Thompson, M., Chen, Z., Fetter, A., Colston, J., Williams, K., Rogers, S., Hora, M.T., & McElveen, G. (2020). Results from the College Internship Study at a North Carolina University. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. UW-Madison.
Abstract: This report includes preliminary findings from the first round of data collection for The College Internship Study, which is a mixed-methods longitudinal study of internship programs at a North Carolina University
The study includes an online survey of students in the second half of their academic programs (n=276), focus groups with students who have and who have not had an internship experience (n=20), and interviews with career coaches and faculty (n=5). The research questions guiding this study focus on how stakeholders conceptualize and define the idea of internships, institutional capacity for administering internship programs, participation rates by certain student characteristics, and the relationship between internship program structure and student outcomes.
This report concludes with recommendations for specific steps that students, faculty and staff at the North Carolina University, and employers who supervise interns can take to increase participation rates, access, and program quality for internship programs.