Boise State’s Career Services has been collaborating with colleagues across academic affairs to prioritize the critical role internships play in students’ post-graduation outcomes. Although the university has long offered internships, their value will be highlighted with focused attention and programmatic leadership to support the faculty who advise student interns.
Over the past two years, Career Services has been actively improving internship support by providing resources that enhance the student internship experience and empower academic departments in a number of ways, including:
- Launching a customizable Canvas course for Career Readiness (already adopted by 34 departments to prepare students)
- Implementing a new platform for internship application management (GradLeaders)
- Offering scholarship opportunities for students in unpaid non-profit/government internships
- Working with Institutional Effectiveness to implement an internship filter into the First Destination Dashboard
Looking ahead, a comprehensive vision for an internship program designed to maximize the benefit to students through high-impact practices and effective resource allocation is being developed. This new framework will centralize program management, coordination and support through Career Services, allowing faculty to focus on the academic teaching, advising and curricular components. Key initiatives include robust operational tools (GradLeaders, Handshake, compliance), comprehensive orientations and trainings for faculty internship coordinators, increased visibility of opportunities for students and employers, and incentives for faculty designing and overseeing high-impact internship opportunities for their departments.
This strategic direction aims to clarify leadership responsibilities – ensuring that faculty continue to own the academic rigor and curriculum of internships, while Career Services provides awareness, resources and streamlined processes. The goal is to make it easier for faculty to deliver exceptional, career-connected internship experiences that prepare every Boise State student for a successful future.
Those with questions or suggestions for the internship program can contact Debbie Kaylor or Nick van Santen.