Employers

Employers who host internships offer an invaluable opportunity for Randolph-Macon students to connect their educations with real-world work settings. And internship hosts benefit as well; we regularly hear from employers who have appreciated the contributions Randolph-Macon students have made to the businesses and organizations where they have interned. R-MC helps assure a good match with hosting sites through a thorough interview and screening process completed by each student internship applicant.

R-MC students may take advantage of two types of internships:

Volunteer and paid (non-academic) internships: Coordinated by the Center for Personal and Career Development, non-academic internships let students participate in real-world work environments, but do not offer academic credit.

Academic (non-paid) internships:Coordinated through the Bassett Internship Program, academic internships are available for academically qualified juniors and seniors, allowing students to earn academic credit through hands-on learning in a workplace setting. To earn credit, students are expected to complete aproximately 160 hours (and are required to complete a minimum of 130 hours) in their internship placements. Each student intern also meets weekly during the internship period with a Randolph-Macon faculty supervisor and completes regular progress reports.

• Semester-long internships (fall, spring, and summer): Particularly during fall and spring semesters, students typically balance their internships with their course schedules.
• J-term internships (January): Randolph-Macon’s month-long J-term provides an opportunity for students to complete an intensive internship, with the expectation that they will commit to a full-time (minimum of 8-hour days, 5 days per week) schedule with their host sites for the four weeks of the January term.
• By college policy, students may not receive any wage or financial compensation while completing an academic internship (please see our wages & compensation guidelines for more details).

What we ask from host employers:

We ask host sites to make these opportunites available to students as appropriate (note that students do not disclose proprietary or confidential information about their work duties unless authorized to do so by their host supervisor):

• shadow key decision-makers to gain a broad understanding of the organization’s operation
• participate in and contribute to a project or series of projects, if possible
• engage fully in the daily routines of the office

In addition, we ask the intern’s host supervisor to complete an evaluation of the student’s internship performance; for academic internships, this evaluation is factored into the student’s final grade.