Find a Meaningful Opportunity

An internship is an opportunity to explore career possibilities and gain valuable professional experience while pursuing your degree. Internships can take a variety of forms—from traditional paid or unpaid opportunities at organizations to other opportunities like part-time jobs or project-based work. Your path is unique and the types of experiences you pursue will depend on your goals. The Career Center is here to partner with you and the resources below will help guide your internship search. 

Get Started

 

Join a Career Cluster

Browse our cluster pages to find resources tailored to your industry of interest and join a cluster to receive customized emails. 

Connect with Alumni

Use Eagle Exchange to build your network and connect with alumni to gain insight about a career field of interest.

Explore Data

Use our Summer Experience Dashboard to explore the types of experiences Boston College students completed over the past two years.

Meet with a Career Coach

Schedule an appointment with our industry specialists to discuss your internship search strategy and build a plan of action. 

Connect with Students

We have compiled a Summer Experience Database to help connect you with other BC students to learn about internship experiences. Use the database to find students who completed internships that you may be interested in and reach out to them to discuss their summer experience.

Summer Experience Database

To access: Verify that you are logged in with your BC email address.

Find an Internship

Handshake

As you look for opportunities, start with Handshake, our centralized platform where employers post positions for Boston College students. All of the top employers are hiring on Handshake, including the Fortune 500, nonprofits, startups, and more. You can also find campus recruitment opportunities. 

Our guide will help you set up your profile and make the most of your Handshake account.

Handshake

 

External Job Boards

While it is highly recommended that you use Handshake as your primary platform to search for an internship, there are a variety of other online job boards that may also serve as helpful resources. Below are a few general job boards to start with. You can find industry-specific resources on our career cluster pages. 

WayUpwayup.comA platform for early career professionals to explore opportunities, receive advice, and get discovered by employers
LinkedInlinkedin.comExplore listings on the world's largest professional network
Indeedindeed.comJob and internship postings from across the U.S.
Glassdoorglassdoor.comJob and internship postings with company reviews, salary reports, and more
Idealistidealist.orgA job board for a nonprofit/government job search
Jop Welljopwell.comA career advancement platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals
LinkUplinkup.comAn index of global job listings
B-Workbwork.comB Work connects purpose driven jobseekers with meaningful work at companies that are using business as a force for good
GoinGlobalgoinglobal.comGoinGlobal helps new and experienced job seekers find opportunities both at home and abroad
Intern From Homeinternfromhome.comStudent-run platform that connects students with startups, non-profits, and other companies for virtual internships
CEI InternshipsCEI InternshipsCEI Internships is composed of 13 internship directories, including Human Rights; Women's Rights; Washington Internships In Law and Policy; Sports; Advertising; Museums; and International Affairs.

To Access: username: BostonCollege, password: GoEagles

If any potential employer requires Boston College to sign an agreement with respect to your employment, please contact Biz Bracher at elizabeth.bracher@bc.edu.

Develop a Search Plan

Develop a plan that includes your target career field, ideal geographic location(s), ideal start date, what type of organization you are seeking in terms of size and culture. In addition, we encourage you to set goals for yourself as well as dates for achieving those goals. If you would like help with this process, we encourage you to make an appointment to discuss your goals with a career coach. 

Research Target Employers

Most job openings aren’t advertised broadly. They’re usually posted on the organization’s website. Identify promising employers by checking Handshake, working your contacts, checking sites like Vault and LinkedIn, and reading trade websites and magazines. Then go to those employers’ websites to browse job openings.

Track Your Progress

Because you will likely be at different stages of the application process with various organizations at a given time, developing a process to keep track of all the details is key. Keep a spreadsheet that lists the organization, position title, links to the organization’s website and job description, date you submitted your application, date of follow up, date of interview(s), and other pertinent notes or details. 

Sample Tracking Spreadsheet

Understand Hiring Timelines

Every career field follows unique recruiting cycles and general hiring timelines. To succeed in your internship search, you need to be aware of the recruiting cycles for your industry of choice. Below we provide information that can serve as a guideline for your own unique internship search based on when BC students have been hired in the past. 

Hiring Timelines by Career Cluster

Hiring timelines are based on survey data from Summer 2021.

IndustryBefore SeptemberSeptember–DecemberJanuary–MarchMarch–May
Business, Consulting, and Finance21%31%28%20%
Communication, Arts, and Media7%13%39%41%
Education, Nonprofit, and Social Service6%6%33%54%
Government, Law, and Public Policy4%4%45%47%
Healthcare and Nursing10%8%46%35%
Science, Technology, and Engineering6%11%50%32%

Unpaid Internships

You may wish to pursue an internship with an organization that is unable to provide a salary. Unpaid internships are common in industries such as arts, media, government, nonprofit, scientific research, and more. If you are going to consider pursuing an unpaid internship, you want to make sure it is a meaningful experience. The Fact #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act will be a helpful resource to assist you during your search. The following list provides criteria you should be looking for in an unpaid experience:

  • The opportunity will be a learning experience.
  • There are clearly defined learning objectives and goals.
  • There is supervision and guidance provided by a professional with expertise.
  • The opportunity has a defined beginning and end.
  • The skills and knowledge you acquire will be transferable to other professional settings.
     

