Frequently Asked Questions

An academic internship at Loyola connects the internship experience to an academic course in the student’s major or an area of interest. There are over forty academic internship courses for undergraduate students. Students must register for an academic internship course in order to receive academic credit for an internship at Loyola. 

Currently the programs that require an academic internship include: HSM, HMSV, SOWK, ENVS. Please consult with your academic advisor to confirm.

Click here to find the internship coordinator for your program to learn more about the course. If you know what semester you would like to take the class, you can also check here to see if it is being offered. All academic internship courses are enrollment by instructor only.

Requirements vary depending on the course. For example, some academic internship courses require you to be in your third or fourth year, and some require pre-requisite courses. To find more details about the academic internship course in your program, please find the program site and contact person here.

The process varies depending on the program. For example, some academic internship courses have a list of past internship sites, while others encourage you to find your own internship, working with the Career Development Center. To find more details about the academic internship course in your program, please find the program site and contact person here.

To earn credit, you will need to enroll in an academic internship course. Please find the list of courses offered each semester here. Usually the faculty member teaching your class will approve your internship. Please find the internship coordinator for your program to inquire about the process for requesting enrollment and having your internship site approved. 

If you are interested in earning academic credit for an internship, contact the internship coordinator of your program and include the internship description. If the internship coordinator decides that the position is appropriate, and if the course is being offered, you will be able to enroll in the academic internship course. 

Yes! Loyola University Chicago supports the National Society for Experiential Education’s position regarding paid and unpaid internships:

“... to favor paid work positions for students whenever pay can be arranged in work environments that have the potential for meeting the student's goals …Credit is for what students learn; pay is for what they provide to the field sponsor. The two are neither mutually exclusive nor conflicting … “(National Society for Experiential Education, 2011)

However, please also check with your department’s internship coordinator for any specific requirements for your program. 

Academic internship courses are designed to run simultaneously with your internship; thus, if you’ve already completed an internship, it is unlikely that you will be able to take an academic internship course after the fact. To confirm the process in each department, please find the internship coordinator for your program.

No, students are not allowed to receive academic credit if they intern with a family business or if a relative is serving as the on-site supervisor.