About the Credit-Bearing Internship Program
Binghamton University's Fleishman Career Center offers a credit-bearing internship program in collaboration with employer and campus partners, enabling students to earn up to eight upper level CDCI credits. Students enroll in CDCI 395 in conjunction with an internship experience that they secure themselves. The seminar course enhances the internship experience for the student, teaching them professional skills to thrive in the workplace and creating additional opportunities for networking and professional development. The program is designed to link academic and career goals while setting students up for future success.
Learn more about the program through an upcoming information session!
How to enroll
The Credit-Bearing Internship Program is open to all undergraduate students with at least a sophomore standing. To participate, students must first secure an internship themselves and then fill out one of the Google forms below to seek approval for their internship. Once your internship has been approved, the CDCI team will register you for a section of CDCI 395.
To apply for credit for a future internship, please fill out our credit request form for the appropriate semester below. A member of the Credit-Bearing Internship Program team will reach out to register you for the course.
About CDCI 395
CDCI 395 is an online, asynchronous seminar course taught through Brightspace. Each week, students will be assigned readings, discussions, and activities designed to teach them important skills (such as professional communication, understanding the role of diversity in the workplace, creating a LinkedIn account, and more) and encourage reflection of their internship experience. Students can enroll in 2, 4, or 8 credits based on the amount of hours of their internship.
Securing an internship
Students are responsible for securing internships themselves to register for this course, but the Fleishman Career Center team can help! Meet with a career consultant by scheduling an appointment in hireBING for support in developing an internship search strategy and for feedback on your resume, cover letter and other application materials. You can also utilize the following resources:
- Create a hireBING account and browse for internship opportunities. Also view our page of open Credit-Bearing Internships in hireBING.
- Join one or more career clusters and receive a weekly newsletter with internship opportunities and industry tips.
- Reference the Career Guide for advice on your internship search strategy and application materials.
- Attend employer events in hireBING by Handshake to learn more about organizations that interest you and internship opportunities with them.
- Utilize job search platforms such as LinkedIn and Indeed.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if my internship is eligible for credit?
To be eligible for credit, internships must meet the following criteria:
- All internships must meet the requirements put forth by the Department of Labor to be considered for academic credit.
- The internship site is expected to identify and develop meaningful projects in advance for interns to work on throughout the semester. The interns should spend 75% of their time working on meaningful projects and can spend 25% of their time on administrative tasks to support the office as needed.
- Internships must meet the required number of hours and length based on credits and semester.
- Interns should have a dedicated space to work to increase their efficiency and maintain their sense of value. (Note: this is not required for remote internships.)
- Internships must take place in a safe, public place of business (no personal residences). Remote internships are approved on a case by case basis.
- Interns must not replace employees and must be supervised by a professional staff member at the organization who can educate the students on new techniques and skills needed to complete projects (supervisors cannot be a student or peer).
- Internships typically last one semester in length, but they can be mutually extended by the employer and the student. If a student wishes to earn credit at the same internship site twice, they must demonstrate that they have new responsibilities or advanced projects.
- Students may not intern for family members or their landlord, directly or indirectly.
- Any internships that are anticipated to or that have a strong likelihood of being disrupted will not be approved, ie. political campaigns. Students will need to work the full minimum hours required in order to get full credit for their internship.
All internships are reviewed by the CDCI team based on these criteria when the student applies for credit. If we have questions or the internship is not viable for credit, we will contact you. Once we have approved it, you will be registered for one of the CDCI seminars.
- What does the course include?
Classes consist of reflection on experiences, career planning, networking, application material review, presentations and other assignments. CDCI seminars are taught by Binghamton faculty and staff, and classes may differ in content. Contact your instructor for the syllabus.
Letter grades are given for all classes, based 50% on your internship supervisor’s evaluation of your performance and 50% on how you perform in the class. Instructors have the final say on grading. - How many credits can I get for my internship?
The number of credits you can receive depends on the amount of hours you will be working at your internship site and the semester.
Fall/spring:
- 2 credits: minimum of 60 hours
- 4 credits: minimum of 120 hours
- 8 credits: minimum of 240 hours
Summer:
- 2 credits: minimum of 70 hours
- 4 credits: minimum of 140 hours
- 8 credits: minimum of 280 hours
All students can have a maximum of 8 CDCI 385/395 credits count as upper level electives towards their degree. These 8 credits can be taken over the course of several semesters, meaning students can enroll in CDCI 385/395 multiple times for different internship experiences.
- I am an international student. Can I participate in this program?
Yes! This program is open to international students.
If you are in F-1 or J-1 visa status, be sure to check with the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) to see if employment authorization is required for your internship. International students who begin internships without first receiving this written authorization from ISSS will be in violation of federal immigration regulations. Protect your valid visa status.
- I am already taking the maximum amount of credit hours I am allowed for the semester.
Can I still enroll in the Credit-Bearing Internship Program?
If you have reached your max credit hours for the semester in which you want to receive CDCI credit for your internship, please contact your academic department to petition to overload.
Students are responsible for notifying CDCI to be registered.
For additional questions, please contact the Credit-Bearing Internship team at cdci@binghamton.edu.
