SNHU Internships
Here at SNHU, internships are an important step towards achieving your unique career goals! On this page, you can explore internship resources, videos, and instructions on how to connect with our dedicated SNHU Career Internship Team!
- Complete the The Pre-Internship Survey (PINS)
- An internship advisor will record the survey response and follow up via e-mail with you based on the survey responses.
- Contact our SNHU Internship Team directly anytime at coceinternships@snhu.edu.
- Explore this page with tons of internship-specific resources!
- Internships are short-term educational work experience opportunities created through a partnership agreement between approved sites, students, and SNHU, allowing students to receive practical, hands-on experience related to their program under the supervision and guidance of a qualified internship supervisor.
- Internships for academic credit must directly relate to a student’s major or concentration and offer a level of degree specific learning we would expect of an undergraduate or graduate student.
- An internship aims to enhance students’ professional growth and further their knowledge and appreciation of the role and duties assigned to them during the experience. Internships allow students to identify their strengths and weaknesses and an opportunity to practice, improve, and evaluate skills, techniques, principles, and theories they have already been exposed to through coursework.
- For-credit internships may be paid or unpaid, and this would be determined by the employer.
- Prior internships are not able to be transferred for credit at SNHU. To earn academic credit, students must complete the internship at the same time as the course.
- Students are responsible for receiving necessary approval from the SNHU Career Internship Team before beginning any internship for academic credit.
- Some students may not meet the eligibility requirements, or may not have the room in their program to complete an internship for academic credit.
- For those students who are pursuing internships simply for the hands on experience, they will be connected directly to our team of Career Advisors for assistance.
- Types of assistance include:
- Helping students prepare resumes and cover letters for internship applications
- Discuss internship search strategies
- Helping students prepare for internship interviews
- Not-for-credit internships may be paid or unpaid, and this would be determined by the employer.
- Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management (BS.HIT)
- Master of Public Health (MPH)
- Online students enrolled in BS.HIT or MPH interested in securing an internship MUST work directly with the SNHU Internship Advising Team.
- As of July 1, 2024, the following online programs will no longer require an internship, and now offer additional courses that can fulfill any experiential learning requirements:
- Associate of Science in Fashion Merchandising (AS.FME) *Banked as of June 26, 2023
- Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising and Management (BS.FMM) *Banked as of June 26, 2023
- Bachelor of Science in Sport Management (BS.SMA)
- Additional programs at SNHU may have required experiences, such as Master of Education, Nursing, and Clinical Mental Health Counseling, however these programs have their own unique support teams, and online students should refer to their academic advisor for more information.
- SNHU290 Experiential Learning Internship Course
- SNHU290 is a 3-credit course where students participate in an experience at an employer that relates to their academic program and their career goals. Through the volunteer hours, shadowing opportunities, observation and course content, students will reflect upon and build their understanding of the field at a site which they are responsible for securing as this is an optional course.
- Does require approval by Career Internship Team to enroll student.
- BUS290 Experiential Learning Course
- BUS496 Experiential Learning Course
- Undergraduate Internship Course Options:
- FMK290
- ACC490
- BUS496
- MKT490
- SPT491
- SNHU495
- Graduate Internship Course Options:
- MBA710
- ACC710
- SPT710
- SNHU690
Search & Apply For Internships
SNHU’s job board Handshake is the #1 resource for SNHU students and alumni to search and apply for nationwide internship opportunities!
SNHU Experiential Learning Opportunities : Gain Experience By Doing
Experiential learning is an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills that can help you professionally as you work on a real-world project. You can think of experiential learning as just that: anything that allows you to experience a job or profession as a way of deepening what you’re learning in a classroom. Whether you’re just entering the job market or looking to change careers, experiential learning can increase your understanding of an industry, expand your professional network and begin to build a base of experience.
As a college student, you can participate in several types of experiential learning opportunities, many of which are incorporated into a class or degree program.
Some forms include:
- Challenges/Hackathons/Competitions
- Class courses and class projects
- Research projects
- Service learning
Here are examples of what experiential learning can look like across a variety of SNHU academic programs:
- Those earning a creative writing degree or enrolled in another liberal arts program at SNHU can sign up for the W.R.I.T.E. Challenge to advance their professional writing skills while working in groups to produce a polished, publishable article.
- At the end of the challenge one article is selected by a group of professional writers for publication in The Penmen Review, SNHU’s online creative writing journal.
- Creative writing students may also be eligible to participate in the Game Design Challenge along side peers in the Game Art & Development program.
- STEM undergraduates and STEM graduates can explore a variety of academic courses in experiential learning! Work with your academic advisor to learn about how to enroll in the courses available.
- You can also voluntarily participate in the National Cyber League Competition (NCL) if you’re earning a cybersecurity degree or related technology program. According to the organization’s website, “The NCL enables students to prepare and test themselves against practical cybersecurity challenges that they will likely face in the workforce.”
- NCL hosts two competitions per year with opportunities for students at all experience levels to advance in many knowledge areas. Some, according to Cyber Skyline, include:
- Cryptography
- Network traffic analysis
- Open source intelligence
- Web application security
- STEM undergraduates can explore a variety of academic courses in experiential learning! Work with your academic advisor to learn about how to enroll in the courses available.
