Why Internships?

Interested in real-life work experience-and we're not talking about McDonald's? Starting to wonder what you really are going to do once graduation day finally arrives? Getting the urge to take a break from the Ivory Tower and apply what you've learned in the classroom? Do phrases like "real world," "practical," "on-the-job" keep creeping into your consciousness?

Well, the solution could be a lot easier than you think. An internship-a chance to gain college credit for supervised work experience-may be your answer. In fact, the History Department would like to see all of its qualified students take advantage of an internship opportunity during their undergraduate careers. The options are many. Some even sound downright glamorous. Like working for a documentary filmmaker. Or curating in a museum. Maybe being in the front lines of family court appeals to you. Perhaps research for one of Pittsburgh's historical societies is your niche. Whatever your interests, glamorous or not, there is an internship opportunity out there for you. And for all this good experience and fun, you actually earn course credit.

Why participate in an internship, you ask? Isn't it enough to attend classes and try to graduate on time? Sure. But wouldn't you like a chance to test a career direction without making a huge commitment? Doesn't the opportunity to gain some college credit while getting much-needed and interesting work experience sound appealing? Not to mention the chance to make some good contacts with professionals in the field.

You should have warmed to the internship idea by now. But fears of a bureaucratic nightmare may be taking hold. Not so, with a little planning ahead. The History Department has made it fairly easy for you by establishing only a few basic requirements and developing a bank of internship opportunities (both profit and nonprofit) for students to draw upon.

If you are concerned about finances during the summer, there are grant opportunities available, such as the H&SS Summer Opportunity grants and the Friedman Internships in Washington, DC. These are open only to Carnegie Mellon students. For more information, see www.cmu.edu/career/interngrants. The Department's Internship Coordinator is available to help match your interests to available opportunities, or perhaps even to help you create your own internship.



For more information on Humanities & Social Sciences Internships contact the H&SS Advising and Careers Center - HERE.