Internships

Every Management student has the opportunity to participate in a project-based internship experience. If they choose to get academic credit for the experience, the fieldwork is done as a senior (or rising senior) in the MGMT 489 course. Students do their internship fieldwork with regional employers of choice, along with nationally known corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. These beyond-the-classroom learning experiences involve the intentional development, design, and implementation of a product, service, or innovation that both leverages student expertise and participating demand by host organizations. In recent years, sample internship sites include Biltmore Estates, Volvo Construction, Colton Groome & Company, Mission Health, Buncombe County School System, Social Construct Films, AVL Technologies, Highland Brewery, the Cliffs, the Orange Peel, Northwestern Mutual, Moog Music, ERC Broadband, among many others.

Internship information session dates are below, and email reminders are sent during the fall and spring semesters. Internship proposal deadlines are also below.

 

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Internship Priority

The internship course (MGMT 489) is limited to 12 students.

During each semester that the internship course is offered (MGMT 489), priority will be given to students who are graduating that semester. If there is still room in the course, students who are graduating the following the semester will be permitted to enroll.

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What is an internship?

Many organizations label opportunities as “internships” because they need a temporary employee and/or they want to see if students might fit in the organization before hiring the students. However, just because an organization labels something as an “internship” does not mean it can qualify for academic credit. In order for internship fieldwork to qualify for academic credit, it must be tied to an academic experience.

The MGMT 489 course provides this academic experience. During MGMT 489, students will: relate their internship fieldwork to the academic courses they have taken, manage a project that will produce a product, and present their work in a professional form.

Any student can do an “internship” for non-credit. But, in order to receive credit, Management students must enroll in MGMT489 and adhere to the UNC Asheville Policy for Credit-Bearing Internships.

Your time commitment:  In order to receive academic credit for your internship, UNC Asheville requires 35 hours for every credit earned. MGMT 489 is a 4 credit-hour course, therefore you are required to complete 140 hours of work total, including both classwork and fieldwork. This averages to about 6-9 hours of fieldwork per week during the fall or spring semesters (approx. 15 weeks) and 9-12 hours of fieldwork per week during the summer semester (approx. 9 weeks).

Location:  Your internship must be with an organization—this can include remote work and online communication, but the communication with the organization must be continuing and intentional throughout your internship. Your journal entries will reflect on your time with the organization. Therefore, it is not sufficient to work on a project without frequent interactions with the organization.

The internship must produce a product.

During your internship, you must solve a problem the organization has and produce a tangible product (a deliverable) that involves your project management skills to creatively plan, execute, and deliver. This product must be created entirely by you, be delivered to the host at your internship site, and be included in your portfolio of items that will be graded in the MGMT489 course.

In order to determine the product for your internship, have a discussion with the people who will supervise you at your internship site—they are the ones who are most familiar with that organization’s problems/challenges/opportunities and the product(s) you can produce to address these.

How do I secure an internship and how early should I begin the process?

Start to look for an internship at least 3-4 months before you expect the internship to begin. If you wait until the last minute, the Management Internship Coordinator will not have enough lead time to discuss your interests, and you will not have enough time to search for internships and schedule interviews with host organizations that fit your interests.

3-4 months before your internship begins…
Attend an internship information session (dates appear below). Search for internships (see below).

2-3 months before your internship begins…
Confirm your internship and submit your internship project proposal by the deadline to the Management Department. Steps for submitting your proposal are below.
Once your internship project proposal is approved, you may register for the MGMT 489 course.

Important Reminders

Students must have a minimum of 30 credits in Management courses before they can receive MGMT 489 credit for their internship. These 30 credits may come from the required Management courses in MGMT, ACCT, and ECON.  Please do not submit an internship proposal if your transcript does not have a record of these 30 credits because you will not be permitted to enroll in MGMT 489 and receive credit for your internship.

Students must enroll in MGMT 489 during the same semester of their internship fieldwork. This is because UNCA policy will not allow us to award retroactive credit. For example, if your internship fieldwork is done in the summer, you must register for the summer section of MGMT 489. If you do not enroll in the correct semester, you will not be able to complete the assignments in MGMT 489 and therefore you will not be able to earn credit for your internship.

Management Internship Information, Dates, and Deadlines

If you wish to do an internship, attend one of the spring Internship Proposal Information Sessions …

  • Wednesday, February 1, 2023, 4:30-5:30, Delany 108
  • Tuesday, February 7, 2023, 12-1pm, Delany 108
  • Tuesday, March 21, 2023, 12-1pm, Delany 108 

Deadlines to submit your Proposal OR a “Request to Submit Late” form…

For summer 2023 internship: Early bird deadline (for quicker approval) is Monday, March 20, 2023. Regular deadline is April 1, 2023. If you can’t make the April 1 deadline, submit a Request to Submit Late form on April 1.

