What is a college program internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Tamara Tranter

A college program internship is a work experience program for college students to gain practical skills and knowledge in their field. Interns work for a company or organization for a set period of time and receive academic credit or financial compensation. College program internships aim to provide students with hands-on experience, allowing them to apply their education to real-world situations. Interns also have the opportunity to network with professionals in their industry and potentially secure employment.

What general advice would you give to a college program internship?

Tamara Tranter

Senior Director, The USA Hockey Foundation

Take risks, go outside of your comfort zone, and don't go into interviews with big expectations. Many qualified people have been impacted and are going to get many of the jobs because they have past experience. So be realistic, be positive, and be a team player.

ScoreCollege Program InternshipUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,803

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 59.63%

male 40.37%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a college program internship?

Pros

Exposure to different career paths within your field
Opportunity to work on meaningful projects
Can help you narrow down your career interests
Develop time management and prioritization skills
Can boost your resume

Cons

May be unpaid or low-paying
Can be time-consuming and interfere with school work
Might not align with your career goals or interests
Could lead to overworking or burnout
May require relocation or commuting expenses

Key steps to become a college program internship

Explore college program internship education requirements

Most common college program internship degrees

Bachelor's

65.2 %

Associate

18.6 %

High School Diploma

7.2 %

Start to develop specific college program internship skills

Skills	Percentages
PowerPoint	18.99%
Math	10.30%
Twitter	9.67%
Customer Service	7.44%
HR	5.76%

Complete relevant college program internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New college program interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a college program internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real college program internship resumes.

Research college program internship duties and responsibilities

Manage and edit office website using HTML coding and WordPress.
Manage and work special events on and off-campus to ensure that event run smoothly without mistakes.
Manage presentations, assemblies, and club meetings to offer services and emphasize the necessity of post-secondary study.
Assist in achieving and maintaining DoD certification and national accreditation where applicable.

Prepare your college program internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your college program internship resume.

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