Career Center
UW Madison students at an internship opportunity with a sign that says Welcome UW Madison Students in the background

Find an Internship

How Do I Prepare to Get an Internship?

If you’re not sure how to get started, enroll in our online Canvas course for more information!

Internship Canvas Course

Looking for more support? Meet with a Career & Internship Advisor!

Make an Appointment

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Why do internships matter?

Internships can help you to gain experience in your field, "test drive" career options, and build your resume and network.

What is an internship?

An internship is a substantive learning experience where students apply knowledge and skills gained in their academic program to a professional work setting.

When should I intern?

Most students do them the summer after Junior year, but it can be any time or year, including the spring and fall semesters.

Featured Internships

Is your Internship Unpaid?

Career Advisor speaking with a student

The School of Education offers undergraduate internship scholarships to supplement unpaid or low-paid internship wages, transportation, relocation, housing, or other internship-related expenses. Specific criteria are used to prioritize scholarship awards. To review eligibility criteria and scholarship details, click on each scholarship title. You will be redirected to the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH) website where you can review the details and login to apply if eligible. 

School of Education Internship Scholarship
Kit Award for Stage Managers Fund (Theatre & Drama) 

Questions? Please contact career-center@education.wisc.edu

Frequently Asked Questions

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Can I get academic credit for my internship?

This can vary between different academic departments. For example, there are some courses that you can register for to complete along with your internship to gain academic credit.

ED POL 203: Internship in Arts, Health, or Education, for instance, is an online, variable credit course offered in fall, spring, and summer that allows students to receive credit for their internship or work-based learning experience. It provides the opportunity to reflect and critically analyze workplace experience in the field of education, arts, and/or health. Contact Michael Rutkowski to learn more. 

Should I do a paid or unpaid internship?

Ideally, any work that you do would be paid and we are working hard to advocate for paid opportunities for our students. There are certain reasons an unpaid internship would be acceptable, but that’s not typical. If you do need to take an unpaid internship, there may be scholarships or supplemental funds available for unpaid experiences — talk to your career advisor about options.

Did you know… 66.4 percent of students who graduated in 2019 who had a paid internship got job offers, compared to 43.7 percent of students who had an unpaid internship? Something to think about as you explore your options!

Should I do a virtual or in-person internship?

There are benefits to both! In-person internships can provide a “real-world” experience working in a physical space, but also may limit your options if you need something local. Virtual can be more flexible and open you up to more opportunities, but some might feel it loses something to the overall experience when compared to the in-person option.

The bottom line is to do what works best for you! If you want to talk through your options, make an appointment with one of our Career and Internship Advisors and they will talk through it with you.

Are there specific websites I can use to find an internship?

Your department may have a list of internships available. Additionally you can try the following:

Handshake

Idealist 

International Internship Program (For international opportunities)

LinkedIn Jobs 

Additional Resources

Our Events Page 

Resources for Careers in the Arts 

Resources for Careers in Education 

Resources for Careers in Health