Internships | On-Campus Jobs | After-Graduation Plans

• Handshake – Search for internships and jobs, register for events and workshops, make career coaching appointments, network with employers and peers. Update your profile and career interests to help us help you find relevant opportunities.
  • Video on how to search for internships in Handshake (3 minutes)
  • Video on how to make an appointment in Handshake (1 minute)
  • Career Development has built strong partnership with many local organizations and employers. Search for local internships with our partners in Handshake. Click on “jobs,” click on “filters,” scroll down and type “Hartford Area Internship” under “Labeled by Your School.”

• Bantam Career Network – Network with Trinity community members including alumni to learn about internships and jobs and explore majors and careers. 

• LinkedIn – Search for internships and jobs, network with alumni using Alumni Search Tool, build your networking profile. 
  • Video in tailoring your LinkedIn profile’s URL (1 minute)

• Big Interview – Learn interviewing strategies and record yourself practicing interview answers. 

• What Can I Do With This Major – Learn about industries and types of employers related to your major, as well as strategies to make you a more marketable candidate.

• Firsthand – Research companies, explore internships, review industry trends and access in-depth industry guides.  

• Interstride – Geared towards international students, Interstride targets companies with a history of selecting international students. In addition, it provides resources for job searching, future visa pathways, tips and tricks for mental wellness, and much more, tailored specifically to your needs as an international student.

• LinkedIn Learning – LinkedIn Learning (formerly lynda.com) provides instructional videos and activities for thousands of software packages and business skills. This resource can be a helpful way to expand your technical and transferable skills. You can even add completed certifications to your LinkedIn profile.

• Parker-Dewey – Complete Micro-Internships, which are paid, professional experiences similar to what you’d do in an internship or first job. These opportunities are available to students from any academic class or major, and most can be completed remotely. You can also see opportunities that have been “Featured” for Trinity students.

• Forage – Build real world skills direct from world leading organizations with virtual experience programs. These virtual experience programs are free for all students.

• Matriculated undergraduate students.
• Sophomore or higher.
• Have not enrolled in more than the maximum number of internship credits prior to submitting paperwork (i.e., students can pursue any variation of half credit or full credit internships, but cannot exceed a total of two full credits for exploratory internships – or a total of four exploratory internships; however, there are no credit limits for academic internships). 
• Students on an F1 visa are required to enroll their internship for credit in order to obtain CPT work authorization.
• Complete paperwork by deadline. If you have a conflict, please contact Ruby Matheny.
• An internship will not be approved for credit if the student is primarily doing basic office or clerical work. The student must be practicing and developing relevant, practical skills.
• Credit cannot be awarded twice for the SAME internship. Likewise, if you or a direct relative are the owners of the company you are interning with, you will not be eligible to earn credit for the experience.

At Trinity, students are eligible to receive half credit or full credit for an internship experience during the fall, spring, and summer.

• Students can receive half-credit, will receive a pass/fail, and are paired with an internship course.
• Students can receive full credit, will receive a pass/fail, and are paired with an internship course.
• Academic Internship Course List:
  • INTR200 (120 hours)
  • INTR100 (60 hours)
  • PBPL398

The fee for internship courses during Summer Sessions is $700. More information about summer session tuition and fees may be found on Trinity’s summer website.

Before beginning an internship, a student submits an Internship for Credit Experience form by “Requesting an Experience” on Handshake. This is an agreement between the Sponsor, the Student and Field Supervisor.

The Career & Life Design Center has a three-step process for earning internship credit.

Step 1: Secure an internship by working independently or in partnership with a Career Coach.

Step 2: Write down your SMART Learning Objectives. Be prepared to enter these objectives in Handshake.

Step 3: Complete an application for internship credit on Handshake-Experience. Click HERE to watch a video tutorial on how to complete a Handshake Experience Form.

• This form will provide the Career & Life Design Center with details about your internship and assignments you will be completing with your the Internship Coordinator to earn credit.
• After you submit your form, it will go through a 3-step approval process; each approver (Career & Life Design Center, your internship supervisor, and the Internship Coordinator) will be sent an approval link to electronically approve your Internship Experience form via Handshake. You can keep track of who has approved or still needs to approve your form via Handshake-Experience.
• Once all three parties have approved your Internship Experience, the Career & Life Design Center will send your name to the Registrar and you will be manually enrolled in either a Half Credit Internship or a Full Credit Internship. Please note Summer Tuition and fees for credit.

View Detailed Academic Calendar for submission deadlines. If you have further questions about this process, please feel free to schedule an appointment with one of our career coaches.

1. The student should conscientiously fulfill all the responsibilities defined in the internship form and expected of a motivated intern and serious college student. Significant lapses in meeting these responsibilities may result in termination of the internship and/or academic failure.
2. The student should keep a detailed record of goals, responsibilities, and accomplishments during the internship.
3. On a regular basis, the student should discuss his or her progress and performance with the on-site supervisor.
4. The student should maintain contact with the Internship Coordinator by phone and/or email. This contact with the Internship Coordinator must include the student’s written mid-point assessment of the internship.
5. The student must remind the on-site supervisor to complete an evaluation of the intern at the conclusion of the internship and submit it to the Internship Coordinator. The on-site supervisor’s evaluation of the intern is an important component of the evaluation of the project for credit.

