Internships & Co-ops
The Georgia Southern University Experiential Learning Program provides undergraduate and graduate students academically enhancing career-related opportunities in a variety of industries and sectors through co-op, internship, and job shadowing opportunities. The Experiential Learning Program encourages relevant quality work experiences for all students who desire to enrich their academic program of study with planned, progressive, and monitored work experiences. These employment opportunities build upon strong instructional programs to ensure that students receive an outstanding education that prepares them intellectually, technically, culturally, ethically, and socially for the demands and opportunities of an increasingly changing world.
Types of Experiential Learning Facilitated by the OCPD
Co-op, short for cooperative education, is an experiential learning program that balances classroom theory with multiple periods of practical, hands-on experience prior to graduation. Co-ops allow students to alternate semesters of academic study with semesters of full-time, paid employment positions related to their academic and career interests. Co-ops are common for, but are not limited to, majors in business, chemistry, computer science, engineering, information systems, and information technology. Qualities of a co-op include:
- Ongoing work experiences
- Builds progressively upon responsibilities each work term
- Always paid
- Typically for non-academic credit, but academic credit may be available in certain situations for one work term
Goals and Benefits of Internships
By participating in a co-op through the Georgia Southern University Experiential Learning Program, students will:
- Gain practical work experience related to your chosen major
- Further, clarify your academic focus and career goals
- Integrate practical knowledge into classroom learning
- Gain an understanding of professional cultures and expectations
Students who participate in co-ops are able to work on longer, more important projects and are able to take on increasingly responsible and diverse roles in their work sessions. Students also earn a significant and competitive salary while working. While not guaranteed, many co-op students are offered interviews or full-time positions with their host employer upon graduation.

Miranda Rogers – C.H. Robinson
Co-op Registration
Prior to starting your co-op, it is critical that you contact the Office of Career and Professional Development to register for the appropriate tuition-free, audit-credit co-op course in order to remain enrolled full-time at Georgia Southern while you are working. This course will allow the co-op to be officially recognized by the University on the student’s transcript and prevents gaps in enrollment (for insurance purposes, housing, student fees, student loans, etc.) The number of audit credits depends upon the number of hours worked per week.
Internships are hands-on experiential learning opportunities where students can apply academic knowledge in professional settings to further adapt skills for the “real world.” Internships can be:
- Full or part-time
- Paid or unpaid
- For academic or non-academic credit
- During any academic semester (fall, spring, or summer)
Goals and Benefits of Internships
Participating in an internship will offer students a myriad of opportunities that will be beneficial while still a student at Georgia Southern University and in the future. These goals & benefits include:
- Gaining relevant work experience prior to graduation
- Increasing understanding of classroom theory through practical experience
- Exploring career goals and options
- Enhancing marketability to employers upon graduation
- Sharpening communication and interpersonal skills
- Gaining an understanding of professional cultures and expectations

Daniel Marin – Bell Helicopter
Academic Credit Internships
Academic credit internships are provided and approved by your major’s department by a supporting faculty member. When completing an internship for academic credit, you will earn hours toward your degree, pay tuition, and receive a grade for the course. Depending on your major, you may also have other course requirements such as evaluations, projects, and reflections. The requirements and documentation needed to receive academic credit vary by department, so it is best to check with your advisor or the department’s website for more information.

Megan Leben – Joe Gibbs Racing
The Office of Career and Professional Development staff can also assist you in determining where to begin. When in doubt if your internship will count for academic credit, or if you are unsure of your department’s process, please follow the “Internship Registration” steps below!
Non-Academic Credit Internships
Students who are not seeking academic credit for their internship or are unable to receive academic credit may complete an internship for non-academic credit. Non-academic credit internships are free and have no required coursework, however, they do not add to your degree progression and you do not receive a grade for the course. Because non-academic credit internships have no tuition or fees associated, you will not have access to your financial aid for that semester unless you take at least 6 hours of academic credit coursework in addition to your internship.
Internship Registration
Prior to starting your internship, it is critical that you contact the Office of Career and Professional Development to register for the appropriate tuition-free, audit-credit internship course in order to remain enrolled full-time at Georgia Southern while you are working. This course will allow the internship to be officially recognized by the University on the student’s transcript and prevents gaps in enrollment (for insurance purposes, housing, student fees, student loans, etc.) The number of audit credits depends upon the number of hours worked per week.
Job shadowing allows you to:
- Connect or “shadow” with a business professional (job shadowing mentor) who has specific knowledge about an occupation or career in which you are interested
- Observe responsibilities and tasks associated with the mentor’s career and have the opportunity to ask questions about the knowledge, skills, talents, and level of education required for the job
- Job shadowing is not a paid experience
Register Your Internship
Applications for academic credit are only accepted via Handshake. Make sure to use our specific “Business-Undergraduate” or “Business-Graduate” experience form.
