Eligibility

• Interning For Credit
• Internship Eligibility
• International Student Eligibilty
• The Internship Work Contract
• Internship Guidelines
• Hours and Credits
• Internship Start and End Dates
• Sample Internship Timeline (spring)
• Zero-Credit Internship Option
• Why Take a Zero-Credit Internship?
• International Students and Zero-Credit Internships
• Learning Objectives
• Internship Grades
• Mid-Point Check
• Steps For Filling Out the Internship Work Contract
• Download the Internship Work Contract

Interning For Credit
In order to earn academic credits for your internship, you must meet the Parsons eligibility requirements and complete the Internship Work Contract.

Internship Eligibility
Normally, you should be eligible to intern for credit beginning in the second or third year of a four- or five-year undergraduate program or the second semester of an AAS or graduate program. If in doubt, confirm your status with your Academic Advisor.

International Students Eligibility
Students attending Parsons on a student visa must obtain approval from the New School International Student Services (ISS) office for any paid internship, but they do not need ISS authorization for voluntary unpaid work. F-1 students are not eligible for paid internships in their first two semesters. For more information, see

• F-1 students
• J-1 students

Without exception, all international students (F-1 and J-1 visa holders) must earn academic credit for paid internships. Before filling out an Internship Work Contract, they should consult with International Student Services about visa regulations that might limit the number of hours they can work as interns.

The Internship Work Contract
The Internship Work Contract details every part of your proposed internship, ensuring that you, the employer, and Parsons are in agreement about the scope of your job and its relationship to your education, including start and end dates, hours of work, academic credit, and Learning Objectives (see below).

Note: You may not begin an internship for academic credit (including a "zero-credit" internship) until you, your prospective employer, and Parsons have signed the Internship Work Contract.

Internship Guidelines
Please read the internship guidelines below before filling out your Internship Work Contract.

Hours And Credits
In order to maintain a reasonable balance between course work and intern work, studens are not permitted to intern for more than 15 hours per week. The chart below relates internship credits to minimum and maximum hours of work.

Note: For summer term zero-credit internships, any hours exceeding 60 require special approval.

Internship Start And End Dates
Internships must be completed in the academic term in which you expect to receive credit for the internship. The internship must begin on or after the official start date of the term and end before or on the official last day of the term.

NOTE: You must work until the end date specified on your Internship Work Contract even if you occasionally agree to work more than your scheduled hours during busy times or at special events as part of your internship. Failure to work through the contractual end date could result in a failing grade (and almost certainly would be detrimental to any future relationship with that employer).

• January 21 (day 1): You accept an employer's internship offer.
• January 22: You review Internship Guidelines and Learning Objectives, fill out Internship Work Contract, and send it to your employer to be signed by your Internship Supervisor.
• January 23: Internship Supervisor fills out the Internship Work Contract and submits it to Parsons.
•  January 24-28 (two to four days): Your Faculty of Record and/or Academic Advisor reviews the Internship Work Contract. If some element cannot be approved (for example, if the start date does not fall within the current semester or you are scheduled to work more than 15 hours per week), the Faculty of Record and/or Academic Advisor will edit the Internship Work Contract or ask you to submit a revised document.
• January 25-29 (two to four days): Your Academic Advisor emails you instructions to register for the internship. You follow the instructions and register.
• January 28-Feb 1 (three to five days): Internship Work Contracts for international students approved by International Student Services.
• February 4 (day 14): Parsons returns your Internship Work Contract to the employer, and you are ready to begin your internship. Check MyNewSchool to confirm that you are registered; failure to register can result in liability issues and a failing grade.
• February 5: Your first day of internship
• March 15: Last day to register for a spring semester internship
• Mid-March: Your employer conducts a Midpoint Check; an evaluation of the progress of your internships and review of your stated learning objectives.
• April 30: Deadline for employers' Student Evaluations. Parsons Career Services will resend the Student Evaluation form to any employer who hasn't yet submitted it and will inform the student by email.
• May 10: Deadline for Student Evaluations to go to Faculty of Record. If your Faculty of Record does not receive your Student Evaluation, he or she will contact you and your employer to discuss how to assign a grade.

