If you need help finding an internship please email cobinternships@mnsu.edu or schedule an appointment by calling 507-389-2963.

Internship Qualifications

1. 135 hours of work is equivalent to three credit hours of internship.

2. The job duties in the position must primarily be related to your major (80% or more).

3. The person you report to, or your company mentor, should be in the same field as your major.

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. Copy and paste this document into Word before attaching to your application.

Intern Gathers from Employer

3. Job Description (From Employer)

This document lists your duties and the projects you'll 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'll 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.

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.

1. Log into Handshake Experiences. If you’ve never been on Handshake, click here to follow the instructions to get started.
2. Click on “Request An Experience”. 
3. Fill out the Request An Experience form and click “Request Experience” at the bottom. 
4. Click “New Attachment” under Attachments on the left of the page to upload the required documents (see Step 2 above).  
5. Email your Department Chair to notify them that you submitted your application. 

Register

Once your application to earn credit for your internship has been approved and your registration window for Summer 2023 has opened, you may register for the course in eServices.

Before your internship ends and you are able to receive a passing grade, you must complete the following. You will receive more details once you have registered for the internship course or co-op.

1. 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. 

2. Final Employer Evaluation

• Your employer will receive an email with a link to the evaluation. 
• This email will go out 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. 

3. Final Student Evaluation

• You will receive an email with a link to the evaluation. 
• This email will go out 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. 

4. Final Written Paper

• The final paper should be 5 pages including the following: 
  • Brief description of the background of the industry and organization you were associated with during the internship. Include the short-run and long-run outlook of the organization and the possibilities of future positions for college graduates with this organization and other organizations in the same field (approx. 1 page). 
  • Briefly describe the major areas for which you were responsible during your internship (approx. 1 page). 
  • Review the detailed list of objectives for the internship experience that you submitted with your internship application. Examine and discuss how each objective was met or not met. This review should represent around 50 percent of the paper (approx. 2 pages). 
  • Evaluate how well the internship met your internship goals. Relate your internship to your academic training. How could your internship experience have been improved? Provide other comments that are relevant to your internship experience (approx. 1 page). 

• • Other comments you have to offer. 

• 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 Note: 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.