Visit Handshake Experiences through this link or Your MyGeorgiaSouthern homepage
*Make sure to use the Business version of the application.*
See the “How-to” Guide for Navigating to the Application
Step 1: Navigate to Handshake Experiences and select “Request an Experience” to get started on your approval process. Submit the Construction Management/Construction Engineering Handshake Experiences application. Be sure to include your site supervisor’s correct contact information.
Step 2: Submit a copy of the offer letter to your application. The offer letter is required for your application to be approved. Attachments > New Attachment.
Step 3: Halfway through the term we’ll want feedback on how the experience is going. Your site supervisor will receive an email from Handshake prompting them to complete a short midterm survey.
Step 4: You are very near the end! Your site supervisor will need to evaluate your overall performance during the course of the internship and confirm whether you have satisfied the 320-hour requirement to receive credit.
Step 5: Along with your site supervisor, you will need to evaluate your own overall experience during the internship and confirm the 320-hour requirement.
Step 6: If you have made it to this step – you have completed all needed to receive credit for your internship!
Step 1: Starting Out
Create your three goals with two objectives for each goal. Review these with your internship coordinator and with your site during your job interviews. Get the job.
Step 2: HDFS Application
Navigate to Handshake Experiences then “Submit an Experience”. Select the appropriate HDFS template
Step 3: Learning Objectives & Goals
Once you have completed the first page, Submit Experience. On the next page of your application you will need to go to the top tabs and identify your learning objectives and goals on the third tab.
Step 4: Submit the Application
You are all set Review to make sure you completed all required fields on the application. Please be sure to provide the correct email address for your site supervisor and faculty mentor. An example of a completed application can be found here. Remember to collect examples of your work over the internship for your Storybook.
Step 5: Application Approvals
Your completed application (with learning objectives) will go through 4 approval chains (including your site supervisor.) Please be sure to encourage your site supervisor to monitor their emails for an email from Handshake. An example of the email can be found here. Also, complete the Folio “Starting Your Internship Module” and Quiz.
Step 6: Site-Supervisor Mid-term Evaluation
You have now made it halfway through the term, and we would like to get feedback on how the process is going. Your site supervisor will receive an email from Handshake prompting them to complete a short mid-term survey. Example can be found here.
Step 7: Students’ Mid-term Evaluation
You have now made it halfway through the term, and we would like to get feedback on how the process is going for you too. You will receive an email from Handshake prompting you to complete your Mid-Term evaluation. Example can be found here.
Step 8: Site Supervisor Final Evaluation
Your site supervisor will need to evaluate your overall performance during the course of the internship. Example of the email can be found here.
Step 9: Student Final Evaluation
You will need to evaluate your overall experience during the internship in Handshake. Example of the email can be found here. Also, in Folio complete the Storybook assignment.
Step 10: Receive credit for My internship
If you have made it to this step – you should have completed all steps to receive credit for your internship. To ensure you reach this step, be sure to maintain ongoing communication with your site supervisor, your faculty mentor, and OCPD.
Step 1: Starting Out
Create your three goals with two objectives for each goal. Review these with your internship coordinator and with your site during your job interviews. Get the job.
Step 2: INDS Application
Navigate to Handshake Experiences and then “Submit an Experience”. Select the appropriate Interior Architecture and Design template from the dropdown.
Step 3: Learning Objectives & Goals
Once you have completed the first page, Submit Experience. On the next page of your application you will need to go to the top tabs and identify your learning objectives and goals on the third tab.
Step 4: Submit the Application
You are all set Review to make sure you completed all required fields on the application. Please be sure to provide the correct email address for your site supervisor and faculty mentor. An example of a completed application can be found here. Remember to collect examples of your work over the internship for your Storybook.
Step 5: Application Approvals
Your completed application (with learning objectives) will go through 4 approval chains (including your site supervisor.) Please be sure to encourage your site supervisor to monitor their emails for an email from Handshake. An example of the email can be found here. Also, complete the Folio “Starting Your Internship Module” and Quiz.
Step 6: Site-Supervisor Mid-term Evaluation
You have now made it halfway through the term, and we would like to get feedback on how the process is going. Your site supervisor will receive an email from Handshake prompting them to complete a short mid-term survey. Example can be found here.
Step 7: Students’ Mid-term Evaluation
You have now made it halfway through the term, and we would like to get feedback on how the process is going for you too. You will receive an email from Handshake prompting you to complete your Mid-Term evaluation. Example can be found here.
Step 8: Site Supervisor Final Evaluation
Your site supervisor will need to evaluate your overall performance during the course of the internship. Example of the email can be found here.
