that explains the type of mentoring they will provide the student, while not mandatory, would help bolster the request.
The student’s current progress report must accompany the request, sent to Nancy M. Heiz.

Again, the letter is not sent from the student to anyone other than Internship Coordinator Nancy M. Heiz.

Further, if approved, the student must write weekly reflection papers on the student learning outcomes outlined in the justification. These will be set up and coordinated through the Internship Coordinator. The Internship Coordinator will have regular contact with the internship site supervisor to ensure the student meets the proposed learning outcomes and fulfills the additional hours of work at the internship site.

Address any questions about this to the department chair or Internship Coordinator.