What is an internship or practicum?
Your required internship or practicum will give you short-term work experience in a professional setting. Both internships and practicums offer great opportunities to explore your chosen profession and help you make good career choices. If you manage your time well, you’ll be able to pick and choose a mix of internships and practicums to give you diverse experiences.
While either will help you gain valuable insight into your chosen career field, there are some clear differences between the two, as the chart below indicates.
Internships
Duration: Typically a semester or longer
Number: Students usually complete no more than two while attending college
Experience: Meaningful, often long-term projects, with assigned responsibilities and deadlines
Benefits: Some paid, some unpaid
Educational Benefits: Usually college credit; academic advisor will interface with workplace supervisor
Career Benefits: Contacts, networking, possibility of leading into long-term employment
Approach: Professionalism and commitment
Practicums
Duration: Usually part-time work during a semester
Number: Students usually complete one while attending college
Experience: Generally, job-shadowing; real-life preview of a career
Benefits: Unpaid
Educational Benefits: Usually college credit; academic advisor will interface with workplace supervisor
Career Benefits: Contacts, networking, possibility of leading to internship
Approach: Professionalism and commitment
--Comparison information courtesy of externships.com.
The University Career Center at JMU can let you know more about internships and practicums, and help you find either. Their Internship Resources page is especially useful.
Hospitality Industry Work Experience Resources
SRM Internships & Practicum Resources
SRM 282 Practicum and SRM 482 Internship Agency Agreement Forms
