Announcement: The University of Arizona is hosting an event called “Internship Best Practices” on March 17th for organizations interested in learning more about building their internship programs for university students. Visit the following website to register: https://www.mpace.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1337112&group=
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As Volunteer Managers, you likely understand the needs of your organization and how involving university students in your organization’s mission could make a positive impact. This semester, I joined the University of Arizona as the Internship Coordinator for the School of Sociology and so far, I have enjoyed learning about how students’ skills are being utilized in positive ways. While I have spoken to many at SAVMA about the new role and how the program works, I wanted to share this information with the rest of SAVMA.
The University of Arizona’s School of Sociology Internship Program provides opportunities for juniors and seniors to gain real-world experience in their fields while supporting organizations in their missions. Care, Health, and Society majors are required to complete at least one internship before they graduate for 3-6 units of credit. Their internship sites should give them insight into the helping professions and how organizations respond to community need. Students in the Sociology major are not required to complete an internship but may do so for elective units. Their sites should provide insight into societal systems and/or socioeconomic inequality, and community need.
For both majors, students are responsible for securing their own internship and must complete a work plan along with their supervisor discussing expectations and requirements for the program. Depending on student skills, internship duties range from helping with marketing and communications, patient care, office work and more. Internships can be paid or unpaid.
There are two things your organization can do to attract interested interns:
- Post internship opportunities on your website with clear job descriptions
- Contact me and I will add you to our list of available internship opportunities.
Note: Since students find internships themselves, we do not partner with any agency to supply a set amount of interns nor do we guarantee that students will secure an internship with any agency.
You may contact me at Jdennes@email.arizona.edu for more information.