For fall 2023 internship: Early bird deadline (for quicker approval) is Monday, April 20, 2023. Regular deadline is May 1, 2023. If you can’t make the May 1 deadline, submit a Request to Submit Late form on May 1.

By the regular deadline, you must submit one of the following:  (a) proposal or (b) Request to Submit Late form described under “What can I do if I can’t meet the proposal deadlines?” below. (As noted below, submitting a Request to Submit Late does not guarantee you a place in MGMT 489.)

Submitting a proposal by the deadline above does not guarantee a place in MGMT 489; the proposal must be approved.

If you do not submit one of the above two items by the deadline, 10 points may be deducted from the points earned in the MGMT 489 course.

 

The MGMT 489 course

You will be permitted to enroll in MGMT 489 after your internship proposal has been approved by the Management Department and the host at your internship site and the related paperwork has been signed. The proposal approval process can take a month or more, so plan ahead.

The MGMT 489 course is titled Project-Based Professional Internship. This course is offered every semester (fall, spring, and summer) so you may do your internship during any of these semesters.

Since MGMT 489 is a 400-level course, you should plan on doing your internship for academic credit only after you have taken most of your other 100, 200, and 300-level Management courses. This means that you will most likely do your internship, and take MGMT 489, in your senior year.

Why must you take a course?  Students sometimes wonder why they can’t get academic credit by simply doing work at something that is labelled an “internship” at an outside organization.  The answer is simple—UNC Asheville cannot legally award academic credit without an academic experience. You will get this academic experience in MGMT 489. During the course, you will create a portfolio, build a project plan, reflect on your learning with journal postings, submit progress reports, as well as a final report and video presentation. You will also have regular meetings with the Management Internship Coordinator (Elizabeth Harvey).

Student must enroll in MGMT 489 during the same semester of their internship fieldwork.The UNCA campus internship policy will not allow us to assign retroactive credit. You should not begin your internship until:

  • You have submitted your internship proposal and it has been approved by the department
  • You have enrolled in and begun the MGMT 489 course.

Step 1: Attend an internship information meeting

Dates and times for upcoming internship information meetings appear under “Management Internship Information, Dates and Deadlines” above. These meetings will give you the details you need to apply for an internship, write your proposal, and be accepted to the MGMT 489 class. A summary of this information appears on this website.

Step 2: Find an internship

Where can you find an internship?

Sometimes this process can feel overwhelming, but the Management Internship Coordinator is here to help!  Make an appointment and they will discuss your interests and provide suggestions. It is up to you to keep in touch with the Management Internship Coordinator if you need additional help throughout the process.

In addition to meeting with the Management Internship Coordinator, here are some other places to look for an internship…

(1)  Many exciting internship possibilities can be found on the UNC Asheville Career Center website through Handshake.

(2)  Attend the Career Center internship events to explore internship opportunities and assist you with resumes and interviewing.

  • Resume Mini-Workshops, Tuesday, Jan. 31 and Thursday, Feb. 2, 12:00 and 12:30 (30 minute crash course); Feb. 3 (for athletes), 2-4pm (student athlete success center)
  • Career & Internship Fair, Thursday, February 9, 12:00-2:00pm, Blue Ridge Room in Highsmith (stop by and connect with employers)
  • Drop-ins Monday-Friday from 9am to 3pm on the first floor of Ramsey in the Student Success Hub
  • The Internship Event (where employers pitch their internships to students!), October 27, 11am

(3)  Contact the Career Center. Schedule appointments via Handshake or email Career Coach Grace Champion at gchamp1@unca.edu.

(4)  Check out the ongoing list of Cool Internships—this document is updated on a regular basis.

(5)  Go to websites of specific organizations that interest you. Organizations often advertise internships on their websites, with information about how to apply.

Begin to look for an internship at least 3 months before your proposal is due. Applying for an internship is similar to applying for a job—the process of getting the interview, followed by the host organization’s decision-making process and paperwork will often take much longer than you think.

 

Step 3: Complete the MGMT 489 Prerequisite Form

Students must have a minimum of 30 credits in Management courses before they can receive credit for their internship. These 30 credits may come from the required Management courses in MGMT, ACCT, and ECON. Please do not submit an internship proposal if your transcript does not have a record of these 30 credits because you will not be permitted to enroll in MGMT 489 and receive credit for your internship.

Complete and submit the MGMT 489 Prerequisite Form.

Once you complete and submit this form, notify the Management Internship Coordinator (mgmtinternship@unca.edu) that you have done so at the same time you submit your internship proposal (see Step 5 below).

Step 4: Write your proposal

Your proposal must be in the correct format, have a professional appearance and be free of any grammar or spelling errors. If these errors are found, it will be returned. Since the project is proposed by the student, the proposal must be written by the you in first person (for example, use “I will” rather than “the intern will”). There must be only one internship host supervisor identified on this proposal—this will be the person who will be responsible for supervising your work. The proposal must no longer than one page and formatted exactly as shown in the example below with the following specifications:

Note: It can often take 3 to 4 weeks of iterations to get the final version of your internship proposal approved. So, plan ahead and start early on the proposal process!

