Planning Your Internship (Undergraduate)

Internships are optional, but highly recommended, for all PPPM undergraduate students including majors, pre-majors, and NPA/PPPM minors. Internships are supervised experiences that integrate the PPPM curriculum with applied learning and include the following components:

  • Exploration of career interests related to the PPPM curriculum.
  • Opportunities to apply academic learning, gain new skills, and network with professionals.
  • Meaningful tasks and responsibilities that support students’ learning goals.

An internship must primarily be a learning opportunity for the student. Internships are not jobs, though an internship may be paid. PPPM students may complete an internship in the public, nonprofit, or private sector as long as the internship has a public service component. An internship is not membership on a board, commission, advisory council, or other volunteer work. PPPM students may complete an internship for academic credit or a noncredit internship. Study abroad and other classroom trainings/experiences are not eligible for internship credit.

Minimum requirements for undergraduate academic (credit) internships:

  • Satisfactory completion of PPPM 412 Internship and Professional Development (2 credits) is a prerequisite for PPPM 404 Internship. PPPM 412 is open to all PPPM students: PPPM majors, pre-PPPM majors, PPPM minors, and NPA minors.
  • The internship must take place within a UO academic term and must be a minimum of 3 credits: 10 weeks in duration and at least 9 hours/week (90 hours total for the term).
  • The organization must have a business site (not a home office) where students report. Remote internships may be possible but additional requirements apply. Students considering a remote internship must discuss this in advance with the Undergraduate Internship Director. Students who commit to a remote internship without prior approval from the Undergraduate Internship Director may not be eligible for academic credit.
  • Students must be supervised by a paid staff member at the internship site. Internship supervisors must agree to sign the PPPM Internship Agreement, work with students to develop tasks to support their learning goals, and complete midterm and final evaluations. Supervisors may not be relatives of the student.
  • Internship tasks and responsibilities must support students’ career goals.
  • Students must register for PPPM 404 Internship during the academic term in which they complete the academic (credit) internship. There are no exceptions to this policy.
  • Students who are pursuing PPPM elective credit for an IE3 or GEO internship (e.g., OINT 488, OGWI 488) must still follow the planning steps and requirements listed below, including successful completion of PPPM 412 (prerequisite).

 

PPPM Internship Requirements

Step 1: Meet with the Undergraduate Internship Director, Jessica Matthiesen
Step 2: Research and Identify an Internship
Step 3: Obtain Pre-authorization for PPPM 404 Internship
Step 4: Register for PPPM 404 Internship

 

Step 1: Meet with the Undergraduate Internship Director

Once you are enrolled in or have completed PPPM 412 Internship and Professional Development, meet with the Undergraduate Internship Director to discuss your internship plans (you do not need to have an internship secured at the time of the meeting). This meeting should be scheduled no later than the end of week 5 of the term prior to the start of your planned internship. The purpose of the meeting is to talk about your career interests, learning goals, and to help you brainstorm some possible internship options.

Jessica Matthiesen, Undergraduate Internship Director
E-mail: jessicam@uoregon.edu
Office: 103 Hendricks Hall
Schedule an appointment online: https://calendly.com/jessicam-pppm/office-hours

 

Step 2: Research and Identify an Internship

There are many ways to research and identify an internship that will meet your career interests and learning goals:

  1. Review all the internship and job resources available to you on this site and beyond. Also consider recurring internships, international internships, and fellowships depending on your interests.
  2. Review the lists of nonprofit and public sector organizations where PPPM students have interned in the past. The PPPM internship office also has evaluations completed by the students who interned at many of these sites. The evaluations are in PDF form and will be emailed to you by request.
  3. Sign up for Handshake to access UO Career Center internship postings and other opportunities.
  4. Read newspapers and journals.
  5. Conduct informational interviews. Review the Informational Interviewing and Writing Professional E-mail information for guidance.
  6. Use various Internet search strategies to identify organizations engaged in your interests.

Step 3: Obtain Pre-authorization for PPPM 404 Internship

Once you secure an internship, the Undergraduate Internship Director must approve your preliminary learning goals and internship site as stated on the preauthorization form. The form is due no later than Monday of week 9 of the term that precedes the term of your internship. Students completing an IE3/GEO internship are also required to submit a preauthorization form with approved learning goals by the deadline.

  1. Contact the Undergraduate Internship Director to discuss your proposed internship site, tasks, responsibilities, and learning goals. If you recently met with the Undergraduate Internship Director (see step 1, above), this discussion may take place via email.
  2. Once your internship is approved, the Undergraduate Internship Director will email the PPPM 404 preauthorization form to you for completion.
  3. Complete the preauthorization form and email a copy to the Undergraduate Internship Director.
  4. Once the learning goals on your preauthorization form have been approved, the Undergraduate Internship Director will email you a link to the PPPM Internship Agreement (IA). You must complete, sign, and submit the IA as described in step 4 below.

Step 4: Obtain Site Supervisor Signature on PPPM Internship Agreement (IA) & Register for PPPM 404 Internship

Obtain Site Supervisor Signature
After you sign the PPPM Internship Agreement (IA), your supervisor will receive an automatic email prompting them to login and sign the form. Once your supervisor signs, the form goes to the Undergraduate Internship Director for final review and approval, and then you will be cleared to register for PPPM 404. The completed and signed IA is due to the Undergraduate Internship Director no later than the end of the term that precedes the start of your internship.

 

You will not be able to register for PPPM 404 until the PPPM Internship Agreement (IA) is signed and submitted. The Undergraduate Internship Director will send you an email with registration instructions after you submit the signed IA.

 

To register
Once you add PPPM 404, you will need to change the variable credit hours to reflect the number stated on your preauthorization form. Credits are based on the number of internship hours projected per week (1 credit of PPPM 404 = 3 hours of internship/week during the course of a 10-week term). Summer term internships are scheduled for the first 10 weeks of summer term.

The PPPM 404 course syllabus and assignments are available on Canvas. Academic assignments include: a discussion board post, completion of Exhibit A: PPPM Internship Description, a midterm assignment, and a final assignment. Students continuing an internship at the same site for a second or third term will also complete an informational interview assignment. PPPM 404 is graded pass/no pass.