Internship Program

Thank you for your interest in the McKendree University internship program!  Career Services coordinates the undergraduate internship program for academic credit.  This program complements traditional coursework by providing students the opportunity to apply classroom theory and knowledge in the work environment.  

Junior- and senior-level students enroll in an internship related to their major and/or minor for academic credit.  Students work 45 working hours per credit hour and register for between 3 and 8 credit hours.  Interns also work with their academic advisor to link the internship to coursework through various assignments during the semester.  Key steps in the internship program are below.

  • Employers create an account on Handshake and post the internship opportunity.  You can connect with McKendree University on Handshake to request access.  Please go to the Getting Started and Create a User Account links for helpful information or contact our office.
  • Reach out to Career Services to discuss the internship opportunity or email internship information to us at careerservices@mckendree.edu so that we can share the information with our students.
  • After speaking with our office about career interests and reviewing internship opportunities, students decide which employers they want to apply to for an internship.  We don't place interns at a site and, therefore, cannot guarantee that students will contact specific sites.    
  • Once the employer and student decide that the internship is a good match and discuss the work duties, start/end dates, and total hours to be worked, the student requests an Internship Experience through Handshake.  The system then routes the form to the employer to complete information on work duties, dates of internship, total hours worked, and other related information.  The form is then routed to the appropriate faculty advisor and department chair for approval of the internship.
  • Our office tracks internship hours, so we do need employers to verify hours on a regular basis through our Hours Log.
  • The student's faculty advisor will reach out around midterm to schedule a site visit or phone call to discuss the intern's progress.
  • Career Services will send a link to the final evaluation at the end of the semester for the employer to complete.  Our office forwards the completed evaluation to the faculty advisor and student intern.   

Please contact us at 618.537.6805/6806 or careerservices@mckendree.edu to discuss the internship program or ask any questions.  We look forward to partnering with you!