Developing an Internship Program
Spending time to develop an internship program with care and intention ultimately will lead to a better experience for the students, supervisors, and program managers involved. The resources below provide additional information and recommendations on the aspects of an internship program you should create before you begin the recruitment process.
Internship Structure
- Our How to Create an Internship handout has information about how to get started with creating your internship program and questions to consider as you begin.
- Roughly two-thirds of all UW undergraduate students will complete at least one internship during their time in college.
- Students conduct internships at all times during the year in all academic disciplines in dozens of industries and work environments. The following chart indicates typical timelines and hours worked for the UW Quarter System.
| Season / Quarter | Start Date | End Date | Avg. Hours/Week |
| Fall | Late Sept | Mid December | 10-20 |
| Winter | Early January | Mid March | 10-20 |
| Spring | Late March | Early June | 10-20 |
| Summer | Late June | Mid August | 20-40+ |
Internship Projects
- Given the goals of your program, consider what work and projects interns will do.
- You can check out our list of Sample Intern Projects, develop your own, or even get your intern’s input on what work best meets their goals in the internship.
- Utilize our resource on Creating Learning Goals to provide focus and clarity for the expected outcomes of the internship.
Internship Position Descriptions
- Check out Writing Internship Position Descriptions for the basics of how to create a posting.
- We also recommend exploring our information on equitable hiring and position description writing in our Diversity & Inclusion Toolkit
Remote Internships
- Internship that involve remote work present a unique set of challenges for managers.
- Check out our resource on Developing Remote Internships with recommendations and things to consider.
- Handshake has created a Guide to Hosting Virtual Internships with additional research and information to create a positive experience for students and managers.
Additional Resources
- We offer Employer Education Webinars to assist you in developing and improving your internship programs. See our upcoming listings and view recordings of these past webinars:
- How to Start an Internship Program
- Gen Z Values and Job Search Practices
- UW Housing and Food Services has summer housing options available for your Seattle-based interns. Click here to learn more about Seattle Intern Housing.
- Please contact Eli Davis at bereli@uw.edu with any questions or concerns about creating an internship program at your organization.