Eagle Intern Fellowship

Students with demonstrated financial need who are offered an unpaid internship for the summer may be eligible to apply for the Career Center's Eagle Intern Fellowship, which provides funding for unpaid internship experiences. Applications are accepted from January to May.

Academic Credit

All students can take up to three 1-credit internships during their four years (including summer) for credit towards graduation. To be approved, students must:

  • Commit to a minimum of 50 hours to the internship experience.
  • Complete your School's application process.
  • Have not already earned a total of 3, one-credit internships and/or 18 pass/fail credits.
  • Students can earn credit for paid or unpaid internships.

These internship credits do not count toward major, minor, or University core requirements. Upon internship approval, the student will be enrolled in an Internship One-level course, then Internship Two-level, or Internship Three-level for the semester during which the student has the internship.

There is no tuition cost to a student for the first summer internship credit. Students choosing to earn credit for a second or third summer internship experience will be charged by the credit hour during the summer of the internship.

Specific course numbers are:

 Applied PsychologyCSOMLSOEMCAS
Internship 1APSY4197 Applied Psych Internship IUGMG4197 CSOM Internship IEDUC4197 Education Internship IUNAS4197 MCAS Internship I
Internship 2APSY4198 Applied Psych Internship IIUGMG4198 CSOM Internship IIEDUC4198 Education Internship IIUNAS4198 MCAS Internship II
Internship 3APSY4199 Applied Psych Internship IIIUGMG4199 CSOM Internship IIIEDUC4199 Education Internship IIIUNAS4199 MCAS Internship III

For further questions on academic credit please contact your respective Dean's Office.

Alternatives to Internships

A formal internship is not the only way to gain professional experience. Due to economic limitations and the impact of COVID-19, many BC students need to pursue other types of opportunities to explore careers, gain experience, build skills, and boost their resumes. Review the list below to learn about a few alternatives to internships that you may wish to pursue during your time at BC. We also encourage you to schedule an appointment with a career coach to discuss your options and design a plan to meet your goals. 

Praxis Summer Program

The Career Center’s Praxis Summer Program is a free comprehensive, self-guided summer career program designed to help you recognize and develop the skills most highly sought after by employers. This week-by-week guide will help you reflect on and strengthen these skills in order to give you a competitive advantage when applying to jobs and graduate school in the future.

Part-Time Jobs

Working at a part-time job on campus or at another organization provides you the opportunity to gain real-world experience in addition to earning a paycheck. Whether or not it is directly related to your career aspirations, you will build skills that are sought after by all employers, such as leadership, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and professionalism. Part-time jobs also demonstrate your work ethic. 

Project-Based Work

Projects are short-term experiences that offer an opportunity to boost your resume/portfolio, build skills, and grow your professional network. Through Eagle Exchange you can find listings for projects to apply to. The Forage platform offers hypothetical projects that you can complete to learn more about working in a specific field. You can also seek out freelance projects by promoting your own work through a website portfolio or social media platform.

Job Shadowing and Mentoring

Job shadows or externships are short-term experiences where you follow a professional throughout their daily activities. They offer an opportunity to explore a field of interest and make valuable connections at an organization. You can use Eagle Exchange to make connections with alumni and request to shadow them. The MentorMatch Program is an opportunity for juniors, seniors, and graduate students (excluding CGSOM and BC Law) to connect with an alum in a career field of interest to help them prepare to enter that field.

Research

Research is a popular option among BC students. Whether you're conducting your own research or assisting with an existing project, research experience is highly valued by employers. Boston College offers opportunities to engage in research in most fields. You can also participate in research at external organizations or through fellowships.  

Volunteering

Volunteering is another popular option among BC students. It is not only a rewarding experience, it also provides you the opportunity to build skills and make connections at an organization. For many nonprofit organizations, volunteering is a cruicial step to being hired for a full-time position. Volunteering also demonstrates your interests and values to a potential employer. 

Skill-Building Courses

Skill-building courses can help you build technical skills that are sought after by employers. These are typically separate from your Boston College coursework. In some cases, you’ll get a certification by completing the course or program to add to your resume. Below are a few popular options. Depending on the type of skill you want to learn, you will need to do research to determine what program is best. 

 

Make the Most of Your Internship

Virtual Internships

Virtual internships are more common than ever due to the pandemic. Even as offices start to open back up, it’s likely that at least some virtual internships are here to stay. You’ll need to be prepared to succeed.

Tips for a Successful Virtual Internship

Diversity & Leadership Programs

The document is arranged by career cluster. Each of our 6 industry-focused career clusters has its own tab within this document. You can see all tabs by using the arrows at the bottom of the screen. You can use this list as a reference to research up to date programs at these organizations

List of Programs and Internships

2023-2024 Summer Experience Dashboard

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