Welcome to the APUS Help Center

Student Internships

While the university does not provide direct placement services for student internships, a wealth of information, guidance, and internship opportunities exists through the university’s Office of Career Services.

Informing the University

Some internships require an agreement, which must be signed by a representative of the university. Send your request to have the agreement signed to [email protected] with the agreement filled in as completely as possible. If your internship does not require an agreement, we would still like to hear about it. Please email Career Services to share how you found the internship and any other pertinent details. You may be helping a fellow student in the process.

Early Deadlines

For internships with government agencies, application deadlines can be as much as 6 months to 1 year before the internship begins. If you're looking for a federal internship, make sure you start looking early. Internships with corporations or other commercial businesses have varying deadlines. As with any job search, pay close attention to the deadline in the internship posting. In general, you’ll want to start your search about 3 to 4 months ahead of when you want to start the internship. Internships are not always posted like job openings and may involve some digging and networking. There are some internship opportunities posted on Portfolium, the university's job board.

Time Commitment

Many internships require you to work at least 15 or 20 hours per week, while others are full time. If your academic degree or program requires practicum experience or field work such as student teaching, you may need to take a leave of absence from your current employment to complete the experience. Your academic advisor can counsel you on whether your program requires a practicum or field work for completion.

Compensation

The federal government offers a number of paid internships, though they're usually less plentiful and more competitive than unpaid internships. Some businesses or organizations will offer a stipend, others offer an hourly wage, and still others offer nothing. Even if your internship is unpaid, the experience you will gain will help make you a more competitive applicant when it comes time to apply for jobs.