Student Guide to Internships

Internships provide valuable learning experiences to supplement your classroom learning. Working directly with business professionals presents a unique opportunity to enhance your business knowledge and skills. The School of Business encourages you to complete at least one internship while you are in college. Internships provide valuable benefits including:

  • You supplement your classroom learning with workplace experience.
  • You obtain hands-on experience of the responsibilities and expectations of specific jobs.
  • You gain in-depth knowledge of an organization that allows you to evaluate if it is compatible with you and your professional goals.
  • You can make networking contacts to help you in your career development.
  • You earn credentials to include on your resume.
  • You learn about your own strengths and interests to help you better plan your career.

martin martin

Kerri Martin completed a Marketing internship at the prestigious
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
in New York City

 

Working as an intern enables you to realistically evaluate a firm for full-time employment after graduation. During the internship, you will learn about a firm’s organizational culture and core values, observe how its managers operate day-to-day, and evaluate the working environment. In short, you can assess whether the firm would provide a good “fit” for your interests and abilities.


Many students complete an internship during the summer between their junior and senior years. Other students "take off" a semester to complete an internship. Still others work as interns during the academic year or even in the summer following their senior year.

You will need to plan for internships by identifying and researching companies that offer internship programs. The School of Business Student Center for Academic and Professional Development and EIU’s Career Services provide assistance and resources for securing appropriate internships whether your internship is for academic credit or not. See Resources for Finding an Internship for more information. You can earn up to 12 semester hours of academic credit at EIU for work completed during an internship: Earning Academic Credit for Your Internship. An Internship Proposal must be submitted and approved before your internship, and an Internship Portfolio is completed during your internship.

Recently, EIU business students have completed internships with the following organizations:

A.G. Edwards Fonogenic/Tar Networks, LLC Sherwin Williams
AccuQuote Gilbert, Metzger & Madigan Sierra Health Insurance
Aldi Inc. Hostelling International State Bank of Arthur
Allstate Corporation Jewel-Osco State Farm Group
Archer Daniels Midland Company Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises The Swiss Colony, Inc.
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) Liebherr Verzahntechnik GMBH Kempten Topco Associates LLS
Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Baxter Healthcare Corporation Morgan Stanley Walgreen's
BKD, LLP Northwestern Mutual Financial Network Walgreen's Accounting Center
Busey Bank Corporation Osco Drug
Click here for a complete list.
Caterpillar, Inc. Pfizer, Inc.
Chicago Investment Group, LLC Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
Doehring, Winders & Co. Prudential Financial
Enterprise Rent-A-Car Raymond James Financial
First Investors Corp. Schutt Sports