Zero-Credit Internship Option
With Academic Advisor approval, you can register for an internship that is officially recognized by Parsons and recorded on your transcript without having the internship counted toward the credit maximum for your per-semester tuition or paying additional per-credit tuition for 1 or 2 credits. The registration process is exactly the same as for credit internship registration; you just fill in 0 in the credits field on the Internship Work Contract.

Why Take A Zero-Credit Internship?
There are several reasons for taking this option, including commonly

• You already are registered for the maximum number of credits for the semester and do not wish to incur extra tuition charges
• You are interning during the summer and do not wish to pay per-credit tuition for internship credit. (Note however that there may be other fees associated with registering for zero-credit in the summer term.)

Note: You may not be permitted to enroll for zero-credit if you are in your final semester and need credit hours to graduate. Your Academic Advisor will determine whether or not you are eligible.

International Students and Zero-Credit Internships
International students, who must take all paid internships for credit, may register for zero-credit.

Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives are established, in consultation with your employer, in the Internship Work Contract to ensure that you learn valuable skills during your internship. The following guidelines are intended to help you set reasonable, useful goals and objectives in your Learning Objectives:

• Professional skills: You should expect to acquire professional skills by participating in a professional work environment. Gain an understanding of office hierarchies, recognize effective and efficient work practices, develop a mentoring relationship and a professional network, accomplish tasks or participate in projects that showcase your skills and build your résumé and portfolio, and observe professional etiquette, including dress code and proper methods of communication.
• Industry awareness: You should expect to learn how a particular industry works and how various companies and consumer markets can differ within and among industries. Relate your internship to your career goals and your classroom experience at Parsons. For example, you might apply information learned in a design course to create a tech pack for a fashion company or you might gain experience using InDesign or Photoshop by designing for publication or you might acquire knowledge of photography studio practices in preparation for establishing a related business.
• Communication Skills: You should expect to exercise written and verbal communication skills, become comfortable talking to clients and co-workers and confident expressing ideas, and practice accepting both criticism and positive feedback.

Internship Grades
Your employer is asked to evaluate your performance based on the goals agreed on in the Internship Work Contract. Evaluations provide qualitative feedback on your general level of preparedness, contribution to the work environment, and skill set. Your employer can propose a grade but it is your Faculty of Record, who actually assigns your grade, taking into account your employer's recommendation and written Student Evaluation.

Mid-Point Check
In addition to mentoring you throughout your internship, your employer will conduct a Mid-Point Check on your performance:

• Assessing your work
• Reviewing your Learning Objectives and your progress in achieving them
• Engaging in an open dialogue with you about how the internship is progressing in general
• Establishing corrective measures if necessary to accomplish your goals

You will review the information from your Mid-Point Check with your Faculty of Record and Parsons Career Services, who may also offer advice to ensure a positive internship experience.

Steps for Submitting an Internship Work Contract

• Step 1: Download the Internship Work Contract (PDF). There is a link at bottom of this page. If you don't have Adobe Reader on your computer, it is free download.
• Step 3: Fill out the STUDENT section of the Internship Work Contract.*
• Step 4: Sign the document digitally using the signature function in Adobe Reader.
• Step 5: Save your contract under the file name: Your last name_N#_DegreeMajor.pdf
• Step 6: Email the PDF file to your employer (Internship Supervisor) with a request to complete the SUPERVISOR section of the Internship Work Contract. Follow up with the Internship Supervisor to confirm that your Internship Work Contract has been received.

*Ask the staff of Parsons Career Services for Internship Guidelines and Troubleshooting Tips if you need additional assistance before filling out the Internship Work Contract.

Download the Internship Work Contract Here