The School of Business, Arts & Sciences works with employers to ensure that our students gain valuable learning experiences in real-world settings. Through the internship experience, students not only apply the skills learned in the classrooms and labs, but they also gain an understanding of the industry that can only be found on the job. Internships are required of students enrolled in Baking & Pastry Arts, Brewing & Fermentation Science, and Culinary Arts Technology, Emergency Management & Homeland Security, Human Services & Restorative Justice, and Professional Baking. Internships are highly encouraged for all other program areas.

In addition to providing valuable, hands-on experience in a real-world setting, the advantages to completing an internship include:

• Internships increase your marketability to employers.
• An internship can help you expand the network of people you know, creating professional connections which may lead to greater job opportunities.
• The internship experience can help confirm that you've found your dream job, or discover a new interest that you never knew you had.
• Getting experience is a great way to build your confidence.

Current students, please visit the School of Business, Arts & Sciences on the myPCT Portal for detailed requirements and required forms. Do not begin your internship without completing the required forms. Internships will not be approved retroactively.

Consider a Penn College intern. In addition to providing students with opportunities to learn valuable industry-specific skills, you will reap many benefits. The advantages noted by employers include:

• working with a highly motivated individual whose productivity often exceeds expectations;
• gaining an individual with fresh insight and abilities using cutting-edge technology;
• completing special projects without reassigning full-time employees;
• observing a student's performance before making a commitment to full-time employment; and
• building a long-term relationship with Penn College and its students.

Compensation greatly enhances the likelihood that the student will be assigned meaningful and productive tasks, making that student a worker, not a watcher. For this reason, we strongly suggest that our students, who bring definitive and valuable skills to their jobs, be paid at a rate equal to that of other employees performing similar tasks. However, because we also recognize that paid internships can create economic challenges for the employer or may even preclude the company's ability to offer valuable experiential learning, both paid and non-paid internships are acceptable.

• The internship must provide a minimum number of hours, as determined by the course requirements.
• The position must provide meaningful and challenging learning experiences for the student.
• The work should be relatively secure to provide the minimum internship hours.
• The employer will help the student and internship coordinator develop specific learning objectives.
• The employer will enter into an Internship Training Agreement with the College and the student, and sign an equal employment opportunity statement.
• The employer will evaluate the student's performance during and at the conclusion of the internship.
• The employer must provide a safe and secure work environment for the student.

Students in our majors offer a wide array of skill sets. To learn more about our majors, our students, and the benefits of becoming an internship provider, please contact the School of Business, Arts & Sciences. Coordinators for each of the programs areas are listed below:

Questions about internships may also be directed to the School of Business, Arts & Sciences.

For more information, first review these guidelines and forms, and then contact the internship coordinator.

For Employers

• Employer guidelines
• Internship Site Application Form
• Chef/Supervisor Data Sheet