Guidelines

The Center for Career & Professional Development works with the faculty to offer several internship/fieldwork courses that allow you to intern at an agency in your field of interest for a semester. We encourage students pursuing internships to consider registering for these courses to benefit from the added mentorship of the John Jay faculty member as well as your internship supervisor.

The Center for Career and Professional Development administers several of these internship courses available to students (see below).  Click here to read a full description of these courses.

Undergraduate Courses*                                                                                                                             

CJBS 377/378/379 Internships for Criminal Justice, Law and Policing
COR 310 Fieldwork in Corrections 
PSY 378/379  Fieldwork in Forensic Psychology  
ISP 392/393   Interdisciplinary Internship - Housing and Community Problem Solving   
PAD 402 Seminar & Internship in New York City Government         
SEC 378 Security Management Internship     
SOC 377/378/379  Internships for Sociology 
SOC 381 Internship in Dispute Resolution
 

*NOTE: These courses require permission by the Career Center to enroll. Please speak with an academic advisor about additional internship courses in other academic departments.

Graduate Courses                        

PAD 780 Public Administration Internship


Course Structure: 

Most of the Undergraduate Academic Internship courses are offered in a structure that has the course meet 5 times during the semester for 3 hours each time, for a total of 15 hours of course meetings.  The first course meeting is Internship Orientation Day which is a mandatory event for students registered in the courses administered by the Center for Career and Professional Development. This orientation is often held the second Friday of the semester. The academic internship courses will require you to complete academic work such as presentations, journals, projects, and often a culminating paper about your internship experience. Attendance at the academic internship course meetings are mandatory.

Undergraduate Eligibility:

  • A cumulative grade point average of 2.50 or better (some programs require a higher GPA)
  • Completion of 30 or more academic credits (some programs may require more credits)
  • Availability of 8 - 10 hours a week (16-20 hours a week during the summer) for a total of 96 hours during the semester (internship courses worth more than 3 credits will require a higher hour requirement)
  • Ability to attend at least 5 classes during the semester. Classes are usually broken up into 3 hour sections, once a month. (NOTE: Please see course schedule in CUNYfirst for actual times and dates of academic internship courses)

NOTE: If you are an incoming transfer student without a John Jay College GPA you are still eligible to participate in the academic internship program.  If you are transferring from a NON-CUNY school you will need to submit an unofficial transcript from your previous institution showing at least 30 college credits completed and a GPA of at least a 2.50. If you are transferring from a CUNY school you do not need to submit additional documentation, just follow the normal process.

Graduate Eligibility: 

Graduate student eligibility for internship courses vary by department. Please consult the Graduate Bulletin for specific requirements.

Affiliation Agreements & Internship Paperwork:

All paperwork required by employers must be reviewed and signed by the Associate Director for Experiential Learning in the Center for Career and Professional Development.  This process can take 48-72 hours to complete for simple agreements and as long as 3 months for legal agreements that require John Jay College Legal or CUNY Central Legal to review and sign.  Please submit all internship paperwork as soon as possible to be reviewed. You will be notified through phone or email when your paperwork is ready to be picked up. Please submit all requested paperwork to the Center for Career and Professional Development for review.

Insurance: 

If your internship site requests proof of insurance please contact the Associate Director for Experiential Learning.
RIDER A
Students completing a Graduate Level Counseling Internship for the Master of Forensic Psychology are required to obtain a malpractice insurance policy coverage of at least $1,000,000 per incident, $3,000,000 per year for the entire Externship, from an insurance company associated with the American Counseling Association, or with the American Professional Agency, or an equivalently rated insurance company; and that the student will provide a copy of such insurance coverage to their supervisor.  This insurance can be obtained from the American Counseling Association website and is included in ACA membership for Master’s Degree Level Students.

Multiple Internships: 

Students may participate in multiple internships during the same semester at the discretion of the Associate Director for Experiential Learning in the Center for Career and Professional Development. Students must meet with the Associate Director for an evaluation to determine their eligibility and receive approval from their faculty supervisors (if necessary).

Grading the Internship: 

Evaluations are sent when students complete their required internship hours, approximately 1-4 weeks before the end of the semester, to the agency/field supervisor. The evaluation is considered as part of the final grade for the internship course, which is given by the assigned faculty advisor, and he/she has sole discretion in determining your final grade. Your evaluation, course assignments and attendance are all considered in deciding the final grade for the internship course.

Academic Integrity: 

All paperwork, conversations, and expectations related to a student's successful completion of an internship course falls under the John Jay College academic integrity policy. Any student believed to have violated this policy will be referred for judicial action.

Academic Internship Course Withdrawal: 

The academic internship courses follow the same withdrawal procedures as other courses at John Jay College.  Please refer to the Undergraduate Bulletin for full details about the process and refund policy.

Grade of INC (Incomplete) in an Academic Internship Course: 

Sometimes students are unable to complete their required site hours during the course of the semester.  At the discretion of the faculty member students may be given a grade of INC.  If the faculty member does not submit a change of grade, the incomplete grade automatically becomes the grade of “FIN” (failed incomplete). The academic departments which offer internship courses have developed departmental policy for consideration by the College Council. Degree candidates should be aware that an INC grade received during their last semester in courses required for graduation will result in the postponement of graduation.

For more information or to learn about requesting permission to register for an internship course, contact internships@jjay.cuny.edu.