Step 9: Student Final Evaluation
You will need to evaluate your overall experience during the internship in Handshake. Example of the email can be found here. Also, in Folio complete the Storybook assignment.
Step 10: Receive credit for My internship
If you have made it to this step – you should have completed all steps to receive credit for your internship. To ensure you reach this step, be sure to maintain ongoing communication with your site supervisor, your faculty mentor, and OCPD.
Undergraduate
- Step 1: Navigate to Handshake Experiences and select “Request an Experience” to get started on your approval process. Submit the Undergraduate Public Health Internship Handshake Experiences application. Be sure to include your site supervisor’s correct contact information.
- Step 2: Both your Academic Advisor and the JPHCOPH Internship Coordinator will review and approve your initial site.
- Step 3: You will then be prompted to complete your paperwork. On-Campus internships have just one form, off-campus internships have two. Sign and upload those back into the Attachments section of your experience.
- Step 4: The Internship Coordinator will review and approve your paperwork and you’ll receive notification to complete the Course Override form to enroll in your course.
- Step 5: Pay attention to Folio when classes start during the semester of your experience for further instructions.
Masters & Doctoral
- Step 1: Navigate to Handshake Experiences and select “Request an Experience” to get started on your approval process. Be sure to select your correct degree and program of study (e.g. Masters – Epidemiology).
- Step 2: Find your practicum/preceptorship packet in the Attachments section. Complete each page, especially the Activities sheet, with your site supervisor.
- Step 3: Once your paperwork is complete, upload those back into the Attachments section of your experience.
- Step 4: Your advisor, department chair, and the Practice Liaison for the course will then review and approve everything. After approval, you’ll be prompted to complete the Course Override form to enroll in your course.
- Step 5: Pay attention to Folio when classes start during the semester of your experience for further instructions.
Step 1: Submit an Experience application via Handshake.
Navigate to Handshake Experiences and then select “Submit an Experience.” Be sure to select the International General Internship & Co-op Application. After filling out information about your experience and pressing Submit, please upload a copy of your offer letter in the Attachments section.
Step 2: Receive approvals. (This may be more than one person).
Your application will need to be approved by the department chair and/or internship coordinator in your program of study. For non-credit internships or internships in which there is not an academic course available, you will also need to receive approval from the Office of Career and Professional Development.
Step 3: Complete the formal CPT request form.
Once your application is approved, you will automatically receive an email advising you to submit your CPT request form. During this process, the Office of Career & Professional Development will enroll you in the corresponding COOP course for the term.
Step 4: Approval!
By this point, your CPT should be approved and you are all set. Best of luck at your internship!
While the OCPD may not manage the approval process for your experience, we’re always here to assist you. For questions about a process not outlined above, follow the link most relevant to you!
Additional Experiential Learning Opportunities
While the Office of Career and Professional Development can discuss how other types of experiential learning could benefit a student’s career development, there are other campus resources available to assist students interested in those opportunities. Follow any of the links below for more information.
According to Vanderbilt University, service learning is defined as: “A form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves.”
Service Learning involves almost any helping activity. We generally refer to direct service to individuals, indirect service to people, and advocacy work.
- Direct service includes tutoring, serving meals, working with patients, helping a refugee family, walking foster dogs, or participating in events at a nursing home. Many psychology and education courses incorporate direct service.
- Indirect service is doing something behind the scenes to help, such as organizing a fundraising event, working in a resale shop, stocking a food pantry, collecting donations or planting trees to help the environment. Fields such as environmental studies and sociology tend to offer more indirect service opportunities.
- Advocacy can take the form of students writing letters to government officials, demonstrating in a picket line or educating others about possible policy changes. Political science and criminal justice classes often feature more advocacy work.
Service Learning opportunities are facilitated by The Office of Leadership and Community Engagement.
Georgia Southern University is an emerging research institution that not only depends on the expertise of faculty researchers but also the dynamic ideas and creativity of its students. At GS, undergraduate and graduate students pursue investigation, inquiry, and creative expression across the institution.
Students are able to take advantage of individual research projects in their area of interest, execute research projects as part of their class curriculum or support research efforts of faculty members.
Student research focuses on conducting experiments, analyzing data, interpreting a text or a work of art within a historical and cultural context, making connections, exploring meaning, or uncovering contradictions. Performing independent research allows students to develop their own original ideas and present them to a wider audience; they become producers, not just consumers, of knowledge. There are countless opportunities in each college and department to be involved in the innovative research happening at Georgia Southern University.
Student research opportunities are facilitated by the Office of Research.
Our study abroad programs provide a wide range of cultural opportunities, from English-speaking, faculty-led summer studies to language immersion programs, to 3rd-Party programs and more!
Study Abroad is facilitated by the Office of Global Engagement.