Accounting & Business Law Internships
Accounting and Business Law internships facilitate meaningful career progression for graduates. An internship provides the student with an opportunity to extend what they have learned in the classroom and helps them determine which career path in accounting they want to pursue. Performance in an internship can transition into a job offer or it can serve as reference for a full-time job application. Many firms will not hire an accounting graduate without an internship.
Accounting internships are available at public accounting firms, large and small private businesses and select governmental agencies. Most internships at public accounting firms are available in spring semester. There are also a limited number of opportunities during the summer. A student who has a job doing accounting-related work may earn internship credits.
Business Law internships may be available at law firms, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies. They can be found throughout the year. A student who has a job doing business law-related work may earn internship credit.
The College of Business requires that you register for the term when you are doing your internship. You cannot earn credit retroactively for an internship that is already complete.
If you need help finding an internship please email cobinternships@mnsu.edu or schedule an appointment by calling 507-389-2963.
Internship Qualifications:
1. 45 hours of work is equivalent to 1 credit hours of internship.
2. The job duties in the position must primarily be accounting/business law or accounting/business law-related (80% or more).
3. The person you report to, or your company mentor, should be in an accounting/business law, or accounting/business law-related field.
Unsure If an Internship Qualifies? Email the job description to cobinternships@mnsu.edu.
*Use the following format for labeling ALL internship documents: LastnameFirstname_nameofdocument
1. Goals Statement
In a one-page letter briefly summarize your academic and professional background, your career goals, and your internship objectives. The internship objectives are the specific things you hope to learn, experience, and achieve by doing this internship. This letter should be written in a format similar to a standard cover letter and be addressed to the Department Chair.
2. DARS Report
Access your DARS. Save as a PDF or copy and paste this document into Word before attaching to your application.
3. Job Description (From Employer)
This document lists your duties and the projects you will work on during your internship.
4. Internship Offer Letter (From Employer)
Letter should be written on company letterhead and include your start date, end date, and number of hours you will work each week.
IF YOU ARE DOING A CO-OP, you also need to submit a Co-op Form:
Complete Co-Op Eligibility Process Form and Agreement - Only required if pursuing co-op status.
Click here to learn more about what Co-Op entails.
Please schedule an appointment by calling 507-389-2963 or email cobinternships@mnsu.edu if you have additional questions about Co-Op status.
Once you have filled out the co-op form, collected the required signatures, and submitted this form to the Registration and Academic Records office, the registration staff will register you for the co-op course.
- Log into Handshake Experiences. If you’ve never been on Handshake, follow the instructions by clicking here to get started.
- Click on “Request An Experience”.
- Fill out the "Request An Experience" form and click “Request Experience” at the bottom.
- Click “New Attachment” under Attachments on the left of the page to upload the required documents (see Step 2 above).
- Email your Department Chair to notify them that you submitted your application.
Once you have gotten permission from your Department Chair, register for the course in eServices.
ACCT 497 (Up to 6 credits) — Accounting Internship Credit
Satisfies one of the elective courses in the Accounting program. You will have to pay for these credits like any other class.
ACCT 398 — Accounting Co-Op Status
Zero credit full-time student status. [PDF] Click here to learn more about what Co-Op entails. (119 KiB)
BLAW 497 – Business Law Internship Credit
If you have questions about which course to register for, please email cobinternships@mnsu.edu
Before your internship ends and you are able to receive a grade, you must complete the following.
- Stangler Internship Initiative Modules:
Complete the Stangler Internship Initiative Modules on D2L. It is highly encouraged to complete them before your internship starts to be prepared for the professional workplace from day one! You must complete the modules before you can receive a final grade. - Final Employer Evaluation:
Your employer will receive an email with a link to the evaluation. This email will be sent 3 weeks before the end of the semester and must be completed before the end of your internship. It is the student’s responsibility to remind their supervisor to complete this evaluation. If your supervisor needs a new copy of the evaluation link, email cobinternships@mnsu.edu. Please suggest to your supervisor to check their spam folders. - Final Student Evaluation:
You will receive an email with a link to the evaluation. This email will be sent 3 weeks before the end of the semester and must be completed before the end of your internship. If you need a new copy of the evaluation link, email cobinternships@mnsu.edu. - Final Written Paper or ACCT 200 Class Presentation
With guidance from the Department Chair, decide which option is best for you.
Click here for the final paper guidelines.
The report should be typed and meet collegiate writing standards. Both the content of the final report and the quality of your writing will affect your grade which will be given by your Department Chairperson.
The final paper must be uploaded to Handshake Experiences. Click “View Details” under your internship, then “New Attachment” on the left side.
Important Notes:
· You will not receive any information for the internship course on D2L. Everything will be processed through Handshake Experiences.
· All internship course requirements are due the Friday before Finals Week. If your internship continues after the semester ends and you will not be able to complete the requirements by the deadline, email cobinternships@mnsu.edu to arrange an alternate deadline
If you have any questions, email your Department Chair or cobinternships@mnsu.edu.
