Are internships required to complete university in America?

26 comments

1. Not usually. Depends on the school and program.

2. Depends entirely on the program. There certainly is no federal law stating so if that is what you are asking.

3. depends on the program

4. Depends on the school. My program “required” an internship, but there was an alternate course you could take that wasn’t really advertised.

   Internships are extremely helpful though as they get you experience and connections that can make it easier to find a job after graduating. I’d highly recommend one even if it’s not required.

5. Depends on the university and even their program.

   For me it wasn’t “required,” but my internship could have counted as credit for an elective, but only if it was unpaid

6. My business degree did not require an internship, but they were heavily encouraged as a means of potentially securing employment after graduation.

7. Generally no, but it depends on the requirments of the specific program.

8. It depends on the program. If a student has no work experience, internships are the best way to gain experience.

9. No.

10. I don’t know about business specifically but I never had to intern, and didn’t, in order to graduate

11. >Are internships required to complete university in America?

    Generally no.

    >Specially for business degrees?

    Depends. Many business schools and business degrees require some sort of practical-based outcome, which may or may not be some sort of work in a business.

    But if you leave business school with a business degree and no business experience at all, good luck getting hired.

12. I am in mechanical engineering and I’m required to complete 3 internships before I can graduate

13. Depends on the school but typically no. I have a history degree(which my guess is probably more likely to require one) and I never had one. Now, I wish I had, it probably would make my current job search easier but it wasn’t a requirement and not something I did.

14. Not generally. At my schools there were FAR fewer internships available than students so it wouldn’t have been a sustainable model even if they wanted to do it.

    It does vary by school, though.

15. Super surprised so many people are saying no/not usually.

    In my experience, in 2023 liberal art programs and business programs almost always require a internship for graduation.

    I know reddit leans heavy into stem so I wondering it’s different?

16. I don’t know about Business, but my degree required you to have an internship. Someone I was doing an internship was majoring in a different field and didn’t have to do the internship as a requirement for graduation.

17. Depends on the program. For business degrees it is unusual.

    Also keep in mind that internships in the US will generally pay you.

18. It depends on the program.

19. Usually not a hard requirement but many students will have done one before they graduate because being newly hired is a catch-22. *No one will give you a job without experience, but you need a job to get experience.*

20. No

21. For my degree? It was not required.

    But, by doing an internship, I got 8 hours of credit in just six weeks.

    I also got experience that I could claim on my resume. And, a supervisor willing to be a referral.

22. Not always, but they really should be. I graduated without an internship and I can’t do shit with my degree.

23. Some schools have internship requirements but they are usually voluntary. For my Master’s degree I needed one, though.

24. My CS degree did not but my friends did, entirely depends on Program

25. Internships (or more often co-op’s) are part of a lot of architecture programs, or various engineering degrees. Not “required” necessarily, but common.

    I believe the business school at the university I went to (a million years ago) had an internship/co-op requirement, but I’m not sure how common that is?

26. No. Internships are not required for most bachelor’s degrees.

    That said, a lot of students complete an internship during a summer while in university, or they may do an internship immediately after graduating. Helps establish connections making it easier to find a job.

    I imagine this is especially the case for the business folks.