Internships
Hiring interns can be exceptionally beneficial for companies. Not only are you granting VCU students the opportunity to develop professionally, but the role of the intern can prove to be an extremely valuable asset to your company.
The benefits of hiring interns
- Build your future workforce: Offering internships allows you to develop relationships with students who may eventually become your employees. By implementing an internship program you will have an ongoing pipeline of future full-time employees.
- Increase productivity: Offering internships allows you to take advantage of short-term support. The extra help allows your employees be more productive, prevents them from becoming overburdened by side projects and frees them up to accomplish tasks where higher-level expertise is required. Additionally, VCU’s central location allows students to work part-time throughout the school year, if needed. Many students are interested in internships that carry on throughout the fall and spring semesters and can continue to serve as extra help to your full-time employees long after the summer months have ended.
- Support the community: As a business, you likely rely on the support of your community. Creating an internship program is an excellent way to give back and support VCU students. Hiring interns not only helps VCU students gain professional experience; it enhances the workforce as a whole.
- New and fresh perspectives: VCU students are smart and full of great ideas. The interns you hire, therefore, will bring novel perspectives and specialized strengths with them to the position.
- Find talent free-of-charge: You can post your internship opportunities to Handshake for free!
The College of Engineering requires that all students in the following majors complete an internship of at least 300 hours as a graduation requirement:
- Chemical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Life Science Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
A student needs to complete 300 internship hours to fulfill their graduation requirement. Students often complete these hours in one of two ways:
- A full-time summer internship position (40 hours per week for 8 weeks)
- Parallel internship during which a student works approximately 20 hours per week while attending school, usually coinciding with either the fall or spring semester
VCU’s engineering students must have the opportunity to participate in a combination of the following work experiences:
- Applying engineering and science principles
- Problem solving
- Team participation
Job descriptions for the internship are flexible and left to the discretion of the employer to maximize value to the company. The College of Engineering Career Services can assist you with developing a comprehensive internship job description, if needed.
Most internship opportunities offered are around $20/hour.
Co-ops
5 reasons to hire a VCU engineer as a co-op
- Low risk: Hiring co-op students provides employers with a long-term evaluation framework now that can lead to full-time hires later.
- Cost-effective: Co-op students are paid a wage, but may not require company benefits such as health insurance.
- Increased productivity: Because co-op students work full time for an extended period, they are able to spend time working on long-term projects to benefit your organization. The extra help allows your employees be more productive, prevents them from becoming overburdened and frees them up to accomplish tasks where higher-level expertise is required.
- Support the community: As a business, you likely rely on the support of your community. Hiring co-op students is an excellent way to give back and allow students to gain professional experience and enhance the workforce as a whole.
- Experience: VCU Engineering co-op students have completed a mandatory professional development course, so they arrive ready to work.
It’s easy to be a co-op employer partner
It is easy to partner with the VCU College of Engineering as a co-op employer. See below for the simple steps:
- VCU engineers are ready to workEmployers provide full-time co-op opportunities for at least two work rotations; the preference is that students will alternate between a work rotation and a school rotation.
- Employers agree that the students will receive all appropriate onboarding and safety training.
- The employer manager works with the student to develop learning objectives for the co-op rotation.
- The employer manager completes the VCU Engineering Co-op mid-term and end-of-term surveys.
- Employers provide opportunities for students to participate in work that enables them to apply their engineering knowledge and skills.
VCU engineers are ready to work
VCU engineers are ready to get started working for your organization! See below for the steps students must complete before accepting a co-op position:
- VCU co-op students must have completed the Engineering Professional Development Course.
- Students must have completed at least one year of engineering coursework.
- Students must maintain a GPA of at least 2.7, but employers can require a higher GPA.
- Students must enroll in the engineering co-op course and complete all assignments while on their co-op work rotation.
Co-op rotation options
Work rotations are flexible based on employer needs. Students can begin co-op work rotations in the spring semester of the sophomore year. At least one work rotation must be in the fall or spring semester. See below for example rotation options:
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Spring-summer-fall (year-long work rotation)
Students must be on-campus for the fall and spring of senior year. The duration of each work rotation is determined by the employer. Some employers use the semester as the work rotation period (fall rotation would run August through December; spring rotation would run from January through May).
It’s easy to get started
Ready? Follow the steps below:
- Contact Engineering Career Services so we can talk through your co-op recruitment process and develop a recruitment plan.
- Our team will work with you to develop an effective job description.
- Post your job on our online job board so our students can apply online.
- Review student applicants and schedule interviews.
- Hire your VCU Engineering co-op students and get them onboarded.