If you are late submitting your proposal or proposal draft, the Management Department cannot guarantee that you will be able to enroll in the MGMT 489 course during the semester you are hoping to do so.

For more information on writing and submitting your proposal, attend one of the Internship Information Meetings (dates appear above). In addition, as you are writing your proposal, feel free to make an appointment with the Management Internship Coordinator, Elizabeth Harvey—she will be glad to help!

Step 5: Get your proposal approved

(5a)  Proposal Submission

Email the proposal to the Internship Coordinator in MS-WORD format so that comments can be inserted during the review process. Email the file to mgmtinternship@unca.edu without any signatures–note that the email address is mgmt followed by the word internship with no space in between.

  • The subject line of your email message must be:  (your-last-name in parenthesis) followed by Internship Proposal. For example: (Smith) Internship Proposal.
  • The body of the email must contain the following statement:  Before making this submission, I completed the Mgmt 489 prerequisite form. Also, I am certifying that I have been accepted into this position by the host organization shown in the attached proposal.
  • This statement must be followed by your complete name, again in the body of the email.

(5b) Proposal Review Process

The Internship Coordinator will then work to get your proposal approved by the department. During the approval process, you will be sent feedback on your proposal and will likely do one or more revisions—look for feedback that will be sent to you from mgmtinternship@unca.edu.

(5c) Signatures on the Proposal and Internship Agreement Form

Once your proposal is accepted by the department, the following four steps must then be completed:

I)  The Internship Coordinator will send you the signed proposal and the internship agreement form.

II)  You and your host must complete the internship agreement form and sign both this form and your proposal.

III)  After all the documents are completed and signed, the “date of final approval” will be recorded on the proposal by the Internship Coordinator.

IV)  After the “date of final approval” is recorded, the Internship Coordinator will open the MGMT 489 course for you to register.

Step 6: Enroll in MGMT 489

Once your internship proposal is approved, you will receive a confirmation email that MGMT 489 has been opened for you, and you can then register for this course.

Step 7: Complete your internship

NOTE: You must have a signed internship proposal and internship agreement form before you begin your internship work.

While you are doing your internship fieldwork, MGMT 489 coursework will include:

  • Developing a project plan for your internship at the beginning of your fieldwork. (This is usually in the form of a project timeline.)
  • Making weekly entries detailing what you are doing.
  • Submitting journal entries in which you reflect on what you are learning during the internship, which will be a vital component for developing the final report for your project in MGMT 489.
  • Providing a progress report to you host.
  • Meeting regularly with the instructor and the other internship students in the MGMT 489 course.
  • Developing the deliverable you stated in your internship proposal.
  • Preparing a final written report with: (a) an executive summary, (b) your detailed summary of what you learned, and (c) your deliverable.
  • Preparing a final (short) presentation video.

If your internship location is not within driving distance to campus, you will still need to attend class meetings.Please see “May I do an internship outside the Asheville area” in the section below.

What can I do if I can’t meet the proposal deadlines?

Proposal deadlines can be found above under “Management Internship Information, Dates, and Deadlines” above.

If you cannot submit a completed internship proposal because you have not yet confirmed an internship, you may complete an “Request to Submit Late” form (option ‘b’ under Management Internship Information, Dates, and Deadlines above). Be sure to do this by the proposal deadline date.

Note:  The “Request to Submit Late” form does not guarantee you a place in MGMT 489, but it will allow your name to appear on a wait list.

May I do an internship outside the Asheville area, or even outside the United States?

Yes. You can do your internship in any location you wish. However, you must give the Management Internship Coordinator a 1-month notice before the start of the semester.

To earn MGMT 489 credit for internships outside the Asheville area, or even outside the United States, you will need to complete all the MGMT 489 course assignments (see above under “complete your internship”) and Zoom into the MGMT 489 class meetings. To do this, you must notify the Management Internship Coordinator IN WRITING NO LESS THAN 1 MONTH BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF THE SEMESTER so that arrangements can be made. If you do not do this, you will need to attend the MGMT 489 class in person.

Email your request to mgmtinternship@unca.edu.

Why does the Department of Management & Accountancy have these requirements?

The internship structure and paperwork described on this website protects the students! These policies protect you against being economically exploited at your internship site because you and your host will sign a proposal stating what you will gain from your internship experience. In addition, your well-defined proposal allows you to have an important role in determining how your internship will be evaluated and graded.

For more information…

For more information, contact the Management Internship Coordinator

Elizabeth Harvey, JD

email: mgmtinternship@unca.edu
828.251.6850
111 Delany Hall