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Career Track MBA Internships

Internship Steps (MBA 590)

Complete all 4 steps to receive credit for MBA 590.

  1. Find a summer internship (Minimum of 135 hours)
    Required: Meet with internship coordinator (Trisha Lamb) at the beginning of the year and keep in touch throughout the search to make sure the internship meets the requirements. Bring the MBA Internship Pre-Meeting Form (emailed to you) filled out to bring to the initial meeting.
    Internship Search Resources
    COBE Career Services
    COBE Career Services internship board
    COBE Career Services events
    University Career Services
    Boise State Handshake
    Indeed.com
  2. Get Approval from Internship Coordinator (Trisha Stevens Lamb)
    Once you have worked out the terms of your internship with your organization’s internship supervisor, fill out the Internship Agreement Form (emailed to you) and then send to Trisha at trishastevenslamb@boisestate.edu.
    If you were given an internship award letter from the organization, this can take the place of the Internship Agreement Form.

    International Students
    International students also need to fill out a Curricular Practical Training Form (CPT) in order to do an internship. More information can be found on the Curricular Practical Training website. Please contact International Student Services (internationalinfo@boisestate.edu) with any questions.
  3. Get Enrolled in MBA 590: See “How to get enrolled in MBA 590” below.
    You can not search and add MBA 590 like a normal course. You need to follow the steps outlined below and the Registrar will add you to the course.
    Deadline to add MBA 590 is June 29, 2022 but it takes 1-2 weeks to go through the approval process so June 20 is the latest you should submit your internship application.

How to Get Enrolled in MBA 590 
You need to follow the steps below to get enrolled in the internship. You cannot search for the class and enroll in it yourself.

  • Complete the Boise State Career Center Requirements
    Complete the Internship Application for Academic Credit found on-line at the Career Center’s Gain Experience page.  Click on: Internship Application for Academic Credit.

    • Log in using their Boise State username and password.
    • After you log in click on the Internship Application for Academic Credit and hit the plus (+) sign to create your application.
    • Enter the required information.
    • Major: Business Administration F/T
    • Term: Summer 20xx (current year)
    • Department: College of Business & Economic
    • Subject: Career Track MBA
    • Coordinator: Trisha Lamb
    • Number of Internship Credit Hours: 3.00
    • Then hit SUBMIT
    • Once submitted, the application will be routed via email to the department internship coordinator for approval
    • Once approved by department internship coordinator, it will then be routed to your organization supervisor for approval via email
    • Take the Internship Orientation training and quiz.
  • Pay for your Internship Credits (MBA 590)
    Once approved by the Internship Coordinator and you have taken the Internship Orientation training and quiz, your internship will be routed via email to the Registrar’s Office and MBA 590 will be added to your list class schedule in myBoiseState and then you can pay for the Internship credits.

4.   Submit the Internship Required Deliverables: For details see “Internship Required Deliverables.”
Deliverables must be submitted by August 6 to receive a passing grade.

Internship Required Deliverables (Step 4 from above)
In order to receive a passing grade for MBA 590, students must do the following:
(If you do not submit these by the deadline you will receive an F in MBA 590):

1. MBA Internship Evaluation Form:
I will send your internship coordinator an evaluation form for them to send back to me by August 6. 

2. Reflection Paper: Complete a reflection paper evaluating your experience. This paper is a reflection on the knowledge acquired from participating in the internship. Submit to trishastevenslamb@boisestate.edu by August 6. The following topics are to be included:

  • Pertinent company information – This could include, but is not limited to, a brief history of the company/organization, its competitive position in the marketplace, the current form of business organization (corporation, LLC, partnership, etc.)…
  • Internship position and responsibilities – On an average day, what did you do on the job?
  •  Relevance to Career Start MBA program – Explain how your experience relates to your program. Include any observations you made during your internship that may have been directly or indirectly related to your business coursework. For example, what type of management style(s) did you notice? How does the organization market its products and/or services? Be sure to link specific theories and concepts from your business coursework to your practical experiences.
  •  Evaluation of the overall success of the internship – Discuss the strengths and the weaknesses of your effort. If you were to repeat this experience, what would you change and why? Do you have any recommendations to make to your cooperating firm regarding business operations and/or the internship experience?
  •  Reflection – What did you learn from internship? Provide a summary of the values or lessons learned from your internship. What will you take away from this experience? How did it differ from your expectations? What did you learn about yourself and your own strengths and weaknesses? How will you go about addressing those weaknesses? Lastly (this is most important) regarding your problem solving skills – what are some problems you can identify with implementation in the real world and what are your ideas for  making outcomes better.

Paper Guidelines:
Length: Between 3 and 5 pages; 11 point font, conventional margins, double spaced.
This paper should be well written and free of grammatical errors.

3. Internship Presentations: We will be holding a session for you (we are looking for 7-10 volunteers) to share the highlights of your internship with your current cohort, incoming cohort and faculty. This session will be held on TBD. (more details coming soon)

Principles for Career Start MBA Summer Internships

MBA Internships must:

  1. Advance student learning (either skill building or application) at a graduate level.
  2. Provide meaningful career foundations for the career path desired for the individual
  3. Demonstrate full commitment of organization offering the internships; including oversight, time, resources, and typically pay.
  4. Meet university standards for credit hours and documentation.
  5. Be coordinated to insure internal and external quality control.
  6. Encourage student initiative but respect concerns of client organizations/employers.
  7. Have detailed process and results tracking.
  8. Be completed by the End of summer term (the 135 hours must be completed by the end of summer term, however students have the option of continuing in their internship at the request of the organization.

Ideally MBA Internships should:

  1. Be paid (not required)
  2. Be full time through the summer (approximately 320 hours)

MBA Internships may:

  1. Be team oriented at employer’s request.
  2. We encourage our students to try to find a full-time internship but part-time is acceptable (must exceed 135 hours).
  3. In some instances be unpaid – unpaid internships should be restricted to not-for-profits or government agencies. In the instance of unpaid internships, it is critical that the project be significant and offer visibility and meaningful networking opportunities for the student in their chosen career path.