As a historian-in-training, you are developing valuable skills in research, analysis, and communication. Employers want those skills! Put them to use through an internship that counts towards your degree, adds experience to your resumé, and develops your professional network. Some internships are paid, others are not, but all are invaluable.
See below for instructions on how to find internship opportunities and how to apply for internships and internship credit. For more information, please contact Emily Fritchman-Mahaney, the Internship Coordinator for academic year 2024-2025, email (emilyfritchman@boisestate.edu).
How to find an internship
- Check Boise State’s Handshake system for opportunities: Boise State Handshake for Students
- Check for announcements made on the Boise State History Student Resources Canvas site.
- Create an internship with an organization or business where you would like to serve. This might be somewhere you already volunteer or work, or it might be an organization or business that’s new to you. Talk with the organization about projects, tasks, and work that would be help develop your skills as a historian (see the Department of History’s Program Learning Outcomes). Once you have agreed on the outlines of the internship, make sure the internship meets the hours and other requirements listed below under “Enrollment.”
Enrollment
- Once you have arranged for an internship, you must submit the “Internship Application for Academic Credit,” which is available online through the Career Services website (the form is under “Internship Application Process”). For training on how to use the system, please contact Anne Evans at 426-4351 or anneevans@boisestate.edu. Part of the application process is an online workshop dealing with internships in general. You should complete the workshop before filling out the application form. While completing your application for academic credit you will be prompted to designate the department (history), the coordinator (Emily Fritchman-Mahaney), and information specific to the details of the internship, including the description of the work you’d be doing during the internship.
- Internship credits are variable. For each credit you earn you must work at least 45 hours in the internship. Some internship tasks only take about 45 hours whereas most are ongoing and students can earn 3 or more credits per semester depending upon the hours worked and the duties performed. Internships are available for lower division credit (History 293), upper division credit (History 493), and for graduate credit (History 590). Undergraduate students may apply 12 internship credits toward the baccalaureate degree, serving as fulfillment of upper division area requirements. Graduate students may earn up to 9 credits in internships.
- All internships for academic year 2024-2025 are graded as Pass/Fail.
- If you are receiving financial aid your internship application must be submitted with appropriate signatures on or before the tenth day of classes of each semester. If you are not on financial aid and your internship is for less than 3 credits you have six weeks to register from the first day of classes.
Requirements
In order to earn a passing grade for your activities you will be responsible for the following:
- Fulfill the hourly obligation with the organization for the number of credits you expect to earn, i.e. 45 hours for each credit taken.
- Maintain a journal or log in which you describe your assignments and record the number of hours worked at each. It is also a good idea to enter here the type of learning experience you gained in each task. At the end of the semester you should present the log to your supervisor(s) to make sure that your records correspond to theirs. The completed log, with supervisor’s signature, should then be turned into the department’s internship coordinator during the last week of classes.
- Also, during the final week of classes you must submit to the internship coordinator a brief essay about your experience. This should reflect the impact that the internship had on your educational development. It should be typewritten, double-spaced, one-inch margins, standard 12-point typeface, and no more than five pages long. Your name and the name of the agency where you worked should be at the top of the essay.
- Prior to the end of the semester the internship coordinator will request a written evaluation from your supervisor. You have the right to see the evaluation your supervisor submits before the coordinator turns your grade into the registrar. View a copy of the evaluation form as a Word document .
- At the end of the semester, you will be contacted by Boise State Career Services to complete a professional development activity called the Skill Survey. You must complete this Skill Survey by the end of the semester, prior to finals week.
- It is your responsibility to keep in touch with the internship coordinator about problems that may surface as you engage in your internship activities. The sooner you do this, the easier it is to make adjustments. We want to make the internship process a positive educational experience that benefits both the student and the organization.