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Internships: Social Sciences Experiential Education

By SAMANTHA ASARE, MACINSIDERS

When one thinks of an internship program at a university, they usually come to the conclusion that it is only available to Business, Science or Engineering students. Though internships and co-ops are very popular in the latter concentrations, McMaster University's Faculty of Social Science has created its own approach to enriching its students through the style of learning called Experiential Education.

Though internships are a large part of the Experiential Education (or EE for short) program here at Mac, it also includes volunteering, academic placements and career planning for ANY Social Science student! The EE program can help a Social Science student in a few ways:

• Help you decide on the right career path
• Help make you stand out through your resume
• Make amazing connections to future employers
• Help you learn something about yourself through self-discoveries
• Make a difference in the world via volunteering.

As said previously, the EE program consists primarily of internships, volunteering, academic placements and career planning. This article will focus primarily on internships, but look out for future articles on the other amazing aspects of EE!

So what exactly is an internship? An internship is a paid work experience with duration of 4, 8, 12 or 16 months. Internships can be either part-time or full-time and can take place during the academic year or the summer months (May to August). While internships are not worth any sort of academic credit, upon completion of your work term, you will receive a transcript providing details of your placement. Not only do internships provide you with experience but they also allow you to network with employers! In addition, several employers only like to hire students if they are applying through their school's co-op or internship program.

Here's one of the most important details of the EE Internship program. Are you eligible? Sadly, not everyone in the social science faculty is eligible for the EE Internship program. To be eligible, you must have fulfilled the following requirements:

• Registration in 18 or more units within a Social Science Faculty programme during the Fall/Winter session in which you apply
• Registered in Level II or above
• Able to work in Canada (International students must provide proof of work authorization permit)
• Registration or completion of Soc Sci 2EL0: Career Planning Through Experiential Learning
• If you are registered in a joint Social Science-Humanities double major program, contact the Career Development Coordinator in order to see if you are still eligible.

Once you have that all sorted out, the first thing to do is to check out the Social Sciences Internship General Information Handbook. The handbook talks indepth about the Internship process and I highly suggest that you read it thoroughly before going through with the internship procedure. Once you have gone through it and decided to follow through with the process, fill out the form on Page 14 and hand it into KTH 102. After you have been cleared to proceed with the internship process, head over to http://careers.mcmaster.ca where internship positions are posted. As well, you can find your own internship, which would require you to check in with the Career Development Coordinator in order to make sure it can count as an internship.

In terms of registration deadlines for internships, this is dependent on the employer. For summer internships, many companies begin posting up career listings in the January before the Summer term begins. For example, if I'm applying for a job at Research in Motion (RIM) for May to August 2009, I would go to their career section of their website around January to see what listings they have available.

Do you currently have a part-time or full-time job that you consider to be an internship? If so, speak to Cristina DeSilvio, the Career Development Coordinator and be sure to bring your resume, job description and your supervisor's contact information. If your job is eligible, it will be recorded onto your transcript!

I haven't personally experienced the EE program, but I'm looking forward to taking Soc Sci 2EL0 and applying for an internship! The benefits of work experience before you end your academic career here at McMaster are endless and you will thank yourself in the end when you leave Mac with a fab job waiting for you! Check MacInsiders soon for another article on Experiential Education, with an exclusive MacInsiders interview with an EE Internship partaker!