- The Game Design Challenge brings together students enrolled in SNHU’s game art and development program and creative writing program to collaborate on an original first-person shooter or puzzle game.
- Each team involved in the Game Design Challenge can pitch their concepts, writing and imagery to a panel of industry professionals!
- STEM undergraduates can explore a variety of academic courses in experiential learning! Work with your academic advisor to learn about how to enroll in the courses available.
- Some of the topics you could explore through hands-on projects and independent research include:
- Animal behavior
- Certifications and licensures
- Citizen science
- Environmental sustainability
- Grant writing
- SNHU Social Sciences Deans and Career Services host the Emotional Intelligence Challenge where students have the opportunity to serve on a team of 5-6 members to resolve real-world challenges relevant to the workplace.
- Undergraduate students in Social Sciences programs, including Psychology, Political Science, Anthropology, Human Services, Sociology, and Criminal Justice, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and 60 credits are eligible to participate!
- HEaRT Solutions Lab is a no-cost opportunity for undergraduate students to gain valuable field experience by developing solutions for an organization’s problem or project.
- Visit the HEaRT page to learn more about upcoming opportunities, review an FAQ, and begin your own personal HEaRT pathway to success!
- STEM undergraduates and STEM graduates can explore a variety of academic courses in experiential learning!
- Work with your academic advisor to learn about how to enroll in the specific undergraduate and graduate level courses available.
- STEM students can also explore the SNHU partnership with HCL Apprentice Program or the AWS Jam Competition!
- SNHU’s Higher Education and Real-world Training (HEaRT) Challenge pairs groups of students with an employer partner to address a problem they are facing.
- HEaRT Solutions Lab is a no-cost opportunity for undergraduate students to gain valuable field experience by developing solutions for an organization’s problem or project.
- Visit the HEaRT page to learn more about upcoming opportunities, review an FAQ, and begin your own personal HEaRT pathway to success!
- HEaRT Solutions Lab is a no-cost opportunity for undergraduate students to gain valuable field experience by developing solutions for an organization’s problem or project.
- Visit the HEaRT page to learn more about upcoming opportunities, review an FAQ, and begin your own personal HEaRT pathway to success!
While there are many types of experiential learning, there are just as many benefits to your academic and real-world knowledge, not to mention the impact they can have during a job search. Experiential learning is important because it can help you:
- Acquire relevant experience
- Build your network
- Develop skills
- Feel more engaged
- Find a sense of direction
- Practice interdisciplinary collaboration
Experiential learning can help students develop career readiness competencies, which are a framework for skills that prepare college graduates for success in the workplace!
Internship Student FAQs
The internship team provides learners support with understanding the internship options and requirements at SNHU. In addition, the internship team helps to examine each internship request for credit, ensuring the site and supervisor are qualified internship hosts, that the experience meets the level of rigor and learning we would expect of an undergraduate or graduate level internship, and that the experience will allow the student appropriate mentorship and growth in their field of study.
Yes. A student can complete their internship hours on any schedule that works for both the student and the site, as long as they are completing the minimum required hours within the approved start and end date.
No, a current job that a student has held for more than 30 days cannot be used to satisfy an internship as there is not enough significant new learning going on.
1) The student begins the job 30 days from beginning the internship course. Under this scenario, the internship responsibilities may be similar to the job description.
2) If a student has been employed at an organization for more than 30 days from beginning the internship, then the internship responsibilities need to be above and beyond the current scope of work being completed as part of the job.
3) The student’s Internship Site Supervisor is someone other than the student’s current direct supervisor.
For academic course credit an internship must align directly with the program outcomes of a student’s degree.
For simply experience (and not for academic course credit) a student can pursue any type of internship they wish, including one unrelated to their degree.
If seeking academic credit: No, because SNHU is the overseer/sponsor of an academic credit internship, and we are not legally authorized to have interns in other countries.
Students may intern at an organization in any U.S. State or U.S. Territory.
At this time, students are not able to complete academic-credit internship experiences outside of the United States or with non-U.S. based companies (including required internships). Non-U.S. Citizens are also not-able to come to the U.S. to complete an academic-credit internship.
If seeking experience only (and no course credit): Yes, because SNHU does not sponsor or oversee a simply for experience internship, so there are no imitations from SNHU.
No. A student must be fully approved, and all paperwork must be completed before a student can be registered for an internship course.
Yes. Internships may be paid or unpaid. Whether an internship is paid is up to the specific employer.
Yes, in order to earn academic course credit a student must complete their internship simultaneously with their internship course (which contains graded assignments relevant to the internship). Students must secure approval from the internship team before beginning their internship or being registered for the course.
If a student is pursuing an internship simply for experience, not for academic course credit, then there is no course they will take, and they can begin their internship anytime.
No. Prior internships are not able to be transferred for credit at SNHU. To earn academic credit, students must complete the internship at the same time as the course.
Undergraduate students are sometimes able to pursue more than one internship for academic credit under the right circumstances, however there are many nuanced scenarios with this, so please speak directly with our team, or refer the student directly to our team, in order to learn more.
Graduate students can only receive academic credit for up to one internship (when eligible to do so).