No, you cannot receive academic credit for a previously completed internship. Internships for credit include academic work and ongoing meetings with the Internship Coordinator, which must be completed concurrent to the internship.

Unless you are an international student, you do not need to earn academic credit. Earning credit incorporates an academic component to the experience, which creates greater opportunity for reflection and academic integration. Some internships may require you to earn academic credit to prove you are the primary beneficiary of the experience. However, whether you receive credit or not, your internship will reflect the same on your résumé, personal statement, or in an interview.

An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.

To ensure that an experience—whether it is a traditional internship or one conducted remotely or virtually—is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship by the NACE definition, all the following criteria must be met:

1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
5. There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
6. There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
7. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.

If these criteria are followed, it is the opinion of NACE that the experience can be considered a legitimate internship.

• The on-site supervisor must clearly be qualified by professional experience and affiliations, job status, professional credentials, etc., to guide and evaluate the internship activity. The student’s parent(s) or an immediate family member may not serve as the on-site supervisor.
• The on-site supervisor is not responsible for providing housing for or remuneration to the student intern. The student intern remains responsible for his or her general well-being, health, and living expenses. An internship may, however, become a paid position if the supervisor so desires.

• A secured unpaid or underpaid – $1,750 or less for the entire internship experience – internship that is either remote, in-person, or both; a student can only receive funding for ONE internship.
• The internship must consist of a minimum of 120 total hours.
  *Additional requirements may apply to international students completing an internship for credit. Consult with Katharine Clair for the latest policies impacting international students completing summer internships.
• There is routine feedback given through supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.

*While one of your family members may be employed at your internship company, your internship supervisor may not be a member of your immediate family nor should your internship supervisor report to a member of your immediate family.

• The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
• The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
• There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.

• Undergraduate Trinity students, including IDP students, graduating before May 2023 are eligible; graduating seniors do not qualify.
• To receive funds for a Summer 2023 internship, you must be a returning student and enrolled at Trinity College for the Fall 2023 semester.
• We recommend that international students contact Katharine Clair with questions to ensure that students are in compliance with U.S. visa requirements during summer internship period.
• Students applying for Internships for Credit will need to work with faculty sponsor and submit an internship contract via Handshake – please note that the college assesses a fee to register for academic credit for summer internships.
• Past recipients of Catalyst funding may apply again; however, preference may be given to first-time applicants – funding cannot be awarded twice for interning with the same company.
• Funding through the Catalyst Summer Internship Program is not based on your FASFA or demonstrated financial need. It is appropriate, however, to describe financial need in your application materials.
• Funding cannot go towards equipment or facilities required by the employer to complete the internship.

Applications are reviewed by the CSIF selection committee, which will evaluate each application to determine if the student’s internship meets the CSIF internship guidelines. The selection committee uses a rubric to determine funding decisions. Funding decisions will be communicated to all applicants via catalyst-fund@trincoll.edu in May 2023.

• Applications for summer 2023 Catalyst funds will be available on Handshake in Spring 2023.
• Application deadline will be in April 2023.
• Recipient decisions will be announced via email in May 2023.
• Funding is divided into three disbursements and is deposited directly into your bank account over the summer.

*Following the deadline, applications will be reviewed on a first-come, first-serve basis and dependent on remaining available funds.

• Student learning agreement (provided in acceptance email).
• Attend mandatory Catalyst Summer Internship Orientation.
• Submit employer verification form.
• Complete the following forms for funding purposes:
  • 2020 CT W4
  • 2020 W4
  • Direct Deposit Form
  • I-9 Form
    • Funding from the Catalyst Summer Internship Fund is taxable.
• Complete a photo essay.
• Actively participate in mid-summer and end-of-summer check-in emails.
• Submit an end-of-internship survey and write thank you notes to donors.

The final installment is contingent on your completion of a brief reflection on your experience and active participation. Recipients who fail to complete the internship or other requirements of the Catalyst Summer Internship Program must repay all funds already distributed.

• Emory University
• Georgia Tech

• Boston University
• Northeastern University
• Tufts University
• Boston College
• Suffolk University

• Loyola University
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• University of Illinois – Chicago

• Otterbein University

• University of Texas

• University of Colorado
• Metropolitan State University of Denver

• Loyola Marymount University – LA
• UCLA

• Florida International University
• University of Miami

• Macalester College
• University of Minnesota

• Tulane University

• Columbia University
• Iona College
• The New School
• New York University
• New York Institute of Technology

• Drexel University
• University of Pennsylvania
• Villanova University

• University of California – Berkeley

• American University
• Georgetown University
• George Mason University
• George Washington University

Current Trinity students are now able to search for spring semester on-campus job postings in Handshake and should filter by “Job Type” by “On-Campus Student Employment.”

For questions about on-campus jobs and postings in Handshake, please contact Katie Franklin at Campus-jobs@trincoll.edu.

Staff or faculty members who would like the Career & Life Design Center to post a new student employment position in Handshake should complete and submit this form.

Learn more about posting on-campus jobs, meaningful work, and tips for pivoting student employment roles to remote work this semester in this brief, helpful video.

For questions about on-campus jobs and postings in Handshake, please contact Katie Franklin at Campus-jobs@trincoll.edu.