Students

At SJSU, an internship for academic credit (IAC) is an internship for which a student receives course credit. Students should propose a potential academic internship to the appropriate department personnel (faculty, internship program director, etc.), who will determine if the internship is acceptable and may count for course credit within that department. The University Organization Agreement (UOA) is a legally binding agreement between SJSU, and any outside organization or SJSU auxiliary, of which an SJSU student is doing an internship for academic credit.

All unpaid internships must have an UOA approved before students can enroll the internship course and begin the internship. Students with unpaid internships must work with their instructors to ensure that the placement site is active on SJS4.

Students with paid internships are not required to have a completed UOA, unless the internship is paid via a stipend/grant.

Students in practicums, teacher preparation placements, or clinical placements (such as for nursing, counseling, physical therapy or occupational therapy) are required to have completed MOUs. Do not follow the UOA procedures below. Please contact your appropriate department administrator for details. 

Students in service learning placements should visit the Center for Community Learning & Leadership website for further information. 

Unpaid Academic Internship Procedures

A University Organization Agreement must be completed by the proposed internship placement site, and approved by the SJS4 team, before students can begin an unpaid academic internship. 

• Step 1: Determine if organization is an active placement site

  • The faculty or student logs in to SJS4 to complete a search for the proposed organization. From the SJS4 home page, click the Sites tab to complete a search.

    A) If the organization is listed on SJS4, the organization is an active placement site. The student must then complete the Learning Plan and Participation Guidelines. Proceed to step 3.

    B) If the organization is not listed on SJS4, submit a Student/Faculty Request for a New Site. Proceed to step 2.

• Step 2: Requesting a new placement site 

  • If the proposed organization is not listed on SJS4, the faculty or student must submit a Student/Faculty Request for a New Site to invite the organization to be registered on SJS4.

    Once submitted, this request will automatically send the main contact person at the organization a New Partner Proposal Form (intake form) to complete in SJS4. Allow the partner organization 1-2 business days to complete the New Partner Proposal Form. After the New Partner Proposal Form is submitted, a follow-up email will be sent to the organization to sign the University Organization Agreement (UOA).

    Note: Students cannot enroll in an internship course and begin an unpaid internship until a fully executed UOA is in place with an external organization or SJSU auxiliary. An UOA is considered fully complete only when a site is approved and then posted to SJS4. Internship placements with an SJSU department/organization do not require an UOA.

• Step 3: Complete the Learning Plan and Participation Guidelines

  • All students must complete and submit the Learning Plan and Participation Guidelines [pdf]. The faculty will review the Learning Plan and Participation Guidelines to ensure that they are complete and correct; if not, then they should be returned to the student to revise.

    Once completed, the faculty and student should retain copies of both documents for five years, after which they can be disposed of according to SJSU’s information security guidelines.

• Step 4: Register for internship course via MySJSU and enroll in placement site on SJS4

  • After an organization submits the New Partner Proposal Form and UOA, the instructor/student should confirm that the organization has been approved by checking SJS4 to see if the site is listed. (It may take 2-5 business days for the site to appear on SJS4 after both the New Partner Proposal Form and UOA are submitted by the organization.)

    Once the placement site is active on SJS4, the student may enroll in the appropriate internship course via MySJSU. A permission number may be required to add the course. Once enrolled, it may take 1-2 business days for the course to appear in SJS4, after which the student may proceed to sign up for the placement site and input intended number of internship hours in SJS4. 

    The student may begin the internship and log hours in SJS4 once they are enrolled in the course and placement site. 

• Step 5: Confirming internship for academic credit hours on SJS4 

  • At the end of each semester, the actual number of hours that IAC students completed at their internship organizations should be confirmed in SJS4. This information is important because the SJS4 team requires it in order to renew expiring UOAs.

    When the student logs into SJS4, they will be prompted to report internship hours under Pending Tasks. Click on the "Report Hours" link to be directed to the "Edit Placement" screen. The student needs to input the completed number of internship hours and click save.

Modifying an University Organization Agreement (UOA)

Organizations requiring modifications to the UOA must submit a request in writing (email acceptable) to the S4 Support Team or relevant instructor/SJSU department. A requisition must be initiated to generate a Purchase Order that will allow the UOA to be modified. Please contact s4support@sjsu.edu for more details.

Paid Academic Internships

Students with paid internships are not required to have a completed UOA, unless the internship is paid via a stipend/grant. Students must still complete the Learning Plan and Participation Guidelines and obtain approval from their instructor prior to enrolling in an academic internship course. Students may also be required to provide employment verification if requested by an instructor or internship program director.

For additional information visit the Frequently Asked Questions page or email your question(s) to s4support@sjsu.edu.