Academic Internship: Wages and Compensation

An academic internship allows you to earn academic credit (3 hours) and a grade by conducting an internship through a Randolph-Macon course. This placement is non-paid.

Academic internships arranged through Randolph-Macon College are consistent with the Fair Labor Standards Act, which addresses payment for work performed. The U.S. Department of Labor lists six criteria that differentiate interns as learners/trainees from those who are entitled to a wage. The criteria for the learner/trainee are:

1. The training, even though it includes actual operations within the facilities of the employer, is similar to what would be given in a vocational school.
2. The training is for the benefit of the student.
3. The student does not displace a regular employee but works under the close observation of a regular employee or supervisor.
4. The employer provides training and derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the student. On occasion, operations may actually be impeded by the training.
5. The student is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period.
6. The employer and the student understand that the student is not entitled to wages for the time spent training.

Not all six criteria are required for the student to be considered a trainee. The experience, however, should be designed as a training/learning experience rather than a job. By College policy, students cannot be paid.

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