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Endicott is a pioneer in offering required experiential learning opportunities in every program of study. The founders of the College believed that students gaining practice in their intended career fields could acquire practical experience, sharpen their insights, and enhance their professional skills development. In many cases students are employed after graduation at their internship sites.
Experiential learning at Endicott takes several forms, including internships for the majority of students, student teaching in the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Physical Education programs, and clinical education experiences for Nursing and Athletic Training majors. A philosophy of “learning by doing” permeates the College curriculum, in which students are encouraged to integrate theory and practice in all of their studies.
The Internship: A Professional Experience
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The Endicott Internship Program
Bachelor degree candidates complete a sequence of internship courses: two 120-hour internships, each worth two credits; and one full-time, semester internship worth 12 credits. Bachelor degree students entering Endicott College with 30 or more credits are exempt from the first 120-hour internship (INT100) and must make up the credits.
The 120-hour internships are completed in January during the first and second years of study. Most students arrange to do internships in their home locale. Students may also live on campus during the January session. Students should contact the Residence Life Office for information on fees. Students who would like to request a delay to complete their internship in the summer must submit the Request to Delay form to their internship coordinator by the beginning of December.
Prior to the beginning of the 120-hour internship, first and second year students will be required to submit assignments preparing them for the internship experience. First year students will participate in a monthly class and complete assignments online through the campus learning portal, Gullnet. Second year students will complete their preparation assignments entirely using Gullnet, meeting with their internship coordinators as needed.
Internship coordinators will assist students in developing appropriate sites. All 120-hour internship sites must be approved prior to the start of the internship. After the site is approved, coordinators will send confirmation letters to the site supervisors. At the beginning of the internship, students will develop learning agreements with their site supervisors and submit these agreements to their internship coordinators.
At the conclusion of the 120-hour internships, the supervisor completes an evaluation. Students are also required to submit a paper, updated resume, time sheets, and other assignments. Upon return to the College, all students meet with their academic advisors to discuss experiences and field-related trends and to reassess or confirm academic and career goals.
The semester-long internship may be completed either the spring semester of the junior year or the fall semester of the senior year. Fall athletes should strongly consider completing the internship during the spring of their junior year. The internship is a fourteen-week, full-time, field-based professional experience, which is individually planned and closely supervised by qualified faculty members. Students must submit their internship proposal by the published deadline in order to remain enrolled in the course. All proposals must be approved by the internship coordinator, the Dean of the relevant academic School, and the Dean of the School of International Education, when appropriate. Transportation subsidies of $200 are available to students who travel twenty miles or more to their internship sites.
As part of the semester-long internship, faculty make on-site visits, and students participate in weekly, on-campus seminars designed to supplement the field experience. To participate in full-semester internship, students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0. The College will assess the preparedness of each student before he or she begins the semester-long internship.
Distance Internship
Students interested in completing the semester-long internship at a distance, which precludes their return for the weekly seminar meetings, must plan their programs of study by the fall of the junior year. In order to complete their semester-long internship at a distance, students must: schedule the Thesis I class; have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5; and submit a Distance Internship Application to the Internship Office by October 5 for the spring semester and March 9 for the fall semester. While on distance internship, students must have reliable Internet access that can be used on a regular basis. Gullnet, the campus online learning portal, will be used for the seminar portion of the class.
Clinical Education, Student Teaching
The structure of the experiential learning component is shaped by program and individual student learning objectives. Nursing and Athletic Training internship credits are earned in clinical education experiences over the course of the four-year program. Education and Physical Education students complete 120-hour internships, but devote their semester-long experience to student teaching.
International Community Service Projects
As an alternative to one of the 120-hour internships, students may elect to participate in the International Community Service Project. Students who elect to use this course as one of their internships may need to take another course or an additional internship in order to fulfill the credit requirements for their major.
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