Experiential Learning: Internship, Clinical Education, Student Teaching

Click on a link to be taken to the entry below.

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 should 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 Endicott Internship Program

Bachelor degree candidates complete a sequence of internship courses: two 120-hour internships (two credits), one preparation course Semester Internship Strategies (one credit), and one full-time, semester-long internship (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 120-hour internship sessions. Students should contact the Residence Life Office for information on fees. Students will choose whether to complete internship during the winter or summer session in November.

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.

Semester Internship Strategies, consisting of a series of eight one-hour sessions, is a course required of juniors to prepare them for searching for and undertaking the full-semester internship. The course is offered in fall and spring semesters. The topics covered include planning strategically for the semester internship, focusing on the internship search, assessing the resume and applying for the internship, interviewing for the internship, participating in mock interviews, and making the most of the internship. Students are required to complete the course, which is offered on a pass/fail basis, before undertaking the semester internship.

The semester internship is a twelve-credit course that requires students to apply academic theories to the professional work environment. The course is planned with and supervised by faculty and site supervisors. A weekly, on-campus seminar enables students to reflect on their internship experiences, discuss reading and writing assignments that integrate theory and practice, and refine their job search skills. At the conclusion of the course, students deliver oral presentations that clearly articulate their internship experiences, professional strengths, and future career directions. Prerequisites: All course requirements of the freshman, sophomore, and junior years must be completed or the school dean must grant permission. Note: Students completing a distance internship must have reliable internet access; they will be communicating with their instructors via GullNet. Students must arrange to take Senior Thesis I either the semester before or after the internship.

To help defray travel costs for students whose internship sites are some distance from the College, a travel subsidy of $475 is available to students for the commuter rail into Boston or $250 for one-way travel of 20 miles or more by other means of transportation.

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.

Tuition During the Full Semester Internship

The full semester internship is an integral component of the program of study at Endicott College and is the reason that most students select Endicott over other colleges. The internship experience provides the integration of theoretical learning in the classroom with real world application in the workplace. The full semester internship is essential to the senior academic experience, which includes career preparation and a culminating thesis project.

The internship, if successfully completed, carries 12 credit hours that are necessary to complete graduation requirements. Because this is a faculty supervised internship, which includes site visits and regular class assignments, as opposed to the non-credit bearing experiences offered at some institutions, the College charges published tuition fees during the semester in which full-semester internships are completed.