Career Development and Internships Office

Career Development Office

Internship Planning

Internships are a valuable way to gain real-world work experience, expand your skills, build your resume, and explore what career path is right for you. At North Park, we offer access to hundreds of business and nonprofit internship opportunities throughout the city.

Start the internship process by making an appointment for a one-on-one consultation. We’ll help you identify:

  • Internship search strategies
  • Resume and cover letter development
  • Guidelines, forms, and information about receiving academic credit for your internship

Internships are available to any student in the traditional undergraduate program at North Park University. No matter what you’re studying, an internship may be a great way to expand your skills and explore options for jobs after college.

Some programs (like athletic training and nursing) integrate internships and clinical experiences so closely into the curriculum that your departmental faculty will assist you in your placements.

Other programs require internship credit to earn a degree (such as business and economics concentrations), but you are responsible for finding an internship site. That’s where we come in: in partnership with your faculty advisor, we can assist in the process.

Recent Internship Placements

  • YMCA of the USA
  • PriceWaterhouse Coopers
  • Grub Hub
  • Swedish Hospital
  • WGN-TV
  • ICM Properties
  • Peoples Music School
  • Christopher House
  • Coldwell Banker
  • Associated Colleges of Illinois
  • WTTW
  • Athletico
  • Skokie Family Clinic
  • Autism Speaks
  • By the Hand
  • Cancer Treatment Centers of America
  • Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Eligibility Criteria

Juniors and seniors must meet the following criteria to participate in the academic internship program:

  • Approval of internship faculty sponsor/department is necessary before the student begins the process of obtaining an internship.
  • Student must have junior or senior class status and declared major.
  • Student must have been enrolled at North Park University for two semesters prior to the inception of the internship.
  • Student must have an overall GPA must be above 2.0/4.0 at the time of application.
  • Student must have a GPA of 2.4/4.0 or above in their major (*Please note some departments have specific GPA criteria).
  • Student must register for 1 to 8 hours of credit, with a minimum 40 hours of work for every credit hour awarded.
  • Student must obtain all required approvals, complete application, and submit information to the Registrar’s Office via DocuSign prior to the start of the internship.
  • F-1 students must consult with the Director of International Affairs concerning regulations and required paperwork before beginning application. If an internship is paid, F-1 students must obtain work authorization from the Director of International Affairs prior to the start of the internship.

Application Deadline

Students may not add an internship course after the first week of class.

Credit Hour Options

This chart shows how many hours you need to work in an internship to receive a credit hour.

Credit Hours Total Hours Weekly Hours (approx.)
1 40 2.5
2 80 5
3 120 7.5
4 160 10
5 200 12.5
6 240 15
7 280 17.5
8 320 20

 

For more information about internships, please contact the Career Development Office.